Timeless Torah

“Ever call the phone company to report a problem? Or maybe you wanted to order something using your credit card? Anyway, we all know the routine.”

First the line is busy. Eventually you get through to a recording that transfers you to another line. There you are directed by a second set of instructions until you finally reach a live human being whose first words are, “Name and number, please.” Number in these instances, of course, refers to a phone or credit card number.

How impersonal! How cold! Obviously the art of conversation has gone the way of the abacus.

But are names and numbers trivial? Let’s note Rashi’s commentary on the opening line in the Book of Exodus, where it states, “And these are the names of the Children of Israel who came to Egypt… Although G-d had already counted them during their lifetime, He counted them now again after their death to demonstrate His love for them… They are likened to the stars which He takes out and brings in by number and name…”

Counting and naming can be one of love’s most powerful expressions. Listen to a young boy count his stamps or to a girl counting her dolls. Pay attention to the sound of a beloved’s name on the lips of a spouse or parent. As the second book of the Torah begins, the twelve sons of Jacob are counted and named. This is G-d’s way of reaffirming His bond with His displaced people. In essence He is saying, “Even if the harsh bondage deadens you to the message of redemption, My love for you will not falter.”

It’s interesting that counting and naming should be used as parallel expressions of love. Upon further examination they relate to different - even opposite - traits. Numbers are the great equalizer. While each person is unique, with his own particular strengths and weaknesses, in counting them we underscore their common denominator - they exist. On this level Moses counts for no more than one and the unknown water carrier is valued at no less than one. Names, on the other hand, connote the very opposite of commonality. Names identify, individualize and distinguish. This is especially true in the Torah where names are given to individuals to express their unique characteristic and to identify their specific function and role.

What the Biblical narrative is trying to convey is that during the long and bitter Egyptian exile, the Almighty kept loving watch over both of these dimensions. He counted each person - because each person’s core counts. And He named each individual’s unique expression of that core.

It’s His way of saying, “Name and Number, please.”