Numbers · Chapter 8

And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

"Speak with Aaron and say to him: When you kindle the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light toward the face of the menorah."

בהעלתך WHEN THOU LIGHTEST [THE LAMPS] — Why is the section treating of the candelabrum put in juxtaposition with the section dealing with the offerings of the princes? Because when Aaron saw the dedication offerings of the princes, he felt distressed because neither he nor his tribe was with them in the dedication, whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life! Your part is of greater importance than theirs, for you will kindle and set in order the lamps” (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5; see also Nachmanides). בהעלתך lit., WHEN THOU MAKEST [THE LIGHTS] RISE — Because the flame rises upwards (עולה), an expression denoting “ascending” is used of kindling them (the lights), implying that one must kindle them until the light ascends of itself (Shabbat 21a). — Furthermore our Rabbis derived from here (from the expression בהעלתך) that there was a step in front of the candelabrum upon which the priest stood while preparing the lights (Sifrei Bamidbar 59). אל מול פני המנורה OVER AGAINST THE CANDLESTICK — i.e. over against the central lamp which is not on one of the branches, like the others, but on the body (the central shaft) of the candelabrum itself (cf. Menachot 98b). יאירו שבעת הנרות SHALL THE SEVEN LAMPS GIVE LIGHT — the seven lamps: this central lamp itself which naturally gave light over against the shaft (the פני המנורה) and the six lamps which were on the six branches, viz., the three on the east side of the central shaft should have their wicks turned towards the central one, and similarly the three on the west should have the ends of their wicks turned towards the central one (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 59). And why was this? In order that people should not say: He (God) is in need of its (the candlestick’s) light (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5).

WHEN THOU LIGHTEST THE LAMPS. “Why does the section dealing with the candelabrum follow [the section which tells of] the dedication-offerings of the princes? The reason is that when Aaron saw the dedication-offerings of the princes, he became disheartened because neither he nor his tribe participated with them in the dedication; whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘By thy life! Thy contribution is [of] greater [significance] than theirs, for thou wilt kindle and trim the lamps every morning and evening.’” This is Rashi’s language, from a Midrash Agadah. But it is not clear to me why G-d consoled Aaron [by reminding him of his function] in lighting the lamps, rather than consoling him with the burning of the incense every morning and evening, which is [the specific function of his] with which Scripture praised him, as it is said, they shall put incense before Thee. Or [G-d could have reminded him of] all the offerings [performed only by his descendants], and the meal-offering of baked cakes [which is brought daily by the High Priest personally], and the Service on the Day of Atonement which is only valid if done by him [i.e., Aaron and subsequent High Priests], and [by the fact that it is] he who enters into the innermost part of the Sanctuary, and he is the holy one of the Eternal, standing in His Temple to minister unto Him, and to bless in His Name, and his entire tribe minister to our G-d! Moreover, what reason was there for Aaron’s uneasiness of mind [upon seeing the offerings of the princes]? Was not his [dedication-] offering greater than that of the [other] princes, for he offered up during those days — all the [seven] days of the initiation [of the priests] — many offerings? And if you reply that [he was disheartened because] his offerings were obligatory and he had been commanded to bring them, and therefore he was dispirited because he did not bring a voluntary offering for the dedication of the altar as they did — [this cannot be so] because the lighting of the lamps with which He consoled Aaron was also a duty which he had been commanded! [Therefore what consolation did Aaron derive for not sharing in the voluntary offerings by being given a commandment which was obligatory?]But the intention of this homiletic text is to derive an allusion from this section [of the Torah] to the Chanukah (“Dedication”) of lights which occurred in the period of the Second Temple through Aaron and his sons, namely [Matithyahu] the Hasmonean, who was High Priest, and his sons. And I have found this explanation in the following text of Megillath Setharim of Rabbeinu Nissim, who mentions this tradition, saying: “I have seen in the Midrash: When [the princes of] the twelve tribes brought the dedication-offerings and the tribe of Levi did not etc., the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him: When thou lightest the lamps. There is another Dedication in which there will be lighting of the lamps, when I wil...

"Speak to Aaron" — for he is obligated by the commandment of kindling the lamp. "Toward the face of the Menorah" — the meaning is: it shall illuminate toward its front side. The word ha'ir ("give light") is transitive, as in "He lights my lamp" (Ps. 18:29); this is not the sense of ya'iru ("they illuminate") or "the earth shone." This passage is placed here to teach that the speech could occur also at night, for the lamp would be burning there and would not be extinguished.

בהעלותך את הנרות, when you kindle the six lamps, אל מול פני המנורה, facing the lamp on the center shaft; this means that the wick is to be inclined towards this center shaft so that the flames will point in this direction from the respective sides of the menorah. Then, and only then, יאירו שבעת הנרות, all seven lamps will fulfill their function of illuminating and being the conduits of spiritual light descending on to the Jewish people. [obviously, the individual lamps would be able to provide physical light before being positioned in the manner described. Ed.] The mussar, allegorical lesson conveyed by the lights of the menorah is us that only by the “right” side representing preoccupation with eternal values, life in the future, working together with the “left” side which represents the concerns with physical life on our planet, will we be able to attain our purpose on earth. Our sages in Chulin 92 phrased it thus: אלמלי עלייא לא מתקיימא אתכליא, “if not for the input from celestial regions, spiritual input, the creatures on earth would not be able to survive at all.” [I have not found this precise quote, but it means more literally that if there were no wise people who could tutor the ignorant, the world as we know it would collapse. Ed.] In order for this universe to function as G’d wanted it to, all social levels of the people have to make their respective contributions. A major function of the combined activity by the “tutored and the ignorant” is to ensure that G’d’s name would be hailed, revered and enthusiastically acknowledged by every segment of mankind, all of His creatures. An example of such a thing happening is found in Exodus 19,8 ויענו כל העם יחדו ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ה' נעשה, the emphasis here being on the word יחדו, i.e. all the people in unison would combine to carry out G’d’s will.

דבר…ואמרת. speak…and say! We need to understand why the Torah wrote both "speak" and "say!" Also, why did the Torah choose two different expressions when referring to how Moses was to communicate with Aaron? Midrash Tanchuma 8 and others on our verse query the reason why the instructions about lighting the candlestick are written here instead of where the construction of the candlesticks is described. The Midrash answers that when Aaron observed that the princes of all 12 tribes had offered inaugural offerings for the altar, all except the tribe of Levi, he became despondent over the fact that neither he nor his tribe had been allowed to participate in this inauguration. Thereupon G'd assured him that his share in the inauguration would be greater than that of the princes who had just concluded bringing their respective offerings. G'd told him that he, Aaron, would light the candlestick in the Sanctuary on a daily basis and would prepare the oil and wicks both mornings and evenings. Thus far the words of the Midrash. These words themselves beg for an explanation. In what way did G'd console Aaron about not having participated in the inaugration of the altar when He told him he could perform duties relating to the candlestick? How is the candlestick and its function related to the altar and its function? Besides, why didn't G'd put Aaron's mind at rest by referring to all the public offerings he would offer on the altar on an ongoing basis as opposed to the princes who performed a one-time inaugural offering? He could offer the daily תמידים, the additional offerings on the festivals, as well as the twice daily portion of incense which would be offered on the golden altar inside the Sanctuary. He even performed the rites when the bulls of the princes were placed on the altar and their blood sprinkled thereon. So why did G'd choose the matter of the candlestick as the vehicle which would appease Aaron? This matter can best be understood in connection with Menachot 88. The Talmud there discusses the cleaning of the lamps on the candlestick and the filling up of the bowls (lamps) with half a log of oil each. The Talmud describes the removal of the bowls (lights) with their wicks, the bowl being deposited on the floor before being cleaned with a sponge and filled with oil and new wicks being inserted. According to the view that these bowls (lamps) were not detachable, the priest had to bend the candlestick in order to perform the cleaning of these bowls and the wicks (compare Rashi on the same folio). Had I been present when the scholars discussed if the lamps were fixtures that could not be detached from their respective arms of the candlestick, I would have proven that they were most certainly detachable. Firstly, there is the fact that although the Torah gives us details of all the various parts and decorations of the candlestick, it did not mention anything about the lamps being part of the "cast candlestick." Only the parts which formed part of...

דבר אל אהרן, speak to Aaron, etc.; the commandment about lighting the lamps on menorah appears immediately following the consecration rites of the altar because we have heard about twelve tribal leaders each offering a sacrifice on that occasion, while the tribe of Levi, i.e. its representative, Aaron, has not been allocated any role in that important event. The Levites had started to grumble about having been excluded from these festivities. They wanted to know the reason why they had been excluded. As a result, G-d immediately told Aaron and his sons that what the representatives of the other tribes had done was only in the nature of something preparatory, whereas it had been reserved for them to do the actual consecration of the Temple/altar. The reader is referred by our author to Nachmanides’ lengthy and comprehensive commentary on this paragraph. Aaron is initially to involve his sons in these activities and subsequently also other members of the tribe of Levi. בהעלותך את הנרות, “when you light the lamps, etc.;” this command was issued on the day that the Tabernacle had been erected (and stayed up) because they started to light the lamps in order to teach that these lamps burned throughout the night, also. The light in the Tabernacle was like an eternal flame (Ibn Ezra) We find something similar in connection with the prophet Samuel, (Samuel I 3-4) 'ונר אלוקים טרם יכבה״״ויקרא ה אל שמואל“the lamp of G-d had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Temple, when G-d called to Samuel.” (Chavell directs the reader to the commentary known as karney or, to follow up on this subject) בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה, “when you kindle the lamps towards the front of the menorah;” the priest or High Priest performing this procedure was to take up position facing the seven lamps on the menorah. As a result, the lights would all illuminate. The words: אל מול פני המנורה, do not refer to the words that follow: יאירו שבעת הנרות, as understood by Rashi, but as is clear from what Aaron actually did as reported in the verse following, אל מול פני המנורה העלה נרותיה, “he had lit the lamps while facing them.”A different interpretation: the words בהעלותך את הנרות, are to be understood literally. i.e. “when you raise the lamps;” you will then place the wicks in their positions. They are not considered as fixtures in their respective positions, seeing that we have read in Exodus 37,17: ויעש את המנורה, “he constructed the candlestick,” and subsequently we read: (Exodus 37,23) ויעש את נרותיה שבעה ומלקחיה, “and he made the lamps thereof, seven, and their tongs;”“ ,אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות He turned the seven mouths for the wicks towards the center shaft of the front of the candlestick, which faced the dividing curtain in the Sanctuary which was hung between the Sanctuary and the innermost holies housing the Ark. This would make sense according to the sage who claims that the position of the menorah was in a north-south direction i.e. its broadside was facing the dividing curtain, in one direction whereas the opposite broadside faced the entrance of the Sanctuary. According to the sage who claims that the menorah was positioned in an east-west direction, it would have faced the Table in the Sanctuary. This is how we can interpret what is written in Exodus 4,24: וישם את המנורה נוכח השולחן, “he placed the menorah opposite the Table.” יאירו שבעת הנרות, “the seven lamps shall provide illumination. This would refer to the six lamps, three on either side of the center shaft of the candlestick. According to our author this would be the correct text in Rashi, but the scribes of Rashi’s manuscripts have omitted a word by mistake, i.e. the word האמצעי, “the centre shaft” (the lamp on it)

