You would be forgiven, reading the entire parashah, for thinking that no women had come out of Egypt. Those that are to be counted, the census-takers, leaders and representatives of the camp are all Israelite males.

The Israelites at this point are preparing to conquer the land. When the numbers are given for each tribe, the text repeats that these are the numbers of "males over 20, fit for service [tzavah]".

Tzavah is usually understood to mean military service and the English translation often used is "war". Rashi and Saadia interpret it this way. So the complete absence of women being mentioned would make sense.

This would mean that the opening of the verse - about taking a census of all the community - means that quite literally, women, the less able-bodied and young people do not count. The only heads counted are those of potential soldiers.

But it does not have to be read that way. The opening, after all, refers to all the community.

In Exodus 38:8, the women who contributed to the construction of the Tabernacle are referred to as hatzovot, from the same root as tzavah. How can this word be translated outside a military context? Rashi understands this as "dedicated women who congregated," others explain it in terms of the women's prayer, craftsmanship or simply women who were involved in celebration. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan suggests it may denote their participation in building the Tabernacle. Their presence was there as an important force, a part of the whole.

Thus, all those in the community can be reclaimed in Bemidbar. All members of the community can "go out to tzavah," including women, young people and the less able-bodied, who also may not be counted in the military sense.

As Albert Einstein said: "Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."