Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars

Hashem reiterates His promise to multiply Avraham’s offspring using three metaphors. What does each mean? How do they shed light on our present state?

May 30, 2025

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Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars

Bamidbar opens with a census. On a simple level, this explains the choice of the Haftarah, which begins: “The number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can't be measured or numbered.” (Hoshea 2:1). This raises a basic question: Why are the Israelites compared to the sand of the sea?

At first glance, “sand of the sea” may seem like a simple metaphor for a large number. But tracing it back to its origins reveals a more complex picture. Hashem makes five promises to Avraham about the multitude of his offspring, and no two are exactly alike. Here they are in order:

“I will make you into a great nation” (Bereishis 12:2)
“I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth; if a man can count the dust of the earth, so too may your offspring be counted” (13:16)
He brought him outside and said, “Look, now, toward the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them”; and He said to Avram, “So will your offspring be” (15:5)
“I will set My covenant between Me and you and will multiply you exceedingly … You will be the father of a multitude of nations … I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make you into nations and kings will come forth from you” (17:2,3,6)
“I will surely bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven and as the sand on the seashore” (22:17)

The phrase “sand of the sea” appears only in the fifth and final promise, where it is paired with the earlier image of stars in the sky. This sharpens the original question and adds a new one: Why is the comparison to the sand of the seashore made only at the end? And what is the significance of combining the sand and star metaphors?

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Not everyone is bothered by these questions. Radak (ibid.) writes:

[Hashem] said to [Avraham] “like the stars” and “like the sand” together in order to magnify the matter for him, for any repetition serves to strengthen the idea.

In his commentary on Hoshea 2:1, Radak likewise maintains that there’s no difference between sand and stars:

In both cases, the language is hyperbolic, and the sole intent is to express an idea of vast multitude.

Others, like the Abravanel (Bereishis 22:17), disagree:

[Hashem] used two metaphors: “like the stars of the heavens” and “like the sand on the seashore.” These signify that the kings, prophets, and righteous among them will be like the stars of the heavens in their radiance and stature, while the common people will be numerous like the sand on the seashore.

According to the Abravanel, the comparison to stars conveys not only quantity but also quality: “stars” refer to the superlative individuals in the nation, whereas “sand” refers to the general populace. This parallels the modern usage of the term “star” to mean “a person who is preeminent in a particular field” (Merriam-Webster).

To really understand the double metaphor, we need to return to its context: the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac). After the angel stops Avraham from slaughtering Yitzchak, a second angel calls out in Hashem’s name, saying:

"By Myself, I swear", declares Hashem, "that because you did this thing and did not withhold your son, your only one, I will surely bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of the heavens and as the sand on the shore of the sea. Your offspring will inherit the gates of their enemies. The nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring because you have listened to My voice." (22:16-18)

N.H. Wessely (Bereishis 22:17) asks: What is being added here at the Akeidah? Hadn’t Hashem already promised to multiply Avraham’s offspring? His answer begins like the Abravanel’s, but expands into a broader discourse:

In my opinion, this promise introduces something new. That’s why, instead of “dust of the earth,” it says “like the sand of the sea,” followed by “your offspring shall inherit the gate of their enemies.” For “I will greatly multiply” refers not only to a large number, but to all forms of greatness, as we explained on “I will make you exceedingly fruitful.” So too here, when it says “your offspring,” meaning a multitude, it adds: “like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore,” meaning they will be people of renown, with honor and splendor like the stars of the heavens, for “He calls them all by name” (Yeshayahu 40:26). We also explained this in Lech Lecha (15:5).
All of this, however, depends on their doing the will of the Blessed God, Who will place His spirit upon them, and they will stand apart from all the peoples on the face of the earth. But if they sin, they will be “like the dust of the earth” to be trampled upon, and their enemies will rule over them, and they will be scattered from one end of the heavens to the other. And this is stated clearly in many places in the Torah, and experience testifies to it.
Therefore, He promised him that they would be “like the sand on the seashore,” and this too is a metaphor. The many and mighty nations are likened to the tumult of great waters, as it says: “Woe, the uproar of many peoples, who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the noise of nations, like the noise of mighty waters they make a din” (Yeshayahu 17:12). The waves of the sea seem to surge over the land and all within it—but God has set the sand as a boundary for the sea, so that it may not cross, as it is written: “Who placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, an everlasting decree that it may not pass; though its waves rage, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot cross it” (Yirmiyahu 5:22). So too, the nations are like waves of the sea, seeking to sweep the Jewish people away and wipe them off the face of the earth, while Israel is likened to the sand, which the waves cannot overcome. For God has sworn not to destroy Israel, as it says: “They plot cunningly against Your people and take counsel against Your treasured ones. They have said, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation, so that the name of Israel will be remembered no more’” (Tehilim 83:4-5).
In response to “they will enslave and afflict them for four hundred years” (15:13) which He told him at the Bris Bein ha’Besarim (Covenant Between the Parts), along with the other exiles He showed him at that time, He now promised that Israel would endure forever and would not be destroyed by affliction. For they are likened to the sand on the seashore that stands firm against the crashing waves. Thus, these two metaphors reflect two different times: one for their greatness, and the other for their lowliness.

When we do the will of Hashem, He multiplies us and makes us radiant like the stars in the sky. When we disobey, He scatters us like dust across the face of the earth. Yet even then, though battered by the nations of the world, we remain like the sand on the seashore, persisting in the face of adversity, never being destroyed by the waves.

And what of Hashem’s earlier promises to Avraham? What changed at the Akeidah? Wessely (22:18) answers:

In the Bris Bein ha’Besarim, He promised that his offspring would be like the stars of the heavens and would inherit the land of Canaan … All of this will be fulfilled if they keep His covenant and remain His people, observing His laws. But if they turn to other gods and violate His covenant, He will exile them from their land, and He will no longer be their God to perform His wonders for them.
But now He swore to him that his offspring would never be replaced by another nation. Even if they sin before Him and the enemy overpowers them and scatters them on the day of vengeance, they will endure like the sand on the seashore, and in the end, they will inherit the gate of their enemies … This is midah kneged midah (measure for measure): because he was willing to slaughter his beloved son—his only one, upon whose life all of Hashem’s promises depended—and all for the sake of fear of Hashem, so too, if his children abandon Hashem and He becomes their enemy, He will not destroy them or replace them with another nation. Rather, they will inherit the gate of their enemies, and through them all the nations of the earth will be blessed in the end.

It is natural to see the oppression of Israel as an aberration. But our suffering is not natural. It is providential, written into the terms of the covenant. Just as we shine like the stars when we walk in His ways, so are we battered like the sand on the seashore when we turn away. “He is our God … today, if we heed His voice” (Tehilim 95:7).

What do you think of Wessely’s explanation? How would you answer the questions raised here?

The Rabbi Schneeweiss Substack

Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars

Hashem reiterates His promise to multiply Avraham’s offspring using three metaphors. What does each mean? How do they shed light on our present state?

Bamidbar: Dust, Sand, and Stars

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