I am trying to help my daughter understand the portion that discusses Moses taking a census of all the head of the tribes. I am having trouble relating this to us/my daughter and her life today. I was hoping for some direction.

The portion discusses the counting of the Jews in the desert. It’s noteworthy that there are actually two sets of counts – one total for each tribe and another for the nation as a whole. The Talmud discusses the unique strengths and traits that each tribe had; for example, the tribe Zevulun was famous for its business acumen, Yissochor for its erudition, etc. Yet each tribe was encamped around the Mishkan (Tabernacle). At the center of the Mishkan, the Holy of Holies, resided the two tablets that Moses brought down from Sinai.

The message here is that we must all develop our individual talents, and at the same time use them to give to our nation and promote a Torah way of life.

Yaakov Rosenblatt