Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the Tent of Meeting on the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from the Land of Egypt saying. (Bamidbar 1:1)

–Because they were dear to him, Hashem counted them often (RASHI)

If a person looks throughout the Torah, he sees that there are numerous times the Jewish people are counted. Rashi points out at the beginning of this week’s parsha that the reason we are constantly counted is because we are dear to him. Look closely at who is being counted though. All of these men (except for Yehoshua and Caleb) died in the desert because of sins they committed. They were all involved in the sin of the spies.

Every week, the principal of my daughter’s school includes a Dvar Torah in the weekly newsletter. Last week’s was about football. The principal stated that when he was a young boy, he occasionally would watch a football game and remembers watching when a player scored a touchdown, the player would raise his arm in the air in triumph. He would feel good about his accomplishment.

Many years later, he watched a game again and was amazed at how different it was. Now, when the player scored the touchdown, he would have a fierce look on his face and smash the ball on the ground. The impression the principal got was no longer was the player excited about his accomplishment. He was showing how he crushed the other team.

There are two ways to make oneself get higher. He can either make himself better or he can bring down others. He can work hard and accomplish goals or he can shoot down everyone else which will seem to make him look like he is higher.

In this generation, there is a big problem with self esteem. People don’t feel good about themselves. Since every person has a natural drive to be better than others and numerous people do not feel that they are anything special, they make themselves greater by “shooting down” other people.

The exact opposite is the way we should feel. We are important. We are great! Imagine if you woke up every morning and the wealthiest person in the world said to you, “I love you.” You would feel great! You would feel like a million dollars! You would feel important.

Well, Hashem loves each and every one of us very much. If Hashem counted the sinners in the desert numerous times, he certainly counts us many, many times also. No matter how bad of sin any of us has committed, none of us have made an entire nation go into exile for forty years causing 600,000 men to die. Hashem loves all of us and each one of us are precious to Him. If we would feel important if a famous person said to us, “I love you” then certainly we should feel great everyday when Hashem declares “This person is precious to me.”

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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