Numbers · Chapter 1

Hashem spoke with Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year of their going out from the land of Egypt, saying:

וידבר… במדבר סיני … באחד לחדש וגו׳ AND [THE LORD] SPOKE [UNTO MOSES] IN THE DESERT OF SINAI … ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE [SECOND] MONTH … [TAKE YE THE SUM OF ALL THE CONGREGATION] etc. — Because they were dear to him, He counts them every now and then: when they went forth from Egypt He counted them (Exodus 12:37), when many of them fell in consequence of their having worshipped the golden calf He counted them to ascertain the number of those left (cf. Rashi Exodus 30:16); when he was about to make His Shechinah dwell amongst them (i. e. when He commanded them to make a Tabernacle), He again took their census; for on the first day of Nisan the Tabernacle was erected (Exodus 40:2) and shortly afterwards, on the first day of Iyar, He counted them.

AND THE ETERNAL SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI, IN THE TENT OF MEETING. Because He had interrupted with the commandments about the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee, of which He said that they were spoken in Mount Sinai [in contrast to all the other commandments in the Book of Leviticus, which, as mentioned at the beginning of that book, G-d told Moses from the Tent of Meeting], He stated here again that this communication was given from the Tent of Meeting, as were all the communications which He had mentioned since the beginning of the Book of Leviticus. And all of them from now onwards [were said to Moses] from the Tent of Meeting, for since the time that the Tabernacle was set up and G-d called him [Moses] from the Tent of Meeting, He only communicated with him from there. Scripture mentions here in the wilderness of Sinai in order to tell us that they did not travel away from there until they were counted [the first time, as described here], for the second census was taken in the plains of Moab, but the [actual] communication was in the Tent of Meeting.

In the name of Him who numbers what is above and what is below together, I begin to explain according to the plain sense the book of "And He spoke in the wilderness of Sinai" — to make known that Moses did not ascend Mount Sinai after the Glory had come to rest in the Tent of Meeting. "On the first of the second month" — to arrange the standards, how they were to march and how to encamp, on account of the Sanctuary; for on the twentieth of the second month they set out.

במדבר סיני, in the desert of Sinai, etc. Our sages in Bamidbar Rabbah 1 offer many precious insights about this verse. There remains the question of why G'd did not describe what took place in a more uniform manner. At the beginning G'd first describes the general location of where He communicated with Moses, i.e. in the desert of Sinai, followed by a more specific description, i.e. the Tent of Meeting. When describing the time when this communication took place, however, the Torah first mentioned the day and the month, and only afterwards the year, i.e. the more general description of the time frame when all this took place, i.e. during the second year of the people being in the desert. Logically, the Torah should have first mentioned the year followed by the month and the day of G'd's communication to Moses. I believe that if we look at the text closely we will see that the Torah follows a thoroughly logical pattern. We have to remember the comment of Shemot Rabbah 45,6 on Exodus 33,21: "there is a place here beside Me," where the meaning of the word "beside" is interpreted as emphasising that the place is secondary to G'd. Were this not so, the Torah would have quoted G'd as saying: "here I am in this place." In other words, the whole concept of space, i.e. מקום, is something secondary as far as G'd is concerned. Once we appreciate this fact, we know that any time the Torah mentions G'd's appearance in a certain place the place mentioned is of minor significance. When the Torah mentions the desert this is really only a detail relative to G'd communicating with Moses out of the אהל מועד, which is the essential message in the verse. The Torah draws our attention to this by first mentioning the day and the month when this occurred before telling us in which year it took place. Further evidence of the miraculous change a place undergoes when G'd honours it with His presence is provided by Bereshit Rabbah 4,4 as well as 5,6 where the Midrash describes the fact that G'd who was able to call into existence the whole universe and fill it with His presence would most certainly be able to speak to the Israelite people from between the staves of the Holy Ark. 600.000 Israelites were able to "squeeze" into the space of 2 cubits between the staves by which the Holy Ark was carried. We normally perceive of small quantities fitting into containers designed to accomodate larger quantities. Such laws of nature may be reversed at G'd's will and this was a condition He made with nature at the time of creation.

במדבר סיני, “in the desert of Sinai;” at what location did G-d speak to Moses? From the Tabernacle; before the Tabernacle had been erected, G-d had communicated from the top of Mount Sinai. From the day the Ten Commandments had been given, G-d’s presence had not moved away from Mount Sinai until the day after the Tabernacle had been erected on the first day of Nissan of the second year, as we have been told in the Talmud, tractate Beytzah, folio 5. בשנת השנית לצאתם, (on the first of the second month) in the second year of the Exodus. Regarding all other matters, the first of Tishrey was considered as the first day of the New Year.

