because he supported Yissacher and enabled him to learn. The South has dry weather and has a lot of dew. Dew is pure compassion from Hashem. The Ramban explains that Reuven needed compassion because he sinned when he moved Leah’s bed. There was sinning in Shevet Shimon so Shimon also needed compassion from Hashem. Gad was a soldier and all soldiers need G-d’s compassion when they go to war. The West is very hot or very cold – very extreme weather. Extremes show strength. Ephraim and Menashe symbolize strength because they grew up in Mitzrayim and were not influenced by the bad ways of the Egyptians. Binyamin shows strength because the Beit HaMikdash is in his portion of Land. The sun is hidden in the North so the North is dark. Dan was dark because he gave money to Avodah Zara and that darkens the world. However, Asher lightens the dark because he produced oil and oil gives light. Naftali was rich and he used his money for Mitzvot so he also lightens the darkness.
Also in this Parsha, the Leviim replace the first born. Moshe is now commanded to separately count all Leviim males from the age of one month and older. The three Levi families are counted, and a leader is appointed for each of the families. The total for this census: 22,000. Hashem then tells Moses to count all the firstborn Israelites. They are redeemed. The Parsha ends with describing the responsibilities of the Kohanim.
There are two intriguing questions on this Parsha: How were the Liivem special? Because they weren’t counted, because the Leviim were assigned to do the following holy tasks: dismantling, carrying, and re-erecting the Mishkan whenever the Jews traveled and camped.
Another interesting question is why only men over the age of 20 counted? What is so special about that number? 20 is the age that men are drafted to war. This is because in order to go to war, you need to be strong, confident, mature, and reliable.
From this Parsha I learned that all Jews are special and that we all mean something to Hashem. We are all individuals with different qualities and we are unique in our own ways. It is so special that a portion of the holy Torah is dedicated to show Hashem’s love for His people.