INTPARSHA61 -30: Parashat Bemidbar

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To: yhe-test@etzion.org.il
Subject: INTPARSHA61 -30: Parashat Bemidbar

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM)
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PARASHAT BEMIDBAR

Levite Genes
by Rav Zvi Shimon

The book of 'Bemidbar,' Numbers, opens with a population
census of the tribes of Israel. One by one, the Torah lists
the tribes and their numbers, a seemingly standard, run-of-
the-mill census were it not for one aberration; one of the
tribes, the tribe of Levy, is missing from the census! The
absence of the tribe of Levy is of course not an oversight, it
is the commandment of God:

"The Levites, however, were not tallied among them by
their ancestral tribe. For the Lord had spoken to Moses,
saying: Do not on any account tally the tribe of Levi or
take a census of them with the Israelites. You shall put
the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle, all its
furnishings, and everything that pertains to it: they
shall carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, and
they shall tend it; and they shall camp around the
Tabernacle. When the Tabernacle is to set out, the
Levites shall take it down, and when the Tabernacle is to
be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; any outsider who
encroaches shall be put to death. The Israelites shall
encamp troop by troop, each man with his division, and
each under his standard. The Levites, however, shall
camp around the Tabernacle, that wrath may not strike
the Israelite community; the Levites shall stand guard
around the Tabernacle." (Numbers 1:47-53)

The Levites do not dwell with other tribes. Rather, they
live as an independent unit around the 'mishkan' (Tabernacle)
and have special functions relating to the care of the
'mishkan.' It is clear from the Levites' distinct location in
the camp and the fact that they are not part of the general
census, that they enjoy a special status among the Israelites.
Our parasha later informs us of the source of the Levites'
distinguished position:

The Selection of the Levites

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I hereby take the
Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the
first-born, the first issue of the womb among the
Israelites: the Levites shall be Mine. For every first-
born is Mine: at the time that I smote every first-born
in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every first-born in
Israel, man and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, the
Lord's." (Numbers 3:11-13)

The tribe of Levi replace the first-born of every
Israelite family. These children were consecrated by God
after the plague of the first-borns of Egypt (see Exodus 13).
The Sforno (Rabbi Ovadia Sforno, Italy, 1470-1550) explains
this as follows:

"'On the day that I smote all the first-born in the land
of Egypt, I sanctified unto Me all the first-born in
Israel.' - Indeed, [at the time] of the smiting of the
first-born, the first-born [of Israel] also deserved to
be punished for the sins of that generation being that
they were the most honored [members of the community];
and they were not worthy of being saved from the plague
visited on the community. But I saved them by
sanctifying them unto Me."

God saved the first-borns of Israel from the plague
thereby consecrating them to His service. Both Rashi (Rabbi
Shlomo ben Yitzchak, France, 1040-1105) and Sforno point out
that the first-borns were originally responsible for offering
sacrifices. Rashi interprets the verse: "He [Moses]
designated some young men among the Israelites, and they
offered burnt offerings..." (Exodus 24:5) in reference to the
first-borns. It was the first-borns who offered sacrifices at
Mount Sinai. In parashat Bemidbar, the Levites are designated
to replace the first-borns and undertake their
responsibilities. What is the reason for this sudden
"changing of the guard?" What caused the first-borns to loose
their standing and why were the Levites chosen to replace
them? Our Sages offer the following explanation:

"Originally, the Temple service devolved upon the first-
born, but when they committed the sin of the Golden Calf
the Levites, inasmuch as they had not erred in the matter
of the Calf, were privileged to enter in their stead."
(Bemidbar Rabba 3:5)

The first-borns erred and transgressed with the rest of
the people in the sin of the golden calf. Thus, they failed
to fulfill their leadership responsibilities. The only tribe
which did not participate in the sin of the golden calf was
the tribe of Levi. As Moses descends Mount Sinai and sees the
golden calf the Torah recounts:

"As soon as Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and
the dancing, he became enraged; and he hurled the tablets
from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the
mountain...Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and
said, whoever is for the Lord, come here!" And all the
Levites rallied to him. He said to them, "Thus says the
Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put sword on thigh,
go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp,
and slay brother, neighbor and kin." The Levites did as
Moses had bidden; and some three thousand of the people
fell that day. And Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves to
the Lord this day - for each of you has been against son
and brother - that he may bestow a blessing upon you
today." (Exodus 32:19, 26-29).

It is not only that the Levites did not worship the
golden calf. They were also willing to fulfill God's command
and kill their kinsman and friends who were involved in the
betrayal of God. The capacity to surmount personal loyalties
and commit themselves unconditionally to the fulfillment of
God's will made the Levites worthy of being selected for
spiritual prominence. The first-borns were unable to
withstand the negative developments in the community. It was
the Levites' capacity to separate themselves from the evil
within their community and amongst their relatives, which led
to their receiving the role originally designated for the
first-borns.

