What is the reason that Jewish people do not count Jews?

Question

what I mean is that it is custom among Jews to not number the Jewish people. So for instance, you have to have 10 Jews for a Minyan to be able to read the Torah, but they don't actually count the person. They'll count the prayerbooks or something like that, but not the actual person.

Answer 1

In Leviticus the law says not to count Jewish people who can go to war. God will supply the number of warriors needed to fight a battle or pick those who He wanted to fight in a battle.

In the Bible God explains this He made this law for two reasons. The first is so in times of trouble Jewish people would pray to Him for victory. When they did, God gave victory over some of Israel's enemies without any fighting at all. There are several "battles" like this in the Old Testament.

In one battle Samaria was surrounded by a beseiging army. Food had run out and the people were dying of starvation. The prophet Elijah prayed that the seige would be lifted and God told Elijah to tell the Samarians that food would be sold in Samaria very cheaply the next day and the their enemies would be defeated.

That night God caused sounds of an attacking army to those making the seige and He also put great fear in the hearts of the beseiging army. He also put great fear in their hearts and they were so terrified they left their camp and all their possessions including weapons, food and money as they ran back to their home country.

That night some lepers came to the camp and found it deserted. They took some gold, silver and other plunder and buried it. They then went to the walls of Samaria and told the Samarians that the enemy had fled and left their camp with all it's supplies including food intact.

The Samarian army went to the enemy camp and brought their food back with them. The next day as Elijah predicted food was sold in Samaria at cheap prices and the Samarians plundered everything in the camp.

In another battle in the Old Testament God told Gideon (a Judge in the Book of Judges) to take only 300 men to fight a battle against a much larger army. The Philistines had conquered Isreal and the Philistines occupied Israel as if it wer part of their own country. God told Gideon to do this so Israel could not say they won their freedom but it would be evident to everyone God had won their freedom on their behalf.

At the battle Gideon and his 300 soldiers attacked at night. God put fear and confusion in the hearts of the Philistine army and they ended thinking their fellow soldier up fighting each other until most were killed by their fellow soldiers. Gideon and his 300 pursued the occupying Army and killed the rest.

In one night God had liberated Israel from it's occupiers. Again this pertains to God's laws to the Israel and stories from the Old Testament to answer you question why Jewish people do not take censuses; it is because they are following Jewish law as set out in the Old Testament.

Answer 2

The first time Jews were counted the commandment specified that each person to be included in the census should place a coin in a coffer and then the coins were counted.

The reason for this method is that it became the duty of each person to make himself be counted. The person charged with counting could easily mis-count a large number of people. By using a substitute, all those who need to be counted provide evidence of their existence.

So, today, even with small numbers, Jews are not counted directly but via some other agent.

Answer 3

This dates back to the days of the Natzis. The Jews (and other people) were tattooed with a number (like an id tag) and so it became part of their culture to not count how many of them there are because they were numbered and murdered in the past. At least this was the answer I was given when I asked the same question in school years ago. I could be wrong, or only have part of the answer but this always made sence to me.

Answer 4

wow you sure are getting great answers.

It goes back to the days of the Exodus when Jews were counted indirectly by giving a coin or other such item.

I think the reason for this is due to the Promise of Abraham that his descendants will be like the stars in the sky or the sand by the sea. In short uncountable.

since then it has become a custom not to directly count other Jews.

Answer 5

looking at the answers you already received, of course trying my hardest to ignore the idiots and antisemites, I would have to say that it would go back to the talmud. It would, in today's atmosphere, make sense to revert to the idea of the Holocust being a reason, but as this would pre-date that issue, as it is the counting of the books and not the people, that would of course be males only as it is a religion where females don't count; please don't take this as antisemetic as I am as Semetic as they come, just realistic, you would have to say that it was something that would have come from the earliest days of the laws of the religion. As the talmud tells us how to live our lives it would be the book to give all the information on such things. The holocust only emphasised whatever was already in existence in the religion.

Answer 6

So the evil eye won't rest on them.
A main moto in Judaism is "the blessings rests on whatever is hidden from the eye". When you count them and there are a lot then it can cause the evil eye or evil forces to try and "curse" or harm them, that's why you don't count other people or when you mention a number of people you add "bli ain hara"- translated freely - may the evil eye won't rest here.

Hope I made myself clear

Answer 7

I believe that Jewish people do as much counting as anyone else. Whatever religion you belong to , do you go around counting those people ?

Answer 8

In the OT God told them not to number the people. When going into battle if they numbered the people it would be to compare their strength to the opposing armies strength - leaving God out of it. Their strangth was from God, He won the battles & He wanted to let them know that - Joshua @ Jericho, Gideon's battle, several battles where angels drove off or killed the opposing army are the examples of God leading the battle in His strength and not on the numbers of the people or their skill in battle.

Answer 9

Only Nazis and antisemites count Jews.

Answer 10

Because there Jewish and THATS ALL THE REASON THEY NEED.

Asa-Mama-lickhem