Bimidbar-Shavuos - The Missing 50 & Rus' Return

You're listening to the weekly para podcast with Ari Goldwag recorded with us never ending assistance in Bishm Israel 5785 2025. week's parasidar and we also have shw coming up on Sunday night and I had this question which we've talked about I'm sure many times before but it's always worth examining looking at perhaps seeing in a different light and as we come into so we all know that we've been counting and there's mention in the in the medish of these numbers we counted seven weeks 7* 7 7* 7 you all know is 49 And the 50th day is the day of is the day that we receive the Tyra is the day that we celebrate this Yantiff. And the question that I always like to ask is what happened to the 50th day? Why don't we count the 50th day? It says we're supposed to count 50 days. Seven whole weeks, but we count till the number 49 and then we stop. We don't count the day the 50th day. We don't say we don't say that. We just count seven weeks exactly 49 days. Even though the Tyra says to count 50 days and the Tyra itself seems to be a contradiction because it says count seven weeks, seven whole weeks and also says count 50 days. So what is the concept of the number that's not counted? I call it the missing 50. And I'd like to talk about the concept of a missing number. And we see a missing number already in our para. Where do we see a missing number when Israel is commanded to count to be counted? Mosher Rab counts Israel with the with the shekels, the half shekels. So the tells us that who is counted? All of the tribes are counted except for the tribe of Levy. The Levites are not counted in the general counting of the Jewish people. Why should that be? Or what's the concept here? Why are they not counted? There's a separate counting for them. We also find that when ami Israel, the land of Israel. So the Levites do not have a their own portion within Israel. They have their own cities, but they don't have a portion which is for their tribe. Plus he says, God is their portion. What is the idea when someone is not counted? The Levites are not counted. And we'll see that there's a place where the same there's almost a reversal of this where there's a counting of somebody that shouldn't be counted. And that's something unique to the Levites. We'll see that together soon in the maj. But I'd like to just offer that question, lay it down. What is the idea of a number that can't be counted? And the reverse of it, when do we count something that shouldn't be counted? And I'd like to bring it to if we have time I hope we will. I'd like to bring it to Russ. Russ is the great grandmother was a great grandmother of David Hamela King David and in English known as Ruth and she was a Moabi princess and she became part of the Jewish people. She followed after Nomi. She came she married Boaz the great-grandfather of David and together they started the Davidic line. And there's something special about Russ. There's something unique about her that we'll see together brings her to a unique relationship with Hashem. And there's a an application of the concept of the number which is not counted within the specialness the uniqueness of Russ who she was. So that's that's the basic sum up the synopsis of what I want to talk about. It's par midbar. We're going into sh. So I like to talk about both. Now the message tells us like this. When it came to the Jewish people themselves, who was counted in the counting? The counting was from age 20 to 60. That was the ages that were counted. When we wanted to know, we say there were 600,000 Jewish people at that time. only the males were counted the men which means that there's another comparable 600,000 women the children the older people were not counted we need to understand what is the concept of counting why are we counting midbar in English is referred to as the book of numbers the countings why is there thing why are there things that are not counted what is represented by that which is not counted why are the Levites not counted but now when it comes to the separate counting of the Levim something unique happens a reversal happens and that is that instead instead of being counted only from the age of 20 to 60 the levim are counted already from the very youngest Levite a newborn baby only one month old that's enough to be counted a one-month old baby even though with the Levites really they don't start to become you know when it comes to the Jewish people 20 the age of 20 is someone who can serve in the army but when it comes to the Levit They don't begin their service in the Mishkan until the age of 30, but we still count them. So what's the idea of counting someone who shouldn't be counted? Why do we count a child of the Levites if when it comes to the rest of we don't count the children as a why do we count from one month old? It's interesting many of the rabbis here who who speak in this medish are either orim He said in the name of this is to give them extra reward. Somehow we need to understand this. Somehow when we count someone it indicates that they have extra reward. We we find that a Levite does not or a Cohen does not it's really the Levites talking about the Levim who would sing the songs in the in the Mishkan. They they would be the ones to carry the different of the Mishkan the vessels of the Mishkan. But at what age did they did they do that? They only did that from the age of 30. So why do we count them from the age of one month old? It seems really that only those who serve someone can serve let's say in the army that is hashem age of 20 to 60 that's somebody who is counted we count things that have the ability to serve that's interesting right only from the age of 30 really should be counted but we count anyway from