אור צדיקים ישמח ונר רשעים ידעך, “The light of the righteous rejoices; the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished” (Proverbs 13,9). King Solomon compared the soul of a righteous person to אור, “a great light,” seeing that the soul provides spiritual light. It is derived directly from the celestial throne of glory. This light is not a derivative, but originates with G’d’s essence. By contrast, Solomon compared the soul of the wicked to a lamp, suggesting that it is merely a derivative, has no staying power of its own. It depends on oil and wick to keep it going. It is not a “self-starter.” As soon as either the oil supply fails or the wick develops some problem, the lamp is extinguished, i.e. the person dies. In other words, the body serves as the oil and wick of the soul of the wicked and it cannot survive the failure of his body. The reason is that the soul of the wicked does not derive his joy except from matters innately related to his body Although, technically speaking, a soul does not die, the punishment such a soul experiences may be far worse than death (compare author on Leviticus 18,29). Seeing the wicked person did not pursue the path of light but the path of darkness, the attribute of darkness will be applied to him. This is a kind of destruction of the soul, an ongoing process involving unending painful afflictions. Solomon stated this explicitly when he said in Proverbs 11,7: “when a wicked man dies his hopes perish.” Note that he did not say במות רשע, “when the wicked dies,” but במות אדם רשע, “when a wicked man dies.” The word אדם is meant to alert us that anyone who patterns his life after the attractions provided by what is earthly, אדמה, is considered a wicked individual. This is why, at the time of his death, he loses all the things he put his hopes in. After all, his hopes had focused only on matters of the body. He had not displayed any interest in matters spiritual, matters which should have been the prime concern of his soul. The word ידעך “will be extinguished,” is most appropriate to describe the demise of such a soul as it implies the cessation of light and constitutes the punishment of the sinful soul. We may consider that the word דעיכה does not describe a total extinction of light but rather that the soul in question no longer experiences the amount of light which would be appropriate for it. We find the word used in Job 18,5 where Bildod speaks of the light of the wicked failing, (ידעך), “in that the flame of his fire does not shine.” In other words the meaning of that word is not exactly the same as כבוי, which would be a total extinction of the light. Isaiah 43,17 supports our point. The prophet says: ישכבו בל יקומו דעכו, כפשתה כבו, “they lay down to rise no more as they were extinguished; quenched like a wick.” It appears that the prophet speaks of two successive stages of light going out, the last stage כבו being the absolute extinction of any light. However, in lauding the virtues of the righteous, Solomon mentions the word ישמח, “rejoice.” The righteous rejoices with the reward he receives for his righteousness. The expression שמחה is invariably applied to spiritual enjoyment due to the soul having attained new dimensions of Holy Spirit. Examples of such in Scripture are found in Psalms 104,31, ישמח ה' במעשיו, ”may the Lord rejoice in His works.” Another such example is found in Psalms 104,34 אנכי אשמח בו, “I will rejoice in Him (the Lord).” Seeing that the righteous serve the Lord joyfully while they are on earth they will enjoy an added degree of joy in the hereafter. There is yet another reason why Solomon compared the soul of the righteous to light; the reason is that the souls were created on the first of the six days of creation simultaneously with the original light. (Compare author’s commentary on Genesis 1,4). There is a specific verse speaking about the souls in Chronicles I 4,23: ”These were the potters who dwelled at Netaim and Gederah; they dwelled in the king’s service.” (According to Bereshit Rabbah 8,6 the reference is to the souls of the righteous in the proximity of the King of Kings, the Lord). These souls were meant to benefit from this light which was created on the first day. In that particular passage in Genesis the Torah spoke of five different categories of light; we also find the נפש, “soul” appearing under five different names they are: רוח, נשמה, נפש, חיה, יחידה. Concerning this relationship between light and soul, David said in Psalms 119,130: פתח דבריך יאיר מבין פתיים, “the words You inscribe give light and understanding to the simple;” our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 3,1 comment on this verse that the opening words of the verse i.e. פתח דברים mean that as soon as G’d opened His mouth light came forth. The message is that as soon as “G‘d opens His mouth,” illumination, wisdom emerges. When the Torah writes; “G’d said let there be light, and there was light,” the meaning is that that this light came forth from the original darkness. It was quite unlike light produced by man. When man produces light he lights one candle from another, i.e. he adds light from an existing source of light. This matter is clear from the Torah’s description that there was only darkness over the entire expanse of the “deep” (Genesis 1,2). Job 12,22 confirms this state of affairs; “He draws mysteries out of the darkness and brings obscurities to light.” Another verse along the same lines is found in Daniel 2,22: הוא גלא עמיקתא ומסתרתא ידע מה בחשוכא ונהירא עמה שרא, “He reveals deep and hidden things, knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells within Him.” The word עמיקתא, “hidden things,” are understood by our sages as a reference to the מעשה מרכבה, “the mystical dimensions of what goes on in the celestial regions.” The word וסתרתא, on the other hand, refers to the mysteries of the process of creation. Seeing that G’d produced light out of darkness, it is quite clear that He does not need man-made light (such as supplied by the Menorah in the Tabernacle). In Psalms 139,12 David spelled this out when he said: ”darkness is not dark for You; night is as light as day; darkness and light are the same.” [the author quotes more such verses which I omitted. Ed.] Although we have seen that G’d is certainly not in any need of light supplied by man He legislated that the Tabernacle, His residence, be lit up internally by means of the lampstand, מנורה. בהעלותך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, “when you kindle the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.” The Torah’s choice of the word בהעלותך, [as opposed to כאשר תדליק. Ed.] is a reference to the flame, שלהבת, which rises of its own accord (Shabbat 21). The sages consider the words as a form of עלוי, “spiritual ascent,” quoting Bamidbar Rabbah 15,5, G’d said: “it is not that I need your light but I want that you light up in My presence just as I lit up the path for you in the desert when I sent My pillar of fire ahead of you.” It will enhance your stature in the eyes of the Gentile nations when they observe that although it is G’d who provides light and illumination for the entire world, the Israelites provide light at His disposal. In order to understand the phenomenon of creating light out of darkness consider two things. 1) The human eye has a white surface surrounding a black pupil. Contrary to what you might expect we do not see with the white of the eye but with the black part. 2) Lightning is a derivative of celestial fire. It emerges from those regions and brilliantly lights up the entire horizon. We find this reflected in the vision of Ezekiel 1,13: “Such was the appearance of the creatures. With them was something that looked like burning coals of fire. This fire, suggestive of torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and lightning issued forth from the fire. In this paragraph Aaron was commanded to light the Menorah, both at this time and as a procedure to be followed for all times when the Temple was standing. The words דבר אל אהרן “speak to Aaron, etc.,“ convey the commandment as it applied in the desert in the Tabernacle, whereas the apparent repetition ואמרת אליו, “and say to him,” conveys the thought that the legislation being formulated here was for all future priests to observe. Seeing that this commandment of keeping the interior of the Tabernacle/Temple lit was not limited to the Tabernacle this paragraph does not mention the word אהל מועד, “Tent of Meeting.” This is in contrast to Exodus 27,21 where the details of the Menorah are spelled out and the Torah writes: באהל מועד יערך אותו אהרון הכהן ובניו, “in the Tent of Meeting Aaron and his sons shall arrange it, etc.” People might have thought that seeing there were no windows inside the Tabernacle there was a need for the lights of this Menorah, whereas in the Temple which was equipped with windows (Kings I 6,4) there was no need for interior illumination. The Book of Kings makes a point of stating that the windows in the Temple were very narrow on the inside and wide on the outside suggesting that their purpose was not to let light enter, but on the contrary, to illuminate the outside world with the spiritual light contained therein. Our sages (Tanchuma Behaa-lotcha 2) phrased it thus: when the average person builds himself a house he arranges for the windows to be narrow on the outside and wide on the inside in order to admit the maximum amount of daylight. Solomon did the reverse. He made the windows narrow on the inside and wide on the outside in order for the Temple to radiate the maximum amount of spiritual light to the outside world. This conveyed the message that the entire Temple was a source of light, and that G’d most certainly did not require man-made light to light up the interior for Him. The meaning of the words שקופים אטומים in the verse from Kings I 6,4 we referred to earlier is: ”they were open toward the outside, but closed toward the inside,” i.e. short. This prompted Ezekiel 40,25 to write that both it and its vestibule had windows כהחלונות האלה. The extra letter ה in the word כהחלונות, is an allusion to something “faint, dim,” in other words these windows provided faint light. The prophet indicates that the windows are in the shape of the letter ה, narrow on the inside and wide at the outside. This was to enable the light to escape to the outside. This is the reason the Temple was also known as the אריאל, (Isaiah 29,1) an allusion to the lion which is narrow at its rear but broad at its front. This paragraph teaches us three things: 1) the lamps should be facing the center shaft of the Menorah. This light on the center shaft is known as the נר המערבי, “the lamp of the West.” 2) The Menorah ought to be constructed of gold, if at all possible; in the absence of suffficient gold, other metals would be acceptable (Sifri Nasso 61). The principal restriction was that one must not have more or fewer than the seven lamps prescribed. The third lesson we learn from this paragraph is that the whole Menorah was to be cast in one piece of metal. In order to make this point clear the Torah repeated the words מקשה היא, “it is to be a (single) casting.” Whereas a Menorah of more than one piece would not be acceptable for use, a Menorah which was not of gold would be acceptable. אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, “toward the centre of the Menorah its seven lamps shall shine.” If you will examine the text closely you will note that the Torah should have written יאירו ששת הנרות, “the six lamps shall shine,” seeing that the seventh was in the centre. How could the center light be described as “facing the centre of the Menorah?” According to the plain meaning of the text you will have to understand our verse as follows: “when you kindle the lamps facing the centre shaft of the Menorah you will kindle them in such a way that altogether seven lamps will shine.” This is the meaning of יאירו שבעת הנרות, “the seven lamps will shine.” The Torah could not write the words יאירו ששת הנרות, “the six lamps shall shine,” as in fact seven lamps shone. A kabbalistic approach; in terms of Kabbalah the wording of the Torah is most appropriate as the subject is the corresponding Menorah in the celestial regions. The words אל מול mean that the Meorah in the terrestrial Sanctuary is to correspond to the celestial Menorah which consists of seven emanations (the lower seven of the table of emanations). The author sees in the words העלה נרותיה a mystical dimension of elevating terrestrial light to the level of celestial light. Something parallel is found in the vision of the High Priest described by the prophet (Zecharyah 4,2). It is remarkable that in the spelling of the word מנורה, only in verse 2 is that word spelled each time with the letter ו. This suggests that in that verse the Torah speaks of the celestial Menorah, whereas in the subsequent verses where the letter ו is missing this is to remind us that there the Torah speaks of the terrestrial Menorah in the Tabernacle. You will observe that the expression מנורה occurs four times in our paragraph, the first two times with the letter ו indicating that the Torah speaks of the celestial Menorah, whereas the last two times the Torah mentions מנרה it is spelled without the letter ו, indicating that the Torah speaks of a different Menorah, the terrestrial one. Moreover, such descriptions of the Menorah as “golden,” and “from its base to its flower,” also clearly hint that the Torah now speaks of the terrestrial Menorah in the Tabernacle. It is interesting that also in the verse in Zecharyah dealing with the vision of the High Priest Joshua the word מנורה is spelled with the letter ו, indicating that it was not a terrestrial Menorah which the High Priest saw in his vision. In the entire Torah the word מנורה is spelled with the letter ו only on three occasions, the two instances here and the verse in Exodus 25,31. We have a statement to this effect by the Massoretes in connection with Exodus 25,31. שבעת הנרות, “the seven lamps.” The entire subject matter of the Menorah is wrapped in many mysteries and I have already alluded to this in my commentary on Exodus 25,39 in connection with the commentary by Rabbeinu Chananel. A Midrashic approach to the words שבעת הנרות, based on Tanchuma Behaalotcha 6. The matter is best approached by means of a parable. A king had a close friend, and one day he told this friend that he planned to have a meal at his house. He asked the friend to set a place for him at his table. The friend prepared for his honored guest to the best of his ability. When the king arrived he brought with him an entire entourage of servants, butlers, fancy candlesticks, etc., etc. When his host saw all this splendor he was so ashamed of his comparatively puny effort that he hid whatever he had set out for his guest. When the king saw that the friend apparently had not made any preparations to receive him, he said to his host: “did I not tell you that I was going to have a meal with you, so why did you not make suitable preparations?” The host told the king that he had indeed made preparations to the best of his modest ability but that when he saw what the king’s servants brought he felt so inadequate that he removed his inferior dishes, etc. Upon hearing this the king said to his friend: “I am going to abandon all the fancy chandeliers and other vessels which my servants have brought, and instead I am going to use only your vessels, all in appreciation of your fondness of me.” Seeing that G’d is all “light” in the most brilliant form, He decided not to use His own light in the Tabernacle but to allow His “friend” the Jewish people to provide Him with the kind of light they are able to provide. This is why G’d commanded the Menorah to be kindled daily in the Tabernacle to demonstrate His fondness of His host, the Jewish people. Seeing that Moses had constructed the Tabernacle for G’d and all its appurtenances and this constituted the best he was able to do and when the Shechinah did arrive Moses found himself unable to enter, (Exodus 40,35) G’d now called to Moses to the Tent of Meeting and spoke to him. What was the subject of this conversation? The instruction to kindle the Menorah regularly, etc. Israel was pleasantly surprised, saying: “G’d who illuminates the entire universe wants us to provide light for Him?!” When the Temple was destroyed the Menorah was hidden (because of the powerful sanctity it exuded). This reflects what our sages told us already in the Tanchuma that Moses had extreme difficulty in comprehending exactly how the Menorah was to be constructed. In the end, G’d commanded Moses to throw the requisite amount (1 kikar) of gold into a crucible and the Menorah emerged completely formed. This is the meaning of the words תיעשה המנורה, “the Menorah emerged ready.” There is no mention made of Betzalel or anyone else fashioning the Menorah. (compare Exodus 25,31) The expression מקשה normally translated as “cast” also alludes to the difficulty קשה Moses had with the concept of the Menorah. [Although Exodus 37,17 gives the impression that Betzalel had made the Menorah, the absence of his name may indicate that although G’d made it he received credit for it seeing he was so dedicated. (Compare Shemot Rabbah 50,5. Ed.)] These were the details of the Menorah: it was 18 tefachim high, corresponding to the numerical value of the letters in the word וזה (verse 4). Concerning the word מקשה, our sages state that Moses had difficulty with four different instructions by G’d until He had to show him with a “finger” what the finished product was going to look like. The Menorah, the sacrificial offerings, the shekel contribution, and the new moon were the four pieces of legislation which Moses did not understand in the mere abstract. Each of these pieces of legislation has been described at one point or another by the Torah with the word זה, “this,” meaning that Moses was given help by being shown a graphic illustration. (Compare Leviticus 6,13 regarding the sacrifice of Aaron; Exodus 12,2 regarding new moon; Exodus 30,13 regarding the shekel, i.e. half-shekel, and our verse here). Even though our sages said in connection with such verses as Leviticus 11,29 וזה לכם הטמא, and “this will be impure for you,” that G’d took Moses by the hand and showed him the animals in question, in those instances Moses did not have conceptual difficulties and this is why the Midrash spoke only of four examples (Compare Chulin 44).

