פרשת נשא תש"ה - מפקד בני גרשון

’Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers’houses, by their families;

As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them by their families, by their fathers’houses;

from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them: all that enter in to wait upon the service, to do service in the tent of meeting.

from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth upon the service, to do the work of the tent of meeting.

from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter upon the service, to do work in the tent of meeting.

נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם TAKE ALSO THE SUM OF THE SONS OF GERSHON - "also" implies: even as I have commanded you regarding the sons of Kohath; i.e. to see how many of them have already reached the age to be included amongst those fit for service.

נשא את ראש וגו׳ TAKE THE SUM OF [THE SONS OF KOHATH] — Count those that are fit among them for the service of carrying, and these are the men from thirty to fifty years, for a person less than thirty has not yet attained his full strength, — hence they (the Rabbis) said (Avot 5:21) “a man of thirty has reached the age when he enters into full strength”, — as for one who is older than fifty, his strength gradually diminishes from then.

את יריעת המשכן THE CURTAINS OF THE TABERNACLE — the ten lower ones,

אשר על המשכן [AND THE HANGINGS OF THE ENCLOSURE, AND THE SCREEN FOR THE ENTRANCE OF THE GATE OF THE ENCLOSURE] WHICH ARE על המשכן — that is to say, the hangings and the screen of the court which together screen and shelter the Tabernacle and the copper altar on all sides.

ואת כל אשר יעשה להם — Understand this as the Targum does; “and everything that is handed over to them” — i.e. to the sons of Gershon.

על פי אהרן ובניו AT THE APPOINTMENT OF AARON AND HIS SONS [SHALL BE ALL THE SERVICE OF THE SONS OF THE GERSHONITES] — and which of his sons shall be appointed over them? Everything was (v. 28) “under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest”.

This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens:

even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore.