NUM4 [Continued from [[EXOD143]] Exodus 12:3 household AMJV 194]. Even after the Jews left Egypt, the family unit was still paramount in building the nation. When God counted the Jewish people in the desert, they had to be counted by Moses as families [this verse]. But why was it so crucial to building the Jewish nation and religion that the family unit had to be so together? Why is this togetherness an essential element of Judaism? It is clear that in order for the Jewish people to survive and thrive, every Jew had to think of every other Jew as a member of his or her family. Just as any family member would do almost anything to help any other family member, every Jew was tied to every other Jew in the same way [Shavuot 39a; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 87:20].