Numbers · Chapter 2

And Hashem spoke with Moses and with Aaron, saying:

"To Moses and to Aaron" — the reason Aaron is included is that Aaron and his sons would place the burden of the Kohathites upon their shoulders.

וידבר ה' אל משה ואל אהרן, “Hashem spoke to Moses and Aaron. Ibn Ezra explains that the reason why Aaron was addressed also was that his sons had to place the various furnishings of the Tabernacle on the shoulders of the priests.

Each man by his standard, with the emblems of their fathers' houses, shall the children of Israel encamp; facing, round about the Tent of Meeting shall they encamp.

באתת [EVERY MAN OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL ENCAMP BY HIS OWN STANDARD] WITH THE SIGNS [OF THEIR FATHERS’ HOUSES] — Each banner shall have a different sign — a piece of coloured cloth hanging on it, the colour of the one not being the same as the colour of another, but the colour of each tribe shall be like that of his stone that is fixed in the breastplate (of. Exodus 28:21), and by this means everybody will be able to recognise his banner . Another explanation of באתת לבית אבתם is: by the signs (i.e., following the signs) which their father Jacob gave them severally when they carried him out from Egypt, as it is said, (Genesis 50:12) “And his sons did unto him exactly as he had commanded them”. For he had commanded that Judah, Issachar and Zebulun should carry him, having their position at the east side of the bier, Reuben, Simeon and Gad at the south side, etc., — as it is related in Tanchuma on this section (Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 12; cf. Rashi on Genesis 50:12). מנגד AT SOME DISTANCE [AROUND THE APPOINTED TENT THEY SHALL ENCAMP] — at a distance of a mile (2000 cubits), for it is said, (Joshua 3:4) “Yet there shall be between you (the Israelites) and it (the Ark), about two thousand cubits”; the reason for this distance, which was that of a Sabbath day’s journey, was that they might be able to come unto the vicinity of the Tabernacle for instruction on Sabbath, for Moses, Aaron and his sons and the Levites were encamped quite close to it (Bemidbar Rabbah 2:9; cf. Exodus 33:7 and Rashi thereon).

EVERY MAN SHALL ENCAMP BY HIS OWN STANDARD, WITH THE SIGNS OF THEIR FATHER’S HOUSE. “Each standard was to have a colored cloth hanging on it, the color of one being unlike the color of another. The color of each standard corresponded to that of the stone fixed in the breastplate [of the High Priest, on which the name of that tribe was engraved], and by this method everyone would recognize his standard.” This is Rashi’s language. But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “There were signs on each of the [four main] standards. Thus the ancient Sages said that on Reuben’s standard there was a figure of a man decorated with mandrakes, and on Judah’s standard there was the form of a lion, to which Jacob had compared him, and on Ephraim’s standard was the figure of an ox, based upon [the expression that Moses used in speaking of that tribe], the firstborn of his ox, and on Dan’s standard was the figure of an eagle. Thus [the four signs on the four main standards] were similar to the four figures that the prophet Ezekiel saw [in the Divine Charriot].” The Tent of Meeting was in the exact center, with the camps of the Levites surrounding it in the midst of the camps [of the other tribes], as is mentioned in Sefer Yetzirah: “And the Holy Temple is placed exactly in the middle.”Now the directions [in which the standards were to be set up] begin with the east, like the movement of the sun [in its daily course], and afterwards the south, and then the west and finally the north. They put the [main] standard of Judah in the east because he was the first to start journeying as he was the prince, just as G-d commanded, Judah shall go up first, and Reuben was [set next to him] in the south to honor him as the firstborn. Thus these two neighboring standards consisted of [the children of] Leah [i.e., Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Reuben Shimon] together with the firstborn of her maidservant who was born upon her [Leah’s] knees [i.e., Gad the son of Zilpah.]. And there was one [main] standard for the children of Rachel [Ephraim, Menasheh, and Benjamin] in the west, and the standard of the [other] children of the maidservants [Dan, Asher, and Naphtali] was last, in the north. I have furthermore seen in the Midrash [the following text]: “And just as the Holy One, blessed be He, created four directions in the universe, so He surrounded His Throne with four ‘living creatures,’ and high above them all is the Throne of Glory. The Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses to arrange the standards in a manner corresponding to these directions. Thus He said to him: In the east, whence comes light to the world, shall Judah the sovereign pitch his camp, and next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar, who studies the Torah, and next to him the tribe of Zebulun, who is wealthy, just as it is written, Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, and it is also said [of Zebulun], for they shall suck the abundance of the sea. They were to be the first to journey, just as it is said, And their...

"By their signs" — there were signs for each and every standard. Our early sages said, drawing on midrashic interpretation, that the standard of Reuben bore the figure of a man, on account of the mandrakes; the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, for Jacob compared him to one; the standard of Ephraim bore the figure of an ox, from "the firstborn of his ox" (Deut. 33:17); and the standard of Dan bore the figure of an eagle — so that together they resemble the cherubim that the prophet Ezekiel saw. "At a distance" — [means] far off.

על דגלו באותות, “every man with his own standard according to the insignias of his father’s house;” the flags had the names of the (fore)father’s houses inscribed upon them. How did this work? On the flag of Reuven there was an inscription אי׳י, the respective first letters of the names of the patriarchs אברהם, יצחק, יעקב. On the second flag (there were four flags, one for each army group of three tribes.) there were inscribed the letters בצ׳ע, the second letter in the names of each of the three patriarchs. The third flag would have the letters רח׳ק representing the third letter in the respective names of Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov, and the fourth flag the letters מק׳ב, representing the last letters each in their names. The letter ה which had been added to Avraham’s name, would be represented by the protective cloud that rested above the Israelites and protected them against nosy intruders during all the years they were in the desert. An alternate interpretation of the line: באותות לבית אבותם. The flag of the camp of Reuven had the outline of a human being in red colour, matching the colour of his stone on Aaron’s breastplate. It represented the mandrakes Reuven had found in the field and brought to his mother Leah, which the latter had traded for an extra night with her husband. (Genesis chapter 30) These mandrakes were shaped like a human being. The outline of a lion was drawn or stitched on the flag of Yehudah, who was called: “lion” in the Torah by his father (Genesis 49,9) The colour of that outline was turquoise as was the colour of his gem on Aaron’s breastplate. The flag of Ephrayim showed the outline of an ox, whom his father Joseph had reputedly called שור, ox, (Deuteronomy 33,17) The colour of that outline was onyx, as was the colour of his gemstone on the breastplate of Aaron. On the flag of Dan there was the outline of an eagle, coloured in a variety of colours, iridescent, as the gemstone that represented the tribe of Dan on Aaron’s breastplate. (Ibn Ezra) The Tabernacle located in the centre, was flanked by all these camps, and was a symbol of the holy angels called chayot, which surround the throne of G-d forming a square. The various nations learned from the Israelites to make tablecloths and the like in a variety of colours. (Bamidbar Rabbah 2,6)

