Shuvi shuvi hashulamis shuvi shuvi v'nechezeh bach
mah tchezu bashulamis kimcholas hamachanoyim
Return, return, the Shulamis, return, return, and we will make you our leader,
What greatness can you bestow upon the Shulamis, that will be as the circle of the encampments?!

The nations of the world approach Am Yisrael with all sorts of propositions:  Come and be with us, like us, and we will give you positions of great importance,  we will appoint you rulers, governors, senators..
The response; There is no honour or position that you can grant us that will be anything as great as the circle of encampments assigned to us by G-d in the dessert.

In this week's parasha  we find the Divine command to Moshe to count Am Yisrael and to set up the encampment of all the shvatim, the tribes,  in degalim in the desert.

What is the significance of the counting Am Yisrael?
What was so great about the degalim, the camp set-up, that we declared to the nations of the world that it is worth not exchanging it for any power, fame or prestige in the world?

Also, we find an apparent contradiction in a passuk concerning the counting of the Jews:
Vehaya mispar bnei yisrael kechol hayam asher lo yimad v'lo yisafer
"And the number of Bnei Yisrael shall be as the sand in the ocean bed that cannot be measured and cannot be counted."

In truth, Klal Yisrael CANNOT be measured or counted.  However, each and every individual member of our nation has a unique task to fulfil, every single Jewish soul is irreplaceable.  This is because Am Yisrael are the representatives of Hashem on this earth.  If one soul is missing, then man's appreciation of G-d will be lacking.   And when we were counted in the midbar, the desert, the person that was being counted, for the moment that it was he that was being counted,  represented a particular midah, attribute of Hashem, so at that moment, he was the greatest in the nation, for ONLY HE highlighted that particular midah.
This is the meaning of chaza"l that there is no man who does not have (at least) his one hour, his one moment of glory, when it is he that is the shaliach, the messenger of Hashem, through the midah that he represents, and thus his life has unique special profound meaning and fulfilment.

After Moshe Rabbainu completed the task of counting the nation, he was then directed to set up the degalim,  the encampments.

When Hashem revealed Himself at Har Sinai, twenty two thousand multitudes of angels accompanied Him, and they were all in encampments.  When Am Yisrael beheld this wondrous arrangement, they yearned, too, to be thus set up.  Hashem swore to us that He would fulfil our hearts' desire.

What did this wondrous encampment of the malachim represent?

There are two considerations:
Firstly, Am Yisrael must be all dwell in perfect harmony with one another, with love, unity, respect and friendship.
Secondly, and this is not in contradiction to the first, each person must contemplate and realize his own self worth, and with whom he is supposed to directly associate, and draw near, and whom is he supposed to physically and emotionally, but not spiritually, distance himself.  This also refers to the relating properly to all experiences and encounters that one goes through in life.  The capacity to put everything in its proper perspective in order to better understand where the person belongs in the degalim configuration.

Who is wise?  He who recognizes his place.

At the time of Matan Torah, Am Yisrael beheld the encampments of the Malachim.  There were four basic camps. with millions of angels each in their exact, defined place.  Despite the great longing and the aspiration of the Malachim to draw closer in order to have a better view of the Shechinah, not a single one shifted from his position.  This is an expression of deep contentment and tranquility, resulting from the knowledge that when his turn comes and the time is right, each merits to perceive G-dliness from PRECISELY the spot which he occupies, not a single millimetre off in any direction.

So, ideally, it is with Am Yisrael.  Every Jew possesses a neshama Elokis, ki chelek Hashem amo, "For Hashem's portion is His nation".  This means that every Jew has a unique purpose to highlight, express and teach a certain aspect of G--dliness in this world.  This is a most sublime mission, and it goes without saying involves great joy, simchah, excitement and contentment.  This is only possible, however, when the individual is positioned in the unique, precise spot allotted to him.  This position is much more than a geographical one.  This involves a whole lifetime of experiences, a complete package of resources, talents, acquaintances, family, etc.

As long as a person reacts with resistance, he is mispositioned.  He is unable to draw from the wellsprings of eternity that are embedded in his neshama.

The goal is perfect acceptance of the nachala, the portion that Hashem has allotted.  Recognizing where this nachala is situated and not straying to other pastures, with the misconception that this is where the true answers lie, just as the Malachim make not even the most microscopic move from their position, but wait with patience for their turn to arrive when they behold the Divine Countenance.

In the tefillos of Shabbos, we ask, v'taher libainu l'avdecha b'emes, that Hashem purify our hearts, in order to enable us to serve Him truly.  The impurities that weigh down upon us are certainly also interferences.  They can also be expressed as all the accumulated misreactions to experiences that present themselves throughout life.  Resistance, resulting from misinterpretation, breeds all kinds of defences that a persons builds up in order to protect himself from confronting and coming to terms with his nachala.

Here are some important questions with which we should often check ourselves:

1. Am I willing and ready to acknowledge those who are greater than myself or do I feel threatened by their proportions and the ramifications of that recognition on my own identity? (If I don't have the ideal lifestyle and behaviour AT LEAST labeled as such, even if it is above my head and therefore painful to acknowledge, how will I ever find my way??!)

2. Do I have the strength to recognize the weaknesses of others and the way they affect and exert pressure on me and am I ready to respond to them with the personal strength required?

3. Am I aware of how I am affected  and pressured by foreign values and negative behaviour patterns and do I have the strength to work with myself to uproot them from my life?

To quote the Shaim miShmuel concerning the greatness of the degalim:

He who adheres to the root of his neshama, is attached to the Source of his existence, and constantly draws renewed vitality from this Source.  All his days are filled with joy and happiness and contentment..

Ish al machaneihu v'ish al diglo..