Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei: Everyone Counts
Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve loved mail. Even to this day, in the world of email, I still rush to the mailbox when I get home—email doesn’t have the same suspense that pulling the mail out of the mailbox does for me. Now, I recognize, that at least half of the mail that I receive are solicitations, junk mail and bills—but for what it’s worth, every now and again there’s a surprise gem that makes my day: a note from a friend, a letter about a grant or a publication, a greeting card.
Just the other day, one piece of mail not only caught me by somewhat of surprise, it reminded me that we each have the opportunity to perform a very important mitzvah over the coming weeks and months.
If I took a random poll of the room, and asked everyone here what the difference is between the Senate and the House of Representatives, hopefully the majority of us could give an answer. If I asked you how many Representatives we have in the House, I’m hoping that everyone here could answer eight. But if I asked you how it was determined that we have eight congressmen and women, that question, though perhaps obvious, I’m not so certain many of us can answer.
This past week, that one piece of mail I received, was a very simple letter telling me that I’m going to be receiving another letter in the coming days. And when I receive it, to respond and respond promptly.
Actually required by the Constitution, we’ve been conducting the census here in America already since 1790, just over a year after George Washington was inaugurated—every ten years…for 220 years now. It’s an American tradition and it’s downright important.
The information that the census bureau collects affects the numbers of seats this great state of Minnesota occupies in the House of Representatives. People from many walks of life use census data to advocate for causes, rescue disaster victims, prevent diseases, research markets, locate pools of skilled workers and much more. In fact, the development and placement of Hospitals, Job training centers, Schools, Senior centers, Bridges, tunnels and Emergency services all are primarily dependent on the census. The government gives the old college try of counting how many people there are in America, and what we need to keep this great nation afloat.
It’s an American tradition but it’s also a Jewish tradition. We’ve been reading for weeks now about the beka and the shekalim given to build the tabernacle, all of the donations made serving as a literal and figurative census—a count of the people. Even today, just as we finish the Book of Exodus, we concluded with Parashat Pekudei – the portion of countings, the census – not only of the people, but of the items that went into the erecting and assembly of the mishkan, the makeshift traveling synagogue in the wilderness.
Eleh pikudei hamishkan, mishkan haedut asher pukad al-pi Moshe… “This is the sum of the things of the tabernacle, of the tabernacle of Testimony, as it was counted…” (Exodus 38:21). Even in the wilderness they took a count, they determined what they needed to survive and thrive together—and how to live as a holy community caring about God and caring for one another.
Everyone counted and everyone counts. We know this notion from the Talmud as well (BT Sanhedrin 37a), if you save one life, it is as though you’ve saved an entire world, the entire world. How better to drive that point home than actually taking the population of our world here in the United States?
And so, thousands of years later, walking in the footsteps of our forefathers, those of the Torah and those of this great country, we continue to care about the census, about the pekudim—we continue to count.
During the 2000 census, the national response rate was 72% and Hennepin County was on par with our state at 78%. That’s good…but it’s still not enough. Especially for those of you who are snowbirds or who know snowbirds, make sure you or your friends or your family list Minnesota as their place of residence.
Okay, so we may ask, why would a rabbi speak about the census on Shabbat morning? Because it’s Torah and it’s plain as day. We get asked ten simple questions that have the power to change the fate and the lives of the over 5 million here in Minnesota, and the over 300 million here in the US.
How many people live in your house? How many people stay with you but don’t live there? Do you own your home? What is your telephone number? What’s your name? What is your gender? What is your age? Are you of Hispanic origin? What is your race? Do you sometimes live elsewhere?
That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. And it may sound crazy that just by counting, lives are saved, jobs are created, and the world can become a better place. But it’s true.
I’ll leave you with this thought: if our count is not accurate and Minnesota has fewer than the proper number of Representatives in the House, then the fate of bills and votes in the house will certainly be different. Many people say that that just one vote doesn’t matter—well, I’m not going to share with you some “polly-annish” sentiment that every vote matters, that every person counts. I’ll give you the facts. One vote by the U.S. House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson President over Aaron Burr. American History would’ve been entirely, entirely different. And guess what folks, it still can.
This is a serious, serious business. This is not a piece of mail that should get thrown away, nor a phone call that goes unanswered. Being part of a census was a mitzvah for our ancestors in the wilderness, and it’s a mitzvah today for us here in Minnesota. So do a mitzvah, and make it count.