“When you raise up the lights, toward the face of the Menorah, etc.” The commentators had difficulty with this because if the face of the Menorah means the central lamp, then it should have said “let the six lamps shine,” indicating that the six should face toward the seventh. And I say that the phrase toward the face of the Menorah refers to what was stated earlier, and there is no difficulty whatsoever. This is because we do not find in this verse any command, as it does not say “light them” or “raise them toward the face of the Menorah.” Also, they shall shine is not a command, as one does not command the lamps. Furthermore, what is meant by and Aaron did so? What is remarkable about this? Who better than him to fulfill God’s word? And what is praiseworthy about not changing [the instruction]? Why would we think he would change it?Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted to show that He does not need the light [of the Menorah], and for this reason, God wanted all the lamps to face toward the face of the Menorah, to dispel the misconceptions of those who err. Nevertheless, He did not want to command specifically that they be lit toward the face of the Menorah, because only a misguided and simple-minded person would err in this matter, and why should He issue a specific commandment because of fools who have perverted [understanding]?However, God said by way of information, “I am informing you from the beginning about the end result, which is that when you raise up the lights toward the face of the Menorah, you will not give those who err a reason to make a mistake, etc. Then I too will do this: The seven lamps will shine forever, their light will never be extinguished, they will always be before Me.” And from this positive statement, we can infer the negative: If you do not raise them toward the face of the Menorah and give place for those who err to say, “He needs the light,” then the seven lamps will not shine at all — either due to the destruction of the Temple, or even while it stands, they will not shine and their radiant light will not glow, neither for Me nor for you will it be. And support for this interpretation comes from what they said in the Midrash (Tanchuma Beha’alotcha 3) that the lamps were placed adjacent to the dedication of the altar because Aaron was distressed about not participating in the dedication of the altar. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him, “You are destined for something greater. The sacrifices only exist while the Temple stands, but the lamps are forever,” as it is said, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light. See in Yalkut (819:8) the version of this Midrash. Look to the right and see: What indicates from this verse that the lamps are forever? Rather, certainly the author of this Midrash intended to interpret the verse in this manner: If you raise them toward the face of the Menorah, then I will make the seven lamps shine forever, even during the time of destruction. Ramban here challenged this Midrash, arguing that when the sacrifices ceased, the lamps also ceased. Therefore, he explained that it refers to the lamps of the Hasmoneans and their sons. But I find his words difficult, for the lamps of the Hasmoneans were initially discontinued together with the sacrifices, and when the land became peaceful and quiet, both returned to their former state. So what advantage do the lamps have over the sacrifices? It appears to me that he [Ramban] took proof from the Hasmoneans and their sons, that there is more holiness in the lights [of the menorah] than in the sacrifices, for upon their [the Jews’] return [to the Temple], no miracle occurred with the sacrifices, but with the lights a miracle did occur. Therefore, Aaron received consolation regarding the kindling of the lights, which is greater than the sacrifices. And what was said [that] ‘the sacrifices are only [offered] when the Temple exists, but the lights [are] forever’ — this is its interpretation: Even though the sacrifices had heavenly fire, which was an open and continuous miracle, nevertheless, after the First Temple was destroyed, the fire no longer descended, because the Second Temple lacked five things, among them the heavenly fire (Yoma 21b). But the holiness of the lights never ceased, even though the Temple was destroyed twice: once in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, and once in the days of Antiochus. Nevertheless, a miracle occurred with the lights, and this demonstrates the greatness of the holiness of the lights. And he learned this by being forced by the questions we mentioned. It seems to me that the explanation of the verse is as follows: When you light the lamps, toward the face of the menorah shall the seven lamps cast light — this is to avoid giving the mistaken impression that God needs the light. Rather, due to the great sanctity of the lamps, I [God] will cause this to happen: all seven lamps will shine eternally. And even in times when there would only be enough to light one lamp, miraculously I will make all seven lamps shine, as happened in the days of the Hasmoneans, and their memory shall never cease among the children of Israel for all generations. But if you do not light them toward the face of the menorah, then they will not shine eternally, for I will not perform obvious miracles with them so that the mistaken ones do not find support for their error by saying, “It is because God needs the light that He performs more obvious miracles with the lamps than with the sacrifices.”According to this interpretation, this verse contains no command but rather a statement of facts. That is why the Torah praises Aaron, saying Aaron did so, meaning he acted as if God had explicitly commanded Moses, being as careful about the matter as if he had been commanded to do it. Afterward, the Torah explains the source of this misunderstanding, saying, This is the workmanship of the menorah… Because all the vessels of the Tabernacle were made by human hands except for the menorah, which the Holy One, blessed be He, made Himself as one piece, according to the pattern that the Lord had shown Moses, so he/He made it. Meaning, the Holy One, blessed be He, made it. From here arose the possibility for the mistaken ones to say that God made it Himself because He needs its light. Therefore, Aaron was diligent to light its lamps toward the face of the menorah to dispel this error. And some say that the praise of Aaron that he did not change, is because the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him the seven lamps shall give light in front of the Menorah, and He was not particular about the raising up [of the lamps] being in front of the Menorah, but was only particular about the illumination being in front of the Menorah, and was not particular about the raising up. But Aaron added [to this] and even performed the raising up in front of the Menorah, as it is written, he raised up its lamps in front of the Menorah. And it is further possible to explain that the praise is that even though it says Aaron and his sons shall arrange it, nevertheless he himself hastened to perform the commandment, and Aaron did so. Because he saw in it an extra holiness, since the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself made it, as mentioned, and so writes the Ramban. And by way of allusion, it can be said “toward the face of the menorah.” This refers to the Holy One, Blessed be He, the Light of the world. The seven lamps shall give light, for all the branches faced the central branch, and it faced toward the Divine Presence in the west. Thus, it appears as if all the lamps face toward the face of the pure menorah, from which the light emanates from Him, blessed be He, to all created beings. And the phrase when you light [beha’alotcha] uses the term of “ascending,” meaning he should light it until the flame rises by itself. Our Sages of blessed memory said (Tanchuma Beha’alotcha 3) that the menorah was made by itself — this is a great wonder, hinting at the lamp of God, the human soul, which ascends upward by itself if not prevented by sins. It is the work of God, for there are three partners in the creation of a person (Niddah 31a). We have already explained this above in Parashat Terumah (25:31), and it is a correct and clear matter. This is the connection between the lamps rising by themselves and the making of the menorah, for it too was the work of God, as it says, Thus He made the menorah — the Holy One, Blessed be He, made it.

בהעלותך את הנרות, “when you kindle the lights, etc.” The day on which the Tabernacle was erected was comparable to the day on which the universe was created. This is why just as the report of the creation of the universe began with G’d commanding that there be light, the Torah here begins with detailing how Aaron should kindle the lights of the menorah. The reason why the paragraph dealing with kindling the menorah was placed immediately after the paragraph describing the gifts of the princes on the occasion of the consecration of the Tabernacle, is, as Rashi has pointed out already, that Aaron had been upset that he had apparently not been given a role in those rituals. In order to set his mind at rest, G’d told him that He had reserved a more important role for him even than that of the princes, i.e. the kindling of the menorah. Nachmanides questions Rashi’s comments, asking why G’d consoled Aaron with the kindling of the lights, when He could so easily have pointed out to him that since he had been chosen for presenting the most welcome of the offerings, the incense, surely he must have realized that he had not been overlooked? There is a long list of sacrifices that is acceptable to Hashem only if offered by Aaron, or the High Priests after him, respectively, so that his mental depression seems totally unjustified? We must therefore try and understand the allegorical explanation quoted by Rashi in the name of the Midrash Tanchumah as referring to the Hasmoneans in the distant future, Aaron’s descendants, consecrating the entire Temple anew by lighting the menorah with oil that had been miraculously blessed by Hashem so that it burned for longer than could be expected (8 days instead of one day). Whereas on this occasion the inaugural rites were performed by members of the other tribes, not including the kindling of the lights, on that occasion, in the distant future, the kindling of the lights would become the central feature in the whole rededication of the Temple to the service of Hashem. Moreover, the consecration of the Temple in the days of the Hasmoneans was a more significant event than the consecration of the Altar, seeing that the Altar can only perform its function [the burning of animal sacrifices, etc. Ed.] as long as there is a Temple, whereas the consecration of the Temple by the Hasmonean priests was something of an enduring nature, seeing that we commemorate that event [the annual eight day celebration of Chanukkah and the kindling of the lights every evening. Ed.] still nowadays long after the Temple has been destroyed and there is no longer an Altar on which to offer animal sacrifices. It is clear therefore that the consecration of the Tabernacle was of a subordinate significance when measured against the millennia of Jewish history. Ibn Ezra states that the reason why the Torah attached our paragraph to that of the princes’ offerings is to teach that G’d communicated with Moses also at night, seeing that at least one light of the menorah would be burning around the clock. Nachmanides claims that Ibn Ezra’s comments do not conform to the opinion of our sages who claim that G’d communicated with Moses only during the day. [Rabbi Ch. Chavell, in his notes on Nachmanides’ commentary, points out that Abravanel has already justified Ibn Ezra’s commentary, and that what the sages meant was only that Moses did not receive communications from G’d at night, i.e. in a dream, such as other prophets. Ed.] Nachmanides adds that the sequence of the subject matters in our portion is justified, seeing that with these details about the kindling of the menorah the whole legislation pertaining to the offerings in the Tabernacle is concluded. The subject of the menorah and its function had commenced originally in Exodus 27,20 with the words: ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית למאור להעלות נר תמיד, “you are to command the Children of Israel that they shall take for you pure, pressed olive oil for illumination, to kindle the light continuously.” In that verse the menorah had not even been mentioned. The impression left from that verse had been that the menorah be lit at all times as long as the menorah was itself in a usable condition. Should the menorah be stolen, become dysfunctional, etc., we would have assumed that the command to keep it lit would automatically have become redundant. This is why the Torah in Leviticus 24,4 elaborates על המנורה הטהורה יערוך את הנרות לפני ה' תמיד, that “Aaron shall arrange the lights on the ritually pure menorah before Hashem, continuously.” The condition that enables kindling the menorah is that it is in a state of ritual purity. Now, in our portion, when the Torah concludes with the subjects of the offerings, after the Tabernacle has been completed and become functional, the details of the seven lamps on the menorah, the décor on its arms, etc., are repeated once more. Even the fact that the lamp on the center shaft was more important than the three arms on either side of it is mentioned, seeing the lights on the arms were burning in the direction of the center shaft. The Tabernacle is not mentioned in our paragraph at all, as had it been mentioned we might have concluded that the need for the menorah existed only in the Tabernacle, a structure that was not equipped with windows. Solomon’s Temple, however, which had a number of windows, might not require artificial lighting during the daytime, at least. To avoid our arriving at such faulty reasoning the Torah skipped mention of the word “Tabernacle,” or its equivalent in our paragraph. בהעלותך את הנרות, “when you kindle the lamps, etc.” I am puzzled by the fact that here G’d apparently singled out Aaron for receiving these instructions, without including his sons at the same time. After all, any ordinary priest is entitled to perform the kindling of the lights on the menorah. When thinking about this it occurred to me that there is no problem seeing that the wording of what Moses was to tell Aaron was not a command at all. Aaron had not been told to light, i.e. תעלה, the lamps, but had been informed about the sequence in which the menorah’s lamps were to be lit. The same sequence would have to be followed by any priest who performed the ritual of kindling these lamps. It is possible that by addressing Aaron in the first instance, the Torah, alluded to the miracle of Chanukkah which occurred in the days of the Hasmoneans when they miraculously discovered a cruse of ritually pure oil, and a descendant of Aaron was able to proceed with the kindling of the menorah without having to wait a number of days until new oil would be prepared. Nachmanides writes that perhaps the words מחוץ לפרוכת יערוך אותו אהרן, “outside the dividing curtain Aaron is to arrange for the kindling of the lights” (Exodus 27,21), were an indication to Moses that his brother had been chosen for this task so that he understood the word ובניו which follows, as referring to after Aaron would have died, although subsequently not only the High Priest was allowed to perform this rite. This is also why the Torah reports in verse 3 that Aaron performed this rite, i.e. that as long as he was alive he would not delegate this task even to his sons. אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות, “its seven lamps shall illuminate towards the center shaft of the menorah.” The commentators all ask that the wording is misleading, seeing that only 6 of the lamps can direct their light towards the center shaft. They answer that what is meant is that whereas the lamp on the center shaft illuminates the area perpendicularly above it, the other six lamps direct their light either to the left or to the right. Altogether there would be seven lamps.

'בהעלותך וגו, seeing that this is a procedure which is repeated daily it is mentioned here. Even though the Tabernacle had been completed, all the work had been done, the menorah was incomplete inasmuch as in order to remain functional the oil and the wicks had to renewed on a regular basis, and the lighting of the flame was required as an ongoing procedure on a daily basis. אל מול פני המנורה, he was inclining the tips of the wicks on all seven lamps in the direction of the table to provide illumination for its surface.

And Aaron did so — toward the face of the menorah he kindled its lamps, as Hashem had commanded Moses.