איש על דגלו באותות, “each man by his flag according to the insignia.” The word אותות is used here in the same sense as in Jeremiah 10,2 where it is a reference to changes in the constellations in the skies. Each flag had different symbols, such as the flag of the camp of Reuven depicting דודאים, which looked like miniature human beings. The flag of Yehudah depicted a lion cub seeing his father had compared him to that animal (in fearlessness). The flag of Ephrayim bore the picture of an ox, seeing that Yaakov had likened Joseph to an ox in Genesis 49,9. The flag of Dan bore the image of an eagle. When you combine the four images depicted on these flags they were the same as that of the chayot which were part of the vision of Ezekiel who described these creatures or angels with such heads, as supporting the throne of G’d (Ezekiel chapter 1). (These are the views of both Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides). It is equally possible (our author speaking) to understand the word אותות as related to the word אות as in אות נפשו, “the desire of his soul,” or as like בכל אות נפשך, “in accordance with all you desire” (Deut. 12,20). This would reflect what we have learned in the Midrash that when the Israelites had observed that the angels who had descended on earth at the time G’d descended on Mount Sinai had all had flags with them and that the Israelites ever since had felt an urgent desire to have flags also (Compare Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2,13 on the words ודגלו אהבה). There are numerous other verses interpreted in similar fashion (compare Song of Songs 2,4; Tanchuma Bamidbar 14). A kabbalistic approach: the Israelites wished for flags similar to those of the angels. The division of the Israelites’ camp into four sections comprising three tribes each facing each direction on earth reflected a similar phenomenon in the celestial regions. The four celestial camps are known as the camps of the Shechinah (Midrash Maasseh Merkavah chapter 6). The tribes of the Israelites in addition had twelve maps, each one differently coloured and easily identifiable one from the other. This too reflected what they had observed when the angels had come to earth when these “maps” were in the form of fiery flames each differently coloured. Yehudah’s map was blue like the sky, featuring the picture of a lion; Issachar’s map was similar to the blue eye shadow used by women, featuring images of the sun and the moon; this reflected the fact that this tribe was famous for its knowledge of astronomy, calendar calculation, etc. Zevulun’s map was white in colour, symbolising silver, wealth; it also had a picture of a ship on it seeing that tribe had many mariners. Reuven’s map was red, featuring pictures of דודאים, mandrakes or jasmine, reminding the tribe of how their ancestor had traded these to Rachel. Shimon’s map was green, with a picture of the town of Shechem. Gad’s map was a mixture of white and black, featuring a troop of soldiers. Ephrayim and Menashe both had maps of the colour of onyx; the map of Ephrayim featured the picture of an ox, whereas that of Menashe featured the picture the animal known as ראם, single-horned buffalo? Binyamin’s map was coloured like a rainbow showing the picture of a wolf. Dan’s map was like a sapphire in colour displaying the picture of a snake; Asher’s map was similar to the light emitted from an olive-oil burning lamp and displaying the picture of an olive. Naftali’s map was of the colour of clear (red) wine, displaying a hind. דגל מחנה יהודה, “the banner of the camp of Yehudah, etc.” This camp traveled first and was situated in the east of the Tabernacle. It was accompanied by the soldiers from the tribes of Issachar and Zevulun. The Torah describes these three tribes as ראשונה יסעו, “being the first ones to start journeying.” The word ראשונה is an allusion to the fact that these three tribes were all endowed with more than an average amount of חכמה, wisdom, i.e. the first of the emanations. Scriptural verses supporting this claim are found in Psalms 60,9: “Yehudah My law giver.” The 200 men attending David’s crowning as king over the nation have been described as “people who understood the needs of the times,” (Chronicles I 1,32). The men of Zevulun have been described in Judges 5,14 as “holding the marshal’s staff.” In view of these tribes having wisdom as a common characteristic they were suitable partners traveling together as one single camp. The entire camp was known as the camp of Yehudah, being a counterpart of the camp comprising the angels Gavriel, Ezriel, and Shemiel in the celestial spheres which is known as the camp of Gavriel. דגל מחנה ראובן, “the banner of the camp of Reuven, etc.,” this camp was situated at the South of the Tabernacle. Reuven was a repentant sinner. The acceptance of repentance by G‘d is an outstanding act of love and kindness on G’d’s part vis-a-vis His creatures. Seeing that Reuven was the first person to demonstrate repentance he opened the gate for other repentant sinners. The Torah credited Reuven with having intended to save Joseph and even attributed Joseph’s life being saved to his suggestion to throw him into a pit instead of killing him (Genesis 37,21). His camp was accompanied by that of Shimon who was born right after him by his mother Leah. He was joined by the soldiers of the tribe of Gad, the firstborn of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah. The Torah writes that this camp was second in the procession of the Israelites traveling. The expression ושניים יסעו, “they are to travel in second position,” is a hint at the emanation בינה which is second to the emanation חכמה, which had been represented by the camp of Yehudah. The camp of Reuven may be perceived as a counterpart to the celestial camp headed by the archangel Michael whose camp also included the angels Kuchbiel and Pediel who are positioned to the right of the Shechinah. All three are known as the camp of Michael, seeing he represents the attribute of Love and Mercy. It was this camp which Moses alluded to when he said in the song after crossing the sea of reeds מי כמוך, and he concluded the Torah with the verse commencing אין כאל ישורון. When you combine the word מי in the Shirah, with the word כאל in Deut. 33,26 you get the word מיכאל, a reference to that angel who represents the attribute of Mercy. Following this we encounter the camp of the Levites as traveling בתוך המחנות, “amidst the other camp.” You are aware already that the camp of the Levites consisted of 22.000 men from the age of one month and up (3,39). This number corresponded to the number of angels who had accompanied the Shechinah at the revelation at Mount Sinai. This has been alluded to in Psalms 68,18 as we pointed out before. These 22.000 angels were the ones that are normally the angels closest to the Shechinah. In a comparable manner the camp of the Levites surrounded the Tabernacle which housed the Shechinah on earth. There is little doubt that at the time of the revelation many more than the 22.000 angels mentioned in that Psalm descended as an entourage of the Lord. However, these 22.000 have been mentioned because of their superior rank in the celestial hierarchy. All the men of the twelve tribes who had been part of the census were some distance away from the Holy Ark seeing that the Torah employs the word מנגד in describing their relative position in 2,2. The word מנגד always describes distance as we know already from when Hagar put distance between herself and her crying son Ishmael in Genesis 21,16. You should also realize that the fact that four camps of the Israelites with their four flags surrounded the camp of the Levites in each direction of the globe is expressed by the Torah by the word that that camp traveled בתוך המחנות, “within the camps.” On the other hand, the several divisions of the Levites in their turn also surrounded the Tabernacle from all four directions. Moses, Aaron, and his sons were situated to the East of the Tabernacle; the sons of Gershon in the West; the sons of Kehat in the South, and the sons of Merari in the North. The Tabernacle was within this inner group of camps. When the Torah describes the camp of the Levites as journeying “within or amidst the other camps,” the meaning is that the Tabernacle journeyed in the centre of the camps of the Levites, whereas the camps of the Levites journeyed in the centre of the camps of the Israelites. In this manner the entire encampment was patterned after the tradition we have about how the celestial entourage of G’d was arranged. This is the meaning of Midrash Maasseh Mercavah chapter 6 that ושכינת אל באמצע והוא על כסא רם ונשא וכסאו גבוה למעלה, “the Shechinah was in the centre seated on a throne and the throne was elevated.” דגל מחנה אפרים לצבאותם ימה, “the flag of the camp of Ephrayim, according to its hosts, to the West.” You are aware that Jerobam both sinned himself and caused the whole people to sin. He was of the tribe of Ephrayim. There was therefore a need to heal the “fracture” or “rift” which this man created among the Jewish people, i.e. their camps. The tribe of Ephrayim was encamped together with the tribe of Menashe and the tribe of Binyamin. This is the meaning of Psalms 80,3: “at the head of Ephrayim, Binyamin, and Menashe! Rouse Your might and come to our help!” They were camped on the West side of the Tabernacle; our sages have stated (Baba Batra 25,) that the Shechinah resided in the Western part of the Temple. Concerning the camp headed by Ephrayim the Torah writes that the members of that camp traveled in third position (verse 24). It was appropriate that after the camp of Yehudah which represented Torah, followed by the camp of Reuven which represented repentance, there should follow the camp of Ephrayim which represented the attribute גבורה. This camp corresponded to the celestial camp headed by the archangel Raphael supported by the angels Zavdiel and Achziel which was situated immediately behind the Shechinah. This was the camp that Moses alluded to when he prayed that Miriam be healed from her tzoraat by saying אל נא רפא נאלה, “please G’d heal her,” (Numbers 12,13). He appealed to the attribute represented by Raphael. דגל מחנה דן צפונה, “the flag of the camp of Dan, to the North.” It is a well known fact that two golden calves were erected by Jerobam in the territory of Dan [an historical inaccuracy as it hosted only one of these golden calves based on Shir Hashirim 2,4]. Jerobam erected one of these golden calves in Bet El (Kings I 12,29), whereas he placed the second one in the territory of Dan. It was quite appropriate to be in the North as material wealth is perceived as originating from the North and Dan caused the whole world to become darkened by the sin of idolatry. We have a Scriptural verse alluding to this in Isaiah 29,15 “Who do their work in the dark and say: ‘who sees us,’ etc.” Although the sun rises in the East, it is at its brightest when it is in the South at midday. The sun, by traveling westwards before it sets, also illuminates the West with its light. The only direction which the sun does not illuminate directly is the North. This is why the North is associated with the concept of darkness. The expression צפון השמש, “hidden from the sun,” is a double entendre as the word צפון also means “North.” In light of historical developments it was therefore quite appropriate that the camp of Dan should be situated to the North of the Tabernacle. In view of the problems the tribe of Dan would create for the Jewish people as a whole, this camp was in need of atonement, i.e. that G’d’s light should shine upon it notwithstanding the shortcomings mentioned which darkened the halo of that camp. This is why we find that Micah 7, 8 exclaims: “though I have fallen, I rise again; though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.” The tribe of Dan was joined by the tribes of Asher and Naftali who helped to brighten the darkness as we know from Deut. 33,24 and 23 describing Asher having plentiful oil, oil being the raw material from which man-made light is derived. The Torah also describes Naftali as blessed by the Lord and well