Shema Koleinu / Listen to Our Prayer

Bamidbar {7:11} HaShem said to Moshe, They shall offer their offering, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar. {7:12} He who offered his korban (draw near offering) the first day was Nahshon the ben (son of) Amminadab, of the tribe of Y'hudah (Judah): {7:13} and his korban was one silver platter, the weight whereof was one hundred and thirty [shekels], one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering; {7:14} one golden spoon of ten [shekels], full of incense; {7:15} one young bull, one ram, one he-lamb a year old, for an olah offering; {7:16} one male of the goats for a sin-offering; {7:17} and for the korban of Shalom (Peace)-offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five he-lambs a year old: this was the korban of Nahshon the ben Amminadab.

HaShem then goes on to describe the exact same offering brought by each tribal head, eleven more times. So why did I pick this Scripture to comment on, from this week’s Parsha? I picked it because I have often wondered why HaShem repeats Himself so often. Just last week in Parsha Bamidbar we found the repetitive instructions for the numbering of the tribes:

Bamidbar {1:20} The bnei Reuven (children of Ruben), Yisrael's (Israel’s) firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their avot' (father’s) houses, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war; {1:21} those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Reuven, were forty-six thousand five hundred. {1:22} Of the bnei Shimon, their generations, by their families, by their avot' houses, those who were numbered of it, according to the number of the names, by their polls, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war; {1:23} those who were numbered of them, of the tribe of Shimon, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

See what I mean? And HaShem goes on, using the exact same wording for all twelve tribes. Repetition! Why did HaShem not write this all this information in a much simpler way? Why did He not lump all the tribes together and say that after the counting there were forty-six thousand for Reuven, fifty-nine thousand three hundred for Shimon and so forth? It would have saved us all a lot of repetitive reading and we still would have received the same information, or would we?

Now, here once again in this week’s reading we find the same repetitiveness, only this time it is with what each tribe brought for the inauguration of the Mishkan / Tabernacle. Why did HaShem not simply lump all the tribes together, would it not have been easier for all of us if He would have named all twelve tribes lumping the information together, naming the twelve tribes and saying that each brought the identical offering of.....? We would have received the exact same information but in a much more concise paragraph, or would we?

As the rabbi of Congregation Melech Yisrael, I expect congregants to come to me directly when they have a problem or a question, in fact I encourage it. However, many people think that I am so busy, studying, writing, preparing for services and counselling other people with their problems that they feel I do not have the time for them, so they do not want to trouble me. They feel themselves and their concerns insignificant in the greater scope of what I have to do all week. This of course is not the case. I am never too busy to help or listen to anyone in need from the congregation. This is a people ministry and every person here is my priority. Sadly, some of these people feel the same way about G-d. They think He is far too busy running the world and taking care of perhaps thousands of more pressing problems than theirs, that they fail to communicate with Him in prayer or just talk to Him about their needs, hurts or concerns. These people consider themselves insignificant in the world, not worthy of HaShem’s time. This too is not the case!

The repetitiveness in last week’s Parsha sparked my interest as to why HaShem listed the numbering this way, but it was the same pattern in this week’s Parsha that begged a closer look and of course a comment.

I believe what HaShem is showing us in Parsha Bamidbar and again here in Parsha Naso, by repeating the same information over and over again twelve times each time, that He does not just lump us together. We are not just a sum, we are individuals and as such we are counted as individuals. HaShem is showing you and me that we count, we are important to Him, we have value; we have meaning. We are not too insignificant and He will not treat us as being insignificant. As individuals we all play a very important role in HaShem’s ultimate plan for the universe. Therefore, He is never too busy to listen to us and He is never to busy to answer us.

The Shaliach (Apostle) Shaul (Paul) clarifies this point for us when he says:

Korintim Alef / 1 Corinthians {12:14} For the body is not one member, but many. {12:15} If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. {12:16} And if the ear says, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. {12:17} If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? {12:18} But now HaShem has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. {12:19} If they were all one member, where would the body be? {12:20} But now there are many members, but one body. {12:21} And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

You are important, you have a function and a purpose in the world as part of the goof HaMashiach (body of Messiah) Yeshua and you are not insignificant; at least not to G-d anyway, and is He not the only one that matters?

Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada.

Copyright 2005