פלס ומאזני משפט לה' מעשהו כל אבני כיס, “Honest scales and weights are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag (pocket) are His work” (Proverbs 16,11). Solomon wanted to tell us in this verse that all of man’s deeds are carefully weighed and that all the weights (by which they are evaluated) belong to G’d. The single most heavy weight is called פלס; also, a much smaller weight of which there are two are called מאזנים. The word is derived from אזן, i.e. when there are two weights each called אזן, the scale is called מאזנים to indicate that equal weights are on opposite sides. There are many words in Scripture which appear in the plural, especially when in order to make full use of what these words represent one requires two of them. Examples are נעלים, shoes, רחים, millstones, etc. G’d is described as “weighing” each of our actions using small weights known as “pocket weights, weights small enough to be carried in one’s pocket. The largest weight known in the Torah is called ככר, whereas the smaller weights known as אונקיה are usually divided into אונקיה, and half or quarter “ounces.” [This is not the “ounce” we are familiar with but a weight of about 4 regular shekalim or about 29 grams]. Solomon only wanted to illustrate that when “weighing” our sins in the scales of merits and demerits respectively, even the smallest sin (or merit) is taken into account. Reward and punishment is meted out according to G’d’s yardsticks as to the relative “weight” of such deeds we have performed. If you need proof that after G’d has first weighed the “heavy” sins He proceeds to also weigh the “light” sins look at Jeremiah 16,16 where the prophet says: הנני שולח לדיגים רבים נאום ה' ודיגום ואחרי כן אשלח לרבים צידים וצדום, “Lo, I am sending for many fishermen--declares the Lord--and they shall haul them out; and after that I shall send the hunters and they shall hunt them.” The prophet employed the verb צידה, hunt, after the expression “fishing.” It is similar to a person who moves out of a house and first removes the larger pieces of furniture, returning to pick up the smaller items he has left behind. The meaning of the whole verse quoted above is: the large weight stone called peles, the smaller ones, i.e. moznayim, as well as weights carried in one’s pocket; all of them are at the disposal of the Lord and He makes use of them.” In other words, the justice dispensed by the Lord will be true justice having taken into account all factors relevant to arriving at a verdict. The reason Solomon refers to small weights as אבני כיס is because people are in the habit of carrying them in a pocket, a small bag. This is in order to keep them clean and not exposed to erosion. It is possible that an additional dimension contained in the expression אבני כיס is an allusion to the fact that G’d’s verdict remains hidden from us similar to these little weights a person carries in his pocket being concealed from others. Man’s intelligence and knowledge is very limited and it is impossible for us to have access to all the factors which combine to make G’d arrive at a fair verdict concerning man’s deeds. This is why, when describing G’d’s superior way of judging, David says in Psalms 36,7: “Your beneficence is like high mountains; Your justice like the great deep;” David means that G’d’s righteousness and His deeds of loving kindness are so far above us as are high mountains and the bottom of the deep sea; both are inaccessible to us. However, there is a difference between the high mountains and the depth of the ocean. High mountains can be seen though they may be inaccessible, where the bottom of the deep is something we cannot even see. Similarly, G’d’s righteousness is well known throughout the world though we may not be able to explore it; the justice of G’d, however, is totally beyond our ability to assess. Let me illustrate what I mean. Jerusalem was destroyed on the ninth day of the month of Av. When Ezekiel was told of this G’d is described as having sent a messenger who arrived on the tenth day of the fifth month. (Ezekiel 33,21 describes the arrival of an escaped citizen of Jerusalem as having occurred on the fifth of the tenth month). Examination of the verse in Ezekiel both in chapter 33 and chapter 24 poses obvious contradictions. We are forced to conclude that G’d wanted to conceal the true dates and that therefore incomplete information is recorded in the Book of Ezekiel. You may contrast this with extremely precise information given by the Torah in the opening chapter of the Book of Bamidbar, (when the subject was not destruction, i.e. meting out of justice). Here the Torah gives a) the day of the month; b) the name of the month; 3) the year in which this occurred; 4) in relation to which previous event, i.e. the Exodus from Egypt. וידבר ה' אל משה במדבר סיני באהל מועד באחד לחודש השני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים, לאמור, “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Exodus from Egypt, saying:” The wilderness of Sinai (so called for in it) Mount Sinai is located. Bamidbar Rabbah 1,6 comments that the reference to the “wilderness of Sinai” is to remind us that the giving of the Torah comprised three elements: 1) fire; 2) water; 3) the desert. We know that fire was a factor in the giving of the Torah from Exodus 19,18: “the whole Mountain of Sinai was smoking on account of the Lord having descended upon it in fire.” We know that water was also a crucial factor from Judges 5,4 (Devorah’s song) “O Lord when You came forth from Seir, advanced from the country of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens dripped, yea, the clouds of water, the mountains quaked before the Lord, Him of Sinai, before the Lord G’d of Israel.” Finally, we know that the desert was a factor in the giving of the Torah from the reference to the desert of Sinai in our verse.” Why were these three elements an integral part of the giving of the Torah? To tell you that just as three basic phenomena on earth are available for free to everyone, so Torah is to be taught without charge. Isaiah 55,1 spelled this out clearly when he proclaimed: “Ho, all who are thirsty, come for water!” Why was it important to give the Torah in the desert? To teach that one cannot truly acquire Torah except after one has made oneself הפקר, “ownerless like the desert.” [One must not allow oneself to be dominated by other philosophies or the evil urge if one wants to absorb Torah in its undiluted form. Ed.] באהל מועד, “in the Tent of Meeting, etc.;” this is the Tabernacle. Once G’d called Moses from the Tabernacle, i.e. from Leviticus 1,1 on where the words “He called to Moses from the Tent of Meeting” occurred for the first time, G’d always spoke to Moses out of the Tent of Meeting seeing that the attribute כבוד which had addressed Moses at the Mountain had moved to the Tabernacle as soon as it had been inaugurated. This is why at this time the instructions had to be issued to the Levites whose camp was around the Tabernacle not to trespass and enter the Sanctuary as any non-priest who entered the Sanctuary was bound to die (verse 51). The warning not to enter the Sanctuary was of the same type as the warning before the revelation not to step beyond the fenced off section of Mount Sinai (Exodus 19,13). The warning is spelled out in detail in Numbers 18,5 after the rebellion of Korach and parts of the senior members of the tribe of Levite. At that time even the priests were included in the warning (Exodus 19,24), and in Numbers 4,20 the Torah warns the Kehatites, the senior group of Levites, not to “look” when the “holy” is inserted or they would die. Even though they carried these “holy” items such as the Ark, they were not to look at it until the Ark had been covered. Furthermore, the Torah does command that the 22,000 Levites encamp around the Tabernacle (compare Numbers 3,43) seeing that their numbers corresponded to that of the angels who had accompanied G’d when He took up residence in the Tabernacle. We have this information from Psalms 68,18 where the psalmist speaks about רכב אלוהים רבותים, “G’d’s entourage amounting to 22.000.” The Israelites’ camp was composed of four flags, corresponding to their having observed at Mount Sinai that the angels grouped themselves into four camps with a flag each. [Some say each angel had a flag of his own, compare Rabbi Avdimi in Pesikta Rabbati on Asseret Hadibrot. Ed.] Another Midrashic comment in Tanchuma 3 remarks on the words באהל מועד, that previously G’d had spoken to Moses at the burning bush, as we know from Exodus 3,4. Later He spoke to him in Midian (Exodus 4,19). Subsequently, He had spoken to him in Egypt (compare Exodus 12,1). Still later He spoke to him at Sinai (Leviticus 25,1). As soon as the Tabernacle had been erected G’d changed the venue, preferring the privacy of the Tabernacle to any of the other locations from which He had addressed Moses previously. This concept is reflected in the words of Micah 6,8 that the Lord desires that we relate to Him “by walking modestly with your G’d.” As of now, G’d began to converse with Moses in the Tent of Meeting. When David said in Psalms 45,14 that “the honour and glory of a king’s daughter is observed only within the home,” he merely used a metaphor to describe that matters between the Lord and man are to be conducted in private. The fancy garments worn by the princess are not meant for show. In that verse the בת מלך is a reference to Moses as we know from Isaiah 19,4: “I will place the Egyptians at the mercy of a harsh master.” This was a reference to the Ten Plagues they were to endure. Isaiah continues: “and a ruthless king shall rule them.” This refers to Moses who represented the Kingdom of Torah known as עוז, the same word used by Isaiah in that verse. We know that Torah is called עוז, from ה' עוז לעמו יתן “the Lord gives עוז to His people” (Psalms 29,11). It is also written in Proverbs 8,15: “Kings reign through Me.” He who realizes that all mortal authority is dependent on G’d’s approval will be modest. Our sages (Tanchuma Bamidbar 3) say that any woman who practices modesty is entitled to marry a High Priest even if she is not of priestly or Levitic descent; she is fit to bear children who in turn will become High Priests. They base this on the end of the verse in Psalms 45,14 where the psalmist says: “her dress is embroidered with golden mountings.” The words “golden mountings” are also used in the garments of the High Priest (compare Exodus 28,11). It is the mark of the modest woman not to display her fancy garments outside her home. When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak to G’d he would hear the heavenly voice (Numbers 7,89). Rabbi Joshua son of Levi said: “if the Gentiles would realise how much benefit they derive from the existence of the Temple (ours) they would place armed guards around it in order to protect it. In fact it is of greater benefit to them than it is to the Jewish people. Even Solomon included the importance to the Gentiles of his Temple when he prayed to G’d to respond favourably to the prayers offered by them in the Jewish Temple (Kings I 8, 41-42). He asked for outright acceptance of the prayers of the Gentiles whereas he asked only for qualified acceptance of prayers offered by Jews, i.e. deserving Jews only. As a result of this it is clear that seeing a Jew is aware of G’d and His power, he will search his heart for sins he may have committed when he finds that G’d did not respond to his prayer. A Gentile, who does not know G’d, would react angrily if he finds his prayer rejected. He would point to the fact that after having taken all the trouble to cross the seas in order to pray at such a world-famous shrine, he had wasted his time and money. As a result he would cause G’d’s image to become tarnished among other human beings. Not only is the Temple (of the Jews) more beneficial to them than to the Jews, but even the Jewish people’s existence is of great importance to them. Were it not for the Jewish people they would not be the beneficiaries of rain and dew at the appropriate times of the year. Even the sun dispenses its light and warmth only for the sake of the Jewish people as we know from Jeremiah 33,25: “Were it not for My covenant day and night, I would not have set the statutes of heaven and earth”. The message is that destruction of the Jewish people would make the continued existence of mankind pointless. In the future the Gentiles will see that the Lord G’d speaks to the Jewish people and as a result of this they will come and flock to establish close ties with Israel. This is what Zecharyah 8,23 spoke about when he said (the Gentiles speaking) “let us go with you for we have heard that G’d is with you.” באחד לחודש השני, “on the first of the second month.” The subject matter of G’d’s conversation with Moses at that time was the details of the encampment, the positioning of the flags, in which order the people should break camp and in which order they should make camp. (this needs elaboration as a) our portion does not contain any of the 613 commandments, b) the Jewish people did not start journeying until the twenty-second of that month). The reason why this portion follows the chapter dealing with the laws about exchanging the objects of vows made (Leviticus 27), is to remind us that G’d is One, is Unique, and there are no substitutes for Him. Just as there are no substitutes for G’d, so there is no substitute for the unique Jewish people and He will never exchange us for any other nation. We have this on the authority of Song of Songs 2,16 דודי לי ואני לו, “My beloved belongs to me and I to Him.” We also have a verse spelling out the other half of this relationship when we read in Samuel I 2,3 (Chanah speaking) אין קדוש כה' ואין בלתך, “there is none as holy as G’d and there is none beside You.” Furthermore, we find that the Jewish people are referred to as G’d’s “flock” in Ezekiel 34,31. Just as we learned in the last chapter of Leviticus that no member of the flock once it has been sanctified must be exchanged, so we may rest assured that G’d will never exchange His flock, i.e. the Jewish people.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying.” And in the portion of Leviticus it is written from the Tent of Meeting, because at that time Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting as the cloud rested upon it; therefore, the calling to him was from the Tent of Meeting to outside the Tent of Meeting. But on the first of Iyar, Moses was already able to enter inside the tent, so the speech came to him in the Tent of Meeting from above the Ark cover, as is mentioned at the end of the portion of Naso. And there is no need for Rashi’s explanation there that “the third verse came and reconciled…” And the reason it specifies in the Tent of Meeting is to explain the reason for this counting, which is because He came to rest His Divine Presence among them. The term “to rest” indicates establishing the Divine Presence as a permanent dwelling there, and a permanent dwelling requires no less than 30 days. Therefore, on the first of Nisan, the Tabernacle was erected, and on that same day the Divine Presence descended into the Tent of Meeting. After 30 days, when it appeared that God had established for Himself a permanent dwelling in the lower realms, He counted them on the first of Iyar and did not count them immediately on the first of Nisan, because He had not yet taken firm possession of this dwelling. And it seems to me to give a reason for this counting at the time of the Shekhinah’s dwelling, because our Sages of blessed memory said that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not cause His Divine Presence to dwell upon Israel with fewer than twenty-two thousand, as it is said, And when it rested, he would say: Return, O Lord, to the myriads of thousands of Israel (Numbers 10:36). And the reason for this is to make His blessed kingdom on earth resemble the kingdom of heaven, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Tanchuma Vayishlach 2), “At the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to Israel at Mount Sinai, twenty-two thousand chariots of ministering angels descended with Him, as it is said, God’s chariots are myriads, thousands of angels; the Lord is among them (Psalms 68:18).” That is to say, when this number exists, then the Lord is among them — the Divine Presence dwells among them. And so we find in the camp of the Levites, which was called the camp of the Divine Presence, that they were twenty-two thousand (Numbers 3:39). Therefore, it was necessary to count Israel as well, to know if they had this number, which makes them worthy of having the Divine Presence dwell within each and every tribe. And the Israelites needed to count exactly 600,000, no less, according to what Rabbeinu Bachya wrote in this portion (2:2) that wherever the Divine Presence is found, there you will find four camps of the Divine Presence. And in the book HaPardes, in the Gate of the Details of Names, chapter 2, page 118, he wrote that there are 28 camps of the Divine Presence. And from where did he learn to say this? I say that he learned this from this count that came about through the dwelling of the Divine Presence within the encirclement of seven clouds, and within it was filled with love in the Levite camp. And in each and every cloud was the glory of God, and in every place where God’s glory is present, there are no fewer than four camps of the Divine Presence, with each camp containing 22,000. It follows that in seven clouds there are 28 camps, with four camps in each cloud. Go and calculate 28 times 22,000, and you will find 600,000 plus 16,000. This is how the Israelites were 603,000, and the Levites were 22,000, for a total of 625,000. For in every 100,000 there are four times 22,000, and 12,000 remain. So it follows that 24 camps equal a sum of 600,000. Additionally, he made from six times 12,000 another three camps, leaving 9,000, and the Levites were 22,000, for a total of 28 camps. And even though there is an excess of 9,000 here, nevertheless, one cannot be precise with those below [on earth] because death consumes them, and perhaps the number will not be filled quickly enough from those younger than 20 years old. And the Levites were counted from one month old because that tribe was accustomed to being counted from the womb, as it is said about Jeremiah the priest Before you came out of the womb I sanctified you (Jeremiah 1:5). Therefore, it is necessary that in all the countings, the Israelites were never fewer than 600,000, excluding the Levites. Even though in the first counting they were 600,000 including the Levites, and there weren’t 28 camps in the lower realms corresponding to the seven clouds, nevertheless, the Holy One, blessed be He, had not yet come to rest His Divine Presence in the lower realms to make for Himself a permanent dwelling below. And now, on the first of Iyar, when 30 days create a legal presumption [chazakah] that His dwelling would be permanent, God came with all His holy ones to establish a dwelling in the lower realms as the beauty of a person to dwell in a house (Isaiah 44:13). From then on, He needed to count them to make known that they needed to be of this number in order to fill the 28 camps of 22,000 at that time when God established His permanent Divine Presence in the Tent of Meeting; therefore it says here in the Tent of Meeting. This is a precious interpretation that fits perfectly regarding the number of 600,000, about which most commentators have gone out to gather a sufficient explanation but have not found one. On the first day of the second month in the second year. The significance of this date that is written here is explained in the Midrash Tanchuma (5): It is compared to a king who married a woman but did not write a ketubah [marriage contract] for her, etc. Later, he found a poor woman of good lineage and wrote her a ketubah with a specific date, etc. See the full text of the Midrash in Yalkut (684). The author of this Midrash believes that the day of the Giving of the Torah was the day of betrothal, for the Holy One, blessed be He, betrothed Israel through this Torah. As it is written Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance [morasha] of the congregation of Jacob (Deuteronomy 33:4), and our Sages interpreted (Pesachim 49b) morasha as “me’orasa” [betrothed]. And know that it does not say “betrothed to the congregation of Jacob,” but rather “betrothed the congregation of Jacob,” meaning that the congregation of Jacob is betrothed to the Holy One, blessed be He, through the giving of the Torah, which is like a wedding ring, as it is written For your Maker is your husband (Isaiah 54:5). And indeed we find that our Sages (Tanchuma Ki Tisa 16) compared the union of Israel with the Holy One, blessed be He, to the union of a bride with a groom at two times. The first is at the time of the Giving of the Torah, as it is said And He gave to Moses, when He had finished [k’chaloto] speaking with him (Exodus 31:18), written without the letter vav, implying that the Torah was given over like an adorned bride [kallah] with 24 books. The second is on the day of the dedication of the Tabernacle, as it is said And it came to pass on the day that Moses finished [kalot] setting up (Numbers 7:1). Rashi explained that on the day the Tabernacle was set up, Israel was delivered to the Holy One, blessed be He, like a bride to a groom. This teaches that the Giving of the Torah was the time of betrothal, and the day the Tabernacle was set up was the time of marriage, as the beauty of a man to dwell in a house (Isaiah 44:13), as understood from the language of “delivered,” meaning to a shared dwelling place. And in between was about 10 months, as it is said Let the maiden remain with us for days or 10 (Genesis 24:55), which means 10 months that are given to a virgin as time between betrothal and marriage to adorn herself with the 24 types of adornments mentioned in Isaiah (3:18-24). And in order to make the union between Israel and the Holy One, Blessed be He, resemble in every way an ordinary union, the Holy One, Blessed be He, also set a time limit for Israel of 10 months, from the first of Sivan, when they became betrothed through the Torah “which Moses commanded us,” until the first of Nisan, when the Tabernacle was erected and the union was completely fulfilled. During this time, Israel would adorn themselves with the 24 books [of the Hebrew Bible] and through this, they would be worthy to dwell in the Tent of Meeting, one dwelling for the two of them. And since the time of marriage is 30 days (see Ketubot 8), therefore the time extended until the first day of the second month in the second year. And if you wish to count from the verse and He gave to Moses when He finished [speaking with him] which was said in the month of Tammuz, after the 40 days when he brought down the tablets, then the count of 10 months would correspond exactly to the second month of the second year, for then the marriage was completed, and God wrote a ketubah [marriage contract] for her to know from what time it could be abrogated [by other] claimants. For the lands of the seven nations were pledged to them in the ketubah, so that if through [the Jews’] sins they would be exiled from the land, [the other claimants] could return and reclaim it from them, saying “our document’s date precedes [yours].” Therefore it says here in the Tent of Meeting for it was the time of the marriage, to dwell in a house. And so our Sages mentioned in Tractate Taanit (26b) these two times, and they expounded on the day of his wedding — this refers to the giving of the Torah, and on the day of the gladness of his heart — this refers to the building of the Temple. For in these two times the union was completed. And it mentions on the first day of the month for the reason that was explained. And in order that the union would be between similar partners, it says take a census [literally, lift the head] of the Israelites, in accordance with the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 1:9) which says that just as it is said about the Holy One, Blessed be He, and exalts Himself as head above all (1 Chronicles 29:11), so “I have given you a lifting of the head,” etc. And what is the connection to here? It is only so that the union should be between similar partners, as it were.