the from the age of one month old the measure says something which needs this explanation, but we they're going to get reward even though they're not yet serving. And when you serve, of course, you get reward. We have to know what this reward is talking about. But somehow, for some reason, and we're going to see very shortly why they get rewarded. There's significance to them before they're actually serving, before they're actually doing something on behalf of Israel. In our relationship with Hashem, all the way back from one month old, there's a preparation. Maybe there's some kind of something's going on that deserves a reward even though they're not serving me. Another statement by Rauna the priest. He says like this. We find another instance where someone gets credit for having served Israel his whole life even though he only served for a short period of his life. Who's that? The tells us that Samuel the prophet served the Jewish people. He served us all of his life. Is that true? He served for his entire life. How long did he live? He was 52 years old. two years of his life he was suckling. He was a baby. There was 40 years from the age of two until the age of 42 that his reb was still alive and he wasn't going to be a not going to be a judge when his when his rebi is a judge. There's also two years that that uh Shaw was the king. So that gives us the first 40 years of his life plus two years with Sha. So then 42 years there's only 10 years left to his life. He lived to be 52. So we see and how long was he carrying the burden the peckle the the service of Isel? 10 years. But it says in the he served his entire life. Hashem says I call it when the puss says he served Israel his entire life. It's saying even though he only served for 10 years I consider like he served Israel for his entire 52 years of his life. So too when it comes to the Levites, they're counted from the age of one month old. So they should be it should be considered for them that they're serving. So they're ready from the age of one month. That's why you count them from one month old. the okay before we get to the next point just like to share with you I was studying this with my father and he understood this to mean and I think it's a nice shot understood it to mean that from the very first month of a baby's existence the parents are showing the child love and in order for that child to develop and become the person who he's meant to become so that person needs that kind of upbringing the the fact that it's going to take 30 years for him to start serving AmI Israel. It starts already when I'm adding when he sees his parents serving. He's already learning from one month old. Something special about the Levim. They're there to serve Amrael. They're there to to work on behalf of the Jewish people. The Kohanim are there to bless Amisel to to beseech Hashem, to bring down blessings upon the Jewish people. Something that they see already from a young age. They're already taught that from a young age. So it's already counted even though they're not yet serving but we counted already from that early time. That was the idea I discussed with my father says the mag another idea very interesting he says like this he's a Levite he says that the way of hashem is I'm sorry. Hashem always counts. It wasn't the only place that we find that Hashem counts them when they're small in paras. It was also true way back in sius. There was a Levite baby that was counted as well. Who was that Levite baby? When Hashem says to Jacob to go down to Egypt, the the children of Jacob going down to Egypt were 66 says 66 souls if you add Yseph and his two sons who were in Egypt already. So altogether they have 69 but the says that there were 70 souls who went out to Egypt. So where does this number 70 come from? Where's the Who's the 70th soul? Who's the 70th person says? We find that there was one baby that was a fetus still, but it was counted anyway. Who is that? Interestingly, very important idea to contemplate. It was YV, the mother of Moshe, Aon, and Miriam. meaning she's the one who's going to the her children are going to redeem Am Israel 210 years later she is born at the very gates of Egypt and she how old was she's a newborn baby and she's counted in the 70 over here says we find that if a person wants to collect sap from a tree. Say it's a maple tree. What you do is as as the sap is coming out, you don't want to miss any sab. It shouldn't drip away. It shouldn't end up on the floor. As the sab is coming out, you take a cloth, you apply it to the sap, it sponges up the sap as it comes out. In the same way, as y was being born, she was already being counted. She's counted. Even though she was inside of the mother, she was about to be born as she's being born. She's counted in the 70. It's worth contemplating. I'm not going to get into it, but the very fact that the gula, the redemption, the future redemption, which would take place 210 years later, the seed of that redemption was already there at the very entrance into exile. Similar idea with Rebea and his friends. He sees a fox coming out of the area of the Shakadosh, the Holy of Holies. The temple was destroyed. They're crying. He's laughing. But he sees in the exile, he sees the redemption. He sees the puzzling now that there are children playing in the streets, elderly people walking along with their canes. Says he wasn't she wasn't just a fetus, but as they got they came through the gates, she was born. She's the 70th. So there's a there's a child who's counted even though it's a child. Hashem says her great great grandchildren also. She's from Ley. She's from this tribe. They're counted as their babies. That means that you already see the potential there long before it comes to fruition. Long