satisfied (same passage), indicating that it did not suffer from spiritual darkness. This camp journeyed last. The Torah here used the expression לאחרונה where we would have expected it to write simply ואחרונה יסעו, without the introductory preposition ל. The letter ל points at the letter ה at the end of that word which itself is a reminder of the last letter ה in the tetragram, the symbol of the aspect of the attribute of Justice even in the name Hashem. The three tribes Dan, Asher, Naftali, are all understood as part of the term “the camp of Dan.” It parallels the camp of Uriel in the celestial spheres, the latter being flanked by the angels Daniel and Tamael on the left side of the Shechinah. In the celestial spheres that camp is known as the camp of Uriel, a camp which David hinted at in connection with the atonement achieved by the sacrificial offerings. When he said in Psalm 118,27: ‘The Lord is G’d, He has given us light, bind the festival offerings to the horns of the altar, etc.,” he addressed that attribute represented by Uriel. You ought to appreciate that just as the four flags in the desert were copies of the four camps of the Shechinah, the same concept is represented by the four chayot in the vision of the Divine entourage of Ezekiel. They appear in the same order as the camps of the Israelites are listed here. The chayah with the face of a lion representing the camp of Gavriel corresponded to the flag of the camp of Yehudah in the East; the chayah named ox corresponded to the camp of Raphael and the flag of the camp of Ephrayim in the West; the chayah named Adam, represented the camp of Michael and the terrestrial counterpart of the flag of Reuven situated in the South; finally, the chayah known as eagle and representing the camp of Uriel had its parallel on earth in the flag and camp of Dan situated in the North. The author proceeds to demonstrate that many of the names of the tribal princes whose names end with the letter אל correspond to the names of the angels in the celestial camps which we listed. We find that the name of the prince belonging to the camp facing East was called נתנאל, whereas the name of the prince heading he camp of Reuven facing South was שלומיאל; a prince whose camp faced West, of the camp of Ephrayim was called גמליאל, whereas the name of a prince of the camp of Dan facing North was called פגעיאל. None of the other princes in these camps had names concluding with the letter אל, thus providing some linkage to the celestial camps in which each of the twelve angels bears a name ending with these two letters. When you peruse chapter 7 where the inaugural offerings of the twelve princes are listed you will again find that these offerings were brought in the sequence in which the camps are listed here. If you add the total of the respective days on which the princes whose names ended with the letters אל brought their respective offerings, i.e. the second, + the fifth, + the eighth, + the eleventh, you will get the number 26, the numerical equivalent of the tetragrammaton. You will find a parallel allusion to the name of G’d in Ezekiel 1,1 when you combine the dates provided by the prophet, i.e. the 30th year, the 4th month, the 5th of the month. This amounts to a total of 39 or the tetragram spelled as י-ה-ו-ה אחד,”Hashem is One.” A Midrashic approach found in Tanchuma Bamidbar 12: the reason the Torah speaks of איש על דגלו באותות, is that Yaakov had already told each of his sons what would be inscribed on their respective banners. He had commanded them that when he died none of the Egyptians and none of his grandchildren should touch his bier, seeing that among the latter there was someone of Canaanitic descent. This is the meaning of Genesis 50,12-13: “his sons did just as he had commanded them; his sons carried him all the way up to the land of Canaan.” The reason that the Torah twice wrote the line “his sons, etc.,” is to inform us that only his sons and no one else participated in carrying the casket in which Yaakov was being transported. He had instructed them that Yehudah, Issachar, and Zevulun were to support the eastern side of the casket, that Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were to support the southern side of the casket. Ephrayim, Menashe, and Binyamin were to carry the western side of the casket, whereas Dan, Asher, and Naftali were to carry the northern end of it. Joseph was not to carry any part of it seeing he was a king. Levi was not to carry any part of it seeing he was slated to carry the Holy Ark. It would not be appropriate that someone who would carry the Holy Ark should defile himself by carrying a casket. [Ephrayim and Menashe, though technically grandchildren, had been described by their grandfather as “like Reuven and Shimon,” i.e. as children (compare Genesis 48,5). Ed.] Yaakov had said that “if you will carry my casket in accordance with my instructions, then G’d will provide you each with flags in the desert. Now Moses made certain that the arrangement of who was going to encamp in which order around the Tabernacle would correspond to the order in which the tribes had carried Yaakov’s bier so that there would be no disagreements. G’d had told him that he would not have to figure out whom to place where as the matter had been arranged already by their patriarch Yaakov. יחנו בני ישראל מנגד, “the Children of Israel shall encamp at a distance, etc.;” according to Tanchuma Bamidbar 14 this was one mile distant from the Tabernacle. This corresponded to the instructions given by Joshua (Joshua 3,4) to the people to keep a distance of 2,000 cubits between themselves and the Holy Ark which crossed the river Jordan ahead of the main body of the Israelites. The reason the Tabernacle was not to be more distant from the camp was to enable the people to walk to it on the Sabbath to conduct their prayers. The flags were equidistant from one another in each direction, whereas Moses and Aaron and his sons were close to the Ark. We know this as the Torah writes that the ones who were making their camp immediately east of the Tent of Meeting were Moses and Aaron and his sons (Numbers 3,38). G’d had said that He wanted it that way so that in case He had occasion to become angry at the Israelites, Moses and Aaron would be at hand to re-establish harmony between G’d and the people. This is the deeper meaning of Psalms 20,6 נרננה בישועתיך, “we will jubilate when Your Shechinah will be present.” The תשועה the psalmist refers to is the saving of the Jewish people from the Egyptians at the sea, whereas the words following in that same verse, i.e. ובשם אלו-הינו נדגל, “and in the name of our G’d we will display flags,” refer to the flags in the desert; finally, the last words of that verse ימלא ה' כל משאלותיך, “may the Lord grant all your requests,” refer to the additional stature attained by the Israelites at that time giving individual status to each of the tribes as a group beloved by G’d by means of the flags they displayed. (Tanchuma Bamidbar 10). The Midrash further sees in Song of Songs 2,4 an allusion to the same idea. Solomon writes there: “He brought me to the banquet room and His banner of love was over me.” We may understand what is written there as a parable. A wealthy man had a treasure chamber full of wine. When he entered to examine the wine he found that it had all turned to vinegar. As he turned around to leave that treasure chamber he came across a single barrel of good wine. Thereupon he said that this single barrel was dearer to him than the entire amount in the rest of that storage chamber. The Lord has 70 nations at His disposal; however, upon examination the only nation from which He derives any pleasure are the Jewish people. The word יין, “wine,” has a numerical value of 70, an allusion to the nations of the world. Concerning all of the barrels of wine G’d said that only the one (nation) which flies a flag has merited His love so that Israel can say: “it is displayed over me.” Solomon also says (Song of Songs 6,8) “there are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and damsels without number, whereas unique is she My dove,” a reference to the Jewish people. The former are an allusion to the alufim of the sons of Seir mentioned in Genesis 36. The eighty concubines are a reference to the descendants of Noach which have ben named. The damsels without number refer to the descendants of Ishmael, whereas “the unique one,” which did not intermarry with any of the others are the Jewish people. Rabbi Yehudah in Tanchuma Bamidbar 10 said that the verse “He brought me to the house of wine” (Song of Songs 2,4), is a reference to the revelation at Mount Sinai. The Torah may be interpreted to yield either 49 aspects of purity or 49 aspects of impurity (depending on who does the studying). He points out that the numerical value of the word ודגלו, “and His flag,” is 49. The next paragraph in Tanchuma (Bamidbar 11) sees in the words איש על דגלו באותות in our portion an allusion to Solomon saying in Song of Songs 6,10: מי זאת הנשקפה כמו שחר יפה כלבנה ברה כחמה איומה כדגלות, “Who is she that shines like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?” The nations of the world are portrayed as trying to seduce the Jewish people by inviting the beautiful looking Jewish people to become one of them, culturally speaking. They hold out the promise of appointing the converts to important positions in their midst. Israel replies sarcastically, מה תחזו בשולמית, “what can you possibly bestow upon us (7,1) seeing that we have already been granted positions more elevated than any of you can ever attain!” . והחונים קדמה מזרחה, “and the ones encamped forward, to the east.” The three tribes Yehudah, Issachar, and Zevulun who were stationed right next to Moses and Aaron benefited thereby in that these tribes are described at various times in the Bible as very competent in Torah-law. (compare Judges 5,14 re Zevulun, Chronicles I 12,32 re Issachar and Genesis 49,10 regarding Yehudah). This is what the Talmud Sukkah 56 had in mind when it said that the good experienced by the righteous also devolves upon his neighbour. On the other hand, the tribes of Reuven, Shimon, and Gad were encamped close to the area where Korach and his family had their tents. Concerning them we apply the saying: “woe to the wicked and to those who keep company with him.” There were a total of seven clouds of glory surrounding these various camps. Four clouds were positioned one in each direction, i.e. east, west, south, and north. One cloud would move a distance of three days’ march in front of the people; the cloud indicating the presence of the Shechinah would be positioned on top of the people’s camp including the Tabernacle. The seventh cloud would form a curtain between the people and the Shechinah. Numbers 10,14 describes the cloud which rested above the camp by day and by night. The cloud which traveled a three-days’ march ahead of the people would cause all snakes and other harmful creatures in the path of the Israelites to die; it would also smooth out valleys and rises in the terrain to enable the people to walk on an even surface. The cloud which acted as a sort of curtain above the entire camp would protect the people against climate changes such as excessive heat or cold. Concerning the experiences of this entire generation Solomon wrote in Song of Songs 6,4: יפה את רעיתי כתרצה, “You are beautiful my beloved when your deeds are pleasing.” In other words, when the Jewish people were pleasing to G’d in their deeds and desires, He in turn made all obstacles in their way disappear (Tanchuma Bamidbar 12). Moses referred to this state of affairs in Deut. 32,10 when he said: ”He discovered them in a desert land....He encircled them and granted them discernment, etc.” This meant that G’d instructed them in the ways of the Torah. The entire verse in Deuteronomy there is a graphic description in poetic form of the uplifting experiences the Jewish people enjoyed in the desert, largely thanks to the flags, i.e. again in the words of Solomon in Song of Songs 5,10 דגול מרבבה, “they were elevated by being surrounded by myriads of angels.” Thus far the Midrash.

