In the portion of Matot we read about the war against Midyan. The spoils had to be divided equally between the army and the people who had stayed behind. The tax however was different. The army had to give 1/500 to G-d and the people who had stayed home had to give 1/50. Following are the numbers as described in great detail by the Torah.
The plunder…. consisted of:
675.000 sheep.
72.000 cattle.
61.000 donkeys.
As for the people,…souls were 32.000.
The half that was the portion of those who went out to battle
:
Sheep was 337.500 of which the tax was 675.
36.000 cattle of which the tax was 72
30.500 donkeys of which the tax was 61
16.000 people of which the tax was 32 .
The community’s half consisted of three 337.500 sheep.
36.000 cattle.
30.500 donkeys.
16.000 people.
Moses took one part out of fifty from the half of the children of Israel….
The Ramban points out that it is amazing that these numbers were the same at the time of counting as they were when they were captured. The only way to fulfill G-d’s commandment was by dividing the captured spoils. If only one animal or person had died, it would have been impossible to fulfill the commandment the way it had been given.
In addition to that we can point out another almost miraculous fact. As the above numbers attest there were no left over animals or people. The numbers were all dividable by 2 and then by 500 or 50 without having extras. This was the case with each type of animal as well as the captured women.
We learn from here that when Hashem commands us to do something it can always be done.
Not only did Hashem arrange they should capture exact amounts during the war, He also did the preparatory work long in advance to ensure this would happen. For months, maybe years, before this attack happened, the Midyanites were preparing their livestock to be plundered by the Jewish people without knowing it. When a farmer decided to get more donkeys he thought he was doing it for his own business gain. When the farmer next door decided to sell 600 sheep to the local butcher he thought the same. In reality it was all part of the divine plan to enable a Mitzvha to be fulfilled at a much later time. This is not a miracle like the splitting of the sea. It can even be said that it is no miracle at all. No laws of nature were broken. But it is the obvious presence of the Hand of G-d that made all these improbable facts come together.
If only we would pay attention to the natural events around us in our day to day lives, we would see the same Hand enabling us to fulfill His commandments everywhere.
All we have to do is tune in.
