From HaShem's perspective, every single human being is a
rare treasure, a completely unique creation, and something to be cherished and
admired.
THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:
Bamidbar (במדבר | In the wilderness)
Torah: Numbers 1:1-4:20
Haftarah: Hosea 2:1-22
Gospel: Matthew 4:1-17
The World Was Created for Me
A census report makes for difficult reading. Working
through the details of tribal and family tallies can be an exercise in
monotony, but Rashi found a sweet message about God's love underlying the dry
census data. He explained that God enjoyed counting the Israelites because of
his special affection for each person. According to his interpretation, the
census is a reminder that the children of Israel are not just a collective
whole. Israel is a nation composed of individuals.
All the people of God are real people. Moses and Aaron
counted them according to their "genealogical registration by their
families, by their fathers' households, according to the number of names, head
by head" (Numbers 1:20). This method gave every Israelite the opportunity
to tell his name and be counted as an individual of worth. Each person is
valuable and unique, a special treasure to God.
In the Talmud, there is a discussion about Adam, the
first man and father of all humanity. Why does all of humanity descend from a
single human being? "To teach you that whoever destroys a single person is
regarded as if he had destroyed an entire world [of people] and whoever saves a
single person is regarded as through he had saved an entire world"
(b.Sanhedrin 37a). The meaning of this teaching is that each person is as valuable
as Adam, the first man. Though Adam was only a single human being, he held
within him the potential of all humanity. So, too, each person shares that same
potential. No person should be dismissed as simply a number or a cog in the
wheel. Every human being is a whole world.
Moreover, the same Talmudic discussion points out that
every person, regardless of race, is part of the same human family. The Talmud
says, "Adam was created for the sake of peace among men so that no one can
say to his fellow, 'My father was greater than yours.'" We all have Adam
as our common father. The same discussion points out that while we all come
from the same prototype, we are all unique individuals:
[Adam was created] to demonstrate the greatness of the
Holy One, blessed be He. If a smith strikes many coins from one mold, they all
look identical, but the most high King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,
fashioned every man in the image of the first man, yet not one of them is
identical to his fellow. Therefore every person is obliged to say, "The
world was created for my sake." (b.Sanhedrin 37a)
Yeshua told a parable about a shepherd who noticed that
one of his hundred sheep was missing. A one percent loss is not terribly
serious, but this particular shepherd had special affection and concern for
every sheep in the flock. He left the ninety-nine and went out seeking the lost
sheep, rejoiced when he found it and carried it on his shoulders back to the
flock (Luke 15:1-7). From God's perspective, we are not a nameless, faceless
crowd of people. Each person is unique, special and beloved. God cares for you
personally. He is concerned with your concerns and seeks your well-being.
-First Fruits of Zion
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