Each man by his banner with the signs of their fathers’ houses. We find in several midrashim (Numbers Rabbah 2:2-6) that greatly magnify the matter of the banners, and they interpreted about them the verse and in the name of our God we will set up our banners (Psalms 20:6). For at the time of the giving of the Torah, Israel saw the angels arranged in banners upon banners, and they desired to have banners like them. And on the verse Who is she that looks forth as the dawn (Song of Songs 6:10), they interpreted (Numbers Rabbah 2:4) that the nations looked at the exalted status of Israel and were amazed, etc., and said, Return, return, O Shulamite (Song of Songs 7:1). Cleave to us and come to us, and we will make of you dukes and governors. And Israel replies, What will you see in the Shulamite, as in the dance of the two camps? (Song of Songs 7:1). That is to say: What greatness can you give us? Can you perhaps give us greatness such as our God gave us — the banner of the camp of Judah to the east, etc.? And every insightful person will be astonished at what is this noise, and why the noise of the city in an uproar (1 Kings 1:41) about this, and what honor and greatness was done to Israel that they desired it so much. What seems most likely to me about this is, that the main desire of Israel was to show all the nations that God’s name is called upon them, and they [the nations] should fear them. Through this, they would raise the banner of exaltation and victory in all four directions of the world, because by being surrounded in all four directions with the Divine Presence and the Ark in the middle as a mound that everyone turns to, all nations would see that they walk in the name of God. This is the sign to which all those dwelling in the circle around it direct their eyes, as our Sages said (Taanit 31, see there) that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make a circle for the righteous in the Garden of Eden with His glory in the middle, as it is said And I will walk among you (Leviticus 26:12). For all the turns that the righteous make are facing the Divine Presence, and so it is in this world. This is the sign of the banner, for it is a symbol of victory in battle, and this banner is in the name of God, for not by their sword did they possess the land but by the name of God. Similarly, the angels, by surrounding the throne of His glory, instill fear in all creatures, as it is written, Awesome as bannered hosts (Song of Songs 6:10). For through this encirclement, they will inspire fear in all nations like the angels whom everyone fears. Jacob was promised these banners, as it is said about him You shall spread out westward, etc. (Genesis 28:14). Therefore it says, each man by his banner with the signs. That is, with the signs that their father Jacob gave them, etc., for in a vision the matter of the banners was shown to him in the verse, You shall spread out westward, etc. Therefore the psalm begins May the name of the God of Jacob protect you, etc. (Psalms 20:2-6). And about this it says, and in the name of our God we will raise our banners — to raise the banner of exaltation and victory in all four directions in the name of our God. Therefore they said, What do you see in the Shulamite, etc. For your victory is a human victory, and all this does not equal “the dance of the camps,” which indicates divine victory, for they have bowed down and fallen. For their outcome is uncertain if they will be victorious, but we have risen and been encouraged, for certainly all who fight in the name of God are victorious. Moreover, the main thing is missing from you, namely the appearance of God’s glory, which is the sign to which all those dwelling around the center direct themselves. Therefore it says with signs, in order for the Divine Presence to be a sign toward which they direct their gaze.

