Numbers

In Numbers chapter one, we read that Hashem commands Moshe to take a census of all men aged 20 years and older. These men would be counted as the men able to fight in Israel’s army.

In commanding this census, however, Hashem makes one caveat: absolutely zero Levites were to be numbered in the ranks of war-fighters. (Numbers 1:47-49).

The Levites, instead, were to be numbered in a different census, for a different type of warfare: spiritual warfare. Indeed, Hashem tells us that He has set aside the tribe of Levi to be His portion among all the Israelites (Numbers 3:5-16). The Levites are given the duties of:

1. Guarding the Tabernacle.

2. Guarding the Holy of Holies, where the Arm of the Pact (or Covenant) resided: meaning where Hashem dwelled.

3. Guarding all the Jewish people unto life by performing the daily sacrifices and burnt offerings.

In the last "Note" on Numbers 14:8-25, we learned the punishment for the unbelief of the Jewish Israelites who were lead astray by the negative reports of the 10 leaders who went to spy out the promised land.

Here, we learn about the dangers of spurning Hashem:

Because the leaders had lead the people into believing that the promised land was not able to be conquered and because the people also said it would be better to go back to Egypt and die because their children would be captured and devoured by the enemy in the promised land, Hashem decrees that He would give the people their wishes (Numbers 14:20-23; Numbers 14:26-35):

1. Since they thought the land could not be conquered, they would not see the promised land nor enter it.

2. Since they wanted to die rather than conquer the land promised to them, Hashem said those who were 20…

In the third part of last week's Torah portion, we learn the very hard lesson about what can, will, and did happen when the Jewish people are lead by those who wanted to perpetuate negative reports and speak more power to the strength of our enemies than to the strength of our G-d, Hashem.

As we learned in the last "note" on Numbers 13, the 10 leaders who gave a negative report about the promised land started spreading slander about how great the enemy was, how powerful, how fortified, and how large they were. These negative reports made the Jewish people sitting under them lose heart. The entire Jewish population became so fixated on the power and strength of the enemy in the land that they lost faith in Hashem and His promises.

The third portion, however, opens with a faithful report from Joshua:

In the second part of last week's Torah portion, we learn about the 12 spies going into the promised land (the Land of Canaan). In Numbers 13:21-24, we learn about what the 12 "chieftains" or "presidents" saw in the promised land.

The first encounter that the 12 men have in the Promised Land is in Hebron, where they meet the Anakites, who are a race of giants from the line of the Nephalim.

• The Nephalim are the race of giants who were birthed in Genesis 6 from the interactions between fallen angels and earthly women. The Nephalim are the only race/species that survived the flood (save Noah, his family, and the animals in the arc). There are several possibilities for how these giants survived while everything else died, but for now, suffice it to say, it would take a miracle from Hashem to defeat these beings who seem impervious t…