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Why does the Torah (תורה) count only men over 20 as "soldiers" when defining the Jewish people, both at the Exodus and at Sinai? The shiur argues that Jewish community is defined not by population size but by who is willing to sacrifice for its survival. Age 13-20 is reserved for self-development; only afterward does one assume communal responsibility. The incense's foul-smelling galbanum teaches that true commitment includes even the "freeloaders" and sinners.
Rabbi Zweig opens with a striking textual difficulty: both in Parshas Bo (describing the Exodus) and in Parshas Ki Sisa (the census at Sinai), the Torah (תורה) counts the Jewish people exclusively as men aged 20 and above—"raglay hagvarim," infantry soldiers. This seems jarringly out of place for a spiritual nation whose identity is Torah, not military might. Moreover, it contradicts modern sensibilities: today, legal majority comes before draft age, yet the Torah grants full legal responsibility at 13 (bar mitzvah (מצוה)) but excludes those under 20 from the census and military service. Women are also excluded entirely. How can we understand this? Rabbi Zweig proposes a fundamental redefinition of "community." A census is not merely a population count; it measures the strength of a community by counting those willing to put their lives on the line for its survival. The Torah is not glorifying militarism—it is teaching that a nation's vitality is determined not by numbers but by commitment. Even at the Exodus, God's "narrator perspective" saw six hundred thousand infantrymen because that was the measure of communal dedication: how many were prepared to fight and sacrifice to preserve the Jewish people.
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Parshas Ki Sisa, Shemos 30:11-16; Parshas Bo, Shemos 12:37
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