In 30:12 when the pasuk talks about counting Bnei Yisroel it says ״ולא יהיה בהם נגף״- “so there won’t be amongst them a calamity”
Why would there be a problem with counting them and hwy would using coins prevent it?
Rashi answers that it is because things that have been numbered or counted can have an ״עין הרע״-“a bad eye” so by using coins we prevent it from being on people.
When else is there a reference to a עין הרע in the Torah? What (if anything) is done to prevent it? When else are Bnei Yisroel counted like this to prevent an עין הרע?
Where else is there a reference to עין הרע? In bereshit parshat ויחי Perek מט Pasuk כב it says “בן פרת יוסף בן פרת עלי עין ...”. The Gemara Brachot כ עמוד א comments on the blessing of Yaakov to Yosef saying that Yaakov blessed him that Yosef and all of his decedents would not be affected by the עין הרע. (And in the Sephardic community that’s why instead of saying בלי עין הרע we actually say בן פרת יוסף.) I liked this answer because usually עין הרע is a curse, but here we see עין הרע used in a blessing to avoid any negativity in the future of יוסף.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
ReplyDeleteThe reason we count Jews with coins is because numerically we are small, but in terms of our contributions to society and people, we are very big. Each Jew contributed a coin because it is not about how many we are or how big we are but it is about how much we can contribute to the world around us. He talks about how time and time again jews showed great creativity and strength for example during the destruction of the first Beit Hamikdash there was a rise Torah study in Babylon. Also during the destruction of the second Beit Hamikdash there was great literature of the Oral Torah like Midrash, Mishnah and Gemara. Not only did the Jews make contributions in the past but Rabbi Saks gives modern day examples of how today Jews give to society in literature, economics, finance, academic life and many other ways. “If you want to know the strength of the Jewish people, ask them to give, and then count the contributions”.
I love this idea because in our day to day life it’s really easy to think what can I be getting and how can I benefit in this situation so sometimes we get caught up in our own needs that we forget that its also good to be contributing to society and Bnei Yisrael.
http://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation-5770-ki-tissa-counting-the-contributions/
In several peices of the Midrash, Rabbis say that an Ayin Hara played an important roll in many places in the Torah. For example, they say שרה put an Ayin Hara on Hagar when she was pregnant, causing her to have a miscarriage before becoming pregnant with Yishmael. I dont really like this answer because though Hagar did treat Sarah poorly, I feel like Sarah is a better person that to “get revenge” and put an ayin hara on someone and cause them to misscarry.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Bachya ben Asher explains that we count the Jews with coins because we don’t want to count separate individuals, since we do not want to single them out and put a spotlight for judgement on them. While an individual might not have enough merit to pass judgement, when counting people as a community, even if we are brought to judgement, there are enough good deeds in the community of people to ensure that everyone passes the judgment and are considered worthy of hashem’s mercy.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea because it shows how all of am yisroel are there for one another and even if an individual has made some bad decisions in his or her life, they will be protected by their community.
DeleteThe Or HaChaim explains the wording of Bnei Yisrael getting a plague if they don’t count correctly. You might think that Hashem giving Bnei Yisraela way to atone with the half shekel, seeing as Chet Haegel recently happened when they received this mitzvah. The Or HaChaim explains that it has nothing to do with this, and the Torah is just making it clear that they must be counted by coin, as opposed to by head, or they will be plagued.
ReplyDeleteI really like this answer because it makes it clear than Hashem will allowed Bnei Yisrael to move past Chet Haegel, and He will forgive them.
The Sforno says the need to count Bnei yisrael comes from the fact that they are not the same each time they are counted, ever since Adam and Chava were kicked out of gan eden sins have been counted in ones death and life. However the Sforno says that before sins were counted the person would be the same each time they were counted. Using a coin, no less or more for the richer or poorer, is almost like a ransom for his life for teshuvah and no soul is more special if he gives more money which is why everyone pays the same.
ReplyDeleteI really like this answer because it shows our goals and main ideas of Jews is that we are a whole and no one is better than the other and that we are a whole.
.Something interesting about giving half a shekel Rabbi Shlomo Zalman explains in his book “short and sweet on the parsha” is that the word half in hebrew is Machatzis and a very great lesson can be learned from this word. It's spelled with 5 letters and the middle letter is a tzadi, representing a tzadik and the two letters next to it are the chet, and the nun and when you put those 2 letters together you get chai, meaning life. This symbolizes the idea that if people stay close to a tzaddik that they will merit eternal life. But on the other end the letters farthest from the tzadi is the mem and the tav and when you put those together you get meit, meaning death.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful thought that I really like because just the one word of only having HALF a shekel really teaches us so much. And i love the idea that if you stay close to a tzadik you will merit eternal life, but on the flip side if you are not close then it's basically just spiritual death.