איש על דגלו באותות, “each man by his flag, according to its insignia.” Rashi explains that each flag had coloured insignia woven or embroidered on it reflecting the appearance of the respective gemstone of the tribe on the breastplate of the High Priest. Ibn Ezra writes that each flag had a pattern that easily identified the tribe it belonged to; (possibly reflecting the definitions used by Yaakov when he had blessed his sons before his death.) They could also have reflected the images seen by the prophet Ezekiel in his famous vision of the merkavah. Ancient sources have recorded that the Tabernacle was located in the center of the four army groups. In the space between the Tabernacle and the army groups (presumably in peace time accompanied by the various families of the soldiers), the Levites arranged their huts around the Tabernacle. The details have been described in the ספר יצירה. The respective sides of the camp which was square in shape, began with the east side, the army group headed by the tribe of Yehudah, as per G’d’s command in response to the question who should lead the army. [Compare Bamidbar Rabbah 2,10 on Judges 1,1-2 Ed.] The army group headed by the tribe of Reuven was situated on the south side in order to accord some honour to the biologically oldest son of Yaakov. The third army group under one flag comprised the tribes of Rachel’s descendants who were situated in the west, with the group comprised of sons of Zilpah and Bilhah in the north. I have seen further in the Midrash that just as Hashem created 4 directions on earth, (north, south, west and east) so He surrounded His throne in the heavens with four such directions, the throne of His glory being the loftiest of them all. When telling Moses how to arrange the army groups around the Tabernacle, He told him that what He was directing Moses to do corresponded to the pattern in which the hierarchies in the heavenly regions were arranged. East, the source of the original light, would be represented on earth by Yehudah, who represented the concept of Royalty. He would be flanked by Issachar, who represented the concept of Torah Issachar would be flanked on his other side by Zevulun, who represented the concept of wealth. This concept had been envisioned by Yaakov, who in his blessing of Zevulun (Genesis 49,13) had said זבולון על חוף ימים ישכון, that “Zevulun would make his residence on the shores of the sea.” It has also been said of him (and of Issachar) (Deuteronomy 33,19) כי שפע ימים יינקו, that “they will be nourished by the riches of the sea.” [An allusion to Zevulun sharing his wealth with Issachar, enabling the latter to devote himself exclusively to the study of the Torah. Ed.] This group would be the first one to march ahead of the rest of the camp, as we know from ויעבור מלכם לפניהם, “their king would always march ahead of them” (Michah 2,13). The direction south is representative of the beneficial dews and the rains that dispense G’d’s blessings on earth. This direction would be represented first and foremost by Reuven, who had distinguished himself as a penitent, and thus had revealed himself as possessing a virtue which is very dear to Hashem, a virtue which evokes G’d’s mercy for His creatures. He was flanked by Gad, possessed of the virtue of גבורה, strength and endurance in the face of overwhelming odds. They had the camp of Shimon between them, to help him atone for the sin at Shittim that had decimated that tribe whose members had permitted themselves to be seduced by the Moabites and Midianites. (Numbers 25) They marched in second position, seeing that the virtue of repentance is second only to Torah itself. Seeing that Reuven had excelled in repentance and this is an important virtue, one which brings to the fore G’d’s virtue of רחמים whenever G’d encounters penitent sinners, it was appropriate for the tribe of Reuven to be positioned in second place. West is the direction in which G’d’s storage chamber of snow, hail, and frost as well as heat is stored; the tribes of Ephrayim, Binyamin and Menashe were placed there, seeing that Binyamin’s territory would house the Temple, it was appropriate that he would be positioned in the direction where the Shechinah is presumed to be. North is the direction from which darkness (of the spiritual kind) is presumed to emerge when it does. It was appropriate that the tribe of Dan would be positioned there, as it was this tribe who played a leading role in the re-introduction of idolatry in Israel, King Yerobam later on being the exponent par excellence of this. [Judges 18 describes that the tribe of Dan hired themselves a phony priest and instituted idolatry in their newly conquered territory, formerly known as Layish. These offshoots from the tribe of Dan, who called their new city “Dan,” continued in their idolatrous ways until the first Temple was destroyed. The tribe of Asher was especially blessed, as was the tribe of Naftali, also part of that army group, something that offset the spiritually negative vibes associated with the Danites.

