פרשת במדבר תשכ"ב - הלויים

Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai.

ואלה תולדת אהרן ומשה AND THESE ARE THE OFFSPRING OF AARON AND MOSES — But it mentions only the sons of Aaron! But they also are called the sons of Moses because he taught them the Torah. This tells us that whoever teaches the Torah to the son of his fellow man Scripture regards it to him as though he had begotten him (Sanhedrin 19b).

ואלה תולדת אהרן ומשה AND THESE ARE THE OFFSPRING OF AARON AND MOSES — But it mentions only the sons of Aaron! But they also are called the sons of Moses because he taught them the Torah. This tells us that whoever teaches the Torah to the son of his fellow man Scripture regards it to him as though he had begotten him (Sanhedrin 19b).

Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai.

ואלה תולדת אהרן ומשה AND THESE ARE THE OFFSPRING OF AARON AND MOSES — But it mentions only the sons of Aaron! But they also are called the sons of Moses because he taught them the Torah. This tells us that whoever teaches the Torah to the son of his fellow man Scripture regards it to him as though he had begotten him (Sanhedrin 19b).

’And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every first-born that openeth the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be Mine;

ושרתו אתו [BRING THE TRIBE OF LEVI … BEFORE AARON] THAT THEY MINISTER UNTO HIM — And wherein consists their ministering? ושמרו את משמרתו THAT THEY SHALL KEEP HIS CHARGE — Because the care of the Sanctuary, viz., that no stranger should approach it, was committed to his charge, as it is said, (Numbers 18:1) "Thou and thy sons, and thy father’s house with thee, shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary”, (which Rashi explains to have reference to the iniquity committed by a “stranger” in approaching the holy things), and these Levites aided them — this therefore, was their ministering [alluded to here].

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.

מאת בני ישראל has the same meaning as FROM AMONG THE MIDST OF (מתוך) THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, that is to say, they have been set aside from among the rest of the congregation for this purpose by a decree of the Omnipresent, and it is He who gave them (the Levites) to him, as it is said (Numbers 8:19) “And “I” have given the Levites as a gift [to Aaron]”.

ואת אהרן ואת בניו תפקד AND THOU SHALT CHARGE AARON AND HIS SONS — The word תפקד is an expression for “appointing” and not an expression for “counting” (although it is Kal, and usually “appointing” is expressed by the Hiphil of the verb; cf. Rashi on Numbers 1:50).

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