וידבר ה' אל משה במדבר סיני באהל מועד, ”Hashem spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting.” Nachmanides writes that now that the laws pertaining to sacrificial offerings had been concluded, the Torah moves on to discuss laws governing the Tent of Meeting. G’d had already warned concerning the sin of entering the Tent of Meeting in a state of ritual uncleanness as well as against offering sacrifices which were in a state of ritual unfitness. Now the Torah wishes to restrict the presence of non priests in the Tabernacle and its immediate surroundings in the desert, similar to the restrictions imposed on the Temple and its immediate surroundings on Mount Moriah in the future. Non priests who violate these rules are subject to the death penalty by stoning. The Torah also forbids looking at sacred furnishings normally inside the Tabernacle, but exposed to potential view seeing that the Israelites were so often on the move, and the whole Tabernacle had to be dismantled each time, and the holy objects had to be carefully wrapped before being transported on the shoulders of the Kehatites. All of these precautions were designed to prevent the people from entering sacred grounds en masse and falling victim to the warnings issued. The Torah issues detailed instructions about the wrapping of these furnishings, by whom and where the parts of the Tabernacle were to be guarded. Seeing that the Torah in the Book of Leviticus had interrupted some of these subjects by writing about the sh’mittah and Jubilee years, of which we had been told that these instructions had been issued to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai, the Torah now mentions that the instructions reported here were communicated to him in the Tent of Meeting. There had been no direct communication from G’d to Moses since the time the Tabernacle had been assembled and inaugurated in the first month of the second year. The desert of Sinai is mentioned here again, as the people had not moved from there, since arriving at Mount Sinai on the first day of Sivan in the first year of the Exodus until the 2oth of Iyar of the second year. [Almost an entire lunar year. Ed.]

במדבר סיני באהל מועד באחד לחודש השני, all the communications, instructions, we heard about in the first year of the Israelites’ wanderings, before the Tabernacle had been erected, were characterised by the words בהר סיני, at Mount Sinai. Once the Tabernacle had been erected on the first day of the first month of the second year, the words בהר סיני as the source of the legislation do not appear again, but are replaced by the words במדבר סיני באהל מועד. The point is proved in Numbers 3,1 where the Torah, when referring to a date preceding the erection of the Tabernacle, speaking of Aaron and his sons, naming 4 sons, (3,2) adds the words “at Mount Sinai.” This must have taken place before the erection of the Tabernacle since two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, died at the hand of G’d immediately the Tabernacle became functional on the first day of Nissan of the second year. In verse 4 of that same chapter where reference is made to the death of Nadav and Avihu, the Torah, in explaining where this took place, adds the words “in the desert of Sinai,” although it could have written “at Mount Sinai,” as at that time the Israelites were still encamped at Mount Sinai.

"Take a count of the entire congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names — every male, head by head.

למשפחתם — [TAKE YE THE SUM OF THE CONGREGATION …] AFTER THEIR FAMILIES — in order to ascertain the number of individuals in each tribe. לבית אבתם BY THE HOUSE OF THEIR FATHERS — One whose father belongs to one tribe and his mother to another tribe shall take his stand with the tribe of his father (cf. Bava Batra 109b). לגלגלתם BY THEIR POLLS — i. e. by means of shekels — “a beka a head (לגלגלת)”, as was prescribed on a previous occasion (Exodus 38:26).

"Lift the head" — this is like "when you take" [Exod. 30:12], and it is explained there. "By their fathers' households" — for the matrilineal family is not called a family [in the tribal sense]. "By their polls" — I have already explained this.

שאו את ראש, to organise them so that they could proceed to the land of Israel immediately, without delay, each one of them knowing to which unit (flag) he belonged. At that point, no war of conquest had even been envisaged, the assumption having been that G’d would remove the inhabitants of the land of Canaan so that no face-to-face encounter would even be necessary. Evidence from Isaiah 17,9 suggests that in fact, at least partially, this even occurred after the 40 years in the desert. The prophet there reports that once again, as at the time when the Emorite and the Hittite abandoned their cities in the face of the advancing armies of the Israelites, history will repeat itself. [based on the Septuagint. Our author assumes that Isaiah may have referred to the tribe of the Girgashi, quoting Jerusalem Talmud Sh’viit 6,1 Ed.] At any rate, due to the sin of the spies the seven Canaanites nations survived another 40 years during which they added to their sins so that at the end of that time G’d did not merely exile them but exterminated them. במספר שמות, at that time, the names of the individuals reflected their specific individuality, in recognition of their individual virtues. [They were not merely named after their fathers or other departed relatives. Ed.] References to names reflecting an individual’s virtues are found in Exodus 33,17 when G’d said to Moses that He would ואדעך בשם, “I have singled you out by name;” the generation which eventually entered the Holy Land were not described as being counted במספר שמות (Numbers 26,2). The Torah there refers only to the people counted being of military age, i.e. above 20. [The author, true to his concept of the highpoint of Jewish history having been the revelation at Mount Sinai, followed by an ongoing spiritual descent, only briefly and partially reversed on a few occasions, sees this as a further example of the generation which did enter the Holy Land already being inferior to the ones experiencing the revelation, i.e. before the sin of the golden calf and the spies. Ed.] The count of the Israelites at this point assumed that the very people being counted would each enter the Holy Land unless some sin occurred which would interfere with this lofty vision.

שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל, "Count the whole community of Israel, etc." We need to know why the Israelites had to be numbered at this time. Rashi quotes a Midrash according to which G'd ordered the census as soon as He was ready to again allow His Presence to dwell amongst the Israelites (after the sin of the golden calf). This is insufficient to answer our question. If the census had only been an indication of G'd's reconciliation with His people He should have ordered it to take place before the month of Nissan when the Tabernacle was inaugurated, not a month later. Before investigating the reason for this delay in the census we have to remember that the previous census which is reported in Parshat Pekudey (38,26) gave the number of the male Israelites over the age of twenty as 603,550. This was six months after the sin of the golden calf when the half shekel contributed by each male Israelite over the age of 20 represented his soul's ransom. This number exceeded the number of male Israelites above the age of 20 who left Egypt by (about) 3550 although in the interval during the episode of the golden calf many Israelites had died or had been executed by the Levites because they had participated in the worship of the golden calf. If it had taken only 6 months to replenish their number as reported in Parshat Pekudey, how do we account for the fact that between then and now the number had not increased by even one? Surely a number of Israelites had reached the age of twenty in the interval between the census which is mentioned in Parshat Pekudey and that reported here? It is unlikely that any of these people died during a period they were all busy with performing the commandment to bring their contributions for the Tabernacle. Our question is reinforced when we consider a comment in Pessikta Zutra according to which the words ויהיו כל הפקודים in Numbers 1,46 are proof that as long as the Israelites were occupied with the work pertaining to the Tabernacle not a single one of them died. This comment seems very far fetched if it is based only on the expression ויהיו, "they remained (alive)." When we look at the numbers presented here we are bound to conclude that more of the people died after the people commenced with the work of the Tabernacle than during the episode of the golden calf! However, according to our understanding of Shekalim 1,3 the members of the tribe of Levi were included in the count of the people who had contributed a half shekel per person. We may conclude that in our verse the Levites were most certainly not included in the census seeing that the Torah commands that they be counted separately. The question is then resolved quite easily. In fact, the reason the Torah added the apparently redundant comment that the Levites were not included in the sum of the census given here (1,47), was precisely in order to make this point. It emerges that the natural increase of the Israelites between the time the work on the Tabernacle began...

שאו את ראש, “take a count of the sum;” seeing that within twenty days the Israelites would break camp and start marching toward the Holy Land, as reported in chapter 10 verse 29 of this Book. There it has been spelled out: נוסעים אנחנו אל המקום, “we are about to set out on the journey to the place, etc;” (Moses speaking to his fatherinlaw Yitro).

שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל, “take a census of the entire assembly of the Jewish people, etc.” The Jewish people do not experience an ascent of a spiritual kind unless they perform the laws of the Torah. When the counting of the Jewish people is described here by the word שאו instead of say, פקדו, this indicates that being counted at the command of G’d is a spiritual ascent. The word שאו combines within it two meanings, one the direct opposite of the other. It may mean that one’s head is being elevated in the sense of someone being promoted; on the other hand, the same word is also employed as depicting that someone is being beheaded, such as in the case of the chief baker of Pharaoh’s court whose execution Joseph foretold in Genesis 40,19. We find a similar approach in Tanchuma Bamidbar 8 where the author paraphrases our verse as G’d saying: “I have not been as fond of any nation as I am of you, therefore I have elevated you to be the head just as I am the ‘head’ of all phenomena in this world.” We know the latter from Chronicles I 19,11: “Yours, Lord, are greatness, might, splendour, triumph, and majesty-yes all that is in heaven and earth; to You, Lord, belong kingship and preeminence over all.” G’d says that because of your relationship to Me, I have made you vis-a-vis the nations something similar to My position vis-a-vis all the creatures in the universe.” This is what the psalmist spoke about in Psalms 148,15: וירם קרן לעמו, “He has exalted the horn of His people.” When Moses speaks of G’d making the Jewish people supreme over all the nations of the earth, he has the same thought in mind. When the meaning of the word שאו is “to decapitate,” this is what we read in Genesis 40,19. The Torah deliberately uses a word which may have either of these two meanings in order to warn the people that if they deserve it the census will be beneficial for them; if not, it may have fatal consequences. The reason that the Torah adds the words למשפחותם לבית אבותם, “according to their families, their father’s households,” is to tell us that the relatives of the mother are not called “family.” במספר שמות, “according to the number of names, etc.;” the Torah did not write: “according to their names,” as it did in 3,40 in connection with the count of the firstborn. Perhaps we may explain this in terms of the angels who had come to earth at the time of the revelation. At that time the number of the camps, flags, etc., corresponded to the number of those angels; possibly by not referring to the individual names of the people to be counted, the Torah wanted to allude to the comparison with the angels at Mount Sinai [who have no fixed names but receive names in accordance with the missions they are asked to perform. Ed.]. During the revelation each individual Israelite was on a spiritual par with the angels except that he was like an angel equipped with a body. This may be the reason why at that time the Torah wrote: תפקדו אותם לצבאותם, “count them according to their hosts” (verse 3). The “hosts” referred to are the angels who were at Mount Sinai. They are the ones commonly known as מלאכי השרת, “the ministering angels.” G’d Himself had referred to the Jewish people as “My hosts” in Exodus 7,4 when He told Moses that Pharaoh would refuse His request to take His hosts (the Jewish people) out of Egypt. We need to analyze the wording of the Torah in Exodus 12,41 that יצאו כל צבאות ה' מארץ מצרים, that “all the hosts of the Lord departed from the land of Egypt.” We would have expected the Torah to write that “all the hosts of Israel departed from Egypt.” The reason the Torah wrote that verse as it did was to tell us that when the Israelites left their exile so did the angels, the divine representatives assigned to them. Whenever Israel is in exile or is experiencing pain, a similar experience is shared in the celestial regions. Seeing that this is so, mention has to be made of the hosts of the heaven when the Israelites are redeemed from physical exile on terrestrial earth. Further proof of this whole concept may be derived from the words in verse 46: “all the numbered ones amounted to, etc.” The Torah refers to the corresponding heavenly hosts which matched the number of Israelites who were counted. This is the reason that we do not find the word ישראל mentioned in verse 46. If you will take a closer look at chapter 2,32 you will suddenly find the name Israel mentioned. This strongly suggests that seeing the total number is identical to the number in chapter 1,46 where the name Israel is not mentioned, that the former refers to the number of angels corresponding to the number of Israelites who had been counted and whose number is reported in chapter 2,32.