ויעש כן אהרן AND AARON DID SO — This is stated in order to tell the praise of Aaron — that he did not deviate [from G-d's command] (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 60).

AND AARON DID SO. The meaning thereof is to state that it was Aaron who lighted the lamps all his life. For although the commandment may be validly performed by his sons, as it is said, Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, it was he who was zealous in the fulfillment of this great commandment which alludes to an exalted matter and sublime secret. Perhaps he deduced an allusion to this [i.e., that during his lifetime it was he who was to light the lamps] from the verse, Without the Veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron set it in order from evening to morning, [implying] that it was him whom G-d chose [to light the lamps] as long as he lived. And it is for this reason that now too, He said, Speak unto Aaron … When thou lightest, and He did not say “Speak unto Aaron and his sons … When ye light [the lamps].”

ויעש כן אהרון, Aaron did so, etc. Why did the Torah have to write again אל מול פני המנורה, seeing this was already implied in the words: "Aaron did so?" The words: as G'd had commanded," are also superfluous as they are part of the line "Aaron did so." Perhaps we can explain this as follows: The words ויעש כן refer to the dismantling of the candlestick, i.e. the removal of its lamps. The Torah added the words כאשר צוה ה׳, to tell us that he cleaned the lamps so that the whole candlestick should be as new. This would justify what the Midrash had called the inaugural aspect of the cleaning of the candlestick. The reason the Torah adds the words אל מול פני המנורה is to tell us that Aaron kept to the sequence as he had been instructed, i.e. that the cleaning proceeded towards the centre lamp and not from right to left or from left to right. [Compare Yuma 33 for a full discussion of that procedure. Ed.] The reason the Torah wrote כאשר צוה, was to inform us that contrary to the fact that Aaron had received G'd's command during the daylight hours so that I might have expected him to carry it out during daylight hours, he did so at the time concerning which G'd commanded it, i.e. in the evening. Although we have said that the נר מערבי was lit by day, on occasion, this occurred rarely and always signified that Israel was out of favour, else that light would not have gone out prematurely. As long as Aaron was alive this never happened. The words also imply a compliment for Aaron. Whatever Aaron did he did not do in order to be viewed as distinguished but he did so purely in order to fulfil G'd's command.

And this was the workmanship of the menorah: hammered gold, from its base to its flower it was hammered work — according to the vision that Hashem had shown Moses, so he made the menorah.

וזה מעשה המנרה AND THIS IS THE WORK OF THE CANDLESTICK — “This” — we may gather that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed it to him (Moses) with His finger, because he was puzzled by it (how to construct it); and that is why it states, “this is [the construction of the candlestick]” (Sifrei Bamidbar 61; Menachot 29a). מקשה means batediz in O. F., — [English = beaten], an expression of the same meaning as in (Daniel 5:6) “[and his feet] knocked (נקשן) one against another”. There was a block weighing a talent of gold and he (who made the candlestick) beat it with the hammer, and cut away with a chisel in order that its branches might be made to spread out as they should do, and it was not formed of separate pieces made into a whole by joining them together. עד ירכה עד פרחה UNTO THE SHAFT THEREOF, UNTO THE FLOWERS THEREOF — Its ירך was the boxlike base which was above the feet (thus, the feet stood beneath this; cf. Rashi on Exodus 25:31), hollow, like the candlesticks of princely houses (lit., as the candlesticks standing before the princes). עד ירכה עד פרחה — This phrase means as much as: the whole body of the candlestick and everything attached to it. עד ירכה — FROM THE BASE which is a massive part. עד פרחה — UP TO ITS FLOWER, which was the most slender piece of work in it — all was beaten out of the lump. The double form of עד … עד) עד) is used in this sense (to include everything), as e.g., (Judges 15:5) “[and he (Samson) burnt up everything] from the shocks to (עד) the standing corn and to (ועד) the vineyard and the olives". כמראה אשר הראה וגו׳ ACCORDING UNTO THE PATTERN WHICH [THE LORD] HAD SHOWED [MOSES] — i. e. according to the shape which he had shewn him on the mountain, as it is said, (Exodus 25:40) and see, that thou make them after their pattern [which was shewn thee in the mountain]". כן עשה את המנורה SO HE MADE THE CANDELABRUM — “he” means, the one who made it (not Moses, as might be assumed from the wording of the text; the subject is suppressed and it means no more than: so was the candlestick made). A Midrashic explanation is: By the instrumentality of the Holy One, blessed be He, it was made of itself (according to this the subject is “God” who is mentioned immediately before) (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 3; cf. Rashi on Exodus 25:31).

AND THIS WAS THE WORK OF THE CANDELABRUM, BEATEN WORK OF GOLD. The meaning thereof is to allude [to the law] that throughout all [future] generations the candelabrum must be beaten [and fashioned out of one solid piece of metal], and that this is essential [for the validity of the candelabrum and lighting the lamps therein]. This is why He expressly mentioned at the beginning [that it is to be] beaten work, but did not mention [here] that in the making thereof there should be branches [going out of the candelabrum], knops, and cups shaped like almond-blossoms. But He did mention [here that it be of] gold, for it is likewise a commandment for all generations that it be made of gold, in order to glorify the House of our G-d. Then He repeated [in the verse before us] it was beaten work, in order to say that it is only [failure to make it] of beaten work that invalidates the candelabrum, but [the requirement] of gold is not [indispensable, since it is valid if made of any metal], and certainly its other embellishments [such as the cups and knops do not invalidate it if they are missing]. And thus have our Rabbis said in the Sifre and in Tractate Menachoth. ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH THE ETERNAL HAD SHOWN MOSES, SO ‘HE’ MADE THE CANDELABRUM — that is, Moses mentioned above, for it was he who made efforts to learn about it and directed the making thereof by command. And so the Rabbis have said in the Sifre: “[This is stated] in order to praise Moses, [by emphasizing] that he made it exactly as the Holy One, blessed be He, told him to make [the candelabrum].” And Rashi wrote: “So he made — [the word ‘he’ refers to] the one who made it [i.e., to whomever it was that made it, and does not refer to Moses]. But a Midrash Agadah has it: [The subject ‘he’ refers to the Eternal, for] it was made of its own accord [without human intervention], by the Holy One, blessed be He.”

"This is the workmanship of the Menorah" — Scripture mentions it to indicate that nothing like it had ever been seen. "Hammered work" — I have explained this term elsewhere. "Its base" — this refers to the shaft upon which it stands, as it is written: "its base and its shaft." "Its blossoms" — this is well known, and no skilled craftsman would have been capable of making it in this manner were it not that Hashem showed it to Moses in a prophetic vision. "So he made it" — this refers back to Moses, and the sense is imperative, as in "You shall make a Menorah of gold" (Exod. 25:31). The reason this passage about the Levites is placed here is to teach that Aaron would be occupied with the kindling of the lamp, while in all the other service the Levites would assist him, standing before him to carry out whatever he commanded.

וזה מעשה המנורה מקשה, the very composition of the menorah as a single chunk of gold, with all its lights facing the lamp on the central shaft, symbolises this united endeavour to serve G’d, i.e. to look towards the spiritual light as symbolised by that in the center of the menorah, its “trunk.” המנורה מקשה, to underline the unity, the whole people jointly striving to attain the same spiritual objective.

וזה מעשה המנורה, And this is how the candlestick was made; The reason this verse is repeated here a third time after we have read it in Parshat Terumah as well as in Parshat Vayakhel, can be explained both according to those who hold that the lamps were detachable as well as according to the scholars who hold that the lamps were an integral part of the cast candlestick. We have explained that the word בהעלותך as distinct from בהדליקך meant that the candlestick had to be taken apart in order for the lamps to be prepared. This in turn might have led one to believe that the remainder of the candlestick did not have to be cast from one piece seeing the lamps were included in the description of the "candlestick." We could therefore have applied an exegetical method of דבר שהיה בכלל ויצא (compare Baraitha of Rabbi Yishmael, introduction to Sifra on Leviticus) according to which other parts of the candlestick would also qualify even if they were detachable. The fact that the verse specifically mentions the word מקשה, cast, would only have referred to the initial construction of the candlestick. Once it had been made according to G'd's instructions it would have been permissible to detach sections in a manner that allowed them to be re-assembled. The Torah had to repeat the manner in which the מנורה was to be made to ensure that we would not arrive at such a faulty conclusion. The repetition means that the candlestick was to remain exactly as it had been cast originally. The scholars who hold that the candlestick was cast including the lamps can accept this interpretation also.

וזה מעשה המנורה, “and this was the work of the candlestick;” this verse is one of three verses with which Moses had difficulty, according to our sages. This is hinted at by the word: וזה. (Compare Talmud tractate Menachot folio 29) According to Sifri here the three were: our verse, the second one the verse in Exodus 12 about the position of the moon at new moon, and the third was the verse dealing with creeping animals. The reason that the Sifri did not include the word זה in זה יתנו, “this they shall give” (the half shekel coin in Exodus 30,13) is that Moses had no problem imagining the size and shape of a coin.

וזה מעשה המנורה, “and this was the workmanship of the menorah:” Ibn Ezra writes that the wording of the Torah here is to be understood as pointing to the unique workmanship with which this menorah had been made. Nachmanides writes that the words וזה מעשה המנורה מקשה are to be read together, meaning that the unique feature of the workmanship of this menorah was that it was cast completely out of a single chunk of gold and then hammered into the desired shape. This feature was to be preserved throughout the generations whenever for whatever reason the menorah in the Temple had to be replaced. The fact that only this feature, מקשה has been repeated here, whereas the decorative features on the arms of the menorah have not been repeated here indicates that the indispensable feature was the fact that the entire menorah was to consist of a single chunk of gold. [When the people could not afford gold, a chunk of silver would also be acceptable. Ed.] (based on Sifrey)

And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

Now after the firstborn and the Levites had been counted, and the Levites were commanded about their [individual] work and charges, and he gave them the wagons, He completed the commandments referring to the priests with the [laws of the] candelabrum; then He came to give the commandments concerning the Levites so that they could begin their service, and therefore it was necessary to purify them and to effect atonement for them. This is the reason why this chapter [of the purification of the Levites] is put in juxtaposition to this [section on the candelabrum]. He finished [the laws of the Levites] with a commandment applicable for all generations: From twenty and five years old and upward ‘yavo litzvo tzava’ (they shall come to be counted among the host) for the work of the Tent of Meeting. Now Rashi commented: “Here it says, from twenty and five years old; but in another place it is said, from thirty years old! How are these [contradictory verses to be reconciled]? From twenty-five years of age the Levite comes to learn the laws of the service, and he studies for five years, and at the age of thirty he performs the service. From here [we derive the principle] that if a pupil studying under his master does not see progress in his study after five years, he will never see such progress.” If this is so, the expression yavo litzvo tzava means that “he shall come and assemble among those who are gathered” for the work of the Tent of Meeting, meaning that he is to stay with them and continually observe the service [of the older Levites] by day and night, in order to learn the laws of the service in theory and practice. This is why He did not state here “to do service,” as He said above [From thirty years old and upward … ‘to do’ service], but He stated, ‘yavo litzvo tzava’ (they shall come to be counted among the host) ‘ba’avodath’ (for the work of) the Tent of Meeting, meaning that he is to come among those who are gathered for the purpose of the service. But I do not know whether this [explanation that there was a five-year period of training for the Levites] is the unanimous opinion of our Rabbis, for I find it taught in the name of a single Rabbi in the Sifre: “Rabbi Nathan says: One verse states, From twenty and five years old etc.” And it furthermore appears that these words [of the Sifre as quoted by Rashi] are merely Scriptural support for the practice of the pupils [i.e., the new Levites] who used to study the laws of the service for five years. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, the [Levites] counted by the hand of Moses and Aaron were aged thirty years old and over, and it is they whom he appointed every one to his service, and to his burden. But here He commanded that every Levite who [although not counted by Moses] knows himself to have reached the age of twenty-five years, is permitted to do the service, and may come with all the desire of his soul to work with them and help them in the service, but he may not be a chief of...

"Bring the Levites near from among the children of Israel and purify them."

קח את הלוים means, win them over with fine words: “Happy are ye that ye are privileged to be servants of the Omnipresent!” (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 8:2.)

"Take the Levites from among the children of Israel" — for they were intermingled among them. So too were all the tribes before they set out on the journey from Mount Sinai.

קח את הלוים, "Take the Levites! etc." Rashi explains that the word "take!" means by means of words. Apparently Rashi means that Moses was to separate the Levites from the camps of the Israelites and make a separate camp for them seeing the Levites had to guard their ritual purity more than ordinary Israelites. The proof is to be found in the words וטהרת אותם, "and purify them!" Clearly what concerns the Torah at this point is the need for the Levites to maintain a state of ritual purity.

