Summary: Shabbat, May 11th, 2o13 This portion, called "Bemidbar," is the beginning of the book of Numbers or "The Wilderness." The reason it is called "Numbers" by our English Bibles is that a census is taken of all the men of war to protect and defend the children of Israel. The Levites were exempt from this census as they were the "LORD's portion." This census not only filled out the ranks of a standing army for Israel, but it also organized the camp with its levels of leadership. Given their numbers, this was essential to maintain order and cooperation in the camp. The total of the census reached 603,550 men who could go to war. Based on this number, we can demographically project that the entire camp had over 3,000,000 souls.
