Parashat Bemidbar begins with a census: “Take a census of the whole Israelite community” (1:2), and continues with the arrangement of the camp: “The Israelites shall camp each with his standard, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting” (2:2). What is the purpose of all of these arrangements? Are they preparations that are necessary for life in the desert, or do they represent some deeper, symbolic meaning? Should we view the Bible as history or as historiography?

On its face, counting every male “from twenty years old and up, everyone who goes out in the army in Israel” (1:3) reflects the practical need for an army to contend with the dangers that face the nation wandering in the desert. But the Keli Yakar (R. Ephraim Solomon b. Aaron of Leczyca, 1550-1619) suggests a different explanation. He explains that the census was needed in order to ascertain that there was a requisite number of people “because our sages said (Yevamot 64a) that the Divine Presence does not rest on fewer than twenty two thousand, for it says (Numbers 10:36): Return, O Lord, You who are Israel's myriads of thousands”. Since “myriads” must refer to at least twenty thousand, and “thousands” must be at least two thousand, the midrash deduces that the Divine Presence rests only where there are twenty-two thousand people. “And the reason for this is to make God’s kingdom on Earth like the kingdom of Heaven, as the sages said (Tanhuma Vayishlah 2): When the Holy One revealed Himself to Israel on Mount Sinai, twenty-two thousand chariots of ministering angels accompanied Him, as it says (Psalms 68:18): With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands.”

But why was it necessary that they all be twenty years old and up and fit for the army? On the face of it, the census ascertains the number of men fit for military service who can defend the Israelite camp. However, the Keli Yakar explains that the reason is: “so they will be like the heavenly armies…as we find in the midrash (Shemot Rabba 15:6) that Israel is referred to as ‘armies’ (tzeva’ot), as it says (Exodus 12:41) ‘all the hosts (tzeva’ot) of the Lord went out’, just as the angels are referred to as ‘armies’, as it says (Isaiah 37:16) ‘O Lord of hosts (tzeva’ot), God of Israel, who is enthroned above the cherubim’.” Therefore, because God is accompanied by an “army” of angels in the heavens, the census is intended to ensure that there is a parallel “army” of Israelites on earth to receive the Lord.

According to the Keli Yakar, the biblical description is not meant to provide us with an historical picture of the defensive preparations of the Israelites in the desert, but rather a spiritual model intended to transform the Israelite camp into a place fit for the Divine Presence.

1. The approach of the Keli Yakar seems both far fetched and unnecessary in the absence of any apparent textual difficulty. But perhaps we must ask why there was any need to provide the details of the census? Can we simply accept these details as an historical record, or must we seek some theological motive or future purpose?

2. The detailed description of the arrangement of the camp places the tent of meeting at the center, surrounded by the Levites in the first ring, and by an outer ring composed of the remaining tribes. It would appear to be a simple military defensive position intended to protect the center against attack. In other words, the camp is set up to protect the Tent of Meeting. Can a theological purpose be provided for the arrangement of the camp, to match the Keli Yakar’s explanation of the census?

3. If we understand the arrangement of the camp in terms of simple military design, what does the camp protect? What is protected according to a value-based theological interpretation like that of the Keli Yakar?