This week's parasha begins with instructions to Moshe from Hashem to take a census of B'ney Yisrael. But the census was not to be done in the ordinary, straightforward manner. In other words, Moshe is not to simply count the people directly.
(יא) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יב) כִּ֣י תִשָּׂ֞א אֶת־רֹ֥אשׁ בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם֒ וְנָ֨תְנ֜וּ אִ֣ישׁ כֹּ֧פֶר נַפְשׁ֛וֹ לַה' בִּפְקֹ֣ד אֹתָ֑ם וְלֹא־יִהְיֶ֥ה בָהֶ֛ם נֶ֖גֶף בִּפְקֹ֥ד אֹתָֽם׃ (יג) זֶ֣ה ׀ יִתְּנ֗וּ כׇּל־הָעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מַחֲצִ֥ית הַשֶּׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ עֶשְׂרִ֤ים גֵּרָה֙ הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל מַחֲצִ֣ית הַשֶּׁ֔קֶל תְּרוּמָ֖ה לַֽה'׃ (יד) כֹּ֗ל הָעֹבֵר֙ עַל־הַפְּקֻדִ֔ים מִבֶּ֛ן עֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וָמָ֑עְלָה יִתֵּ֖ן תְּרוּמַ֥ת ה'׃ (טו) הֶֽעָשִׁ֣יר לֹֽא־יַרְבֶּ֗ה וְהַדַּל֙ לֹ֣א יַמְעִ֔יט מִֽמַּחֲצִ֖ית הַשָּׁ֑קֶל לָתֵת֙ אֶת־תְּרוּמַ֣ת ה' לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶֽם׃ (טז) וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ אֶת־כֶּ֣סֶף הַכִּפֻּרִ֗ים מֵאֵת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְנָתַתָּ֣ אֹת֔וֹ עַל־עֲבֹדַ֖ת אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְהָיָה֩ לִבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֤ל לְזִכָּרוֹן֙ לִפְנֵ֣י ה' לְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶֽם׃ {פ}
(11) ה' spoke to Moses, saying: (12) When you take a census of the Israelite men according to their army enrollment, each shall pay ה' a ransom for himself on being enrolled, that no plague may come upon them through their being enrolled. (13) This is what everyone who is entered in the records shall pay: a half-shekel by the sanctuary weight—twenty gerahs to the shekel—a half-shekel as an offering to ה'. (14) Everyone who is entered in the records, from the age of twenty years up, shall give ה’s offering: (15) the rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than half a shekel when giving ה’s offering as expiation for your persons. (16) You shall take the expiation money from the Israelites and assign it to the service of the Tent of Meeting; it shall serve the Israelites as a reminder before ה', as expiation for your persons.
What Hebrew words mean to take a census?
___________________________________________________________________
What do these words literally mean?
___________________________________________________________________
Is everyone counted? Who is counted?
_________________________________________________________________________
How are the people counted if not directly?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Where does the money collected go
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
What is a "ransom" (verse 12)?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
What was the fear of actually counting people?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
How does this hesitancy from counting people continue to this day?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
In modern life, how are numbers used to identify people?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Can you think of a period in Jewish history when people were identified by numbers rather than by name?
____________________________________________________________________________________________