Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Pekudei

Identical Tallies

Shemot 38:25 speaks of the half shekel donations contributed for the construction of the Tabernacle, and through which the nation was counted. Surprisingly, the head count reached is identical to the tally of the census in Bemidbar 1:46 which took place only in the second year in the Wilderness.

  • How can this be?  Were there no deaths or births in the interim?  Moreover, considering that only a few months separated the two events, why were two censuses necessary at all?
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