Prayer in the Parashah תְּפִלָּה
Counting comes up a lot in our parashah and it’s a theme in tefillah as well. Here’s a pasuk about counting that is part of Pesukei D’Zimra, the warmup section of Shaharit (the morning prayer).
מוֹנֶ֣ה מִ֭סְפָּר לַכּוֹכָבִ֑ים
לְ֝כֻלָּ֗ם שֵׁמ֥וֹת יִקְרָֽא׃
God counts the numbers of the stars,
Giving each one a name.
- What do you notice? What do you wonder about?
- Why might God count the stars?
- What’s the connection between counting and naming?
This isn’t the only place in Tanakh where counting the stars appears. God points out that Avram (before he was called Avraham) cannot count the stars, but that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars (Bereishit 15:5). When Benei Yisrael stand ready to enter Eretz Yisrael, they are “as numerous as the stars in the sky” (Devarim 1:10). In language that is similar to the pasuk in Tehillim, the prophet Yeshayahu describes God placing the stars in the sky, counting them, and naming them (Yeshayahu 40:5).
- How might counting the stars represent God’s power? How might it represent God’s attention to detail? What else could it represent?
- In last year’s Devash for Bemidbar we saw a midrash (quoted by Rashi) that says that God counts Benei Yisrael all the time because God loves us. Next time you look up at the stars, try thinking about God counting them, and how that could also be a sign of God’s love. What different feelings do you experience when you look at a star-filled sky?
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