באתות, there was a symbol on every flag, as for instance, the picture of a lion on the flag of the tribe of Yehudah, or that of an ox on the flag of the tribe of Joseph. מנגד, from a distance.

Those encamped on the east side, toward the sunrise, shall be the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their hosts; and the chieftain of the children of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

קדמה means IN FRONT, which is expressed by קדם; and which side is it? The east side (מזרחה), and accordingly the west is termed אחור, the back side of the world (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:13 and Note thereon).

"Eastward, toward the sunrise" — [this means] the beginning of the east.

והחנים קדמה מזרחה, "And the ones encamped in the east toward the sunrising, etc." The reason this verse commences with the conjunctive letter ו is that it follows the command to establish the camp around the Tabernacle and only proceeds to give additional details.

והחונים קדמה מזרחה, “the ones who were encamped on the east side facing the sun;” they were facing the entrance of the Tabernacle as described at the end of Parshat T’rumah. (Exodus 27,13) דגל מחנה יהודה, “the flag of the camp of Yehudah;” he is mentioned first as he was the most honoured by all the other tribes for his leadership qualities. He was therefore accorded to honour of encamping near the gate of “The King.” We find something similar concerning Moses and Aaron in 3,38.

And those encamping on the east side, the banner of the camp of Judah. The reason for arranging the banners in this manner has already been discussed by earlier commentators, each according to his understanding. What seems most reasonable to me is to say that they are arranged according to the four levels that encompass all human perfection, which are: the acquisition of wisdom, followed by the acquisition of good character traits, followed by the acquisition of strength, and after all of these, the acquisition of wealth. This is how Rambam ordered them, and our Sages of blessed memory said (Nedarim 38) that the Divine Presence rests only upon one who is wise, wealthy, strong, and humble, for humility is the foremost of all virtues. Therefore, these banners, which were arranged for the purpose of having the Divine Presence dwell among them, were ordered in this manner, each according to his level of excellence, to tell you that these tribes were worthy of having the Divine Presence rest upon them because all four of these virtues were found among them. Judah, Issachar, Zebulun shall journey first, for from them the Torah will emanate. Therefore, the double expression forward to the east is stated to indicate that from them the light of Torah will shine forth. For regarding Judah, it is said The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet (Genesis 49:10). These refer to the heads of the exile and the princes of the Land of Israel (Sanhedrin 5a, see there). And ruler’s staff [mechokek] refers only to Torah, as it says about Moses For there the portion of the lawgiver was safeguarded (Deuteronomy 33:21). And it is written Lest they drink and forget what has been decreed (Proverbs 31:5). And encamping next to him is the tribe of Issachar, about whom it is said And from the children of Issachar, those who had understanding of the times (1 Chronicles 12:32). [Then] the tribe of Zebulun, about whom it is said And from Zebulun, those who wield the writer’s staff (Judges 5:14). Furthermore, [Zebulun] would support Issachar, and therefore it does not say “and beside him the tribe of Zebulun,” because [the text] did not want to make him secondary to the tribe of Issachar, to teach that the one who learns Torah and the one who supports Torah learners are equally important. And it says about them they shall journey first, for they have the right of precedence in war, because the wars of Israel are not [fought] with sword and spear, but rather they need to be armed with the five books of the Torah, which are divided into seven books, meaning “armed,” and it [the Torah] is comprised of 27 letters, which is the numerical value of the first letters of Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, to tell you that the merit of Torah assists them in war, and they are the head of the banner that indicates victory. The banner of the camp of Reuben, Simeon, Gad on the south side, which is called “south” [darom] based on the term “dar rom” [dwells on high], as the sun dwells in the heights. Similarly, whoever humbles himself by nature, eventually the Holy One, Blessed be He, elevates him. Humility is the foremost of all good traits. This quality was found in Reuben, for he admitted without embarrassment to the incident with Bilhah, as our Sages said (see Sotah 7b), “What caused Reuben to confess, etc.,” as Rashi brings in the portion of V’zot HaBracha (33:7). This stemmed from the trait of humility, for every proud person is embarrassed to admit the truth. And from Simeon came teachers, scribes, and the poor, among whom humility is more commonly found than in others. Similarly, Gad was charitable, as it is said about him He executed the righteousness of the Lord, and His judgments with Israel (Deuteronomy 33:21). This means that according to the letter of the law, he only needed to go with Israel and not at the head of the armed forces. But as an act of charity, he went before them, like the charity of the Lord who goes before the camp of Israel. And lest you say that perhaps they went at the head out of arrogance, the verse states Gad, a troop shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the last [akev] (Genesis 49:19). The troop went with humility like the “heel” [akev], which signifies humility, as it is said Following [ekev] humility is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 22:4). The banner of the camp of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin is to the west, and they shall journey third. For the attribute of strength is third, and it is written about them, Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your might, etc. (Psalms 83). For Joseph is the firstborn of his ox (Deuteronomy 33:17), who possesses strength and might, and Benjamin is a wolf that tears (Genesis 49:27). And this quality diminishes progressively, as day by day a person’s strength wanes due to the melting of the essential moisture, for the day of death begins from the day of birth. Therefore, their encampment is on the western side, because in that direction the sun continues to diminish. The banner of the camp of Dan, Asher, Naphtali to the north. From there gold comes, and all three of them were wealthy, as it is said From Asher comes rich food (Genesis 49:20), and it is written Naphtali is satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord (Deuteronomy 33:23), which makes one wealthy. And the tribe of Dan made golden calves because of the abundance of gold that was bestowed upon them, and therefore they were the gatherer for all the camps. And this acquisition is the least valuable of all, therefore it says about them they shall travel last and the faces of all were turned toward the Divine Presence in the middle, for all are equally good when they are used for the sake of Heaven. And Judah is the head of a banner because he is king and is called a lion’s whelp. Therefore, it is his role to go at the front in battle, and similarly Dan is a lion’s whelp. He went at the rear because the main battle is at the front and the rear, and Reuben the firstborn is the head of a banner, and similarly Ephraim is the head of a banner because Joseph is the firstborn.

And his host, and their enrolled count: seventy-four thousand six hundred.

AND HIS HOST, AND THOSE THAT WERE NUMBERED OF THEM. The meaning thereof, as well as of all that were numbered of the camp of Judah, and so also all [such verses in this chapter], is that these are the words of G-d to Moses, connected with [the opening statement], And the Eternal spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, since they did not count them now a second time. This is also the sense of the verse, These are they that were numbered of the children of Israel, because He stated [in that same verse] all that were numbered of the camps according to their hosts [which indicates that He is referring to a census which had previously taken place, and not to a new census]. He mentioned all this in order to tell us that from the day of the census [which was on the first of Iyar] until the camps were established [according to the four standards] and they so pitched by the standards, and so they set forward [which was on the twentieth of Iyar], not one man was missing. This was miraculous, in that not one person of this great multitude died [in the period of twenty days].The change in the name of the father of the prince of the children of Gad [who is called Deuel above in 1: 14, and here in Verse 14 is referred to as Reuel], is because it is customary in the Sacred Language to change names of the same meaning, such as Zerah [one of the sons of Shimon], and Zohar [referring to the same son of Shimon, both names meaning “brightness”], of the expression as ‘tzachar’ (white) wool. Now [the father of the prince of the children of Gad] was called “Deuel” [of the root dei’ah, “knowledge”] because he “knew” G-d, [and he was also called] “Reuel” [of the root ra’ayon, “thoughts,” or re’uth, “longing” “striving”] because “he set all the thoughts of his heart on G-d,” similar to the expression in these verses: How weighty also are ‘rei’echa’ (Thy thoughts) unto me, O G-d; Thou understandest ‘l’rei’i’ (my thought) afar off. Since people used to call that person by two names [e.g. Deuel and Reuel], therefore the Torah mentioned both of them.

