Hashem's love for Bnei Yisrael

Shalom all. I have a good friend who just came out with a sefer called, "Journey of Faith" on Sefer Bamidbar. He has worked on it for over five years and it's finally complete! He worked exceptionally hard on this sefer; It's filled with lots of wonderful commentaries, explanations, etc.

You may purchase the sefer at your local book store or online: http://www.eichlers.com/journey-of-faith-bamidbar-hardcover.html

Below is a dvar Torah from the Arthur, Rabbi Yonasan Arenias.

Have a wonderful shabbos,
Nisso

Hashem’s love for Bnei Yisrael.  

This week’s parashah begins with Hashem commanding Moshe and Aharon to count Bnei Yisrael. Rashi explains that Hashem wanted to count them in order to express His love for them. Just as a person frequently counts his money because it is precious to him, so, too, by counting Bnei Yisrael for the third time, just seven months after the previous count, Hashem showed that He cherished every one of His people (Bereishis Rabbah2:19; Rashi, according to Gur Aryeh and Maskil L’David).

            The timing of the count was particularly significant. Although Hashem had rested His Presence upon the Mishkan when it was erected on the first of Nissan (Shemos 40:1, 34), one month earlier, He did not count them then. Rather, He waited thirty days, until the“first day of the second month [Iyar]” (1:1). Thirty days is the time it takes (according to Jewish law) for a dwelling place to acquire the status of a permanent residence. Thus, only at this point, when the people saw that Hashem had come to dwell among them on a permanent basis, did it become clear how much He loved them, and He marked the happy occasion by counting them (Kli Yakar; Rashi, according to Maskil L'David).

Hashem used a very specific language in his command to Moshe. He said, שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ, “take a head count” (verse 2) of Bnei Yisrael. The expression literally means, “Lift up the head.” It communicated Hashem’s special love for His people by alluding to His desire to elevate them above the other nations of the world and bestow upon them greatness (Tanchuma 1, 5, 8). He accomplished this by resting His Presence exclusively among them, on the Mishkan and, as we will see in Parashas Nasso, throughout the entire camp (see Rashi, Shemos 33:16–17).

            The series of events that led to this momentous occasion began on the day Hashem gave the Torah to Bnei Yisrael. Chazal compare that event to a marriage engagement — Hashem betrothed the Jewish people to Him by giving them the Torah in place of a ring. Then, on the day the Mishkan was set up, they were like a bride entering the bridal canopy. Finally, now, at the end of their first thirty days together, Hashem gave them a kesubah (marriage contract) (Kli Yakar; see Rashi, 7:1).

            This is why the Torah details in verse 1 the exact time and place of the census. It can be compared to a king who, after a long search, finally found a suitable marriage partner. He wished to commemorate the happy occasion by giving a kesubah (marriage contract) detailing the exact time and place of the marriage. Here, too, the Torah publicizes the exact time (“on the first day of the second month”) and place (“in the Sinai Desert”) that Hashem sealed His relationship with the Jewish people and elevated them above the nations of the world (Tanchuma 5).