קח את הלוים, “take the Levites;” this line was said on the day that the Tabernacle had been erected; (Talmud, tractate Gittin 60) seeing that the laws pertaining to the Levites were recorded in writing on that day, as on that day they commenced the part of their service that involved their daily songs of praise. The paragraph was written in chronological order, and the two previous paragraphs, one of which commenced with הקרב את מטה לוי, (Numbers 3,6) and the other which commenced with the words: ואני הנה לקחתי את הלוים, (Numbers 3,12) these paragraphs referred to the position where the Levies encamped around the Tabernacle. After the Tabernacle had been erected and the positioning of the flags had been arranged and the lights of the menorah had been kindled, G-d ordered Moses to command the Levites to commence their daily service. The paragraph dealing with the Levites’ service was written next to that of the kindling of the lights in order to tell us that the priests were to busy themselves with that at the same time as when the Levites were performing their service. Apart from that the Levites will assist the Kohanim in their service. מתוך בני ישראל, “from among the Children of Israel.” Up until that time they had been part of the ordinary Israelites. (Ibn Ezra).

קח את הלוים מתוך בני ישראל, “take the Levites from among the Children of Israel, etc.” The paragraph dealing with the separation of the Levites was written immediately after that of the Menorah, as the former was the exclusive domain of the priests, whereas now the Torah prepares the Levites for assuming their duties. The next paragraph deals with the Passover as an historical commandment remembering the Exodus, a commandment involving every single Israelite. This is the meaning of 9,2: “The Israelites shall make the Passover.” You will observe therefore that these paragraphs have been arranged in a careful manner in a descending order of those to whom they apply, i.e. the Priest, the Levite, the Israelite. The reason that G’d had to say: “take the Levites from among etc., etc.,” was that until then they had been an integral part of the other tribes.

Take the Levites: Sometimes it mentions the language of “taking” and sometimes the language of “giving,” and this matter requires explanation. Also, what is the duplication in saying for they are given, given to Me, and afterward He contradicts Himself by saying I have taken them for Myself. It appears that due to the necessity of these questions, the Tanchuma (Behaalotcha 8) concludes Take the Levites — take them for My name, for a position of authority. And with this, all the questions are resolved, because we find the language of “taking” regarding the exchange of the firstborn, as it is written instead of every firstborn that opens the womb… I have taken them for Myself. And the explanation of this matter is that the Levites were chosen for three things. Two for servitude, and one for authority. Two for servitude, namely the servitude of physical labor for service and carrying, and the servitude of offering their bodies as atonement for the Children of Israel, as it is written, And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons… to perform the service of the Children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting — that is, the service of carrying — and to atone for the Children of Israel. For the guilt of the people rests upon their leaders, and therefore it says, so that there will be no plague among the Children of Israel. For through their [the Levites’] wounds, the Children of Israel are healed, as is the way according to Through those close to Me I will be sanctified (Leviticus 10:3). And therefore it says, The Children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites. This laying of hands is to say, “Behold, you are an offering for the people and atonement for them,” as we explained above in the portion of Leviticus (1:4) regarding the verse and he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering. And so it will be explained later, God willing, in the portion of Numbers (27:18) regarding Moses laying his hand upon Joshua. And these two things were not imposed by God upon the Levites because the firstborn were disqualified. For would this be the way — that “Toviah sinned and Zigud is punished” (Pesachim 113b)? Rather, these two things were imposed upon the Levites because Jacob, the elder Israel, gave a tithe of all that he had, and from his sons he gave Levi as a tithe. For he had 12 sons, and Ephraim and Manasseh shall be to me as Reuben and Simeon — thus there were 14. Subtract from them the four firstborn of the four mothers, leaving 10, and from these he gave Levi. And because he said, I will surely tithe a tenth to You, and our Sages said (Ketubot 67b) that one who gives lavishly should give a fifth, which is two tithes, therefore he also gave a fifth. That is, he consecrated Levi to the Almighty in these two ways: to subject their bodies to sacred service and their souls to atonement. It is as if he separated them twice, which is the fifth. And this is the meaning of For they are given, given to Me from among the Children of Israel — that is, the two gifts that we mentioned from among the children of the elder Israel, so that the fifth would be separated. Similarly, in the verse And I have given the Levites as gifts, he mentions two givings: I have given and gifts. And he immediately explains that these two givings are to perform the service of the Children of Israel and to atone for the Children of Israel. He mentions Israel five times in this verse to indicate that the giving of the Levites is doubled — the fifth from the Children of Israel. And this is a correct and precious allusion. But when it mentions the language of “taking” that the Holy One, Blessed be He, took them Himself without Jacob giving them, this refers to taking for authority which belonged to the firstborn who were disqualified, and the authority was given to the Levites. And regarding this it states instead of every firstborn that opens the womb from the children of Israel, I have taken them for Myself (Numbers 8:17). And I took the Levites instead of every firstborn (Numbers 3:12). From here the author of the Midrash learned to interpret take the Levites as referring to authority, drawing an inference from the latter to the former: Just as the “taking” mentioned below refers to authority, as it connects it to the exchange of the firstborn, so too the “taking” mentioned above refers to authority. And this authority means that all Israel is obligated to give them tribute of tithes and offerings, for this is why he was called Levi, because they accompanied him with gifts. And this is a precious interpretation.

קח את הלוים, “take (aside) the Levites, etc.” According to Ibn Ezra the reason why this paragraph was written here is to teach us that whereas only Aaron would perform the kindling of the lights, there were many other functions connected with the Temple service in which the Levites could participate, thus lightening the burden of the priests. [My edition of the Ibn Ezra describes the Levites as having been scattered among all the tribes, and they were now to be concentrated in one area. The same supposedly applied to the other tribes, also. Ed.] Nachmanides writes that after the firstborn and the Levites had been counted, they lined up in front of Moses awaiting his instructions. They were presented with the wagons that the princes had donated ready to commence their diversified duties around the complex occupied by the Tabernacle. There was an immediate need to ritually purify the Levites, who previously had not needed to be especially concerned about this in their daily routines.

"And this is what you shall do to them to purify them: sprinkle upon them the water of purification, and let them pass a razor over all their flesh, and let them launder their garments, and they shall be pure."

הזה עליהם מי חטאת SPRINKLE UPON THEM WATER OF PURIFYING — water in which the ashes of the Red Heifer are mingled; on account of those among them who might have become unclean through contact with dead persons. והעבירו תער AND LET THEM SHAVE [ALL THEIR FLESH] — I have found in the work of R. Moses the Preacher the following: Because they were made propitiatory substitutes for the firstborn who had worshipped the idol (the Golden Calf), and it (idolatry) is called (Psalms 106:28) “offerings to the dead”, and the leper is also called dead (cf. Numbers 12:12), it (Scripture) requires them to shave their body like lepers.

"Waters of purification" — like te-chate'eni ("purify me"), or its meaning is as the sin-offering of the sacrifice. "Sprinkle upon them" — Rabbi Moses said that one letter of the verb root is nun, as in hakkeh takkeh ("you shall surely strike"), and this is correct. "They shall pass a razor over all their flesh" — the Traditionists said this means even the beard, but not the corner of the beard. "They shall launder their garments" — and after that they will be pure, through their purification in the waters of purification. "They shall be purified" — this is the hitpa'el form, with the tav assimilated, as in ha-mitkadeshim ("those who sanctify themselves") and ha-mita-harim ("those who purify themselves").

הזה עליהם מי חטאת, “sprinkle the water of purification on them;” it is impossible to say that this command was issued on the day when this paragraph was revealed, as on the day when the Tabernacle had been erected the procedure of burning the red heifer had not yet been performed. (Jerusalem Talmud tractate Megillah 3,3, and quoted by Rashi on Gittin folio 60) The red heifer was burned on the day following. We therefore have to understand the sequence as being as follows: it is taken for granted that the sprinkling of the purification waters took place after the procedure with the red heifer had been performed. (Numbers chapter 19) Even though the Levites were obligated to purify themselves in anticipation of performing their service as otherwise they could not have sung their songs, since the day when the Tabernacle had been erected, we must assume that they used the oil with which they had been anointed in lieu of the waters containing the ash of the red heifer. Commencing with that day, it became the task of the Levites to dismantle the Tabernacle and to reassemble it as the progress of the Israelites’ journeys demanded this. Prior to that, when they needed to become purified they used either blood from the altar or some of the oil of anointment. The Talmud in tractate Yuma folio 4 states that the water of the red heifer took the place of blood which had been used previously in the procedure of purification. הזה עליהם מי חטאת, “sprinkle water of purification on them” Seeing that from that day on they were charged with the dismantling and reassembling the Tabernacle, they would have to undergo this sprinkling on the third and seventh day of a seven day period. [This editor finds it difficult to reconcile this with the Torah’s statement that on occasion the Tabernacle was put up only for a single day, as the Israelites moved on again as soon as the cloud above it moved. (Numbers 9,18-23) Ed.] The reason that this was needed was that it was impossible for the Levites not to have been in contact with dead bodies while the people were encamped, especially after the sin of the spies when dying had to have become a daily occurrence. והעבירו תער על כל בשרם, “and let the cause a razor to pass over all their flesh;” they had to do this prior to the sprinkling of the ash in the water of the red heifer on the third and seventh day of their purification ritual. Rashi mentions in his commentary here that he found in the writings of Rabbi Moshe hadarshan, that seeing that the Levites had functioned as the instruments of atonement for the firstborn who had been guilty during the episode of the golden calf, and that was called a זבחי מתים, “offering of the dead,” and the “leprous” (מצורעים) people also referred to as “dead,” [compare Numbers 12,1113. Ed.] the Levites required shaving of all body hair as required from “leprous” people during their purification process after the priest has declared them as healed. (Leviticus chapter 14) They must immerse their clothing, as well as themselves as is required in every case of purification after contact with a dead person.

וכה תעשה להם לטהרם הזה עליהם מי חטאת, “so you shall do to them to purify them.” The מי חטאת refers to the ash of the red heifer. The need for this was due to people who had been contaminated through contact with the dead of the people who had been executed due to their involvement in worshipping the golden calf. At the time Moses had issued instructions to the Levites to kill the guilty persons even if they were close relatives of the Levites (Exodus 32,27). והעבירו תער על כל בשרם "They should pass a razor over their entire flesh." The instructions to pass a razor over the entire flesh of the Levites includes the beard and sideburns. The Levites were required to shave just as one who is afflicted with tzoraat (Lev. 14,9), being that they replaced the firstborn who had previously functioned as priests. The firstborn had become disqualified for further service due to their involvement in the sin of the golden calf, and were hence considered as having been associated with זבחי מתים, offerings addressed to the dead (as opposed to the living G’d). When someone is afflicted with tzoraat he is also considered as equivalent to the dead. These Levites had not yet been purified and in their present state they could not have commenced their sacred duties. This is why the Torah writes: “after that the Levites may come and perform their service,” in connection with the Tabernacle (verse 15).

הזה עליהם מי חטאת והעבירו תער על כל בשרם, “sprinkle upon them water of purification, and let them pass a razor over their entire flesh.” Ibn Ezra points out that the shaving of their flesh had preceded their being sprinkled with the waters of purification. [He derives this from the switch by the Torah from the singular הזה, an instruction to Moses, whereas the word והעבירו is in the plural, referring to something the Levites had already done.]

והעבירו, the vocalisation ve-he-eviru means that it is a modified version of the future tense known as vav hahipuch, the letter ו reversing the tense. Had the vocalisation been veha-aviru it would have been an imperative mode, just as in Exodus 8,4 העתירו אל ה', “plead with the Lord!”

"Then they shall take a young bull and its meal-offering of fine flour mixed with oil, and a second young bull you shall take as a sin-offering."

ולקחו פר בן בקר AND LET THEM TAKE A YOUNG BULLOCK, — and this was to be a burnt offering, as it is said, (v. 12) “and thou shalt offer the one [as a sin offering] and the other as a burnt offering”, and it (a bullock) was the communal offering prescribed (Numbers 15:24) in case of idol worship committed by the community (here the firstborn are regarded as a community). ופר שני AND ANOTHER BULLOCK [THOU SHALT TAKE TO BE A SIN OFFERING] — What is the force of the word שני, the second? (There is no corresponding word אחד at the beginning of the sentence!). But it is used to suggest a comparison between the two sacrifices: How is it in the case of the burnt offering? It is not permitted to be eaten (for it is entirely burnt on the altar)! So, too, is this sin-offering not permitted to be eaten (in spite of being a חטאת חיצונה which as a rule may be eaten; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 9:11). And in this fact (that the חטאת prescribed was not eaten) there is some support in the statement of Torath Cohanim just quoted for his (R. Moses the Preacher’s) view (that the עולה which is paired with it was that enjoined for idolatry committed by the community) (cf. Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Chovah, Chapter 3 4). — I, however, say that it (the fact that this חטאת was not to be eaten) was an occasional (exceptional) decision (הוראת שעה) (contrary to the rule of a חטאת חיצונה, and not because it was intended as a חטאת לע"ז as asserted by R. Moses), for if his view were correct they would have had to offer a goat (as prescribed in Numbers 15:24 not a bullock) as a sin offering to expiate for idolatry together with a bullock for a burnt offering mentioned here.

"A young bull" — a young one. "Fine flour" — three tenths of an ephah, as is the rule. "You shall take for a sin-offering" — in the imperative, for they are the ones who take; the meaning is that they present, as in "they shall take for Me a portion," or they take with them, as in "let each man take a lamb for his father's house."