"And their enrolled" (וּפְקוּדֵיהֶם) — or it may be read "and his enrolled" (וּפְקוּדָיו); there is no difference between them.

וצבאו ופקודיהם, “its army and their count, etc.” Whatever is written in this verse and the verses following up until the end of the chapter, is all part of what G’d told Moses and Aaron in verse one of our chapter. In other words, Moses did not count the Israelites for a second time at this stage. Similarly, the paragraph (verse 32-34) also does not contain new information gathered at that time, but these are G’d’s words, not made public by Hashem until now, in order to reveal that since the original count 20 days before the people moved away from Mount Sinai, not a single Israelite had either died by natural causes or become unfit to be part of that army for some other reason. Clearly, this was worth reporting as in view of the enormous number of people involved this was a miracle of no small dimensions.

And those encamped adjacent to him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the chieftain of the children of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.

"Those who camp alongside him" — [this is] like "with him," and they are after him and before the third.

והחונים עליו, “and those encamped next to him” (Yehudah). Five of Leah’s sons were among the twelve tribes that were each distinguished by flags. Two of Leah’s flags tribes shared the camp of Gad, who himself was the firstborn of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid who cooperated closely with the camp of Reuven who was the firstborn of all the tribes. One flag was for Yehudah and the two tribes that were from the sons of the handmaids. Two of the handmaids’ sons who were not firstborns, camped alongside him.

And his host, and their enrolled count: fifty-four thousand four hundred.

The tribe of Zebulun; and the chieftain of the children of Zebulun is Eliab son of Helon.

And his host, and their enrolled count: fifty-seven thousand four hundred.

All the enrolled of the camp of Judah: one hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their hosts. They shall march first.

ראשנה יסעו THESE SHALL FIRST JOURNEY — When they saw the cloud departing, the priests blew the trumpets and the camp of Judah moved off first, but when marching, they marched retaining the positions in which they always encamped: the Levites and the wagons in the centre (v. 17), the division of Judah in the East (v. 8), that of Reuben in the South, Ephraim’s in the West (v. 19) and Dan’s in the North (v. 25).

"First shall they march" — they shall march first.

ראשונה יסעו, “they are to be the first ones to journey.” Our sages in Tanchuma Bamidbar 14 mention that wherever you look throughout the Scriptures you will always find the tribe of Yehudah mentioned first, being in the forefront. This is true in connection with the journeys, the encampments, the offering of the inaugural sacrifices, the battles against the Canaanites remaining after Joshua’s death (Judges 1,1-2). The same will hold true in the future when the message of the impending redemption will arrive; Yehudah will be the first one to proclaim it as we know from Isaiah 52,7: ”how welcome on the mountain are the footsteps of the herald announcing happiness, heralding good fortune; announcing victory, telling Zion, “Your G’d is King!” Similarly, in Nachum 2,1: “Behold on the hills the footsteps of a herald announcing good fortune! Celebrate your festivals O Yehudah.” [In both verses quoted it is Yehudah who is addressed. Ed.]

The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be on the south side, according to their hosts; and the chieftain of the children of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.

"Southward" (תֵּימָנָה) — [derived] from the root for "right hand" (יָמִין).

(By) the standard of the camp of Reuben they, shall encamp southward by their hosts, spreading over four miles. And his standard shall be of silk, of three colours, corresponding with (those of) the precious stones that are in the breastplate, azmorad, sapphire, and adamant: on it shall be expressed and set forth the names of the three tribes of Reuben, Shemeon, Gad; and in the midst of it be written, Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is One; and upon it shall be set forth the figure of a stag. Some would have thought there should have been upon it the figure of a young ox; but Mosheh the prophet altered it, that the sin of the calf might not be remembered against them. And the Rabba set over the host of the tribe Reuben was Elizur bar Shedeur.

And his host, and their enrolled count: forty-six thousand five hundred.

And those encamped adjacent to him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the chieftain of the children of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.

And his host, and their enrolled count: fifty-nine thousand three hundred.

And the tribe of Gad; and the chieftain of the children of Gad is Eliasaph son of Reuel.

אליסף בן רעואל, “Elyasaf son of R’uel. Everywhere else this name appears it was spelled with the letter ד instead of with the letter ר.

ונשיא לבני גד אליסף בן רעואל, “and the prince of the sons of Gad, Elyassaph son of Re-uel.” In this instance Elyassaph’s father’s name begins with the letter ר instead of the letter ד as we have read it elsewhere. According to the Massoretes there is only one other person whose name רעואל appears with the alternate spelling דעואל. He is Moses’ father-in-law‘s father mentioned in Numbers 10,29. At any rate the switch in letters indicates that the persons concerned were anxious to obtain nearness to G’d, understanding of Him and intimacy with Him. [When spelled רעו-אל, the first three letters allude to רועה, shepherd, someone extremely caring; when spelled דעו-אל the first three letters refer to דעה intimate knowledge, intimacy. Ed.]

אליסף בן רעואל. Nachmanides writes that it is an accepted practice in the Holy Tongue to sometimes change the name of the father of the person concerning whom the Torah reveals some important fact. [In Numbers 1,14, 2, 7,47, 10,20 the father of this tribal leader Elyassaph is referred to as דעואל, Ed.] He was known by both names, each complimentary in its way. Hence the Torah mentioned both names. The former name reflects דעואל,s intellectual attachment to Hashem, the latter his emotional attachment to Hashem, Whom he viewed as his shepherd.

And his host, and their enrolled count: forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.

All the enrolled of the camp of Reuben: one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. They shall march second.

"And second" (וְשֵׁנִים) — an adjective modifying the noun.

Then the Tent of Meeting shall set out — the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they encamp, so shall they march, each man in his place, according to their standards.

ונסע אהל מועד AND THE TENT OF MEETING SHALL SET FORWARD after these two divisions (those of Judah and Reuben), as is shown by the position of this statement in the narrative. כאשר יחנו כן יסעו AS THEY ENCAMP SO SHALL THEY JOURNEY — just as I have explained (v. 9): their positions when marching shall be the same as when encamping — each division marches on that side that is assigned to it. על ידו means, in his place. The term יד does not even in this sense lose its original meaning, viz., that of “hand’’ — the area at one’s side is termed על ידו “that which is by his hand”, being that which is closest to him, and always within the reach of his hand (and not beyond it); en son aise in O. F.