before it's it's actualized. This tribe is more beloved, most beloved to Hashem. And what does that mean that it's beloved to Hashem? I want to point out once again, we're talking about being mishar am. The job of the Levites is to serve Hashem, to serve their fellow Jews. That's who the kohanim are. They facilitate Israel, bringing corbonus, getting atonement. What could be better than that? They're the teachers. They're the ones who are carrying the ka. They're carrying the Mishkan. They're carrying that which represents our relationship with they carry the which has within it that that arc which has within it the tablets, the Tyra. Yeah. Of all of the 12 tribes which most of us are members of, not the Levites. There are many Levites in the world. But this tribe is the tribe that is chosen. Shem chooses them as says, "I chose them to be for me priests. They're unique because they serve." I hear that well. They're unique for they serve. And I want to say that they're the ones who bring a kadeshwar down into the world. We need to emulate them. And the Rambam says anybody call is anyone he says is anybody in the world even somebody who's not Jewish anybody can choose to be like a Levite and choose a relationship with give them completely to that rel give themselves completely to that relationship but they uniquely have this capacity and we're going to see that there are different places where the numbers where the there's there's big numbers and then there's a a missing number there's something that's counted and not counted. What do I mean? Let's see. This is the idea of the counting and the not counting. Let's hear this. Well, we find just like when Hashem created Israel, he chose the tribe of of Ley. And of course, we can each choose to be part of that tribe, so to speak, if we choose to beim, to be righteous, to be hashem. But Hashem chose Am Israel, but within that he chose the Levites. There are many places where Hashem had a a larger pool, so to speak, and he chose from from that pool a particular thing. Hashem created seven days of the week. Shabas, but Shabas is special. It's chosen. It's different. It's not counted. Is is Shabas part of the week? It's not counted and it's counted. It's the place that we see as the you stop working, right? We don't six days you you count the days and you work and on seven days you don't work. It's not a day that counts. It's a day that doesn't count. But Shabas says because you're stopping there, the blessings go out to each either direction. That's the day when we reconnect to this number that's not counted is something that's part of but not part of. It's the place of connecting to Hashem, bringing that down into this world. There's a concept of blessings there. God blessed the seventh day and he sanctified it. Hashem created a series of years, seven years, seven year cycles in Israel and he chose one of those years. Remember, he picked the seventh year of the year is special. It's a year where we stop planting. It's not counted and it's counted. Hashem chose weeks and he chose one of the weeks which is interesting. It's talking about weeks of years. We have seven weeks, seven, I'm sorry, seven years and the seventh year is shmita. But then we have seven sets of seven years. And the 50th year is the seventh set of seven as the mushroom explained is the is the climax of the that set of 49 that set of seven times seven years. And then after you complete seven cycles, there's a deeper place of not being counted, which is the Yovil year, the Jubilee year. All of the slaves go free. Although land returns back to its owners, there's a there's a full connection, a return to the way things really are supposed to be in the number 50 in the 50th year in the ultimate shabas. It's the ultimate number that's not counted that's counted. It's counted but not counted. Israel created the entire world. But he chose Israel. It's the land that's not counted even though it's counted. Israel is so small, but it's so big in the news, right? Is who cares? It's a little tiny dot the size of New Jersey. It's not and it is. It's not counted and it is counted. God's eyes are on a place of special connection to Hashem calls it his land. God has seven heavens. The seventh heaven, the highest one is it's the place of the deepest connection. Created all the nations of the world. 70 nations. Notice there's one nation that's not counted. We're not counted amongst the nations, but we are one of the nations. Are we the 70th? We're part of it and we're not part of it. We're the connectors. The nation that brings down the brings down that concept of connection to Hashem. Ley, Hashem chose us to be that chosen nation. And within us, he chose the Levites to be even deeper, deeper chosen. So that's why Hashem counts them even though they're not yet counted. He counts the Levites babies even though they're not yet counted. There's a deeper aspect of counting that we don't count. They're not counted and we do count them. The day of is the day that we receive the T. It's the deepest day of the entire year when it comes to our relationship with Hashem. It's the deepest day. We stay up all night. There's no day and night. There's there's just connection. There's just driving into connection. Now, I want to bring it to talk about Russ. And again we don't have so much time but the Pik says when Boaz realizes who she is he says to her he says you've done amazing things you've done such such kindness for Nomi Nomi left Israel she went to the to the plains of Moab she she left a rich woman with a husband and two boys and she came back with nothing her husband died her two sons died but Rus Ruth followed her she saw something special know me. She saw her Yiddish her connection to Hashem and she