Our parsha, Bamidbar, begins with a reminder of where the Israelites find themselves physically: “...״וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי “And God spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai…” (Bamidbar 1:1). Before God commands Moshe to take a census of men over the age of twenty, “all those in Israel who are able to bear arms,” (Bamidbar 1:3), the text reminds us that for all the laws given to the point and for all the orienting power a census can have, the Jewish people are still wandering.
This was a really interesting set of reflections, thank you. I'm a statistician, and have taken a little interest in historic use of census. A lot of ancient near Eastern civilisations seem to have been wary of them for reasons I don't fully understand, and King David's census seems to have been unpopular. But this is the first time I have read anything reflective, and it really struck a lot of chords with me. Thank you so much.
This was a really interesting set of reflections, thank you. I'm a statistician, and have taken a little interest in historic use of census. A lot of ancient near Eastern civilisations seem to have been wary of them for reasons I don't fully understand, and King David's census seems to have been unpopular. But this is the first time I have read anything reflective, and it really struck a lot of chords with me. Thank you so much.