ולקחו פר בן בקר, “then let them take a young bullock, etc,” this was to serve as a consecration rite for the services they would perform henceforth. An alternate interpretation: they have to take a young bullock seeing that the firstborn whom they replaced had served the golden calf at the instruction of others, at that time. We derive this from the line in Exodus 32,4: אלה אלוהיך ישראל, “these are your gods, Israel.” In other words: someone, the mixed multitude seduced the Israelites. We find in Numbers 15,24: “then it shall be, if it be done in error by the congregation, it having been hidden from their eyes, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, etc,” The subject there is the person who had inadvertently committed the sin of idolatry ופר שני, “and a second bullock, etc.;” in commenting on the word שני, second, Rashi points out that the sin offering when applicable, must precede the offering of a burnt offering. [How could a burnt offering be welcome before the Lord as long as the person guilty of bringing a sin offering for his atonement has not first done so? Ed.] The point of the Torah using this sequence therefore is to teach us that just as no parts of a burnt offering may be eaten by the donor or the priest, so in this instance, no part of the sin offering may be eaten either. Our author, in elaborating on that Rashi, adds that the Levites used this bullock as their consecration offering as is clear from Leviticus 9,11,where it is spelled out specifically, and it was a sin offering. תקח לחטאת, “you shall take as a sin offering.” When it came to “taking,” i.e. sanctifying and setting the offering aside for its purpose, the Torah mentions the burnt offering first. The reason is that the more valuable one of these two bullocks was the one used for the burnt offering. Nonetheless, when it came to the sequence of which of these two animals would be offered on the altar first, the sin offering took precedence. The Torah paid the Levites a compliment, by not requiring them to offer a male goat as a sin offering, for if it had insisted on this, the impression could have been created that the Levites had to atone for the inadvertently committed sin of idolatry. They had not been guilty of that. (B’chor shor)

"And you shall bring the Levites before the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel."

והקהלת את כל עדת AND THOU SHALT GATHER THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] TOGETHER — Because the Levites were made, so to speak, an expiatory offering in their stead, let them come and stand at their offering and put their hands upon them (the Levites) as is prescribed in the case of an offering (cf. Leviticus 1:4).

.והקרבת את הלוים לפני אהל מועד , “you shall present the Levites at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting;” we find a similar construction in Leviticus 14,11, where the priest is presenting the person to be purified at the entrance of the Tabernacle, i.e. “before the Lord.”

"And you shall bring the Levites before Hashem, and the children of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites."

וסמכו בני ישראל את ידיהם “and the Children of Israel shall place their hands, etc;” the “Children of Israel” referred to here are the firstborn for whom the Levites had served as atonement. Every firstborn Israelite would place his hands on the Levite who was to perform that service for him. וסמכו בני ישראל את ידיהם על הלוים, we find this kind of procedure also in Numbers 27,18, where G-d tells Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor, i.e. וסמכת ידך עליו, “you are to place your hand upon him.” Whenever this procedure is mentioned in the Bible it means that authority is being transferred by the person placing his hand or hands on the person to be appointed. The first person to do so was Yaakov in Genesis 48,14, where he placed his right had on Joseph’s younger son Ephrayim, indicating that he should be treated as his firstborn.

"And Aaron shall wave the Levites as a wave-offering before Hashem from the children of Israel, and they shall be to perform the service of Hashem."

והניף אהרן את הלוים תנופה AND AARON SHALL MAKE A WAVING WITH THE LEVITES — just as the guilt offering of the leper (to whom the Levites are compared in some respect; cf. Rashi on v. 7) required waving whilst alive. — Three times is the command of waving the Levites mentioned in this section (vv. 11, 13, 15): the first refers to the sons of Kohath; therefore (because it is they who are referred to) Scripture adds with regard to them, “that they may execute the service of the Lord” — for it was upon them (the sons of Kohath) that the service of the most holy objects: the Ark, the table, etc., devolved. The second refers to the sons of Gershon, and therefore Scripture adds with regard to them, “a waving for the Lord”, for upon them devolved the service of the holy (though not the most holy) objects: the hangings and the catches which were visible in the Holy of Holies. The third refers to the sons of Merari.

"Before Hashem" — the meaning is: when you present them before the Tent, the sons of the Levites shall lay their hands upon the head of each of the bulls — and there are many similar instances in Scripture.

והניף אהרן את הלוים מאת בני ישראל, “and Aaron is to wave the Levites (as an offering) from the Children of Israel;” Aaron was chosen to do this as he was the agent appointed for this by the nation.

והניף אהרן את הלוים תנופה, “Aaron shall wave the Levites as a wave-service.” The word תנופה, “waving,” appears three times in this paragraph It appears in verse 11 as “Aaron shall wave the Levites...in the presence of the Lord.” It appears again in verse 15 ”you shall perform a wave-service with them.” It appears a third time in verse 13 in a similar connotation. According to Rashi the reason it appears three times is once each for the Kehatites, once for the Gershonites and once for the Merarites. This is the reason why the Torah varies the job-description of the Levites each time, once speaking of עבודת ה', i.e. the Kehatites who carried the Sanctuary (literally), i.e. the sacred vessels including the Holy Ark. When the Torah justified the other wave-offering describing the Levites in question as (כי עבודת הקדש עליהם (7,9, this was a job description of the Kehatites. Concerning the Gershonites the Torah merely writes 'תנופה לה, “a wave-offering for the Lord,” seeing that they too carried the woven materials of the roof and the courtyard. The third group of Levites, the Merarites who transported the beams, the sockets, etc., are referred to simply as undergoing a תנופה waving, but there is no mention of the word לה', “for the Lord,” seeing that this group was furthest from the center of sanctity. At the end of the whole paragraph (verse 21) we find once more that “Aaron waved (all) the Levites as a wave-offering in the presence of the Lord,” in order to show that all the Levites had qualified. As to the meaning of the words נתונים נתונים המה לי, “for presented, presented they are to Me,” in verse 16, this means that they have been presented to the Lord to perform either the song and music or the work of transportation, as the case may be at different times. Alternatively, these words are a justification for the appointment of the Levites to these sacred tasks in recognition of when they had presented themselves as totally dedicated to G’d during the golden calf episode.

"And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bulls, and one shall be offered as a sin-offering and one as a burnt-offering before Hashem, to make atonement for the Levites."

"He shall perform" — in the imperative, for Aaron was the one who offered. The faithful witness confirms that the sin-offering and the burnt-offering are to atone for the Levites, as it is written: "and Aaron made atonement for them."

על ראש הפרים, “on the heads of the bullocks;” on the head of each one of them.

"And you shall station the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and wave them as a wave-offering before Hashem."

The meaning of "you shall station the Levites" — after Aaron has made atonement for them, you shall station them before him and wave them. "You shall wave" — in the imperative, meaning: it shall be done to them.

והעמדת את הלוים לפני אהרן ולפני בניו, “and you shall position the Levites in front of Aaron and his sons;” this was to show the people that the Levites were under the authority of the priests, as we explained already.

והנפת אותם, Aaron waved them first, followed by Moses. (compare verse 11)

And you shall set apart the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall minister before Me.

"The Levites shall be Mine" — this is a great distinction.

והבדלת את הלוים, this “separation” will express itself in their having separate areas in which they would encamp, i.e. the Levites who were members of the people who had participated in the Exodus and their children growing up in the desert; והיו לי הלוים, and both they and their descendants, (when they would not all live next to the Temple) would be for “Me,” i.e. ready and prepared to carry out their duties as Levites.

"And after that the Levites shall come to serve the Tent of Meeting; and you shall purify them and wave them as a wave-offering."

"After that, the Levites shall come" — after you have purified them. "You shall wave" — in the imperative.

ואחרי כן יבאו הלוים, the ones existing now.

וטהרת אותם, “you will purify them;” you will sprinkle ash from the red heifer on them on the third and seventh day of the purification rites.

"For they are wholly set apart for Me from among the children of Israel; in place of all who open the womb — every firstborn — of the children of Israel I have brought them near before Me."

נתנים נתנים FOR THEY ARE GIVEN, GIVEN ARE THEY [UNTO ME] — i.e., given twice: dedicated for bearing the holy objects and dedicated to sing in chorus in the Sanctuary. פטרת means OPENING OF (such that open the womb, i. e. firstborn).

"For given, given" — they and their children: Israel gave them to Me, and I took them for Myself. The meaning is: I accepted them, and they were not given in exchange for a redemption for every firstborn of the womb. "Peteret" and "peter" are two forms of the same word, like tzedakah and tzedeq, or they follow a different pattern.

כי נתונים נתונים המה לי, they have devoted themselves to me and My service, as the Torah testified in Exodus 32,26 when all of them responded to Moses’ call that whoever was for the Lord should assemble around him. מתוך בני ישראל, they are also “נתונים” by the Children of Israel who will provide them with a livelihood by means of giving them their tithes, i.e. the מעשר ראשון 10% of their harvest after hey had set aside the t’rumah for the priests. תחת פטרה כל רחם, who had originally been assigned the duties now assumed by the Levites.

כי נתונים נתונים המה לי, “for they are wholly given to Me;” the Levites are viewed as a gift given by the Jewish people to G-d, Who, in turn, passed this gift on to Aaron. לקחתי אותם לי, “I have taken them unto Me.” G-d is saying: “I have accepted this gift from the people.”

"For every firstborn among the children of Israel is Mine, among man and among animal; on the day that I slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them before Me."

כי לי כל בכור FOR ALL THE FIRSTBORN [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] ARE MINE — This means: they became Mine by strict right (lit., by the line of justice), because I protected them distinguishing between them and the firstborn of Egypt, and I took them as Mine — until they sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, but now ואקח את הלוים I HAVE TAKEN THE LEVITES in their stead.

"On the day that I struck" — this is a temporal expression, as in "you are passing today."

כי לי כל בכור, I had already owned the firstborn whose duty it had been to perform the tasks now given to the Levites. The reason that the firstborn had originally been charged with the duties was that they were the most distinguished members of their respective families and one delegates those to represent one before one’s lord and master, before G’d. ביום הכותי כל בכור בארץ מצרים הקדשתי, the reason why I required them now to undergo the procedure of being redeemed from their sanctity and the duties that were part of this that from the day I had sanctified them, was that they were not supposed to engage in mundane activities, such as earning a livelihood, at all. Firstborn male animals that are acceptable as sacrifices on the altar may not be used for mundane purposes, i.e their owners must neither let them perform work, not shear their wool and use it for themselves. This was in order for Me to have demonstrated their holy character. These regulations were imposed in order to justify these firstborn not being killed along the firstborn of the rest of the Egyptians and their herds. Having been part of the Egyptian culture, and having been the most distinguished in their respective families, they should, ordinarily, have become part of Psalms 78,49 calls the משלחת מלאכי רעים, “the wrath inflicted by the band of deadly messengers.” The surviving firstborn humans and their offspring, in order not to lead a life of idleness, therefore have to be “redeemed,” so that they can at least lead normal lives. G’d therefore accomplished this by the stratagem known as פדיון, redemption.

ביום הכותי כל בכור, “on the day when I smote every firstborn. On a different occasion, in Exodus 12,29, the smiting of the firstborn was not described as having occurred on “a day,” but as having occurred at midnight. We see from here that every time the Torah uses the term: יום, “day,” it speaks of a 24 hour period, i.e. night and day.

"And I brought the Levites near in place of every firstborn among the children of Israel."

The meaning of "I took the Levites" — he had already said "I have taken them for Myself," for this is the manner of Scripture. It is connected with the verse that follows: when I took the Levites for Myself, I gave them to Aaron and to his sons.

ואקח את הלוים תחת כל בכור, a regulation applicable only during the generation addressed by Moses at the time, a one-time procedure, as we explained previously.

ואקח את הלוים תחת כל בכור, “I have taken the Levites instead of the firstborn.” If all the firstborn were to perform service in the Temple, this would lead to the people suffering a plague, as there was no guarantee that the father of the firstborn performing that service had also been a firstborn, neither his grandfather. As a result, that family had not had an opportunity to become thoroughly familiar with all the intricacies of Temple service. Failure to perform the service properly would result in G-d’s killing such a person as we know from what happened to the two older sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu. Once the Levites had been appointed and the status had become a hereditary one, each member of each family made a point of being thoroughly familiar with all their duties. This is why the Torah writes: 'לא יהיה ללוי חלק ונחלה וגו, “the Levite is not to own ancestral land in the land of Israel;” (Deuteronomy 18,1) by not owning land and growing crops they were free to concentrate on their tasks as Levites. They should not acquire too much familiarity with the tools used by farmers and artisans, so that they would not be diverted from their principal vocation, service in the Temple. If the Levite were to devote himself to those mundane activities, his fingers would become too coarse to play the musical instruments efficiently to accompany the choir of Levites during the time when Temple service was in progress. לעבוד את עבודת בני ישראל, “to perform the service of the Children of Israel (collectively), which basically had been the task of the firstborn of each family in each tribe. ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף, “and the there will not be a plague among the Children of Israel,” even a single one of them. We can find similar constructions in Exodus 21,11: ואם שלש אלה לא יעשה לה, “and if (her master) does not do one of these three economically constructive actions for her, etc.” (Exodus 21,11) Compare also Judges 12,7, “he was buried in one of the towns of the region of Gilead.” [All the people of surrounding towns took part in Yiftach’s burial. Ed.]

