Parshas Bamidbar opens with a census — a Divine command to count each Jew. At first glance, this seems like dry math. A count flattens individuality: one, one, one… It makes no distinction between the learned scholar and the simplest person. So why would something so seemingly impersonal form the very name of the sefer — Sefer HaPekudim, the Book of Countings?

Here we find a powerful teaching from the Rebbe: In Torah, quantity and quality are not separate. What looks like a headcount is actually a heart count. Hashem isn’t measuring Jews — He’s cherishing them.

This brings to mind a well-known quote often misattributed to Einstein, but actually penned by sociologist William Bruce Cameron in 1963:

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”

It’s brilliant — and true in many arenas. But Torah pushes the insight deeper. When Hashem counts us, it’s because we count. The counting isn’t superficial; it reveals an essential truth: that every Jew has inestimable value just by existing.

At Matan Torah, we learn that even one Jew missing would have made the entire revelation impossible. Even the simplest person — the last, unnamed member of the tribe of Dan — was utterly necessary. Why? Because holiness is not just in greatness — it’s in presence. The quantity of the people brings about a new level of quality, as the Rebbe explains: when ten Jews are gathered, the Divine Presence rests among them. Counting leads to holiness.

And so, in our times, when the Rebbe emphasized outreach, the message is clear: bring Jews in. Don’t worry about how “religious” or “ready” they are. Just include them. Kamus — quantity — eventually stirs eichus — inner transformation. Every Jew matters. Every Jew counts.

Takeaway: In a world obsessed with metrics and measures, Torah teaches us that some things that really count — a soul, a presence, a Jewish neshama — may defy numbers. But Hashem counts them anyway, to show us that each one is irreplaceable.

Rus Devorah Wallen is an accomplished musician, performer, social worker, psychotherapist, and educator.