The Census

We now know the reason for which the Levites were chosen.
What remains to be explained is why the Levites were not
included in the census of the tribes at the beginning of our
'parasha?' Are not the Levites part of the nation of Israel?
The Rashbam (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, France, 1080-1160) offers
the following explanation:

"[The Levites] were exempt from military service. They
were numbered separately for the purpose of taking up
service at the sanctuary." (Numbers 1:47).

The purpose of the census taken in our parasha is
military. It was to determine the number of troops in the
Israelite camp. This purpose is explicitly stated in the
commandment to count the Israelite community:

"You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from
the age of TWENTY YEARS UP, all those in Israel who are
able to BEAR ARMS." (1:3)

The Levites must remain to guard the sanctuary and
therefore, according to the Rashbam, are incapable of going to
wage war. Therefore, they are not included in the military
census. Our Sages offer a different explanation:

"Why were they not numbered with Israel? Because the
tribe of Levi was the palace-guard. This may be
illustrated by the parable of a king who had many legions
and said to the commander in Chief, 'Go and number [all]
the legions except my own personal one.' So the Holy
One, blessed be He, said to Moses, HOWBEIT THE TRIBE OF
LEVI THOU SHALT NOT NUMBER ... AMONG THE CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL; you may not number them AMONG THE CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL but separately number them. For it is not
consonant with the dignity of a king that his own legion
should be numbered with the other legions. Israel,
therefore, were numbered separately and the tribe of Levi
separately." (Bemidbar Rabba 1:12)

The Levites were excluded from the general census not
because they did not participate in wars. Rather, their
function and importance as the closest servants of God obliged
that they be counted independently.

The Levites are counted in their own independent census.
However, this census differs from the general census in one
important aspect. God commands Moses:

"Take a tally of the Levites, family by family, according
to their paternal lines. Count every male over one month
old" (3:15).

As opposed to the general census which counted the males
of twenty years and more, the Levites are counted from the age
of one month. What is the reason for this variance? The
Rashbam offers the following explanation:

"Since every Levite was a substitute for an Israelite
first-born, whose duty to be redeemed began at the age of
one month, the census of the Levites had to cover the
same age-group" (3:15).

Our parasha recounts the replacement of the first-borns
by the Levites:

"The Lord said to Moses: Make a tally of the male first-
born among the Israelites who are over ONE MONTH old, and
take a list of their names; and take the Levites for Me,
the Lord, in place of every first-born among the
Israelite people" (3:40,41).

Rashi (3:40) explains why the first-borns were counted
from the age of one month. A new-born baby is considered
viable only from one month and onwards. Before the completion
of a full month, an excessively premature child is still in
danger. Therefore, only after one month is the baby removed
from the category of a possibly non-viable birth. Just as the
first-born are counted from one month and up, so to are the
Levites, their replacements, counted from the age of one
month.

Rabbi Hirsch (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Germany, 1808-
1888) offers an alternative explanation:

"This counting the Levites from earliest infancy, after
living for thirty days can be taken to prove that the
calling of Levites goes far beyond the service of the
Sanctuary which is here declared to be their calling.
This, the service and care of the Sanctuary during the
encampments and wandering can only be the result of, and
a concrete expression of, their general calling. So that
counting them from childhood must have some calling in
view beyond this service and especially beyond just that
calling which this actual service implies. It must be a
calling for which perhaps they are fit for at an early
age, but which, in any case, must demand the whole of the
bringing up and education of youths from earliest
childhood onwards. And in fact, the tribe of Levi were
not to be merely the guardians and watchers over the
Tabernacle but were to be the defenders and protectors,
teachers and advocates of the Torah itself and its
observance. ... This general calling of the Levi belongs
to the Levite child from the first month, and he must be
brought up for it from the beginning of his growth."
(3:15)

A military census counts those physically capable of
waging war. Only from twenty years of age is one considered
to posses the physical prowess necessary for battle. However,
a Levite enters the ranks of his tribe from infancy. The
preparation for spiritual leadership is a life-long process of
education. It requires direction and training beginning with
parental instruction in the home. The Levite begins the
process of preparation for his role from the age of one month.

The Role of the Levites

How are we to understand the exclusion of the Levites
from the general census and their living separately from the
remaining tribes? Are they an independent unit detached from
the rest of the Israelite community and committed solely to
the service of God? What exactly is their association with
the other tribes? Different and seemingly contradictory
conceptions of the Levite's role appear in the verses of our
'parasha.'

