My formal, or even informal weekly Torah study has been somewhat disrupted this year and pretty much non-existent during this omer period. However, I have been leyning--chanting Torah--a lot, which gives me a connection to the actual words. For the most part I've been looking at the Hebrew only, not checking the translation as I usually do. I've been using that method to save time--I need to learn the aliyah, chant it, and then go on to the next. Concentrating on the chanting melodies have given me a deeper appreciation for the cadence and flow inherent in the recitation. I'm also finding that I know enough Hebrew and am familiar enough with the Torah cycle to understand generally what I'm reading. I like getting that hit from the words themselves without looking through the filter of translation.
This Shabbat, the start of Bamidbar, I am chanting the counting of those men ages 20 and over who are eligible for war. The numbers are given for each tribe. It is very repetitious:
The descendants of Reuben, Israel's first-born, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, head by head, all males aged twenty years and over, all who were able to bear arms — those enrolled from the tribe of Reuben: 46,500.And so on for all of the tribes......
Of the descendants of Simeon, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, their enrollment as listed by name, head by head, all males aged twenty years and over, all who were able to bear arms — those enrolled from the tribe of Simeon — 59,300.
Of the descendants of Gad, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, aged twenty years and over, all who were able to bear arms — those enrolled from the tribe of Gad: 45,650.
Of the descendants of Judah, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, aged twenty years and over, all who were able to bear arms — those enrolled from the tribe of Judah: 74,600. (Num 1:20 - 26)
When I began to practice the chant, I felt some discomfort counting, over and over, the men who could go into battle. At first, the question in my mind was, "Are they the only ones with worth?" I then moved on to, "Can't we just state the total and move on?" But with that thought, something else occurred to me.
This counting is to remind us that the men who go to war are part of our families, they have names. We need to remind our government of that. It is this very counting that reminds us that these soldiers have names, they are real, they are counted now because they might not come back.
Let us not forget the toll of war.
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