Torah Portion Bamidbar in a Nutshell
- Name: Bamidbar
- Reading: Numbers 1:1 – 4:20
- Haftarah: Hosea 2:1 – 2:22
Parashat Bamidbar Summary
Taking a Census
God tells Moses to take a census of the male Israelites according to their paternal families. They must count those eligible for war: males ages 20 and up. God appoints a representative from each house to help Moses. They take a census and the total is 603,550. This does not include the Levites.
The Levites
God tells Moses not to number the Levites in their own census. They are responsible for pitching and disassembling the Sanctuary.
Making Camp
God tells Moses how the Israelites should camp: certain tribes must be alongside each other, and the Sanctuary must be in the centre. Within their tribes, they will camp as families along with their father’s house.
The Priests
Aaron’s descendants are listed; we are reminded that Nadab and Abihu were killed for bringing a strange fire before God. God puts Aaron in charge of the house of Levi. They are to service the Sanctuary and Aaron and his sons will oversee them. God then claims all the firstborns – human and animal – for himself, in exchange for killing the Egyptians’ firstborns. He then tells the Levites how to care for the Sanctuary, and appoints specific jobs for each section of Levites. Eleazer is responsible for lighting the oil and incense, the meal offering and the Tabernacle as a whole. Aaron is warned to not let those with less “important” jobs stray from the other Levites.