“Lift up the head etc.” Although Rashi explained this as a term for “taking an accounting” (Exodus 30:12), nevertheless it used the language of lift up [se’u], when you lift up [ki tissa], lift up [nassa], because through the act of counting, God elevates and lifts them with greater elevation above all nations who do not have an individual count, like the straw that the owner of the threshing floor does not count. Similarly, the nations do not have individual Providence, only general providence for the preservation of the species, like other animals and beasts of the field. But each individual from Israel is watched over specifically, and even one of them is considered as important as an entire nation, as it says, and many of them will fall (Exodus 19:21) — even if only one of them falls, it is considered as if many have fallen. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them a count like the stars, about which it is said, He brings out their host by number, He calls them all by name (Isaiah 40:26). So too it is said here by the number of names to indicate that those who lead the many to righteousness are like stars forever (Daniel 12:3), and each one has individual Providence. And regarding the contradiction raised in Yoma 22b between verses — it is written, the number of the children of Israel (Hosea 2:1), which implies they have a number, and then it says, like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted — according to the simple meaning, this is not a contradiction, because with the Holy One, blessed be He, they certainly have a number like the stars that He brings out and brings in by number. Thus they have a number to indicate that the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over each one individually. And what is written which cannot be measured nor counted refers to human beings, who certainly cannot count them due to their great multitude. “Every male by their head-count.” Rashi explains this refers to [counting] by shekels. Many commentators disagree with him, saying that this census was conducted without shekels, and the language of the verse proves this by saying by their head-count. They attempted to explain why specifically the first census was done using shekels, suggesting it was because they needed them for the work of the Tabernacle. But this explanation is forced. It seems to me that certainly the purpose of the shekels was to protect from the evil eye, which affects things that are counted, but specifically in a census that reveals something new. For example, when one sees 100 gold coins with a poor man who is presumed to have no more, the evil eye has more effect on him than when one sees 1,000 gold coins with a wealthy man who is already established as affluent. Similarly, when Israel left Egypt, they were presumed to be few in number, for 70 souls went down to Egypt and they were further diminished there through oppression, affliction, and the casting of male children into the Nile. Then suddenly, in the first census, they were found to number 600,000 men, not including women and children. Certainly at that time there was reason to be concerned about the evil eye. This was not the case in other censuses, since they were already established as a numerous and mighty people. This is why King David counted them without half-shekels, for he certainly did not transgress the Torah’s commandment, as Scripture states that he sinned only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (First Kings 15:5). Rather, the commandment of shekels applied only to the first census, because in that case there was more concern that they might be harmed by the evil eye — both through natural means, as mentioned, and as a punishment, since that census occurred close to the sin of the Golden Calf. Justice would have demanded that many of them fall as punishment for that deed, and when it became known through the census that 600,000 remained, this would be surprising and invite the evil eye, as the sin contributed to this vulnerability. Therefore, they needed atonement for their souls and protection from the evil eye at that time, unlike in all other censuses.

שאו את ראש, “take a census of the whole community.” Rashi on Numbers 31,26, explains the use of the expression שאו ראש, as “take a count of the heads,” [in the sense of according value to the head of each person so counted. Ed] Nachmanides [who apparently had a different version of Rashi in which the words שאו ראש are compared to the command to an executioner to behead his victim Ed.] who understood these words in a derogatory sense, raises the question why it should be interpreted derogatively. He points out that in Midrash Rabbah on this verse the interpretation is one that is complimentary to the Jewish people, quoting G’d as telling the people that He had given them the highest rank, ראש, among the nations in a number of areas. One example for the admissibility of such an interpretation is when Joseph interprets to the head of the cupbearers of Pharaoh that he will be reinstated to his former position, saying ישא פרעה את ראשך, “Pharaoh will raise your head, etc.” (Genesis 40,13) On the other hand, should the Israelites fail to qualify for G’d’s benevolence, the same words may signal their impending destruction, as in the case of the chief of the bakers who was also told of his impending fate by Joseph employing the same introductory words.

שאו את ראש כל עדת, from this point on the Israelites were headed for the land of Israel, and all males over the age of 20 were enlisted in the army for that purpose, because on the 20th of the second month the Torah speaks of the people leaving the region of Mount Sinai, the cloud having lifted off the Tabernacle and begun to move ahead of the people. (Compare Numbers 10,11). In that chapter, verse 29, Moses invited his father-in-law Yitro to accompany the people who were now “journeying” toward the promised land. G’d issued the command to count the people so that one could keep track of how many soldiers there were. [and know if any would have become casualties in any battle. My words. Ed.]

שאו את ראש בני ישראל , “take a census of the sum of Children of Israel;” according to Rav b’chor shor, this census was performed by means of each person included handing over a shekel, as opposed to the census in Exodus 30,13, where only the total number of Israelite males between the ages of 20 and 60 was of interest. Here we find that the number counted in each tribe is listed separately, and they were listed according to families, i.e. each individual was of consequence. In Numbers, in the fortieth year after the Exodus it was of interest to number of members of each tribe all of whom had replaced the generation that had been condemned to die in the desert. This latter count did not include a single person who had been counted by Moses and Aaron at this time.

From twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army in Israel — you and Aaron shall number them, by their divisions.

כל יצא צבא [FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND UPWARDS] ALL THAT GO FORTH TO THE HOST — This tells us that no one less than twenty years of age goes forth to the host (cf. Rashi on Exodus 30:14 and Note thereon).

FROM TWENTY YEARS OLD AND UPWARD, ‘KOL YOTZEI TZAVA’ (ALL THAT ARE ABLE TO GO FORTH TO THE HOST) IN ISRAEL. “This tells us that no one under the age of twenty goes forth to the host. ‘Se’u eth rosh’ [literally: ‘take the head’ and generally translated: take ye the sum] of all the congregation of Israel. This is as one says to an executioner: ‘take that man’s head’.” This is Rashi’s language. Perhaps the reason for this [law that a male under twenty years old was not liable to military service] is because he is not strong enough for war under the age of twenty, as the Rabbis have said: “Twenty is the age for pursuit.” But it may be that the meaning of the phrase kol yotzei tzava is “all who go forth to be assembled in the congregation,” because the young men do not take part in such an assembly of the people, and every gathering of the people is called tzava, as in ‘[litzvo] tzava’ (to be counted among the host) for the work of the Tent of Meeting; he shall return from the ‘tz’va’ of the work; with the mirrors of the ‘tzov’oth’ that ‘tzav’u’ (women that congregated together); and similarly ‘tz’va’ (the host of) heaven; and all ‘tz’va’am’ (their host) I commanded. Therefore Scripture explains when speaking of men of war: ‘mi’tz’va’ (from the host of) the war; and the number of them reckoned ‘bi’tz’va’ (by the host) for the war. Scripture states here all that go forth to the host, similar to what it says, all that went out of the gate of the city. It states, ye shall number them by their ‘hosts’ [in the plural], because they consisted of many hosts, since each and every tribe was a great host. But as for Rashi’s expression when he wrote — “This is as one says to an executioner: ‘take that man’s head’” — it is not clear to me why the Sages should interpret the verse in this derogatory manner. If it is because [the people counted here] died in the desert [therefore He said, take the head …] whereas in the case of the tribe of Levi He said Number the children of Levi, since they were not included in the decree [that they die in the desert] — [this cannot be so], for in the second census [taken] of those who were to come into the Land it also uses the same [expression], take the head of all the congregation of the children of Israel! But in the Agadah (homiletic exposition) of Vayikra Rabbah the Rabbis explain it as an expression of praise [for the people]: “The term se’u always means ‘greatness’, as it is written, Pharaoh ‘yisa’ (shall lift up) thy head, and restore thee unto thy office. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: ‘I have given you an exaltation of the head, and I have likened you to Myself. Just as I am exalted above all inhabitants of the world, as it is said, Thine is the kingdom, O Eternal, and Thou art exalted as head above all, so to you also I have given an elevation of the head, as it is said, Lift up the head of all the congregation of the children of Israel, thus fulfilling that which is said, And He hath lifted up a horn...

"In Israel" — to exclude the mixed multitude.

תפקדו אתם, "you shall number them." The reason the Torah repeats this instruction, something which is contained in the command of "count the people" in verse two, is explained by Yalkut Shimoni on this verse as connected with the jealousy the Gentile nations would display when they became aware that G'd deemed only the Jews worthy of being counted individually. G'd would counter their complaint by inviting them to produce books tracing each family's genealogy. If they were able to do so they too would qualify for a census based on family affiliation as was being conducted amongst the Israelites. This is why G'd employed the expression שאו when He first commanded the Israelites to be counted; He told them that being counted was a form of elevation, promotion, for them as implied in the word שאו, "elevate, uplift!" Subsequently G'd explained in verse three that the males above the age of twenty were so elevated. It follows that the words תפקדו אתם are necessary to describe the actual commandment to count the people.

מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה, “from twenty years old and up;” from that age and up the males were considered as mature enough to serve in the army. Based on this verse, our sages at the end of chapter 5 in Ethics of our fathers, made the well known statement: בן עשרים לרדוף, “when having attained the age of twenty, one is fit to join the pursuit.” כל יצא צבא בישראל, “all who are able to go to war on behalf of Israel;” the repetition of this word excluded the mixed multitude who had joined the people only at the Exodus.

מבן עשרים שנה ולמעלה, “from twenty years old and up.” The reason that the under twenty-year olds were not included in the census was because they were not yet strong enough physically to be recruited for army duty. This is reflected in the statement by our sages in Avot, 5 (near end) that at twenty one is strong enough to engage in pursuit (of an enemy). כל יוצא צבא, “all those able to bear arms.” The Torah adds the word בישראל, “among the Israelites,” to exclude members of the recent converts to Judaism, the mixed multitude (Ibn Ezra). תפקדו אותם, “you are to count them.” The reason that the Torah did not use the word תספרו for counting here is that this was not a head count. The term פקידה implies (divine) supervision. The Israelites were commanded to find out how many of them there were, but they did not arrive at the number through counting heads but through counting the half-shekel each one of these men had to contribute. לצבאותם, “according to their hosts.” There were many different hosts (armies). Every single tribe had a substantial army. A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Bamidbar 19: the words “count them according to their hosts,” are reminiscent of Isaiah 43,4: “because you are precious to Me, and honoured, and I love you, I have given men in exchange for you and peoples in your stead.” G’d said to Yaakov: “you are so precious in My eyes that I have engraved your facial features on My throne, and the angels praise Me by employing your name, saying: ‘blessed be the name of the G’d of Israel from one end of time to the ultimate end of time.’” The Midrash breaks down these compliments into its constituent parts. “You are precious to Me,” because although I did not bother to count any of the other nations I counted you, giving you an importance expressed in numbers.“ This can be better understood in terms of a parable. A king had many barns most of which were filled with straw and other relatively worthless matters. He did not bother to count the precise contents of each of these barns. He had one barn, however, which was filled with wheat. He told his manager: “count for me how many measures of wheat are stored in that barn.” The king in the parable is a metaphor for G’d; the wheat is a metaphor for the Jewish people. We have a verse in Isaiah 21,10 comparing the Jewish people to grain when the prophet exclaims: “My threshing, the product of My threshing floor.” The harvest the prophet speaks about are the Jewish people as Jeremiah 2,3 described the Jewish people as “Israel is sacred to G’d, it is the first of His harvest.” The “manager” mentioned in the parable is a metaphor for Moses, of whom G’d Himself said in Numbers 17,7 that in “My entire house he is trusted.” Similarly, the barns filled with straw in the parable are metaphors for the Gentile nations concerning whom we have been told in Job 21,18: (Job speaking about the wicked) “Let them become like straw in the wind, like chaff carried off by a storm.” we also have a verse in Ovadiah 18 expressing similar sentiments, i.e. “and the house of Esau shall be straw; they shall burn it and devour it.” The Jewish people by way of contrast are compared to wheat, are described as righteous as per Isaiah 60,21: “and Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for all time; “ this is why G’d was so concerned with each one of them that He ordered each one to be counted.

From twenty years old and upward, etc. If this census was for the purpose of the Divine Presence resting [among them], why does it say all who go forth to the army? What does the matter of go forth to the army have to do with the Divine Presence resting [among them]? According to what I explained above, that the need for this census was to know if there were 22,000 for each camp of the Divine Presence of the 28 camps, so that they would be similar to the heavenly hosts, it is appropriate to say all who go forth to the army [tzava], referring to those who are worthy to be as one of the heavenly host [tzava]. As stated in the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 15:6), that Israel is called hosts as it says All the hosts of the Lord went out (Exodus 12:41), just as the angels are called hosts, as it says O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubim (Isaiah 37:16). The simple explanation is that “one who goes to the army” means for war. For if they had not sinned with the spies, they would have entered the land immediately. And even though sometimes there are valiant soldiers less than twenty years old, nevertheless, The Lord does not delight in the strength of man, but rather the matter depends on merit. And every person who is twenty years old, by virtue of being liable to punishment in the heavenly court, is more careful with his actions, and presumably has more merits to protect him in war. For the priest announces, “Who is the man who is afraid because of the transgressions in his hand? Let him go and return to his house.” And anyone less than twenty years old presumably is not as careful with his actions and does not have as many merits to outweigh his sins.