"And the Tent of Meeting shall travel in the midst of the camps" — that is, the camps mentioned; for the Gershonites and the Merarites travel between the standard of Judah and the standard of Reuben, and the Kohathites travel — with Aaron and his sons among them — between the standard of Judah and the standard of Ephraim. "As they camp, so shall they march" — this refers back to the [Israelite] camps, meaning the [tribes of] Israel, not to the Levitical camp; for the standard of Judah encamps to the east, while the Gershonites, who are to the west of the Sanctuary, and the Merarites, to the north, march together. "At his side" (עַל יָדוֹ) — [means] flank or place; similarly [the phrase] "the bank of the Jordan" (יַד הַיַּרְדֵּן) and "a place shall be yours" (יָד תִּהְיֶה לְּךָ).

ונסע...אהל מועד...בתוך המחנה. Between the two flags which have already been mentioned. כאשר יחנו, as soon as half the camp had arrived at the next destination the Tabernacle would be put together again so that it would again be situated in the center of the entire encampment. This was possible as the Kehatites traveled immediately behind the flag of Reuven’s segment of the army, and they had been transporting the vital contents of the Tabernacle. We know from Exodus 25,22 that these parts of the Tabernacle were the essential ones, as G’d had made His communicating with Moses dependent on the presence of these furnishings. It follows that the meaning of the words כאשר יחנו can also be understood as “as soon as they (these parts) would come to rest.” The Tabernacle whether in its functional form, fully erected, or in its pre-fabricated parts only, always remained in the center of the Israelites whether the latter were on the move or encamped.

ונסע אהל מועד, ”and it will travel;” when the Torah also writes that the ark containing the covenant of the Lord was travelling ahead of the people, (Numbers 10,33), this referred to the ark constructed by Moses in which the broken sections of the first Tablets were kept. It would be taken with them when they went out to war.

בתוך המחנות, two flags (six tribes) would journey at the head followed by the parts of the Tabernacle and the Levites. These were followed by the last two flags (six tribes, there being a total of 4 flags.) כאשר יחנו כן יסעו, in the order in which they made camp they would also begin their journeys. They would maintain a constant pattern during their journeys reflecting the pattern which they formed when encamped. When the “flags” are being mentioned the sequence always begins from the right in the order: east, south, west, north.

The standard of the camp of Ephraim shall be on the west side, according to their hosts; and the chieftain of the children of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.

דגל מחנה אפרים, “the flag of the camp of Ephrayim;” Rachel was represented by a separate camp, i.e. Ephrayim, Menashe, and Binyamin.

The camp of Ephraim by the standard of their hosts shall pitch on the west; their camp spreadeth over four miles; and their standard is of silk of three colours, corresponding with the precious stones in the breastplate, ligure, agate, and amethyst; and upon it expressed and set forth the names of the three tribes, Ephraim, Menasheh and Benjamin, having written in the midst, And the Cloud of the Lord was over them, in the going forward of the host; and upon it was set forth the figure of a young man. And the Rabba set over the tribe of Ephraim, Elishama bar Ammihud;.

And his host, and their enrolled count: forty thousand five hundred.

And those encamped adjacent to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the chieftain of the children of Manasseh is Gamliel son of Pedahzur.

ועליו — Understand this as the Targum does: and those who were close to him were the tribe of Manasseh.

And his host, and their enrolled count: thirty-two thousand two hundred.

And the tribe of Benjamin; and the chieftain of the children of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.

And his host, and their enrolled count: thirty-five thousand four hundred.

All the enrolled of the camp of Ephraim: one hundred and eight thousand one hundred, according to their hosts. They shall march third.

The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side, according to their hosts; and the chieftain of the children of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.

דגל מחנה דן, “the flag of the camp of Dan; the fourth camp comprised the maidservants of Rachel, Dan having been the firstborn of those. He was the leading tribe of that flag (camp). Asher was rewarded with an extra distinction, seeing that he was a son of Leah’s handmaid, he was mentioned before Naftaly, although the latter was older than he.

The standard of the camp of Dan shall be to the north with their hosts; and the space of their camp shall spread over four miles. His standard shall be of silk of three colours, corresponding with the stones in the breastplate, chrysolite, beryl, and jasper; in it shall be expressed and set forth the names of the three tribes, Dan, Naphtali, and Asher; and upon it shall be expressed: And in his encampment shall he say, Return, O Lord, and dwell in Thy glory in the midst of the myriads of Israel; and upon it shall also be set forth the figure of a basilisk serpent. (Gen. xlix. 17.) The Rabba set over the hosts of Dan was Achiezer bar Aminishaddai,.

And his host, and their enrolled count: sixty-two thousand seven hundred.

And those encamped adjacent to him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the chieftain of the children of Asher is Pagiel son of Ochran.

And his host, and their enrolled count: forty-one thousand five hundred.

And the tribe of Naphtali; and the chieftain of the children of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.

And his host, and their enrolled count: fifty-three thousand four hundred.

All the enrolled of the camp of Dan: one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They shall march last, according to their standards.

לאחרונה יסעו, “they would always travel at the rear.” The letter ל has a dot above over the vowel patach. In our versions of the Chumash, the letter ר has a dot, and the letterל has the vowel kametz. Ed.

These are the enrolled of the children of Israel, according to their fathers' houses; all the enrolled of the camps, according to their hosts: six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

"These are the enrolled of the children of Israel" — and so they marched, as they were on the day they were enrolled. And behold, in twenty days not one of them died — and this is a remarkable thing.

אלה פקודי בני ישראל ...שש מאות אלף ושלשת אלפים חמש מאות וחמישים, “These are the countings of the Children of Israel, ....603,550.” This same number has already been reported in 1,46. The reason the Torah repeats this number is only to draw our attention to the miracle that from the day the census took place until the day the people commenced their journeys on the 22nd day of the month not a single one of these people had died.

But the Levites were not enrolled among the children of Israel, as Hashem had commanded Moses.

"The Levites were not enrolled" — to make clear that we should not count any of them among the enrolled when they march.

והלוים לא התפקדו, also among the total of the remainder of the tribes. כאשר צוה ה' את משה. As G’d had said in 1,49 “do not count them as part of the Children of Israel.”

והלוים לא התפקדו…כאשר צוה ה׳ את משה, and the Levites were not counted among them as G'd had commanded Moses. Even though the count of the Israelites represented a spiritual elevation for them as described in Bamidbar Rabbah,2 nonetheless the Levites were not counted together with the other tribes of Israel seeing G'd had so commanded. At that time the angels were described as descending together with G'd's שכינה on Mount Sinai and they inspired the Israelites to ask for flags similar to what they observed among the angels.

And the children of Israel did according to all that Hashem had commanded Moses: so they encamped according to their standards, and so they marched, each man according to his family, by his fathers' house.

"And the children of Israel did [so]" — throughout all the days in the wilderness.

ויעשו בני ישראל ככל וגו, “and the Children of Israel did in accordance with all, etc.,” this statement was to cover the entire period that the Israelites were wandering in the desert. (Bamidbar Rabbah 2,22) כן חנו, “so they encamped;” before each departure G-d arranged for them the flags and the order of their journeys. They were given instructions how to manage their breaking camp and their subsequent new encampments, based on the blowing of the trumpets.