wanted that too. Your nation is my nation. She said, "Your people are my people. Your God is my God." That's what she said. And Boaz saw in Russ she gave up everything. She was a Moabi princess. She was she was the top of the world there. She gave it all up because she saw who Nomi was. She saw who Amis was and she wanted to be part of that. And that's how she became the great grandmother of David, King David. And Boa says to her, "You've done such an incredible thing. Will pay you for your actions. You're going to have the most perfect reward from Hashem because of it." Me says that what was what was she paid with? What was the perfect reward? Schllaymo means perfect Schlommo. King Solomon who built the Bamedosh, which is that place. It's the place of connection. The place where there's space and there's no space. where there's time and there's no time where the the center of the Bish is the Tyra inside of that box inside of the ark inside of the T inside of the aris it's the place of and it takes up no space even though it takes up space it's that it's that aspect of the missing 50 Russ gets that why because she gives up who she is she throws away everything she throws away her ego can you imagine a beautiful princess top of the world gives set it up to become part of Amis Israel. It's impossible. She gets a great great grandson named Schlommo. Now the says something amazing and with this we're going to finish. We find the says I'm sorry. Why? Boaz says to her, "What was it that you saw? What was it that you did? You came under the wings of Hashem. You came under the wings of God. What does it mean you came under the wings of God? Imaguates a whole bunch of different things that have wings. The earth has wings. The sun has wings. It brings the the angels have wings. We all know that brings a few the theim the but the measure says something very interesting when it wants to say what does it mean to come under Hashem's wings. Now listen to this because this is really the core of what it means to get to that 50 to get to what the Levites had to reach that place of service. Listen to this. What was special about? She was righteous. She did. What is it? It means that they do sedaka. They do kindness and righteousness and charity. It means that they give something that's not deserved. When a poor person knocks on your door and says, "Please, I I don't have any money." Hey, get a job. Right? No, we don't say that. We say, "How can I help you?" And you give him give him a drink. Give him a smile. Give him a hug. You give him a dollar, $100, whatever he needs. Listen to this. How great is the power of charity? And those who do kindness for others. And kindness you can do with anybody, even a rich person, right? The Gamar Suka says Russ was doing kindness and charity with her mother-in-law Nomi who she's not even related to anymore. Her husband's dead somebody who does charity kindness and I add the who were their all they cared about their entire life was about serving serving Hashem. They don't they don't nestle in the shade of the sun. It's not in the not in the wings of the earth. Not in any of the angels. When I do charity, when I do kindness, when I am when I that's how I get in when I when I learn the which is really I need to learn to teach and to do. I I get rid of myself. I get rid of myself. Just like Russ, she got rid of herself. The number 50, I'm counting, counting, counting, counting. One day, two days, seven days, full week. I'm counting, counting. Counting is the sixth days is the counting, but the seventh day we don't count even though it's counted. That means that I'm working, working, working on Shamas. I'm like, it's not me. It's all Hashem. All the nations of the world, we they're all counted, but is not counted because says it's not me, it's Hashem. If I'm successful, it's not me, it's Hashem. How do I get into that headsp space? How do I get there? When I do kindness to somebody else, it means I recognize, oh, I worked, so you should also get a job. No, it's not me. It's Hashem. How can I share this with you? Oh, my time is precious. Can I do a Can I do take some time to help somebody else out? It's not me, it's Hashem. R says, it's not me. I have everything. It's Hashem. I just want a relationship with God. I want to follow you, Nomi. I want to be part of your nation cuz that's who you are. That's who Am Israel is. And who is her great-grandson? her great-grandson is King David. Who is he? Asalum. He has nothing of his own. He's just all he is is a servant leader. He's just like the moon. He has no light of his own. He's just reflecting Hashem's light. And that's who Mashiach is. Rose is the great grandmother of Mashiach, which means that she completely gave everything away for Hashem to do kindness for Nomi and to do sedaka, charity. And bos sees that, that sadic sees that, recognizes that and she's the one who's the great great grandmother of Messiah who is going to bring that power to the world. And we can have that power now. And that's the number 50 which is not counted even though it's counted. It's the Tyra. It's what the Tyra teaches us. As Hill said, what's the entire Tyra? Basically, you have to I want to bless you and I ask you to bless me. should help us that we should be able to incorporate this idea into our lives to learn the Tyra to teach the Tyra to share the Tyra to share what we have with others to be on the giving side and become a conduit for Hashem into other people's lives and then we'll see that he's coming so much more into our lives. Thank you so much for listening. Have a wonderful Shabas. This podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you. For more podcasts like this, please visit www.rigoldwag.com or search on iTunes Ari Goldwag. [Music]