With his rapprochement with Joseph, Levi became estranged from his partner Shimon. The inseparable pair now went their separate ways. There was a tension between them. Shimon associated with an undesirable element while Levi climbed the highest peaks of kedusha. Levi, as trustee of the Mishkan, separated not only Shimon, but from the rest of the Klal Yisrael. His tribe was not counted with the rest of Israel, but in a separate census ordered by Hashem in recognition of their status as the King’s legion.
Throughout the census, the word pakod appears in various forms. In my humble opinion, the word pakod is among the most interesting and nuanced in the Hebrew language. At different times it indicates counting, remembering, charging with responsibility. For example, we find “V’Hashem pakad es Sarah,” prior to the birth of Isaac – Sarah is remembered by Hashem. Joseph uses the words “pakod yifkod” when charging bnei Yisrael with the responsibility of removing his remains from Egypt when they are ultimately redeemed.
A form of pakod is used in the parshios of Bamidbar and Pinchas to refer to those that were counted. We find it used to indicate officers and high officials in the army and in government. Perhaps we can say that a common theme to its various uses is a sense of the importance of the individual referred to. When used in relation to Sarah, the Torah stresses the importance of Sarah to Hashem and to the destiny of the Jewish People. Joseph tells the people that they will always be important to Hashem, and because of that Hashem will keep His promise to ultimately redeem them. Each and every individual in bnei Yisrael is important with a great role to play and potential to fulfill. Hence each one is counted separately, like precious gems, and charged with a sacred mission to conquer the land.
Let’s now answer our question regarding the changes written for Shevet Shimon. In Parshas Bamidbar, the time has come for Shevet Levi and Shevet Shimon to separate. Moshe charges Shevet Shimon to reach their vast potential, but they now need to stand on their own, without the support of their comrade in arms, Levi. Levi has a new mission. Shimon must assume the same role as the other individual tribes, and participate as an independent equal in the successful conclusion to the exodus. Shimon must be poised, like any other tribe, to realize the imminent fulfillment of Hashem’s promise of a land flowing in milk and honey. But to do this Shimon must stand up and be counted on its own, as a full participating member of the shivtei Kah. The extra pekudeiindicates this charge to take responsibility.
Unfortunately, with the sin of the spies, the dream of imminent entry ultimately became the enduring nightmare of exile that we suffer from to this day. At the end of the 38 year period of death in the desert, when the people were preparing again to finally enter the land, disaster strikes in the form of the Daughters of Moab. Shevet Shimon, Levi’s former inseparable brother, becomes his greatest enemy. Zimri, the leader of Shevet Shimon, challenges Moshe with the episode of Kazbi. Moshe and the elders are reduced to tears, perhaps because Moshe realized that Shimon has failed to live up to the charge he was given in that original census. Shimon demonstrated that unlike his other brothers, he was still rebellious and incapable of being a full participant in Jewish destiny. After the plague and the courageous act of Pinchas, another census is taken. In this one, the realization that Shimon will now be reliant on Judah and his other brothers sets in. The word pekudeihem is not associated with Shevet Shimon, for he abrogated the pekudei, the responsibility and mission he was charged with 38 years earlier in the original census, and lost his right to have that word pekudeihem associated with his tribe in the second census. That census would be used not only for military purposes, but ultimately for distribution of the land after the conquest led by Moshe’s closest disciple, Joshua, the son of Joseph.