(Numb. 1:1) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert.” What did He say to him (in vs. 2)? “Take a census (literally: raise [rt.: ns'] the head) of the whole congregation of the Children of Israel….” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, ‘I have not cherished [any] creation more than you; therefore I have given you a head held high and have likened you to Me.
Thus just as I have a head held higher than all that come into the world, as stated (in I Chron. 29:11), ‘To you, O Lord, belong the greatness, the might, the splendor, the triumph, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours; [Yours] is the kingdom, O Lord, and [You] are exalted (rt.: ns') as head over all’; so I have also done for you, for you to have a head held high.”
It was therefore stated (in Numb. 1:1), “Raise (rt.: ns') the head.” [This exaltation was] to fulfill what is stated (in Ps. 148:14), “He has raised up a horn for His people, praise for all His saints, even the Children of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah.” And so it says (in Deut. 28:1), “and the Lord your God will set you high over all the nations of the earth.”