Not everyone loves math and numbers. I’ve heard disturbing rumors that there are some people who even claim to hate math and get irritated when they see numbers. The Book of Bamidbar is called the Book of Numbers because there are a lot of numbers, and in no place are there more numbers than in our Parsha. We read about the numbers of each tribe individually, and then we read about the numbers of each trio of tribes in the four quadrants surrounding the Tabernacle. The number of Levites, the number of firstborn. The truth is, it’s not a numbers game. There’s something absolutely profound found in the censuses in our Parsha. In this transformative podcast, we learn how the census, the orientation of the nation around the Tabernacle, the flags, and the segregation of the Levites from the Israelites reveal the two different modes of Divine Service: the Israelite mode and the Levite mode. And we discover that even non-Levites can become honorary members of that most elevated tribe.

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This Parsha Podcast is dedicated by Doron Levin in loving memory and leilui nishmas his beloved teacher and Torah study partner, Rabbi Avi Cohen, Avraham Shalom Ben Shlomo David. May his soul be elevated in Heaven.

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