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What was the reason that each shevet totaled a round number? #
There are ten sefirot of kedushah. The Ben Ish Chai explains that their
purpose is to connect a person with his Creator in the correct manner. The
radiance of the Shechinah is too strong for us to bear. The sefirot weaken
it somewhat, enabling us to benefit from its life forces.
Each sefirah contains ten igulim, one inside the other. When the number
of the people totals a round number, they can connect to the sefirot.
Roundness indicates unity and wholeness. Therefore, each of the shevatim
numbered a round amount. For this reason, also, Bnei Yisrael numbered “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Pinchas son
seventy upon their entry into Egypt.
of Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen, turned back
Am Yisrael survives only when there is unity. The Torah was given My wrath from upon the Children of Israel,
only after Bnei Yisrael were as one man with one heart, and the Beit when he zealously avenged My vengeance
Hamikdash was destroyed on account of a lack of unity. The future
rectification will occur by means of unity, for righteousness unifies among them, so I did not consume the Children
the people. of Israel in My vengeance”
In one place, the pasuk states that Yaakov’s household numbered (Bamidbar 25:10-11)
sixty-nine, and in another place; seventy. Rashi explains that they were
sixty-nine when they descended, and with the birth of Yocheved between
the walls of Egypt, their numbers rose to seventy. Yaakov was worried
when he descended to Egypt, because his household contained an uneven
amount of members. Hashem promised him His protection. He kept His
promise by giving him Yocheved, born at the borders of Egypt.
Here, too, each tribe numbered a round number, for their strength lay in
their unity, connecting them with the round sefirot, and, ultimately,
Hashem Himself.

