Shabbat Parashat Bamidbar 5782

Parashat Hashavua: Count on the Versatility of “Pakod”

One of the names that is given to the fourth sefer of the Torah, which we start to read this week, is Sefer Hapekudim. In this context, the root refers to counting, as indeed the nation was counted at this time, in order to arrive at the number of men in each tribe and the number in the entire nation. Rashi adds another idea. Hashem had them counted as often as He did (upon leaving Egypt, when they inaugurated the Mishkan, when they prepared to enter the Land) to show His love for them.

There is an opposite use of pakod, where it means to note not who is there but who is missing. We find it in Bamidbar 31:49, regarding no one being missing at the end of the battle, and Shmuel I, 20:18. regarding David being missing from King Shaul’s table.

The Ramban explains pakod differently. It is to remember and/or to give attention to some matter. This applies to Hashem being poked Sarah (Bereishit 21:1 - recalling that she needed a child and acting on it) and a pikadon (Vayikra 5:23 - an object that is given over to be guarded).

The term is used three times in the beginning of Parashat Ki Tisa, where the rules of counting Bnei Yisrael are taught (Shemot 30:12). The first time is in proximity to “when you raise the heads …,” which is to show the love involved in the count. The second time, the pekida refers to the count itself. The third time, it is to show the special Divine Providence to which Bnei Yisrael are entitled in this context.

There is a less pleasant side to Divine Providence. When Hashem is “more discerning,” then when we sin, there is also more accountability. This finds expression after the sin of the Golden Calf, as Hashem informed Bnei Yisrael that on the day of pokdi (My accounting), I will be poked on them (i.e., make them pay for) their sin (Shemot 32:34). Rashi (ad loc.) comments that whenever Hashem decides to punish the nation for their sins, there is a portion of it that is for the sin of the Golden Calf. On the one hand, because of Hashem’s love for them, He did not destroy the nation for that sin. On the other hand, He does not forgive that sin, without making them accountable at the proper times and manners. Similarly, pakod is used in the thirteen attributes of Hashem concerning His acting on a person’s sins for three or four generations of offspring (ibid. 34:7).

After Yaakov died and Yosef was about to die in Egypt, he told his brothers that Hashem would certainly be poked them, this time in a recollection that leads to liberation. Not only did pakod refer to liberation but it was also given as a code-word for the liberator to prove his authenticity (Midrash Hagadol to Shemot 3:16). The secret was kept by the elderly Serach daughter of Asher, as it was passed down by the previous generation.

Let us pray for a full redemption to get to the point that Hoshea speaks of in this week’s haftara: Bnei Yisrael should be “as many as the granules of sand by the sea, which cannot be counted” (Hoshea 2:1).

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