Dr. Dov Barvaz was a world-famous paleontologist, business owner and philanthropist. As a paleontologist, he studied fossils to understand humans in the ancient world. This job brought Dr. Barvaz the two greatest discoveries of his life. The first discovery was what seemed like a prehistoric zoo, completely buried with many of the animals’ skeletons still intact. After studying the remains, Dr. Barvaz donated most of these animal bones to museums. However, he sold a few of them to private collectors, earning Dr. Barvaz $5 million. Along with writing a few books and traveling the world to speak about his discoveries, Dr. Barvaz became a very rich man. He then started a few successful businesses, bringing him even more money. Thankfully, Dr. Barvaz was a generous man, setting up charities and donating millions of dollars himself. The story of the second great discovery, the one Dr. Barvaz claimed was his greatest, will have to wait for later
in the story.
After a few years of focusing on his charitable work, Dr. Barvaz decided to go into politics. He hired a few advisers to decide which steps to take first, and they got to work. After much discussion, Dr. Barvaz decided to run for governor of New York. This decision was a very bold one and put Dr. Barvaz in the public spotlight. Reporters began digging into his past, looking for any information (usually negative) that might show the public what type of man Dr. Barvaz was (or any information that might sell more newspapers). Everything from Dr. Barvaz’s behavior as a kindergarten student to the color of his socks was recorded, studied and reported in the media.
Despite their greatest efforts, reporters had very little luck finding anything negative to say about Dr. Barvaz. The worst they discovered was that Dr. Barvaz put ketchup on his hotdogs, enjoyed playing Pokémon, and still used AOL for his email. With no skeletons in his past or present, Dr. Barvaz seemed like a strong candidate for governor. The only person who could ruin this for Dr. Barvaz was now Dr. Barvaz himself, which he almost did.
One thing people always like to know about a candidate is how much money he or she is worth. Once this is known, reporters look at the candidate’s tax information. Did the candidate pay the correct amount of taxes for the amount of money he or she makes? If not, why not? Therefore, it was only natural that Dr. Barvaz would be asked about his finances. During a live television interview, Dr. Barvaz was asked if he would be comfortable sharing his tax information. Would he be okay with the public knowing what he was worth? Upon hearing this question, Dr. Barvaz chuckled. “How much am I worth? This year, I am worth around $100 million.” The reporter was shocked at this response, and said so. “Dr. Barvaz, it has been estimated that your companies alone are worth more than $1 billion. Not including your personal accounts, wouldn’t this make you worth at least $500 million?” As Dr. Barvaz opened his mouth to respond, the network suddenly cut to commercial.
Twenty years ago, three minutes of commercials would hardly be enough to make a difference. Viewers would wait for the interview to return before hearing Dr. Barvaz respond. Brave viewers might run to grab a drink or take a bathroom break, hoping not to miss anything before they get back. But it isn’t the year 2000 anymore. Within 30 seconds, social media exploded with assumptions, accusations and conspiracy theories. Was Dr. Barvaz’s memory going? Was the water in the town where he lived contaminated with a memory-erasing potion? Is Dr. Barvaz lying to explain why he paid so little in taxes? Maybe Dr. Barvaz’s businesses are all doing terribly! What would happen to all of his employees? By the time the three minutes of commercials had passed, protests had been organized outside all three Barvaz family homes. The stock market was going wild, and people were panicking.
Fortunately, when the interview continued, Dr. Barvaz provided a response that calmed everyone down. “Let me begin with the most important discovery of my life,” the candidate began. “I was participating in a dig in Saudi Arabia, when we came across the fossils of two men, along with a number of ancient coins. We found a number of similar scenes in the same area. By unearthing a number of other items, we discerned that this was an ancient charity organization that was suddenly destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Each pair of men included a wealthy merchant and someone in need of charity. This alone was a historic discovery, but it got even better. We noticed that they had been counting the number of coins on their fingers, and that the counting was done by using both the hands of the merchants and of the charity recipients. For example, in one location, we found seven gold coins. The skeleton of the merchant had three fingers up and the other skeleton had four fingers raised. We found this to be true in a number of locations, which made it hard to call a coincidence. This was an amazing discovery!”
Although this story was in fact amazing, the reporter, like all the viewers, was still puzzled. “Thank you for sharing that fascinating tale, doctor. But what does this have to do with what you are worth?” Dr. Barvaz smiled. “Ah, yes. I sometimes get caught up in my stories. Well, I call this my most important discovery because it taught me that giving to others should be viewed as a partnership. Other than to the person receiving charity, giving is a privilege to the giver as well. I believe that God created a world with haves and have-nots, so that those fortunate like myself can help provide for others. This is truly what a life is worth. What you give to others. So when I say I am worth $100 million, I am referring to how much charity I have given this year. This is how much I am truly worth.”
Parshat Bamidbar begins with Moshe counting Bnei Yisrael. The act of counting individuals shows that each person is important, but what does it mean for someone to be important? Throughout the Torah, counting the Jewish people is carried out by giving. Individuals would donate half-shekels, which would then be counted to determine the number of people. It is amazing to think that if Jews didn’t give, they wouldn’t end up being counted even though they are members of Bnei Yisrael. This teaches us an important lesson. To truly count, to truly express your worth as an individual, you must give to others.
By Yair Daar