ואקח את הלוים, “I shall take the Levites, etc.” Ibn Ezra comments that in spite of the fact that G’d had already said (past tense) לקחתי אותם לי, “I have taken them for Me,” (8,16) it is the style of the Torah to repeat what had been said before if an interruption had occurred in the interval, one that interferes with one’s trend of thought. (Verse 17 which provides historical background) The Torah is saying that as soon as the Levites had been singled out by G’d, He handed them over for instruction in their duties by the priests.

"And I gave the Levites, delivered over to Aaron and to his sons, from among the children of Israel, to perform the service of the children of Israel in the Tent of Meeting and to make atonement for the children of Israel; so that there be no death among the children of Israel when the children of Israel draw near to the Sanctuary."

ואתנה וגו׳ AND I HAVE GIVEN [THE LEVITES etc.] — Five times are the “children of Israel” mentioned in this verse (where the last four times they might have been alluded to by a personal pronoun), in order to show what affection they are held by the Lord in that the mention of them is repeated five times in one verse corresponding in number to the “Five Books of the Torah”. Thus I have seen stated in Genesis Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 2:4; cf. Genesis Rabbah 3:5). ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף [AND I HAVE GIVEN THE LEVITES … TO DO THE SERVICE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] THAT THERE BE NO PLAGUE AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL COME NIGH UNTO THE SANCTUARY] — The meaning is: I have given them etc. so that it should be unnecessary for them to come near to the Sanctuary, because [having sinned by worshipping the Calf], if they came near there would be a plague among them.

"And to make atonement" — that they serve as an atonement for their lives, as I have explained.

ואתנה את הלוים, since they are by themselves “given” to perform service for Me, they are now at the disposal of Aaron and his sons, My delegates on earth. לעבוד את עבודת בני ישראל באהל מועד, to perform the very duties which, previously, it had been the duty of the firstborn to perform on behalf of the Children of Israel. ולכפר על בני ישראל, and to be the instrument of the people’s atonement by their accepting the tithes tendered them by the people so that they would be free to perform the duties G’d has now assigned to them. G’d had come to despise the firstborn, seeing that they participated also in the sin of the golden calf which had caused G’d so much grief. ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף, both among the Israelites and among the Levites. בגשת בני ישראל אל הקודש, the Israelites’ sin would be that of entering domains out of bounds to them, whereas the Levites’ sin would be allowing them to do so without trying to prevent them from entering holy precincts. All of them would make themselves guilty and would die at the hands of G’d as spelled out in 18,3.

ואתנה את הלוים נתנים לאהרון ולבניו, "and I have given the Levites,-they are given to Aaron and his sons, etc;" why did the Torah repeat the word נתנים, "they are given?" This may be intended to obligate the recipient of a gift to accept that gift and not to refuse it. Although in matters of inter-personal relationships it is perfectly in order for a person to decline to accept a gift as long as it has not come into his possession (his hands) and he has thereby acquired it, in this instance the Torah obligates the priests to accept this gift although acceptance involves negative aspects. By accepting the new status of the Levites -even though they were subordinate to the priests- the kind of duties performed by the priests became forbidden to the priests on pain of death. This is the view of Sifri on Numbers 18,3. The wording there is: "both they and you will be subject to the death penalty; you when you interfere in matters allocated to them and they when they interfere in matters allocated to you." This contrasts somewhat with what Maimonides wrote in chapter 3 of Hilchot Kley Hamikdosh where he describes Levites who performed service in the Temple, i.e. the domain of the priests, as guilty of death at the hands of Heaven. However, he describes priests who perform tasks allocated to the Levites as guilty of transgressing only an ordinary negative commandment, and not guilty of death. At any rate, Maimonides also agrees that such a transgression on the part of the priests qualifies for some retribution. Considering this we could understand why the priests would decline the gift of the Levites. The Torah therefore had good reason to repeat the word נתנים to deny the priests the option to decline this gift. מתוך בני ישראל, from among the children of Israel, etc. Our verse repeats the expression בני ישראל five times, apparently without reason. Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 2,1 consider mention of that word an expression of G'd's fondness for the Jewish people. The five-fold mention corresponds to the five books of the Torah. This is all homiletics, of course. According to the plain meaning of the verse the number of times the children of Israel are mentioned appears absolutely justified. When the Torah writes מתוך בני ישראל, it refers to the Jewish people as long as these included the tribe of Levi on an equal footing. When it referred to the עבודת בני ישראל this is a reference to the firstborn of the Israelites who had performed the priestly functions up until then. The Levites had now taken over their functions. The Torah had to refer to these firstborns as בני ישראל instead of merely writing עבודתם, "their service," seeing it was no longer "their service." When our verse continues with the expression לכפר על בני ישראל, it refers to a description of the entire Jewish people. The reason the Torah did not choose the shorter לכפר עליהם is that this would have sounded as if it referred to the people mentioned or rather referred to last, i.e. the firs...

ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף בגשת בני ישראל אל הקודש, “so that there will not be a plague among the Children of Israel when the Children of Israel approach the Sanctuary.” The plague will be prevented as the Levites ensure that the Israelites do not cross the line into sacred precincts which are out of bounds to them. You will find the word ישראל five times in this verse. Whenever the name of a person or group of persons is repeated in this fashion this reflects the extreme fondness of the author writing this comment about the people concerned. Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 2,4 illustrate this point by means of the parable of the father who has a young son just about ready to begin his schooling. The father constantly inquires about his son whether he drinks properly, eats properly, sleeps properly, etc. This is why we also find that all matters pertaining to the Tabernacle have been written in the Torah five times (compare author’s comment on Exodus 35,1 where he points out that most matters have been written repeatedly). The reason the Torah wrote these matters five times was to correspond to the five Books of the Torah the Jewish people observe. These Books are what keep the world going, seeing the world was created with the letter ה, as we pointed out in connection with the under-sized letter ה in Genesis 2,4 בהבראם. These five Books were not designed for any nation other than the Jewish people. We know already that the Tabernacle was a microcosm of the terrestrial world so that referring to its details five times makes excellent sense.

And Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the children of Israel did for the Levites according to all that Hashem had commanded Moses concerning the Levites — so did the children of Israel do to them.

ויעש משה ואהרן וכל עדת וגו׳ AND MOSES AND AARON AND ALL THE CONGREGATION … DID [TO THE LEVITES ACCORDING UNTO ALL THAT THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES] — i.e. Moses presented them (v. 13), Aaron made the waving with them (v. 11) and the Israelites put their hands (v. 10) upon the Levites’ heads (cf., however, Ibn Ezra).

"Moses and Aaron did" — Moses in accordance with the command, and Aaron who waved them, and Israel who laid their hands upon them.

ויעש משה ואהרן וכל עדת בני ישראל ללוים, the prefix ל in the word ללוים means “on behalf of, in aid of them.” They assisted with the shaving, the laundering of their clothing, as well as in preparation of the requisite offering. ככל אשר צוה ה' את משה ללוים. As G’d had commanded Moses that he, in turn, should command the Levites to do. כן עשו להם בני ישראל, the wording reflects how promptly these instructions were carried out. They were so eager to please their Maker.

ויעש משה…וכל עדת בני ישראל..כן עשו להם בני ישראל. And Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of Israel did….so the children of Israel did to them (the Levites). Why did the Torah have to repeat the line: "so they did?" Why did the Torah speak about the "whole community of the children of Israel" at the beginning of the verse, whereas at its conclusion it only speaks of "the children of Israel?" It appears that the line כן עשו בני ישראל is repeated as it is a reference to the firstborn who are being complimented for agreeing to their new status seeing they were the ones who lost many privileges due to this change. This is also the reason that at the end of the verse the Torah did not speak of "the whole community of Israel," since only the firstborn of the Israelites were meant.

כן עשו להם בני ישראל, “so did the Children of Israel.” They placed their weight with their hands upon them.

ויעש משה ואהרן וכל עדת בני ישראל ללוים, “and Moses and Aaron together with the whole congregation of the Children of Israel did to the Levites, etc.” Moses was putting the Levites on their feet, whereas Aaron was “waving” them. This is the meaning of the words in verse 13 והעמדת את הלוים לפני אהרן ולפני בניו. The fact that Aaron performed the “waving” is mentioned specifically in verse 11 והניף אהרן את הלוים תנופה לפני ה’. This procedure consisted of Aaron personally lifting up each individual Levite, waving him in different directions. This reflected the fact that Aaron possessed exceptional physical strength. [It was one of the 5 qualifying attributes of a High Priest that he be physically strong. Ed] Lifting 22,000 people individually all in one day was certainly no mean accomplishment. Alternatively, the entire procedure took place with a heavenly assist, i.e. a miracle. Aaron may have been able to call upon such assistance as he represented the attribute of Mercy and was able to command assistance from the attribute of חסד as well as that of גבורה. The attribute of Mercy is composed of large parts of חסד, and a smaller part of גבורה. (Compare author’s comment on Leviticus 21,10 under the heading “a kabbalistic approach”) This is also the meaning of the words in Malachi 2,6 בשלום ובמישור הלך אתי, “he (Aaron) walked with Me in peace and equity.” The reason that Aaron at the time had chosen the zodiac sign of the ox was also that this was the chayah which appeared to the prophet Ezekiel on the left in his famous vision of the merkavah, the divine entourage. He used to atone for the iniquities of the people of Israel, sins which had their origin in the North [Compare our author’s explanation on Exodus 32,4. Ed.] The Israelites placed their hands on these Levites investing them with the authority to be their “agents.” This is the meaning of verse 10: “the Israelites shall place their hands on the Levites.” It is most likely that the entire procedure relied heavily on G’d’s miraculous assist.

And the Levites purified themselves and laundered their garments, and Aaron waved them as a wave-offering before Hashem, and Aaron made atonement for them to purify them.

The meaning of "they purified themselves" — for they also acted. "He made atonement for them" — yet he had already made atonement for them. Some say that they first purified themselves and afterward laid their hands upon the bulls, and this is not implausible. If so, the interpretation of "you shall station the Levites" is: you have already stationed them at the outset.

ויתחטאו הלוים, “the Levites purified themselves.” They did so by means of sprinkling the waters containing the ash of the red heifer upon themselves.

וינף אהרן אותם תנופה...ויכפר עליהם, “Aaron performed a waving motion with each of them,…..and he provided atonement for them.” Ibn Ezra again explains that at that stage the atonement had already been provided for them. [The steps leading to their atonement had already been described in the previous verse. Ed.]

ויתחטאו, as per the instruction in verse 7:הזה עליהם מי חטאת, “sprinkle on them of the waters containing the ash of the read heifer.”

And after that the Levites came to perform their service in the Tent of Meeting, before Aaron and before his sons — as Hashem had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

כאשר צוה ה' ... כן עשו AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED [MOSES CONCERNING THE LEVITES] SO DID THEY [UNTO THEM] — This is repeated (cf. v. 20) to tell the praise of those who performed the rite (Moses, Aaron and the Israelites) and those who had it performed on them (the Levites) — that none of them put any obstacle in the way.

"So they did to them" — continually: the sons of Aaron to their descendants.

כאשר צוה ה' את משה על הלוים, G’d had commanded that the task of the Levites would be to stand guard, to form the choir chanting the psalms and to carry the parts of the Tabernacle whenever the situation called for this. They would be assigned their immediate duties by Aaron and his sons. כן עשו להם, Aaron and his sons would organise them, allocate to them their specific duties.

כן עשו להם, “so they did unto them.” The Levites did so to the priests. An alternate interpretation: “so did Aaron and his sons to the Levites.” This interpretation is based on Numbers 4,19: וזאת עשו להם וחיו, “this is what you are to do unto them so that they will live.”

And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

"This is what applies to the Levites: from twenty-five years of age and upward he shall enter the ranks to perform service in the Tent of Meeting."

זאת אשר ללוים THIS IS THAT WHICH BELONGETH TO THE LEVITES [FROM TWENTY FIVE YEARS etc.] — This suggests: years (the question of age) can disqualify them for the service (i.e. if they are younger than 25 and older than 50 years), but bodily blemishes cannot disqualify them, [as in the case of priests] (Sifrei Bamidbar 62; Chullin 24a). מבן חמש ועשרים FROM TWENTY AND FIVE [YEARS] AND UPWARD [THEY SHALL GO IN TO WAIT UPON THE SERVICE] — But in another passage, it states, (Numbers 4:3) “from thirty years old [and upwards … all that enter into the host to do the work in the tabernacle]”! How are these apparently contradictory passages to be reconciled? In the following way: From twenty five years on he (the Levite) comes to learn the laws regulating the service, and he studies for five years, and at the age of thirty he may actually do the service. — From here we may derive the principle that a pupil who does not see an auspicious omen (i. e. success) in his study during five years will never see it. (Sifrei Bamidbar 62; Chullin 24a.)

"This is what pertains to the Levites" — the meaning is: this is the fixed rule. And "from thirty years of age" does not contradict this verse, for from thirty years is for the service of carrying the loads, and from twenty-five years is for the service of the Tent. The meaning of "to serve in the host" — to be counted among the host of those who serve.

