The ones that make you tilt your head and ask, "Wait, what?" Well, let's dive into one from Bamidbar Rabbah, specifically section 4, that had even a Roman general scratching his head.
We're talking about the redemption of the firstborn. Numbers 3:46 tells us about redeeming the 273 firstborn Israelites who were "over and above the number of Levites." Okay, simple enough, right? But then our Rabbis jump in, asking: if that’s the case, weren’t there actually more Levites than firstborn?
Let's break it down. The tribe of Levi, if you count up all the families—Gershon, Kehat, Merari, and Moses—numbered 22,300. The firstborn? 22,273. That does mean there were 27 more Levites than firstborn. So why the verse about the firstborn being more than the Levites?
The text explains that among those 22,300 Levites, 300 of them were also firstborn! And here’s the key: a firstborn can't redeem another firstborn. According to Bamidbar Rabbah, once you remove those 300 firstborn Levites from the equation, then yes, the firstborn Israelites outnumbered the remaining Levites by 273.
Now, this is where the story gets really interesting. This numerical puzzle caught the attention of Agentus, a Roman general, who challenged Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakai, a leading Jewish sage. Agentus basically accused Moses of either being a thief or just plain bad at math! He argued, if the Levites were supposed to redeem the firstborn, and there were those extra 300 Levites, why didn’t they redeem the extra 273 firstborn? And why were those 273 families made to pay five shekels each? Why was the number of Levites then reduced? Was Moses, heaven forbid, skimming off the top for his brother Aaron?
Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakai, never one to back down from a good theological debate, had a brilliant response. "He was not a thief, and he knew how to calculate." The sage explained that among the 22,300 Levites, 300 were themselves firstborn. And, as we said, a firstborn cannot redeem another firstborn. Hence, those 300 were "stolen" from the count because they were firstborn.
Agentus, apparently satisfied with this explanation, immediately left.
But what's the takeaway here? It's not just about the numbers. It's about the depth and complexity of the Torah. It is an invitation to dig deeper, to wrestle with apparent contradictions, and to find the hidden layers of meaning. It shows us that even seemingly simple commandments can hold profound insights into Jewish law and tradition. The text emphasizes that one needs to know how to expound, that is, to bring the wisdom to light.
And maybe, just maybe, it's a reminder that even a Roman general could learn a thing or two from a wise rabbi.