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Advance the tribe of
Levi and place them in attendance upon Aaron the priest
to serve him. They shall perform duties for him and for
the WHOLE COMMUNITY before the Tent of Meeting, doing the
work of the Tabernacle. They shall take charge of all
the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting - A DUTY ON BEHALF
OF THE ISRAELITES - doing the work of the Tabernacle.
You shall assign the Levites to Aaron and to his sons:
they are formally assigned to him from among the
Israelites." (3:5-9)

Twice the Torah stresses that the Levites perform their
duties in the 'mishkan,' on behalf of the whole community.
Rashi comments on the nature of the Levites functions and
their relation to the community at large:

"A duty on behalf of the Israelites"- "For all of the
people were required for the needs of the sanctuary, but
the Levites came in their stead as their agents;
therefore they receive from them [the Israelites] the
tithes as their reward, as it is stated (Numbers 18:31)
"for it is your reward in return for your service."
(Rashi 3:8)

The Levites function as the representatives of the whole
community. They perform their tasks on behalf of the people
of Israel and receive tithes from the people as compensation
for their work. Rabbi Hirsch further elaborates this point:

"The priesthood itself is only the representative of the
national community in the Sanctuary. For the Torah is
not given to the priests and Levites, it is given to the
whole nation who are responsible for it. It was not
priests and Levites who had to build a holy place for it
and who did build it. The whole nation were to build for
God a holy place so that God should be present amongst
them. So that the priest and the Levite stand there in
the name of the nation and the watch of the Levites about
the Sanctuary is to be made as representative of the
nation. The Torah and its Sanctuary is a holy treasure
entrusted to the nation. 'Guarding' it against
infringement by others is the first duty of those to whom
the guarding of such a treasure has been entrusted. So
that in their own interests, to carry out their first
responsibility the nation as a whole and individually
makes the Levites keep guard about the Sanctuary of the
Torah" (3:7)

However, the verses immediately following those cited
above present a totally different conception of the role of
the Levites:

"The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I hereby take the
Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the
first-born, the first issue of the womb among the
Israelites: the Levites shall be MINE. For every first-
born is MINE: at the time that I smote every first-born
in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every first-born in
Israel, man and beast, TO MYSELF, TO BE MINE, THE LORD'S"
(Numbers 3:11-13)

The Levites are not depicted here as the representatives
or messengers of the people. Rather, they are the property of
God. It is God who took the Levites from the midst of the
Israelites to replace the first-borns. They were set apart
from the people in order to serve God. Therefore, how are we
to understand the Levites? Do they represent God or are they
envoys of the people?

I believe the answer to this question is that the Levites
represent both God and the people of Israel. The seemingly
contradictory understandings presented in the Torah actually
portray the dual role of the Levites. The location of the
Levite camp, between the 'mishkan' and the people of Israel
reveals the nature of their role. They are a bridge between
the nation and God. The Levites represent the people before
God and represent God before the people.

This dual function is perhaps exemplified by the
different roles of the Levites. Our parasha concentrates on
the functions of the Levites in relation to the 'mishkan.'
They are responsible for the Tabernacle and all its
furnishings. They carry the Tabernacle and guard it from
encroachment by outsiders. In this respect, the Levites are
performing the duties on behalf of the community. The
'mishkan' is the center of the whole community. It was
constructed by the whole community as a national project. The
Levites' service is on behalf of the people and they are
compensated by them for their work. However, the Torah
relates another function of the Levites:

"They [the Levites] shall teach Your laws to Jacob and
Your instructions to Israel." (Deuteronomy 33:10)

The Levites are not only responsible for the performance
of ritual duties in the Tabernacle. They are also the
teachers of Torah. They convey God's precepts to the people.
In this critical capacity, the Levites function as emissaries
of God. God gave the Torah to the people of Israel and
designated the Levites to be the bearers and teachers of His
law. Thus, the different functions of the Levites encapsulate
their dual role and reveal to us the significance behind the
different conceptions of the Levites presented in our parasha.
The Levites represent the people through the fulfillment of
their different tasks relating to the 'mishkan' and represent
God in their teaching of His Torah.

The Levites were selected by God to serve as spiritual
leaders of the people. This responsibility and privilege was
earned by the Levites because of exemplary behavior during the
sin of the golden calf. Indeed, our sages view the selection
of the Levites as a reward for their outstanding conduct:

"And the Levites shall be Mine [Num. 3:12], for I bring
near unto Me every one who brings Me near unto himself.
They drew themselves near unto Me; as it is said, And
Moses said: Whoso is on the Lord's side, let him come
unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves
together unto him [Ex. 32:26]. Since they brought Me
near to them, I shall bring them near unto Me; hence,
'And the Levites shall be Mine.'"(Bemidbar Rabba 1:12)

The Levites' selection is permanent and some of their
functions relating to the 'mishkan' may only be performed by
them. However, the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, Egypt,
1138-1204) stresses that all Israelites can ultimately achieve
the same degree of holiness and closeness to God as the
Levites:

"Not only the tribe of Levi but any human being whose
spirit drives him to volunteer and whose intellect leads
him to separate himself to serve, worship and know God
and comports himself righteously... and brakes from his
neck the yoke of the different concerns preoccupying most
people, he is sanctified as the holy of holies and God
will be his part and his inheritance for eternity"
(Mishneh Torah (Code of law), end of laws of Sabbatical
and Jubilee years)

While a person can not become a Levite, he can and must
certainly strive to join the ranks of the servants of God.
This is the ultimate purpose and destiny of the whole nation
of Israel.

YESHIVAT HAR ETZION
ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH
ALON SHEVUT, GUSH ETZION 90433

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