זאת אשר ללוים, ”this is what pertains to the Levites:” Levites are disqualified from performing their tasks if either too young or too old. They are not disqualified if afflicted by physical blemishes as are the priests. (Talmud, tractate Chulin, folio 24.) Priests are not disqualified by age limitations, (if otherwise healthy and fit.) This paragraph was only written (or taught) for use in the desert, as we learned on that same folio in the Talmud. We read there as follows: “a Levite from the age of thirty until the age of fifty, is fit to perform all the tasks that he is designated to perform. After that he is unfit regardless of his physical condition.”Under what circumstances does this rule apply? During the period of the Tabernacle in the desert, seeing that as long as the people had not yet settled, parts of the service that had to be performed involved carrying the furnishings of the Tabernacle on their shoulders, like the Kehatites who had to carry the Holy Ark on their shoulders. This could only be done by people who had attained the age of thirty, which is generally understood as the age of maximum physical strength. Once the Tabernacle was stationary (for 369 years) at Shiloh and subsequently at the Temples in Jerusalem, and the people were settled, according to the opinion of Rabbi Yossi, the Levites would become disqualified only if their voices revealed that they had aged. Wherefrom did he derive such a rule? He quoted Chronicles II 5,13, where we read: ויהי כאחד למחצצרים ומשוררים להשמיע קול אחד, “their singing became as if they all sang with one voice (choir) as the sound of the trumpets and the cymbals; which sounded as if of one voice.” In other words, if the voice of a Levite had changed due to aging, he was no longer capable of being part of this choir. This is how Rashi explains the text in the chapter called הכל שוחטים in the first chapter of the Talmud, tractate Chulin. מבן חמש ועשרים שנה, “from twenty five years of age and up;” this appears to contradict the statement in Numbers 4,3, where the Torah speaks of “from thirty years and up;” according to the plain meaning all the Levites were mobilised from the age of 25 years and up, at which time they began to perform tasks, such as standing guard and to sing in the choir; in other words, to perform the relatively easy tasks. By the time they reached the age of thirty, they were also required to perform the physically difficult tasks. The Kehatites began then to carry the Ark on their shoulders, and the members of the family of Gersonides and Merari then began to load the wagons with the parts of the Tabernacle each had been assigned to, and to the dismantling and reerecting the structure.

זאת אשר ללוים, ”this shall apply to the Levites, etc.” according to the plain meaning of the text the word זאת refers to the limitation (in age) when they are on active duty. A Midrashic approach (based on Vayikra Rabbah 21,8): Whenever the word זאת appears it refers to the Torah. Compare Deut. 4,44 וזאת התורה. “זאת“ is the Torah.” The Levites were the teachers of the Torah. This has been made clear already by Moses in his blessing in Deut. 33,10 where he said: “They shall teach Your ordinances to Yaakov and Your Torah to Israel.” A kabbalistic approach: The words זאת אשר ללוים are to be understood in the same vein as Psalms 118,23 מאת ה' היתה זאת, “This (covenant) emanated from Hashem.” We know this from Genesis 17,10: זאת בריתי, “This is My covenant.” In connection with the tribe of Levi the Torah writes ובריתך ינצורו, “they have observed Your covenant meticulously” (Deut. 33, 9). When the Levites were counted the Torah wrote the words על פי ה' (Numbers 3,16), an expression we do not find in connection with the census of the other tribes. The idea is that the מדה, the particular attribute applicable to the Levites is that they are the transmitters of the פי ה', the word of G’d, the Torah. מבן חמש ועשרים שנה ומעלה יבא לצבא צבא בעבודת אהל מועד, “from twenty-five years old and up he shall join the legion of the service of the Tent of Meeting.” In Numbers 4,23 the Torah had described the years when a Levite serves as between 30-50. How do we reconcile this? According to the plain meaning we could make a distinction between two kinds of service. The service within the Tent he may commence at the age of 25, whereas he does not qualify for the labour of carrying the parts of the Tabernacle until he reaches the age of 30, traditionally the age at which the body reaches full strength. According to the Talmud (Chulin 24a), what is written here refers to when the Levite enrolls in the training program, i.e. at the age of 25. He does not qualify for active service, however, until he reaches the age of 30. This arrangement prompted our sages to say that when a Torah student does not seem to make proper progress by the time he has studied for five years, he is not likely to accomplish much by remaining in the academy.

מבן חמש ועשרים שנה ומעלה יבוא לצבא צבא, “from 25 years of age and up he shall join the legion of service.” Rashi, in commenting on the apparent contradiction in Numbers 4,3 where the Torah gives this age as 30, says that the Levites are to commence training for their duties from the age of 25 and to assume those duties once they have attained the age of 30. Nachmanides commenting on Rashi, says that if so, the meaning of the words לצבא צבא have to be understood as the Levites joining the community of their older colleagues from that age and stand there observing how their senior colleagues performed their duties and to familarise themselves with the details of all the laws governing their activities. This would also explain the absence of the words לעבוד עבודה, “to perform service,” as we are used to reading in connection with this. According to the plain meaning of the text, the people counted by Moses and Aaron were indeed the thirty year olds, whereas here the Torah calls upon those who knew that they were at least 25 years old to come forward on their own. Such relatively young men were allowed to perform duties although they were not promoted to the status of supervisors over other Levites. In those days, while people did not necessarily keep track of each year they had lived, they did keep track of decades they had lived, as it was commonly known that certain changes in one’s body are experienced with the passing of every decade. Turning 25 did not leave a noticeable impression on their bodies, so that there was no point in counting 25 year olds. Everybody knew when he turned 30. Ibn Ezra claims that the Levites were employed to perform heavy duties from the age of 30 and up, whereas until that age they were allowed to perform only duties carried out within the confines of the Tabernacle. Nachmanides does not accept this, as the Torah uses the term לצבא צבא both for the 25 year olds and for the ones above 30 years of age.

זאת אשר ללוים, this is a new commandment which had not been mentioned elsewhere. Both in Bamidbar and in Nasso G’d had instructed to appoint the Levites to their respective tasks of carrying, etc. from the age of thirty. The number 25 had not been mentioned at all. Here we are told that even though Levites below the age of 30 were not considered as mature enough physically for “active duty,” they were enlisted for “passive duty,” i.e. guard duty which did not require physical exertion, already from the age of twenty-five. This will be spelled out a little later. מבן עשרים שנה ומעלה יבא לצבא בעבודת אהל מועד; guard duty, as will be explained immediately. ושרת את אחיו לשמר משמרת.

"And from fifty years of age he shall retire from the ranks of service and shall serve no longer."

ולא יעבד עוד [AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL CEASE WAITING UPON THE SERVICE] AND SHALL DO NO MORE SERVICE — the service of bearing loads on the shoulder, but he still returns (i. e. may be called upon) for closing the Temple gates, for the service of singing and for loading sacred articles upon the wagons; for this is the meaning of (v. 26) “But he shall serve את אחיו” i. e. together with his brethren, just as the Targum renders it (not, “he shall serve his brethren, i. e. wait upon them) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 63).

AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL RETURN FROM THE SERVICE OF THE WORK, AND HE SHALL SERVE NO MORE — “the service of carrying loads upon the shoulders, but he returns [i.e., he may still serve] to close the gates, or to sing, or to load the wagons.” This is Rashi’s language. But in the Sifre the Rabbis mentioned only that “he returns to close the gates or to the work of the sons of Gershon” [but they did not say that he may return to the service of singing]! And this indeed appears correct [that a Levite above the age of fifty was not allowed to take part in the singing] — for if it were as the Rabbi [Rashi] has written, why were the twenty-year old Levites not appointed to sing, to close the gates and to load the wagons until they reached the required age, and why were they counted from thirty to fifty years old and only for the work of bearing burdens [since both before and after these two age-limits they could still serve by singing etc., therefore they should have been counted from twenty years, with no upper limit]? Moreover, why were the sons of Gershon and Merari counted in this way [from thirty to fifty] since all their work [i.e., singing, closing the gates and loading the wagons] could be done when they were older?We must rather say that since they were appointed to carry the ark at the age from thirty to fifty, they [therefore] were not appointed to sing, which was the main function of the Levites, unless they were also qualified to carry the ark, for all those who were appointed to sing were qualified to perform all the services [including the carrying of the ark]. And since the Kohathites [who were the only ones permitted to carry the ark] were counted from thirty to fifty years old, even for singing, they were all counted in this manner, in order that the sons of Gershon and Merari should not be qualified to sing during these years [i.e., below the age of thirty and above the age of fifty] and the sons of Kohath be disqualified. [Hence the age limits of thirty and fifty applied to the Kohathites’ singing, which was their main function, as well as to their carrying of the parts of the Tabernacle, and therefore these age limits applied to the function of singing of the sons of Gershon and Merari as well, and they could not, as Rashi wrote, return to the singing.] But for closing the gates or loading the wagons all of them were qualified [even after the age of fifty, as quoted in the Sifre above]. Furthermore it is written, from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to do the work of the service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting, and the Rabbis interpreted in the Tractate of Shechitath Chullin: “I might think that in Shiloh and in the Eternal House [at Jerusalem, when the services of the Levites were limited to gatekeeping and singing] it was also so [that the Levites were disqualified after the age of fifty]; Scripture therefore says, to do the work of service, ...

ומבן חמשים שנה ישוב, “and from fifty years he would retire from whichever part of the service he had been assigned to.” The Kehatites retired from carrying the Ark on their shoulders, and the family of the Gersonides and Merari retired from loading the wagons with the parts of the Tabernacle and from dismantling and re-erecting the structure. But they continued to sing and to guard so that no stranger would enter the Sanctuary. ולא יעבוד עוד “and he would no longer perform service.” According to Rashi, this refers only to service involving carrying with his shoulder, but he would still perform such tasks as opening and closing the gates. According to Rashi, these verses were not addressed to the members of the families of Gershon and Merari, for if they were, how could he have said that they were still performing the tasks of loading and unloading? We must therefore conclude that the over fifty year old members of the families of Gershon and Merari also retired from their specific duties at that age. Perhaps Rashi had in mind the years that the Sanctuary stood in Shiloh and Jerusalem, when these tasks did not have to be performed as the Tabernacle was no longer a prefab to be moved from time to time. The words: “to load the wagons,” in Rashi would then have applied only to the periods when the Jewish people were in the desert.

ולא יעבוד עוד, “and he shall work no longer.” This does not mean that a Levite above the age of 50 will “retire,” but that he will no longer perform the kind of physical labour involving carrying heavy loads either on his shoulders or otherwise. He will, however, participate in such tasks as opening the Temple’s gates, sing in the choir accompanying the priests’ sacrificial service, etc., etc. This is Rashi’s understanding of the words ולא יעבוד עוד. Nachmanides questions Rashi’s interpretation saying that if correct the Torah would not have placed an age limit on the Levites’ participating in the choir, and if so why were the Gersonides and the Merrari-ites counted from the age of thirty and up only to the age of 50 seeing that neither of them had to perform such physically strenuous labour as the Kehatites even when they were younger than 50 years of age? He claims therefore that the Levites above the age of 50 were also excluded from participating in the choir accompanying the Temple service, and this was the reason why the other two groups of Levites are counted only if they were between 30 and 50 years of age. [At this point, at least according to this editor’s understanding of both the versions available to us, Nachmanides and the Sifrey, matters become a bit confusing, and I believe the simplest solution is that in the desert when the functions of the Kehatites were different from that of the other Levites as they had to carry the Holy Ark on their shoulders, etc, they might have completely retired from activities in and around the Tabernacle, whereas once there was a permanent Temple instead of a collapsible structure, there no longer was such a distinction between the members of the Kehatites and the other Levites. Ed.]

ומבן חמשים שנה ישוב מצבא העבודה של משא, as soon as he has attained the age of fifty he will retire from the duties of carrying parts of the Tabernacle. The words ולא יעבוד עוד בצבא are to be understood as referring both to the ones younger than 30 and the ones above the age of 50, i.e. both groups not having to performing the physically strenuous type of service. What then were they to do with their time? They were to render service in the form of guard duty, i.e. בשמרותם. The words ככה תעשה ללוים במשמרותם are to be understood as referring to the “training” period of 5 years between their reaching the age of 25 and their attaining the age of 30 when they would assume “active” duties.

"He shall assist his brothers in the Tent of Meeting to keep the charge, but service he shall not perform. Thus shall you do for the Levites in regard to their charge."

לשמר משמרת TO KEEP THE CHARGE — i.e. to encamp round about the tent of meeting in order to keep strangers away, and to erect and dismantle it at the time of finishing and beginning the journey.

"In their duties" — with regard to the elders. The passage of Passover follows here because the dedication was in the first month, and it was then that the Levites were set apart. This passage comes because it is written regarding Passover: "when you come to the Land" and "when Hashem brings you" — He commanded that they are obligated even in the wilderness.

ושרת את אחיו, “but shall minister with their brethren;” when this Levite turns fifty, he shall minister with the other Levites who have already turned fifty. This is based on Numbers 1,50: “they are to encamp immediately around the Tabernacle.” ועבודה לא יעבוד עוד, “he is no longer to perform physical tasks.”

(1) THEY MAY ASSIST/SERVE -- both groups -- THEIR BROTHER LEVITES ... BY STANDING GUARD, BUT THEY SHALL PERFORM NO LABOR. (2) THUS YOU SHALL DEAL WITH THE LEVITES IN REGARD TO THEIR DUTIES. Five years before the 30th year and from age 50 on they shall be commanded regarding the guarding of the Mishkan.