This past week we celebrated
Yom Yerushalayim, marking the 54th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification.
Yom Yerushalayim usually falls out before or after we read
Parshat Bamidbar which opens with a census, a counting of the Jewish people. I always wondered whether there was some kind of connection, some thematic link, between the day we celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem in modernity and the counting of the Jewish people in the wilderness.
Given the barrage of rocket attacks to which Israel has been subject this week, we could use some words of comfort and spiritual healing.
Rashi tells us that the reason God counted the Jewish people in this week is because of His great love for the Jewish people: “Because of His love for them, He counted them at every moment”. Rashi then goes on to tell us