כל יוצא צבא בישראל, “every one who goes to join the army among the Israelites.” Rashi comments that we learn from this verse that no one under the age of twenty is to join the army, something that corresponds to what we learned in Avot, בן עשרים לרדוף, “at the age of twenty one has matured enough to give chase.” (Avot, 5,25) It is possible to interpret the words כל יוצא צבא, as referring to all the men old enough to participate in general assemblies of the people. We know that every such general assembly is described as צבא, as for instance in לצבא צבא לעבודה באהל מועד, “to take part in the assembly around the Tent of Meeting in order to perform service” (Numbers 4,23). Another example of such a meaning of the word צבא would be the well-known term צבא השמים, “heavenly assemblies.” (Deut 4,19 and 15 other examples throughout the Bible) This is the reason why men participating in wars are not just described as חיילים, or אנשים לבושים בדים, “soldiers, or men wearing uniforms, but as יוצאי צבא, similar to יוצאי שער עירו, (Genesis 24,34) “all those assembled in the public square of his town.” תפקדו אותם, “you are to count them.” Nachmanides writes that the use of the term פקידה instead of ספירה for counting is meant to show that each individual so counted was elevated to a higher status than he had possessed prior to being counted. He was brought to the special attention of G’d’s benevolent supervision of his individual fate. We find an example of the use of the word פקד in this sense when it did not involve counting at all, in Genesis 21,1 וה' פקד את שרה, “Hashem had remembered Sarah specifically, etc.” In our context the term implies that all the men so counted would henceforth enjoy G’d’s special individual protection. This became evident when we do not read about the armies of the Jewish people suffering any casualties with the single exception of the attack by the Canaanites after the death of Aaron, and even then the sole casualty, i.e. a captive, appears to have been a civilian. (Numbers 21,1) Instead of being counted head by head, each soldier tendered a silver coin of the value of half a shekel, as atonement for any sin he might have been guilty of at the time he was counted. When Yoav reluctantly counted part of the Jewish people at the insistence of King David, (Samuel II chapter 24) we find that the prophet describes the result of the census as מספר מפקד, this appears to mean that the total was arrived at after counting the number of silver coins tendered. We believe that the reason why G’d was so angry at the counting was not at the manner in which the census was taken, but was on account of the entire census having been unnecessary as no military threat existed at the time against the Kingdom of David. He wanted to glory in the vast number of subjects he ruled over. It is also possible that the word מספר there is justified as David commanded Yoav also to count men under 20 years of age, i.e. from 13 years and up. Doing this may have been the reason why he was punished, as he had never been permitted to count the people below the age of 20. One of the reasons G’d does not want the entire Jewish population to be counted may be because then the promise that they are as numerous as the stars, i.e. beyond man’s ability to count them, would not be true. When, in the above mentioned chapter when Yoav counted the people, there appears a line saying “the entire Jewish nation numbered one million three hundred thousand (including the men from the tribe of Yehudah) that could handle a sword;” this does not mean that all of these people were fighting in the front line, it merely means that all these people were physically fit and healthy, and in case of need could be mobilized for war. The sick, the elderly, and the handicapped were not included in that count, as no one can boast about being the ruler of such people. לצבאותם, “according to their legions.” There were numerous legions, the army of each tribe representing one legion.

And with you there shall be one man for each tribe, each man the head of his fathers' household.

ואתכם יהיו AND WITH YOU THERE SHALL BE [A MAN OF EVERY TRIBE] — when you number them there shall be with you the princes of each tribe.

"A man, a head" — this is a compressed expression; what is fitting would have been "a man, a man."

איש ראש לבית אבותיו, this is emphasised to show that no one challenged the authority and authenticity of the people representing themselves as the “heads of his family.” When the count occurred, אתכם in the presence of the family heads each one testifying to the age of the individuals concerned, no one would dare to challenge the accuracy of the data provided by the family head.

“And with you there shall be a man from each tribe, a man who is the head of his father’s house.” Since it already said a man from each tribe, why did it repeat a man who is the head of his father’s house? It is reasonable to say that this is similar to what the commentators wrote on the verse Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:16). This means that he [Dan] did not favor his own tribe, which was called his people, but rather he judged them as one of the tribes of Israel, treating them the same as any other tribe. Similarly, these tribal leaders were virtuous, and each one was a man for his tribe. Each leader acted with strength toward his entire tribe, exercising his leadership role with authority. And not only did he do this for those members of the tribe who were somewhat distant from him, but he was even the head of his father’s house — to those closest to him — he also served as their leader, exercising his authority over them. And as for why the princes were not mentioned in the first counting, it is because now they were being divided into four flags, and each prince needed to know who and who were walking and camping under his flag. And Aaron was not mentioned in the first counting because it was to know those remaining after the downfall due to the incident of the Golden Calf, which Aaron was the cause of. Therefore, he was not there, but only here with the dwelling of the Divine Presence, which Aaron was a cause for through the sacrifices.

These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: for Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

"For Reuben" — it begins with the firstborn, as the verse states: "yet not so that he was to be reckoned in the genealogy as first-born" (I Chron. 5:1).

לראובן אליצור בן שדיאור, “of Reuven, Elitzur son of Sh’deyur. He was mentioned first, as the original Reuven had been Yaakov’s firstborn son.”

לראובן, Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the members of the tribe of Reuven were counted first was because chronologically speaking, he was the first born of Yaakov’s children. Once all the children of Leah had been counted, the Torah switches to Joseph who was Rachel’s first born. Ephrayim was counted first, in accordance with the rank accorded him when Yaakov blessed him on his deathbed, switching hands in order to place his right hand on him. This was followed by counting the tribe of Dan, who was the senior son of the maidservants of Leah and Rachel. Then followed Asher, who was the leading tribe in the camp of Dan. He in turn was by followed by Naftali, who represented the senior son of Leah’s servant maid.

for Simeon, Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai;

שלומיאל בו צורישדי, “Shlumiel son of Tzurishaday.” This was his name. He was also known as זמרי בן סלוא, (compare Numbers 25,14) or שאול בן הכנענית, “Saul, son theCanaanite woman.” (According to the Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin, folio 82 where this statement is elaborated on.)

for Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab;

for Issachar, Nethanel son of Zuar;

for Zebulun, Eliab son of Helon;

for the sons of Joseph: for Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; for Manasseh, Gamliel son of Pedahzur;

"For the sons of Joseph" — they come after the sons of Leah, on account of the honor due to Rachel over the handmaids. It begins with Ephraim, following the way of our patriarch Jacob, who gave precedence to Ephraim and Manasseh over Benjamin, since they stand in Joseph's place. After that it begins with Dan, who is the firstborn of the handmaids, and after him Asher — for Hashem knew that Asher would be the chief of those encamped on the standard of Dan. After that comes Gad, for he is the firstborn of Leah's handmaid.

לבני יוסף, “of the Children of Joseph;” they are mentioned after the children of Leah as a sign of respect to their mother Rachel. The Torah mentions the younger son Ephrayim first, as this is what their father Yaakov did when he blessed them before his death. (Ibn Ezra) Ephrayim and Menashe, though grandsons of Yaakov, are mentioned before his son Binyamin, as combined they represented Rachel’s firstborn son Joseph.

לבני יוסף לאפרים, “For the children of Joseph,- for Ephrayim;” after the Torah had first enumerated all the sons of Leah it now turns to the sons of Rachel, mentioning Ephrayim ahead of Menashe the older seeing Yaakov had blessed Ephrayim first on is deathbed (compare Genesis 48,20). Afterwards the Torah mentioned the descendants of Binyamin. Although born last, the Torah honoured the memory of Rachel by mentioning him ahead of the sons of the maidservants. When listing the four sons of the maidservants, the Torah begins with Dan who was the senior of those four sons, whereas the Torah lists Asher next seeing that he was encamped next to Dan (compare 2,27). Next the Torah lists Gad who was the older of the sons of Zilpah. Next to him was Naftali.

for Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni;

for Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai;

לדן, “of Dan;” he is mentioned first among the four sons of the concubines, as he was the firstborn among them. Asher is mentioned next to him, as his tribe was the leading one in the group of tribes encamped around his flag. (Numbers 2,27) This is followed by Gad, who was the firstborn son of Leah’s servant maid.

for Asher, Pagiel son of Ochran;

for Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel;

for Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan."

These were the ones called of the congregation, the leaders of their fathers' tribes, the heads of the thousands of Israel.

אלה קרואי העדה THESE WERE THOSE CALLED OF THE CONGREGATION — those who were called upon for every matter of importance that happened in the congregation.

"The summoned of the congregation" — the meaning is that the congregation would do nothing until they were called. "Tribes of their fathers" — the meaning refers to the tribes, and each one is a prince of his tribe. "Heads of the thousands of Israel" — each one was head over all the thousands of his tribe, for there is a commander over each thousand.

אלה קריאי, “these are the elect, etc.” the word קריאי, is read as if it had been spelled ;קרואי ראשי אלפי ישראל, “the heads of the thousands of Israel.” Each of the people named here was the head of the thousands belonging to his tribe.

קרואי העדה, “the above named were so described as their importance was such that no decisions were taken unless these men were present.”

And Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name,

האנשים האלה [AND MOSES AND AARON] TOOK THESE MEN — these twelve princes. אשר נקבו WHO WERE MENTIONED to him (Moses) here בשמות BY NAME.

"And Moses and Aaron took" — them with them. "The men who were designated" — that is, those who were specified by name, as in "whomever the mouth of Hashem designates" (Isa. 62:2).

and they assembled the entire congregation on the first day of the second month, and they recorded their genealogies by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, head by head.

ויתילדו על משפחותם THEY DECLARED THEIR PEDIGREES AFTER THEIR FAMILIES — They brought the records of their pedigree and witnesses to confirm the prevalent presumption regarding their parentage, so that each might establish his pedigree with regard to the particular tribe (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 684).

AND THEY ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION TOGETHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH. Scripture mentions [the date although it is already stated in Verse 1 above, to indicate] the zeal of our teacher Moses in [fulfilling] the command of G-d for on the very day of the communication [that he was to take a census of the people] he took the princes of the tribes and assembled all the congregation and began to count them. The count, however, was not completed in one day, and therefore He states again, so did he number them in the wilderness of Sinai, in order to inform [us] that the counting was all done in that place, but was not all [finished] on that day. VA’YITHYALDU’ (AND THEY DECLARED THEIR PEDIGREES) AFTER THEIR FAMILIES. “They brought the documents of their genealogy and witnesses confirming the birth of each of them, so as to prove their descent from their [respective] tribes.” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear [correct to say] that they should have to bring genealogical documents and witnesses with regard to belonging to a [particular] tribe. Rather, va’yithyaldu means that they were counted by their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, the sense thereof being to state that the whole congregation assembled, as Moses had commanded them by the order of the Holy One, blessed be He, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, except for the mixed multitude who were not of the children of Israel, for they were recognizable amongst them from the day that they had gone out of Egypt. Thus each man in the congregation brought his [half-] shekel and said to Moses and the princes: “I so-and-so was born to such-and-such a person of such-and-such a family, which is of the tribe of Reuben,” or some other tribe, and Moses put the shekels of each particular tribe in a special place [to be counted later], so that he would know the sum of [each] individual [tribe] and of all the tribes together. And the proof for this is that at the second census [taken when they were about to enter the Land of Israel] where the families [of each tribe] are mentioned, it does not say va’yithyaldu, nor does it mention according to the number of names, by their polls, [as it says here in Verse 19]. This is because ever since the tribes had pitched by their standards, they were separated from each other and it was clearly known to which tribe each family belonged; thus they only had to know how many families there were in each tribe, and each family counted its men by their polls, but not according to the number of names. Therefore the princes of the tribes did not have to be present [with Moses] at that [second] census [as was stipulated at the first census — in Verse 4 — since the princes of the tribes were only needed in order to identify which families belonged to which tribe, and this was already known at the time of the second census]. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that va’yithyaldu means that they were asked when they were born, in or...

"And they declared their genealogies" — they sought [to establish] when each was born, on account of the calculation of twenty years; at that point their lineages were recorded.

ויתילדו על משפחותם, seeing the purpose of the count was to know who would have to join the ranks of those going to war, it was important to have genealogically pure men, not any who were the product of forbidden unions. Knowledge that they were the children of unblemished parentage would protect them when exposed to the dangers present in any war and battle. We find a similar thought expressed in Kidushin 76 that “the credentials of people recorded in the king’s register need not be investigated any further.” On folio 70 of the Talmud there we also find the statement that the Shechinah does not rest protectively except over genetically “pure” families.

ואת כל העדה…באחד לחדש, and the entire community, on the first of the second month. The Torah announced that the Israelites assembled on the very day the instructions were issued. This is proof that everyone was equipped with a "book" showing who he was and who his father was. The people did not have to go and look for corroboration of their family status by looking for witnesses, etc. This is what the Torah meant by the word ויתילדו being written next to the words "on the first of the second month." ויתילדו, "they declared their pedigrees, etc." Rashi comments: "they each brought a book showing their pedigrees and witnesses to their birth in order to prove which tribe they belonged to." Nachmanides does not agree that there was a need for documentation of their status but claims that when each Israelite brought his half shekel he announced who he was and to which tribe he belonged. Moses placed the shekalim of each tribe in a separate box so that he knew how many members each tribe numbered. Perhaps the reason that at this point it had become necessary to produce documentation plus witnesses was to foil the attempt of any bastard who was aware of who his father was and who would produce a book listing his father's prior pedigree claiming to be a member of that tribe based on information provided by his mother.

