Counting people directly is dangerous (as we know from the episode of King David’s census) and is to be avoided.
But why?
Malbim gives three reasons:
1) Ayin Hara
2) אין הברכה שורה אלא בדבר הסמוי מו העין
Hakadosh Baruch Hu sends His Bracha in a hidden, unseen fashion. R B’chaya explains that Hashem runs His world via hidden miracles (Nes Nistar) and avoids blatant ones with few exceptions.
3) When we are unified, our strength is boundless. But as individuals we are each scrutinized and may not merit protection or favor.
A bit later in the Parsha we read that the Ketoret must be “Memulach, Tahor Kodesh.” The mixing must be so thorough, so that we don’t see different shades in the admixture (Ohr Hachaim). That is why the ingredients had to be ground so finely.
We know that the ingredients in the Ketoret represent the achdus of klal Yisrael, to the extent that we even include the “Chelb’na”, representing the importance of including sinners in our Prayer service and fast days. (Kritut 6b)
Sometimes it seems like fragmentation amongst our people is inevitable. Let’s buck the trend.
Shabbat Shalom
