Number the Stars

pic from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Starsinthesky.jpg

This year, I'm reading through Ma'ayan Beis Hashoeva with Rav Schwab's insights on the parshiyos.
There were a number of interesting takes that I've read so far, but I now felt compelled to write about one of the pieces on Lech Lecha because it comes so close to what I wrote in this blog on a different parsha: http://kallahmagazine.blogspot.com/2017/12/when-star-dies.html.
In 15:5, Avram is assured that he will not remain childless:

And He took him outside, and He said, "Please look heavenward and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So will be your seed."

הוַיּוֹצֵ֨א אֹת֜וֹ הַח֗וּצָה וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ הַבֶּט־נָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יְמָה וּסְפֹר֙ הַכּ֣וֹכָבִ֔ים אִם־תּוּכַ֖ל לִסְפֹּ֣ר אֹתָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֔וֹ כֹּ֥ה יִֽהְיֶ֖ה זַרְעֶֽךָ:

Rav Schwab says that the simple meaning indicates that this refers to all the offspring of Avraham in the course of all the generations together will be like the stars, though after this , it becomes clear that even in the generation of Moshe, they achieved this. As he said to them: (Devarim 1:10)  וְהִנְּכֶ֣ם הַיּ֔וֹם כְּכֽוֹכְבֵ֥י הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לָרֹֽב even at the point when their number [for men 20-60] was 600,000.

The reason why it's impossible to count the stars, however, is not because they are exceedingly numerous, for anything that could be seen can be counted. Rather, it's because there are hundreds of thousands of stars that are too far to be seen by the human eye, which is why they are not countable

The reason why it is forbidden to count Bney Yisrael (something King David was punished for doing), for about them it says, "vechaye olam nata betochechnu," which means, in truth, every single person in the household of Yisrael is conencted to the source of life, and his life extends forever. Therefore, also "es asher eynenu po imanu hayom" are still living and existing. Thus, if we count the one we see and set the number for the population of Yisrael, this is kefira in "chaye yolam"  of  Klal Yisrael, for even those who have already passed away and so are not seen are included in that klal, just like the stars that we don't see are in fact present.

Accordingly, this concept of the impossibility of counting Yisrael because they are like the stars of the heavens applies even at the beginning of their existence, as Moshe remarked on in the verse quoted above. They were already like stars because they included among them those that were not to be seen with the senses -- all the generations that had passed from this world that merited eternal life in the true world for eternity.

[I really was struck by this piece for its similarity to the concept I thought of at the end of 2017, though I realize that it is also appropriate to refer to it this week for another reason. I just got up from shiva for my mother on Sunday. During that week many people came to visit and talk about the impact she had on their lives, as a teacher, mentor, shadchan, neighbor, friend, and relative. The influence of a person lives on even when the person is physically taken from us -- not just for the person's biological children but for everyone whose life is affected.]


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