Weekly Torah Study - Bemidbar

(12) I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the male first-born, the first issue of the womb among the Israelites: the Levites shall be Mine. (13) For every male first-born is Mine: at the time that I smote every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every male first-born in Israel, human and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, יהוה’s. (14) יהוה spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: (15) Record the descendants of Levi by ancestral house and by clan; record every male among them from the age of one month up. (16) So Moses recorded them at the command of יהוה, as he was bidden.

מבן חדש ומעלה [NUMBER THE CHILDREN OF LEVI … EVERY MALE] FROM A MONTH OLD AND ONWARDS — As soon as it passed the age of a non-viable child (a full month was regarded as the utmost time such a child can live) it can be counted to come under the term “keeper of the holy charge”. — R. Judah the son of R. Shalom said: It is quite the usual thing with this tribe to be included in a census from their very birth, for it is said, (Numbers XXVI 59) “[And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi], whom her mother bore to Levi in Egypt” — which is explained to mean that she bore her just as she entered the gates of the border-city of Egypt and yet she is counted among the seventy souls which came down with Jacob into Egypt (cf. Genesis 46:27 and Rashi thereon), because if you count their number (as set forth in Genesis 46:8—27) you will find that they were one short of seventy, and it was she whose name is not mentioned there who made up the number seventy (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 16).

(12) I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all the male first-born, the first issue of the womb among the Israelites: the Levites shall be Mine. (13) For every male first-born is Mine: at the time that I smote every [male] first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated every male first-born in Israel, human and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, יהוה’s. (14) יהוה spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying: (15) Record the descendants of Levi by ancestral house and by clan; record every male among them from the age of one month up. (16) So Moses recorded them at the command of יהוה, as he was bidden.

.מבן חדש ומעלה תפקדם, “you will count them from one month and up.” The reason why they were not counted from twenty years and up is that they would not participate in any wars, and from 30 days of age and up they could be used to redeem firstborns of the other tribes. A first born son of any tribe became viable at the age of 30 days.

ואני הנה לקחתי AND I, BEHOLD I HAVE TAKEN [THE LEVITES FROM AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] — This means: And I — whence do “I” claim the right on them from among the children of Israel, that the Israelites should have to hire them (cf. Rashi on v. 8) for My service? It is through the firstborn — to whom I surely have a title — that I have a claim on them (the Levites) and so I take them in their (the firstborns’) stead. For originally the service (the priestly functions) was performed by the firstborn, but when they (the Israelites and among them their firstborn too) sinned by worshipping the golden calf they became disqualified, and the Levites who had not worshipped the idol were chosen in their stead (cf. Zevachim 112b).

(15) Record the descendants of Levi by ancestral house and by clan; record every male among them from the age of one month up.

על פי ה׳ [AND MOSES NUMBERED THEM] ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD — Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “How can I enter their tents to ascertain the number of their babes?!” Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, replied to him, “You do your share and I will do Mine!’ Moses accordingly went and stationed himself at the entrance of each tent, the Shechinah having gone there beforehand, and a divine voice issued from the tent, saying, “So-and-so many babes are in this tent”. It is on this account that it states, “[and Moses numbered them] according to the word (by the mouth) of the Lord” (Numbers Rabbah 3 9).