ויתילדו, “they declared their pedigrees;” (according to Rashi). Another interpretation of this word: they asked their parents for details of when they had been born in order to determine if they had been twenty years old at the time of the Exodus. (Ibn Ezra)

ואת כל העדה הקהילו באחד לחדש השני, “They gathered together the entire assembly on the first of the second month;” On the very day G’d spoke to Moses, Moses and Aaron assembled the entire people and began to organise and count them; however, the count was not completed in a single day. This is why the Torah had to write: “he numbered them in the desert of Sinai“ (verse 19). He completed the count in the same spot though not on the same date. This is the view of Nachmanides. ויתילדו על משפחותם, “they proved their genealogy according to their families.” They had to ask their parents when exactly they had been born in order to know if they had reached the age of twenty. Alternatively, the Torah means that each one recorded their genealogy in writing proving which tribe he belonged to. This is the view of Ibn Ezra.

ואת כל העדה הקהילו באחד לחודש השנית, “They called together the whole assembly on the first of the second month, etc.” Nachmanides points out with what alacrity Moses went about his task, in taking the princes on the very day he had received the instructions from Hashem; he assembled the whole community and began the task of taking the census. Clearly, the taking of the census was a task that could not be completed on that day, but took considerably longer. ויתילדו על משפחותם לבית אבותם, “they established their genealogy according to their families, according to their father’s household.” Rashi claims that each of the people concerned submitted a booklet containing the respective family tree. They also supplied witnesses that testified to their true ages, i.e. when each one of them had been born, (as explained by Onkelos) Nachmanides writes that it appears quite unreasonable to suggest that each person had to document his claim to which family he belonged and when he had been born. He claims that the meaning of the words ויתילדו וגו', simply mean that they identified themselves as belonging to certain families in certain tribes, the family being defined in terms of the respective fathers. The entire procedure had been commanded to Moses, more or less to the last detail, i.e. these people all came to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present themselves for the count; the census takers did not make house calls. The only ones who did not present themselves at that time were the members of the ערב רב, the mixed multitude who accompanied the Israelites when they left Egypt, all people who were not natural born Jews. Each person made a verbal declaration in front of Moses and the respective leader of his tribe that he was so-and-so and was of age. Moses deposited the coins according to the respective tribe of the person who tendered it, so that he knew at the end how many men of military age each tribe had contributed to the grand total. Proof that this was the procedure may be seen when at the second count no mention is made in the Torah of the line ויתילדו על משפחותם, neither is the expression במספר שמות לגולגלותם, “according to their headcount” repeated there. (Compare Numbers chapter 26). The reason why there was no need for this at the time of the second census was simply that the division into tribal units had already been made on the occasion of the first census and those records were readily available. When these people were counted as members of individual families, it appears that there was no objection to the “headcount.” They did not then have to present a coin or shard. There also was no need at that time for the respective princes of each tribe to be present during the count. Ibn Ezra says that the word ויתילדו means that each one had to inform Moses and his tribal prince of the date and year of his birth. Some commentators say that the reason why we find here the words במספר שמות, “according to the number of names,” added, was to teach us that none of them had changed the name by which they had been known in Egypt.

As Hashem had commanded Moses, so they numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

"And he counted them" — Moses, who is the principal [agent]. He began with Reuben, for he is the firstborn, followed by Simeon, who was born after him, and after him Gad, the firstborn of Leah's handmaid. Thus [we have] the standard of Reuben, then the standard of Judah, then the standard of Ephraim, then the standard of Dan — those encamped on each standard as [arranged] at the dedication of the altar. Know that since all the tribes were twelve — with Levi going out [of the count] and Joseph having two sons — and the directions of the world are four, there are three [tribes] to each direction. Now Leah had five sons [in the count]; one had to be taken away, leaving her two standards. The standard was completed with the firstborn of her handmaid, who was placed with the standard of Reuben — who is likewise a firstborn. The second standard belongs to Judah, with his younger brothers encamped alongside him. Rachel has a standard of her own, with Ephraim — standing in Joseph's place — preceding Manasseh, in accordance with Jacob's words. The fourth standard belongs to the firstborn of Rachel's handmaid, followed by Asher — even though Asher may be younger than Naphtali, the status accorded the standard of Rachel's handmaid's son was assigned to the son of Leah's handmaid. If you look carefully you will understand that the head [of the camp] is toward the south and the rear toward the north — I cannot explain this here — and therefore Reuben is in the south, for he is the head, and Dan in the north. Know that among the tribes none were as mighty as the tribe of Judah, which is compared to a lion's cub, and the tribe of Dan, which is similarly compared in the words of Moses; therefore these two are placed first and last. The phrase "by their polls" is mentioned for Reuben and also for Simeon, to indicate [the rule for] the others, for Scripture takes the shorter path.

כאשר צוה ה' את משה, “as the Lord had commanded Moses;” these words belong to verse 18, where Moses is reported as having assembled all the people. [I suppose our author found a sentence commencing with “as, כאשר,” as somewhat unusual. Ed.] ויפקדם במדבר סיני, “he counted them in the desert of Sinai.” The tribes were counted there, one after another in the order in which their respective flags had been arranged He commenced the count with the eldest son of Yaakov, Reuven.

ויפקדם במדבר סיני, the reason why the Torah mentions the location of this count is because during the second such count in Numbers 26,3 the Torah mentions that it took place in the wilderness around Moav, prior to the assault on the land of Israel before crossing the Jordan river. At that time after the death of Aaron, Moses issued these instructions to Eleazar, Aaron’s son and successor.

The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

בכור ישראל. He had not lost his status in the books kept in heaven as he had repented his sin as testified in Genesis 35,22-23 commencing with the otherwise unnecessary words ויהיו בני יעקב שנים עשר, “that Yaakov’s sons remained twelve.” This was in contrast to Reuven’s birthright privileges here on earth having been revoked in favour of Joseph.

כל יוצא צבא, all who were able to go to war. The Torah repeats this comment every time the number of males in a tribe is given. This is because the Torah wants to tell us that amongst all the males over the age of twenty counted there was not even one who was physically unfit to go to war.

ויהיו בני ראובן, “and the members of the tribe of Reuven, (the males over 20 years) amounted to, etc;” the tribes (excluding the tribe of Levi) were counted there one after another, in the order of their respective flags. Therefore Moses began with Reuven, followed by Yehudah the leader of all the tribes, followed Ephrayim and Dan. ראובן בכור ישראל, “Reuven, Israel’s firstborn;” this point had to be made again as the first tribe in the marching order was Yehudah. (B’chor shor) The reason why this point was made by the Torah at this juncture, was to explain that the only reason why he was counted first was that biologically, he was the first son of his father.

ויהיו בני ראובן בכור ישראל, “The members of the tribe of Reuven, Yaakov’s firstborn were, etc.” The Torah gave the number of members of the tribe of Reuven first, although in the list of encampments it listed Yehudah first, (2,3) seeing that Reuven was the biological firstborn. Shimon was listed next, in accordance with seniority of birth. Gad was listed next as he was the firstborn of Leah’s maidservant. Next the Torah lists the tribes which were grouped around the flag of Yehudah. Issachar and Zevulun who formed part of the army group are listed in that order as part of the camp of Yehudah. Subsequently the Torah lists Ephrayim followed by the tribes who were part of his camp, i.e. Menashe and Binyamin. Finally, the Torah lists Dan followed by Asher and Naftali who were part of his camp and flag. The tribes’ camps (Dan, Asher, Naftali last) are listed in the same order as here when the offerings on the occasion of the inauguration of the Altar in the Tabernacle are recorded in Numbers chapter 7. The number of tribes listed and counted here are 12, seeing Levi is not included and two separate tribes are counted as Joseph. They were encamped facing the four directions East, South, West, North. Each army group comprised three tribes. Among the twelve tribes the tribe of Yehudah and Dan were the ones best known for their bravery; this is why they traveled at the head and at the rear of the Israelites respectively. Both of these tribes have been described at different times as גור אריה, “lion cub” (Genesis 49,9 and Deut. 33,22). The word לגלגלותם, “according to their heads,” an expression used by the Torah only in connection with the tribes of Reuven and Shimon (verse 20 and 22), is one that applied to all the tribes. The reason that it was spelled out only with these two tribes may be that both of these tribes required atonement for sins committed by their respective founding fathers against Yaakov, and this is why the word פקודיו, “its numbered ones,” is also repeated in Shimon’s case, indicating that by now they were on a par with all the other tribes. Perhaps in the case of Shimon that word may not mean “numbered,” but may be a reference to the use of the word in the Ten Commandments, where G’d speaks about “remembering the sins of the fathers to the later generations” (Exodus 20,5). Verse 22 then ought to be translated as follows: “The matters remembered for the tribe of Shimon and his offspring according to their families and their fathers’ houses were, etc.” The words במספר שמות, “according to the number of names,” belong to what follows, to the word פקודיהם. The Torah wished to convey that actually the descendants of Shimon carried the burden of the sin of their founding-father and his part in the sale of Joseph (instigator) and by rights they should have paid for that unatoned for crime. Proof that Shimon had been the instigator of the violence committed against Joseph at the time is the fact that he was the only one detained by Joseph in Egypt after he permitted the other brothers to return and to bring Binyamin to Egypt on their next trip. (Compare Genesis 37,24, 42,24, Bereshit Rabbah 84,16). The number of males counted in the tribe of Shimon, i.e. 59,300 was in itself an allusion to the fact that Satan had some control over their number and that at the time when their leader Zimri committed his famous indiscretion with Kosbi bat Tzur, the princess of Midian, publicly cohabiting with her, (Numbers 25,14) the decree which had long been held in suspense was finalized and their number was reduced to 22,200 as we find at the next count (Numbers 26,14). The reason why in the case of Naftali the Torah writes בני נפתלי instead of לבני נפתלי as it did in the case of all the other tribes may be due to the fact that Naftali was different from all the other tribes having more daughters than sons. This was already hinted at in Yaakov’s blessing who phrased his blessing in the feminine gender, i.e. אילה שלוחה instead of איל שלוח (compare Genesis 49,21). By writing בני נפתלי, the Torah singles out the males among a preponderance of females.

ויהיו בני ראובן בכור ישראל, “the number of males counted of the tribe of Reuven, Yaakov’s firstborn son was etc.” this is pointed out, as when it came to the marching in order of the tribes, Yehudah was the first. Reuven was mentioned here first is that he was Yaakov’s firstborn son. במספר שמות לגגלתם, “according to the number of their names, head by head.” Why does the word לגלגלתם occur only in connection with the members of the tribe of Reuven and Shimon, and none of the other tribes? The reason is that when Yaakov spoke to each of his sons prior to dying, he chided both Reuven and Shimon, instead of giving them an outright blessing. They were therefore in need of atonement, forgiveness. The function of counting by means of the silver coins was in order to achieve atonement, [although these descendants had no special need to atone for the sins of their forefathers. Ed.] At any rate, Moses wished to assure them that they had no longer any need for atonement.

their count for the tribe of Reuben was forty-six thousand five hundred.

The sons of Simeon — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, their count by the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Simeon was fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

The sons of Gad — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

לבני גד, “of the members of the tribe of Gad;” the Torah ranks him as third in the list, as he was the firstborn of the maidservants of his mother. (His mother was the maidservant of Leah, who also had produced Yaakov’s firstborn).

their count for the tribe of Gad was forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

The sons of Judah — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Judah was seventy-four thousand six hundred.

The sons of Issachar — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Issachar was fifty-four thousand four hundred.

The sons of Zebulun — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Zebulun was fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

The sons of Joseph — the sons of Ephraim — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

OF THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH, NAMELY, OF THE CHILDREN OF EPHRAIM. Scripture mentioned Ephraim before Menasheh, and stated Joseph’s relationship to him [which it does not do in the case of Menasheh], and similarly later [Scripture gave Ephraim precedence] at the [division of the tribes according to their] standards, by making him master of the standard, [whilst Menasheh is mentioned merely as one of the two tribes gathered around him], because in accordance with Jacob’s blessing he was to be [given the honor accorded to] the firstborn, and his brother [Menasheh] was to be second to him. Moreover, the sons of Ephraim were more numerous than those of Menasheh [and hence Ephraim was mentioned first]. But at the second census in the plains of Moab Scripture mentioned Menasheh first, because at that time his sons were more numerous [than those of Ephraim], and [also because] they took their inheritance first. Similarly when mentioning the princes of the Land [who were to take possession of the Land for their respective tribes] Scripture mentioned Menasheh first, and also Joseph’s relationship to him. In [the story of] the spies, however, Scripture mentioned Ephraim first, and Joseph’s relationship it stated only in referring to the tribe of Menasheh. It appears to me by way of homiletic exposition that it is on account of the evil report that Joseph brought [to his father] concerning his brothers that Scripture, [in the story of the spies], associates with him the spy who [was among those who] spread the evil report [about the Land, namely the spy from the tribe of Menasheh, whereas the spy from the tribe of Ephraim was Joshua the son of Nun, who was not among those who spread the evil report]. Or it may be that Scripture [in relating the story of the spies] gave honor to both [tribes who were descended from Joseph], and Ephraim had sufficient honor in its prince [Joshua the son of Nun who ministered to Moses, therefore Scripture mentioned the honor of descent from Joseph only in the case of Menasheh].

