A brick in the wall is only important because without it the wall will fall. The brick itself has no individual importance. Similarly when Bnei Yisroel went to war with Midyan each Shevet sent 1,000 soldiers. Each soldier was only a number that added up to the necessary total amount of troops needed to win the battle. If one soldier is missing the army is lacking and is not yet an army.
When a family has ten children each child is a world unto itself. Each child is not just important because they are a member of the total family of ten. Each one has a name not a number. On the other hand if a child is missing there is still a family because the family was not based on a specific total number.
When Hashem wanted a count of the Bnei Yisroel, the Torah says B’Mispar Sheimos. Bnei Yisroel has value in their sum total, which causes Hashro’as HaShechina. If even one is lacking then Bnei Yisroel is not Bnei Yisroel and cannot be a resting place for Hashem’s Shechina. Even so, each individual is a treasure in their own right. Each one has their own “name”.
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