It’s always tempting to think that numbers have meaning. Oh, those odd coincidences of Gematria, where the numerical value of one word equals another. Then there are all the 40s in the Torah–the time Moses spent on the mountain, the years of wandering in the wilderness (38, really, but who’s counting?), the days and nights of rain for Noah’s flood.

What about the 603,550 people counted in the wilderness. These were the males 20 and older who had to contribute a half-shekel of silver (Ex. 30:14). It’s not the same as the population: we don’t know how many younger males went uncounted, nor the women, and the Levites were in a separate count. But somehow this group seems to represent the whole people.

In the Sedrah of Pekudey we read that all the silver they contributed was the exact amount needed for the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary (Ex. 38:35). This could suggest that every person’s contribution was essential, that we all have a part to play in the service of God and the mission of the Jewish people.

603,550 is a curious number. The tribe-by-tribe details are in Numbers 1 and again in Numbers 26–different tribal totals, but the overall total is the same. Torah math is just like ours.

But the recursive digit-sum of that number is–well, add 6+3+5+5 to get 19, add 1+9 to get 10, and add 1+0 to get 1–isn’t it a bit of a surprise that the number is 1.

If I were a commentator I might say this isn’t a coincidence. The number that represents the Israelite community boils down to 1.

Maybe this means something. Maybe there are 603,549 incorrect opinions held by my fellow Jews, but we all agree that Yom Kippur is a long day.

By the way, 613 also boils down to 1: as Hillel told the fellow who wanted an express conversion, all the rules in the Torah boil down to one.