לבני יוסף לבני אפרים, Nachmanides writes that Ephrayim, the younger son of Joseph was given precedence over his older brother Menashe and Joseph’s genealogy is linked to him both here and when it came to the “flags,” the groupings of three tribes each around their flags, seeing that he was the one in his group that was the flag bearer, and also because he was numerically a much larger tribe (41.500) than his brother tribe Menashe. (32.500) However, on the occasion of the census in the 40th year in the wilderness of Moav, you will note that the tribe of Menashe (52.700) had in the meantime become more numerous than Ephrayim. (32.500) They also received their ancestral land before Ephrayim, seeing that half the tribe remained on the East bank of the Jordan with the tribes Reuven and Gad. He also took precedence when the Torah reports the names of the tribal heads in charge at the time of the entry of he people into their ancestral land. (Numbers 34, 23-24) On the other hand, although Ephrayim’s representative of the 12 tribes during the mission of the spies is listed first, Joseph himself, in that connection, is linked directly to Menashe. (Numbers 13,8) In trying to understand the various occasions when the respective brothers Ephrayim and Menashe appear in different sequences, perhaps the fact that just as Joseph, who, in his youth was guilty of slandering his brothers, Menashe, i.e. the spy representing the Tribe of Joseph-Menashe, Gad, did join the majority in slandering the land of Israel, as opposed to the representative of his younger brother Ephrayim, i.e. Joshua, who did not. Moses may have listed Ephrayim first, without mentioning that he was part of the tribe of Joseph. (Numbers 13,8) This may serve as a reminder that sometimes the son commits the same type of error as had his father. (Compare daat z’keynim baaley tossaphot Numbers 13,11) Ibn Ezra explains that the army was made up of 12 tribes excluding the tribe of Levi, so that the tribe of Joseph was represented by his two sons Ephrayim and Menashe. There were four army groups of three tribes each placed in the four directions of the surface of the earth. Leah had 6 sons, Seeing that the tribe of Levi, descended from one of Leah’s sons was not included in the men serving in the army, the first camp, (flag) comprised of the tribes Reuven and Shimon, both from the sons of Leah, co-opted a third, Gad, the senior son of Leah’s maid Zilpah. The second camp (flag) was comprised of the tribes of Yehudah, who was joined by tribes descended from his younger brothers Issachar and Zevulun. The third camp contained only tribes descended from Rachel, i.e. Ephrayim, Menashe and Binyamin. The fourth camp was comprised of Dan, Asher and Naftali. Naftali was the younger one of the three tribes comprising that camp. He was listed first in order that the flag of that camp be guarded by the senior son of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah. The reason why Yehudah’s group was placed at the head and Dan’s at the rear, was that these two tribes excelled in valour and in the art of warfare.

their count for the tribe of Ephraim was forty thousand five hundred.

The sons of Manasseh — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Manasseh was thirty-two thousand two hundred.

The sons of Benjamin — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Benjamin was thirty-five thousand four hundred.

The sons of Dan — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Dan was sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

The sons of Asher — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Asher was forty-one thousand five hundred.

The sons of Naphtali — their generations by their families, by their fathers' households, by the number of names, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army:

their count for the tribe of Naphtali was fifty-three thousand four hundred.

These are the counts that Moses and Aaron counted, along with the leaders of Israel — twelve men, one man for each of his fathers' households.

אלה הפקודים, every single one of the aforementioned had been personally counted by Moses and Aaron.

And all the counts of the children of Israel, by their fathers' households, from twenty years of age and upward, all who go out to the army in Israel —

AND ALL THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BY THEIR FATHERS’ HOUSES … ALL THAT WERE ABLE TO GO FORTH TO WAR IN ISRAEL. It was necessary for Scripture to state the collective number of the people although it had already stated the individual numbers [of each of the tribes], because Moses and Aaron were commanded to ascertain the total number of the people counted, as well as the number of [people in] each tribe, for such is the way of kings when they take a census of their people. However I have not understood the reason for this commandment, namely why the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded [that they should ascertain the number of the people]. For whilst there was indeed a need for them [the people] to establish their relationship to the [individual] tribes because of the [division of the tribes of Israel according to four] standards, I cannot understand why G-d commanded that they find out the number [of men in each tribe]. Perhaps it was in order to proclaim His mercy over them, for it was with [only] threescore and ten persons that their fathers went down into Egypt, and now they were as the sand of the sea, so many men [above] the age of twenty [not to mention the women and children]. After every epidemic and plague He counted them again in order that they should know that it is He that increaseth the nations; He woundeth, and His hands make whole. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have said: “Because of His abundant love for them He counts them every now and then.” Furthermore, he who comes before the father of the prophets, and his brother [Aaron] the holy one of the Eternal and becomes known to them by name, receives thereby a merit and life, because he has come in the council of the people and in the register of the house of Israel, and he receives a part in the merits of the community by being included in their numbers. Similarly, each of the people receive a special merit through being counted by number before Moses and Aaron, for they will set their eyes upon them for good, and intercede on their behalf for mercy, [just as it is said], The Eternal, the G-d of your fathers, make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and He will not reduce your numbers, and the shekels shall be a redemption for your souls. And in Bamidbar Sinai Rabbah I have seen the following text: “According to the number of names … by their polls. The Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to count them each with respect and [to treat] each one of them with [the honor due to] greatness. [Thus He said]: You shall not say to the head of the family: ‘How many people are there in your family? How many sons do you have?’ but they are each to pass before you with awe and in respect, and you shall count them. — It is with reference to this that it is written, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. ”It is also possible for us to say that [the reason for ascertaining their numbers] was similar to the prac...

The meaning of "and all the enrolled of the children of Israel were" is that only those counted were those aged twenty years and above; and thereafter: "and all the enrolled" in their totality.

ויהיו כל פקודי....כל יוצאי בישראל צבא, none were over sixty years of age, as people of that age and beyond were not allowed to go out to war. We know this from Baba Batra 121 concerning Yair ben Menashe and others included in the count mentioned there. The decree that the generation of the spies would have to die in the desert applied only to the ones between 20-60. Those younger or older at the time of the spies’ trip were exempt from this decree.

ויהיו כל פקודי בני ישראל לבית אבותם מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה, “All the people of the Children of Israel who were numbered according to their fathers’ households and who were over twenty years old, amounted to, etc.” Some people use this verse to prove that the twenty-year olds were not included in the census and that only people over twenty were included in the census (Ibn Ezra). Why did the Torah repeat the words 'ויהיו כל הפקודים וגו' once more in verse 46 before proceeding to inform us of the total number? It is possible that the first time the word ויהיו occurs it refers to the number, whereas the second time the word refers to the קיום of these people, i.e. that they all remained alive (did not die except at the command of G’d). There was a need for this blessing as the evil eye exerts its influence on all matters which have undergone counting. This is also why, during the Torah’s report of the six days of creation, the word ויהי is used again and again to act as a counterweight to the power of the evil eye. The word ויהי in connection with what G’d created during those days means that He decreed that it should endure and not become extinct. When you look at Jeremiah 31,34-35 you will find that the prophet uses the word מהיות, to indicate the eternal existence of the Jewish people as comparable to the eternal existence of the universe G’d had created during those six days.

all their counts were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

ויהיו כל הפקודים, “the grand total of all the men thus mustered, etc.” Nachmanides, in searching for a reason why the Torah had to tell us the total again, seeing it had already told us the number of men that were counted in each tribe, claims that this is the manner in which kings conduct themselves when they take a census of their subjects. However, he admits that he does not know why G’d commanded Moses to do so. He speculates that possibly the Torah wanted the people to reflect on the fact that a family who had numbered only 70 souls and children included, had grown within the relatively short period of 211 years to comprise at least two and a half million souls when allowing for the people under 20 and all the women. It is also possible that the Torah did proceed here in the manner human kings proceed before going into battle, counting totals in addition to the number and composition of each army group. After all, when the Jewish people left Mount Sinai they were poised to begin the conquest of the land of their forefathers, and if they had not insisted on spying out the land (something that consumed 40 days) they would most likely have found themselves at war within a few days of their departure, Moses himself described the distance to the boundary of that land as only 11 days’ march (Deuteronomy 1,2) Moses, when inviting his father-in-law to join the people had told him that they were about to depart for their ultimate destination. (Numbers 10,29) It was necessary for both Moses and the princes to know the numbers of each tribe and army group in order to be able to account for each soldier after the campaign, and to determine if there had been any casualties and how many there had been. Although, in the event there were none, Judaism, i.e. the Torah, does not base its calculations on supernatural miracles occurring.

But the Levites, by the tribe of their fathers, were not counted among them.

BUT THE LEVITES AFTER THE TRIBE OF THEIR FATHERS WERE NOT NUMBERED AMONG THEM. Moses had understood at the beginning of his own accord that he should not count the Levites [with the other tribes], because he had been told, And with you there shall be a man of every tribe etc., meaning that each of the tribes that were to be counted should have their prince present, and since G-d had not appointed a prince for the tribe of Levi, hence he [Moses] did not count them. Therefore he was in doubt about the Levites and did not know what to do with them. And when he had finished all those who were counted of the people, and the Levites remained alone [uncounted], the Holy One, blessed be He, explained to him that he was not to count them among the children of Israel but that he should take their sum separately, for he was to appoint them over the Tabernacle of the Testimony. He stated ‘p’kod’ [‘number’ — in the singular] the children of Levi meaning that he [Moses] was to count them by himself without [the assistance of] the princes, and it was he [Moses] who called upon Aaron to be with him, since he [Aaron] was the prince of that tribe, and just as the princes of Israel were [present] at [the counting of] their tribes, so was the prince of the Levites to be present when they were counted. Perhaps that is the reason for the dots [in the Torah] on the word ‘v’Aharon’ [and Aaron, in the phrase: All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses ‘and Aaron’ numbered] since his [assistance in the counting] was not by the express commandment of G-d. Afterwards, [however], when the Levites were appointed to their individual services and burdens, Moses called upon the princes of the congregation to be with him, as it is said, All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the princes of Israel numbered, since it was fitting that they should all give their assent to and supervise the establishment of the mishmaroth. And Scripture repeats in another place, These are they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites … whom Moses and Aaron numbered ‘according to the commandment of the Eternal’ by the hand of Moses Because He had already hinted through the dots [on the word v’Aharon] that Aaron had to be there, from which Moses understood that he was to do so, [hence it says according to the commandment of the Eternal]. But the [presence of the] princes of the congregation [at the numbering of the Levites] was not obligatory, and Moses called them in order to show them respect, [therefore Scripture does not state that their presence was “according to the commandment of the Eternal”]. In Tractate Bechoroth the Rabbis have said that the dots on the word Aharon are to hint that Aaron himself was not counted at all in the census of the Levites.

"Were enrolled" — this derives from two conjugations: it is in the hitpa'el binyan, as well as the binyan in which the name of the doer is not mentioned.

לא התפקדו, were not counted by the officials appointed to conduct the census, nor did they count themselves. (compare Ibn Ezra on this) They had not prepared themselves as had the other people for coming to the assembly point and providing documents proving their identity and genealogy. What is mentioned in this verse all referred to the time prior to G’d announcing in verse 49 that the tribe of Levi should not be included in this census. The Levites had been awaiting instructions concerning how they were going to be counted. The reason they had reason to wonder was that the tribe of Levi had not been mentioned in the list of tribes during this entire chapter when the Torah referred to “each man per each tribe” in verse 4.

והלוים…לא התפקדו בתוכם, and the Levites…were not numbered among them. I have explained this in connection with verse 2.

