Mitzvah d'var

This morning’s torah portion, B’Midbar, is the beginning of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Torah. It starts out with God telling Moses that he needs to count the number of men over 20 years of age who are able to bear arms.  There is a debate among the Rabbis and Jewish scholars as to why G-d wants Moses to take this census - some say it is because G-d loves the people and wants to know how many there are, each one counted and important. Others say it is because they need to know how large their army would be as they encounter enemies along the way through the desert.  

However there is not a debate about how the count should be done. The portion clearly lays out all of the details.  Moses calls upon representatives of the twelve tribes to come forward and take on the task of counting.  Each representative is identified by not only their tribe but by who their father is.  We heard in the chanting of the portion the word “ben” more than a few times- this is translated from Hebrew as “son of” and saying their names is meant to make the count more personal.  

Once the counting is over, for those of you who are curious, the total number of arm-bearing men was 603,550 (ever so slightly less than the population of Vermont).  This number did not include the 22,000 Levites who are responsible for maintaining and transporting the tabernacle and all of the artifacts that go with it, and it didn’t count the women and children, however we do know the number of male children over a month old, who numbered 22,273. Based on what we know about demographics, this would mean that there were approximately 1 million 4 hundred thousand people in total, all relying on Moses to guide them through the midbar, the wilderness desert. 

My portion also includes clear instructions for how this large number of people should mobilize to move through the desert in an orderly fashion, what tribe marches next to what tribe and where in relation to the tabernacle - it also tells us how each tribe set up camp ether north, south, east or west of the tabernacle. The tabernacle, also known as the tent of meeting, was a cross between a synagogue and a senate chamber. These added directions lead some scholars to look at this portion as a blueprint for civil organization, for representative government, and how to organize and take care of a large community. 

The Rabbis had a lot to say about census taking, as it was done more than a few times throughout the Torah.  Medieval Rabbi and Torah commentator Rashi points out that G-d counted the Israelites often - when they left Egypt, after the chaos of the golden calf, and as they are getting ready to leave Sinai and enter into the promised land - all because G-d loves them.  Rashi’s grandson Rashban had a different take, disagreeing with his grandfather.  He said that G-d counted them the first time as a practical financial matter - so that they would know how much money would be contributed by the Israelites towards the maintenance of the Tabernacle. The second census was to figure out how many men they had left after the mess with the golden calf. And the third census was for strategic military purposes, to find out how many fighters they had so as to be used as an intimidation tactic. 

Fast forward to 2020, about 3470 years have passed. The census, the counting of citizens, is still being done by many countries across the world. The current census in the US started in 1790 and happens every 10 years. It is happening right now! There is also a federal election this year, and the country is fighting for its life, its soul, like never before. This coincidence, between my portion and current events, inspired me to learn more and has given me focus for my mitzvah service project. I will try to keep my cool while talking about this with you, but believe me, I am pretty freaked out about what is happening, and  it is sometimes hard to think about other stuff. I’m worried about our future.

The numbers in a census matter greatly.  As Steve Inskeep on NPR said:

“The numbers, of course, determine how political representation and federal funding are distributed. So this isn't just a bunch of numbers, it's an expression of power.” https://www.npr.org/transcripts/807913222 

The census numbers affect how voting takes place. Gerrymandering, the manipulation of voting boundaries so as to favor one party over another based on the census numbers, has been happening since the time the country was started. The electoral college was put into the constitution as the 12th amendment  to give more power to the slave owning south. Counting people in a census gives politicians information they can use to control tons of money, and stay in power. Voting is a right for every citizen 18 and over. But it can be blocked by different political actions. People can be removed from voting rolls. People can be forced to show proof of citizenship that is hard to obtain for some communities. Polling stations can be closed so it is much harder to vote. 

All of this matters today in more ways than I can describe without turning bright red and getting furiously angry. I could go on and on for some time about how the current U.S. administration is using the census, gerrymandering, and illicit tactics to get certain parties to win again in 2020, I could add more examples every day. This week was particularly scary, with rage tweets threatening to cut off funding for elections in states that he didn’t like. But Rabbi David said my d’var Torah should not be an NYT op-ed piece. Fair.

Bottom line is that everyone who is eligible to vote needs to vote in November and in every election. Let me say that again for the people in the back, EVERYONE NEEDS TO VOTE.

For my service project, I wanted to raise money for voting rights. My mom, as i think most or all of you know, was really excited that my portion had such an obvious connection to the 2020 election. She helped me, a lot, but still made sure I had jobs to do in the production of a concert and silent auction fundraiser. We reached out to the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project to be the recipient of funds. We got Head Count to participate. My mom got some friends to help plan the music side, and my job was to get donations for the auction. The Concert was scheduled for May 22. It would have been last night. I thought I was going to be standing here today with you all here with me, and be able to tell you proudly how much money we raised to help make sure everyone can vote in November.

Well, you all know what happened and how we are living right now. My Bar Mitzvah was postponed, then when that date in October was clearly not going to happen, the Rabbi encouraged us to do a full service via Zoom. The concert went through the same thing, and now my mom is working to get a digital concert organized for June 18. Mark your calendars. Stacy Abrams’ Fair Fight and Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote are also now helping and will also be recipients of funds. I hope that some lemonade can be made out of these lemons, (p.s. that’s my mom’s newest favourite expression), and that a digital concert can reach even more people and raise even more money for these organizations working hard to make sure ALL voting rights are upheld.  My mom will send information and links about the concert. Please share far and wide, through email lists and social media, again and again. Your help and support are appreciated!

The Torah set the foundation for the practice of counting people- something that we still do today. The fact that back then only  men were counted really reflects the times. Who we count now may also reflect the times. They may not have gotten it right but clearly neither have we. What is important is that they taught us that the act of counting people is important. 

Thank you for joining me via Zoom today, and for indulging me by listening to my d’var, about something that is very important to me. Because we are digital, a link to this d’var is in the chat link below, with lots of links to the articles and news programs I went to for research. Our future, especially for us young people, depends on those who should be able to vote being able and inspired to. Please help be a part of the effort to make that possible.   Shabbat Shalom