והלוים...לא התפקדו בתוכם, “But the Levites’ census was not included in that of the other twelve tribes.” Nachmanides writes, that notwithstanding the fact that up until then no directive had been given to count the Levites separately and according to different criteria, Moses realized on his own that he was not meant to include them as an integral part of that census. One of the reasons was that whereas a leader had been named for each of the other tribes, no one had been appointed as the leader of the tribe of Levi. At any rate, while Moses was in doubt how to proceed, he would not arrogate the decision to himself, and as soon as he had concluded the counting of the other twelve tribes, G’d told him how to proceed with the Levites. He called Aaron, in order to give him the honour, seeing that he was the de facto leader of the tribe. Perhaps this is the reason why we find dots on the word ואהרן (verse 39) i.e. a hint that Aaron was in Moses‘ company when G’d told him how to count the Levites. Subsequently, in 4,46 as well as in 4,36 and 4,45 we are also told about the respective leaders’ presence during these counts, as everything had to be done with the approval of all the notables concerned. The same applied to the division of the tasks to be performed by the various groups of Levites, each group headed by descendants of one of the three sons of Levi, son of Yaakov.

והלוים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם, as will be spelled out in detail later in verse 49 where the command not to count them with the other tribes is reported. The reason why they were counted separately was that they had never been meant to be part of the military, so that they never would have formed part of such a census. Their duties were defined in terms of their ministering to the needs of the Tabernacle.

והלוים למטה אבותם לא התפקדו בתוכם, and the Levites according to their tribal affiliations had not been included in this census. The reason was that the basis of counting them was not the same; they were counted from thirty days and up instead from twenty years and up. They were also only counted from thirty years and up when they were ready to perform their duties. (Numbers 4,3). (Compare Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12)

Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

"However, the tribe of Levi you shall not number, and their count you shall not take among the children of Israel.

אך את מטה לוי לא תפקד ONLY THOU SHALT NOT NUMBER THE TRIBE OF LEVI — The legion of the King is worthy to be numbered by itself (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 15). — Another explanation is: The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that a decree would once be made against all those that had been numbered from twenty years and upwards, viz., that they should die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29). He therefore said: Let these (the Levites) not be included amongst those now counted, in which case they must die, because they are Mine, since they did not sin by worshipping the golden calf (cf. Numbers Rabbah 3:7; Bava Batra 121b).

"However, the tribe of Levi" — the explanation is that they were not enrolled, for Hashem so commanded. "And their head you shall not count" — meaning their total number, as I have explained.

אך את מטה לוי, even though I had said “count all the heads of the community of Israel,” (verse 2) and it was understood that the Levites were included in this, they are distinct from the other tribes in that they will be counted separately, according to different criteria, such as — לא תפקוד different age groups, and — ואת ראשם לא תשא when you compute the total number of people in the general census their number will not be included.

לא תפקד…לא תשא. "do not count…nor take their sum, etc." The meaning is that the Levites should neither be counted by the traditional means of tendering a half shekel nor by any other means at the same time as the other tribes were being counted. Please refer to my comments in Parshat Ki Tissa on this subject.

ואת ראשם לא תשא בתוך בני ישראל, “and you are not to number them as part of the Children of Israel.” The reason was that the criteria for counting the Levites were not the same as the ones applied to the other (12) tribes. The Levites were counted from age thirty days in this portion, (3,14), on the one hand, and again from the age of 30-50 (in chapter 4,47.) A different interpretation: seeing that none of them would serve in the army, but they would only perform duties as security guards for the holy objects, a different yardstick was applied to them.

“But you shall not number the tribe of Levi, etc.” If He will not number them, it is obvious that He will not receive the total of their count. What does Scripture teach by saying nor take their census among the children of Israel? And what would the verse have lacked if it had simply said, “But you shall not number the tribe of Levi among the children of Israel”?According to Rashi’s explanation nearby, that the counting was by God’s command, as the Divine Presence preceded him and a heavenly voice emerged from the tent saying, “There are so many children in this tent,” we can say that among the children of Israel mentioned here refers only to nor take their census. As if it said, “But you shall not number the tribe of Levi at all, even when not among the children of Israel.” Every instance of the word “ach” [but] comes to exclude something, so here it comes to exclude and say specifically: You shall not count them alone, but with the participation of the Divine Presence and the heavenly voice You shall count them. Therefore it says, Number the children of Levi — that is, through the Divine Presence, but You alone shall not count them. And since this is followed by the command And you shall appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of Testimony, it appears that wherever the words “lift up,” “carry,” or “when you take” are mentioned, they all express elevation and the lifting up of the head, which is apparent in those who are counted, distinguishing them from others, since everything important and treasured has a number. And with this, I have seen [fit] to resolve many differences, because regarding Israel, two phrases are mentioned: take a census [lit. “lift the head”] and afterward it says count them by their legions, but with the Levites, it only mentions the language of counting [without the phrase “lift the head”], count the sons of Levi. And with the firstborns, it goes back to mentioning both: count all the firstborn, etc. and lift up the number of their names. And regarding the sons of Kohath and Gershon, it mentions the language of “lifting” but not regarding Merari. This is because “counting” refers to the number, while “lifting” is an expression of elevating status, which Israel needed to demonstrate their preciousness compared to all the nations who are likened to chaff that has no number. But the Levites have no need to demonstrate their elevation through counting, since regardless, they already have an elevated status in that the Holy One, blessed be He, made them custodians over His holy house. Therefore, after saying but their head you shall not count, etc., it says, And you shall appoint the Levites, telling you that by virtue of being appointed custodians, they already have elevation apart from being counted among the children of Israel, for they are the king’s legion, and all who see them will recognize that they are the seed blessed by God. But the firstborns, who were disqualified from the service because of the incident of the Golden Calf, needed elevation through counting, therefore both phrases are specified for them. And regarding the use of the term lift for the sons of Kohath and the sons of Gershon, this was to give them elevated status compared to the sons of Merari, because the service of both [Kohath and Gershon] is more sacred than the carrying of the sons of Merari. Therefore, the term “lift” is not mentioned regarding the sons of Merari.

אך את מטה לוי לא תפקוד, “but do not count the tribe of Levi;” this verse excludes the tribe of Levi from the decree of requiring atonement for the sin of dying in the desert which was a decree that was going to be imposed on the males who had been adults at the time of the Exodus after the spies came back declaring that the people could not conquer the Land of Canaan. (Numbers 14,29) Seeing that would be so, G–d did not even want to count them here with the other tribes of Israel.

But you, appoint the Levites over the Tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its vessels, and over everything that belongs to it. They shall carry the Tabernacle and all its vessels, and they shall minister to it, and they shall encamp all around the Tabernacle.

ואתה הפקד את הלוים BUT THOU SHALT APPOINT THE LEVITES OVERSEERS [OVER THE TABERNACLE etc.] — Understand the word הפקד as the Targum does: ,מני “appoint”; it (the word מני) is an expression for appointing a person to control that thing over which he has been appointed; similar is, (Esther 2:3) “and let the king appoint (ויפקד) officers”.

"But you shall appoint the Levites" — it explains why they were not enrolled: because the charge of the Tabernacle was upon them, and therefore they did not go out in the army. "The Tabernacle of the Testimony" — this is the Tent of Meeting; "Tabernacle" refers to [the dwelling-place of] the Ark, where the Testimony is kept. "And over all its vessels" — such as the menorah, the table, and the altars. "And over all that belongs to it" — these are the accessories of the vessels. "They shall carry it" — they themselves are the bearers when the camp journeys, and they are the ministers when the camp is encamped, and around the Tabernacle they encamp.

ואתה הפקד, the commandment to count them is repeated to make clear that they are in a class by themselves. The reason was that only this census rated as a holy activity.

המה ישאו, “they will carry;” whenever the people broke camp and continued on their journey. והמה ישרתוהו, “and they would minister to it;” when the Tabernacle would be put up again. וסביב למשכן יחנו, and they would encamp immediately around the Tabernacle from all sides to ensure that no unauthorized person would enter the Tabernacle.

ואתה הפקד את הלוים על משכן העדות, “and you are to appoint the Levites as in charge of the Tabernacle of Testimony, etc.” This whole verse is the explanation of verse 49 in which Moses had been told not to include the Levites in the census for the army. G’d now explains that the reason why the Levites were not to be counted with the other twelve tribes was not their ineligibility but on the contrary, it was their superior position which required them to be counted separately. Seeing it was going to be their function to perform all manner of service connected with the Tabernacle, they would be counted separately and would form a separate camp. A Midrashic approach based on Bamidbar Rabbah 1,12: The words ואתה הפקד את הלוים teach that anyone who demonstrates a certain degree of readiness to sacrifice his personal interests in favor of Divine interests, thereby coming closer to G’d, will be rewarded by being brought a great deal closer at His initiative. At the time when Moses had asked for volunteers to carry out the death sentence on the people who had actively engaged in worship of the golden calf, the members of the tribe of Levi had responded to his call, endangering their own lives in the process (Exodus 32,26-28). In appreciation of the Levites’ loyalty and dedication during the episode of the golden calf G’d now rewards them by assigning to them sacred duties. The reason the Torah uses the term משכן העדות, “Tabernacle of Testimony,” here is because the tasks of the Levites included transporting the Holy Ark which contained the two Tablets of Testimony, together with all the other furnishings of the Tabernacle as well as its components.

When the Tabernacle is to journey, the Levites shall dismantle it; and when the Tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall erect it. And an outsider who approaches shall be put to death.

יורידו אתו [AND WHEN THE DWELLING SETTETH FORWARD] THE LEVITES SHALL TAKE IT DOWN — Understand יורידו as the Targum does: they shall take it apart. Whenever they were about to set out on a journey in the wilderness from one station to another (cf. Rashi Exodus 40:38) they took the structure apart (lit., they took it apart from its state of being put up) and carried it to the place where the cloud afterwards abode, and there they encamped and erected it (the Tabernacle). והזר הקרב AND THE LAYMAN THAT COMETH NIGH to this service of theirs, יומת SHALL BE PUT TO DEATH by heaven (not by sentence of the court) (cf. Sanhedrin 84a).

"When the Tabernacle sets out, the Levites shall take it down" — to remove the bars and the posts; and when it is pitched, they shall erect it. "The stranger" — [this means] one who is not of the Levites; if he is an Israelite [who dismantles it] he shall be put to death, and the court puts him to death.

יורידו אותו הלוים, יקימו אותו, “the Levites will dissemble it and will reassemble it;” they will do so by inserting the bolts through the rings in the planks and removing same, as required. This is all considered as part of their ministrations. והזר הקרב יומת, “and a common man that comes too near will die.” Levites are also considered “common” men in this respect. They may not enter these holy precincts once the Tabernacle had been reassembled. Assembling or dissembling did not require their entering, and when the Tabernacle had been taken apart, the site it had stood on was no longer considered as a holy site.

ובנסוע המשכן יורידו אותו הלוים ובחנות המשכן יקימו אותו הלוים והזר הקרב יומת, “When the Tabernacle journeys, the Levites shall dismantle it ; when the Tabernacle comes to rest the Levites shall erect it; any alien who approaches shall die.” I have already told you [Genesis 11,9] that whenever the four-lettered name of G’d, י-ה-ו-ה, appears with the letters in reverse order, this is an allusion to the attribute of Justice being at work. For instance, when Haman said וכל זה איננו שוה לי, in Esther 5,13 the spelling is an indication that at that point [the zenith of his power, after Esther had wined and dined him with the King, Ed.] the attribute of Justice reversed his rise to power and set in motion his downfall. Here in our paragraph, dealing with the tasks of the Levites, the Torah first refers to the concealed name of G’d whereas afterwards it uses the revealed name of G’d twice in a row with the letters in reversed order to show that the element of the attribute of Justice was very much involved. Levites became the victim of that attribute, such as Uzzah in Samuel II 6,7 who trespassed against the rules for transporting the Holy Ark. In each instance the allusion to the name of the Lord commences with the letter ה in the word הלוים. We know that the characteristic of the tribe of Levi is the attribute of Justice (they acted as the executioners not only against the idolaters of the golden calf, but the founding father acted as executioner against the people of Shechem). The meaning of the words יורידו אותו is “they shall dismantle it by removing the staves holding together the pillars serving as the walls.” When it came time to make camp, the Levites were to erect the structure again. The words והזר הקרב, “any stranger that approaches,” mean that a stranger who wants to perform the service not assigned to him is guilty of death at the hands of the Lord (compare Sanhedrin 84).

The children of Israel shall encamp, each man at his own camp and each man by his own standard, by their divisions.

ואיש על דגלו [AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL ENCAMP, EVERY MAN BY HIS OWN CAMP] AND EVERY MAN BY HIS OWN STANDARD, just as the order of the banners is given in this Book (Numbers) — three tribes for every banner.

The meaning of "the children of Israel shall encamp" — when the children of Israel camp. "Each man at his own camp" — meaning each tribe. And the meaning of "each man at his own standard" — so that the tribe of one standard shall not intermingle with the tribe of another standard.