Parasha: Bamidbar · Aliyah: Seventh (Malchut)

נשא את ראש בני קהת, "take the sum of the members of the Kehatites, etc." We have already explained in Parshat Ki Tissa that the act of elevating the Israelites, i.e. numbering them (Exodus 30,12) was performed through their handing over the half shekel which formed their ransom money for the sin of the golden calf and that this is the reason the Torah used the term כי תשא את ראש when you "lift the head" when describing their being counted. This is in contrast with the members of the tribe of Levi who had no need to pay a ransom for their soul seeing they had not been guilty of that sin. This is why the Torah introduced the instruction to count the Levites (3,15) with the words: פקד את בני לוי, "count the members of the tribe of Levi." If all this is correct, why did the Torah change its wording when it came to counting the Kehatites and employ the same term נשא when instructing Moses and Aaron to count them?

Perhaps the fact that the Kehatites were entrusted with a task such as carrying the Holy Ark and the Table which required them to enter the Tabernacle was a special elevation for them and this is why the Torah wanted us to know this and wrote the term נשא. It is a relative term and shows that their function was more highly rated than that of the family of the clan of Gershon although Gershon was the older of Levi's sons. The reason that G'd chose the Kehatites for this task was that they provided "light for the world" in that Moses and Aaron were descended from them. It was no more than fair that the branch of the Levites who had produced Moses and Aaron should be the ones entrusted with carrying the Torah which Moses had communicated to the people.

Our verse is careful to say מתוך בני ישראל, "from the midst of the children of Israel," seeing that Kehat was the middle son of Levi's three sons Gershon, Kehat and Merari.

לעשות מלאכה, to perform work, etc. The Torah describes the task of the Kehatites differently from that of the sons of Gershon and that of the sons of Merari where the Torah uses the term לעבוד עבודה. The Torah was anxious to make it plain that though the Kehatites entered the Tabernacle what they did there did not qualify as עבודה, as priestly service. On the contrary, the ark is reputed to have carried its carriers as we know from Bamidbar Rabbah 4. What the Kehatites did was simply מלאכה, ordinary work. Furthermore, because the Kehatites had to carry the Holy Ark on their shoulders, i.e. perform physical labour as part of their assigned tasks, the Torah used the appropriate word מלאכה to describe their function. The tasks to be performed by the clan of Gershon and Merari respectively did not entail physical work of any major kind.

וזאת עשו להם, "and this is what you are to do for them, etc." This means that the Kehatites were not to consider themselves as performing their task on their own authority. If they would do so there was a danger that anyone who loved the sacred vessels would arrogate to themselves a part in the service of the Tabernacle. Rather, all the Kehatites did was to be under the supervision of Aaron and his sons and at their direction. This would ensure that every member of the Kehatites knew his place. This is the deeper meaning of the words אותם איש. When the Torah continues ולא יבואו לראות, "so that they will not come and take a (unauthorised) look at the Sanctuary when the vessels are being covered," this tells us that even looking at something that was not their place to see could prove deadly. The words ושמו אותם stress that it was not enough for each Kehatite to know his place but that they had to wait before putting their hands on the vessels they were to carry until instructed to do so by Aaron. This was different from what the clan of Gershon did; although in that connection the Torah also writes that their task was performed על פי אהרון, at the command of Aaron, the Torah did not add the cautionary words ושמו אותם as they did not face death if they acted prematurely (compare 4,27).

וחיו ולא ימותו, "so that they may live and not die, etc." The Torah means that carrying the Holy Ark whose contents, the Torah (and the Tablets), is a dispenser of life will ensure that the Kehatites carrying same would enjoy long life. Seeing that some Kehatites might be afraid that unauthorised touching or viewing would cause them to die, the Torah adds the words ולא ימותו, "so that they will not die," to put at rest such fears of the Kehatites that they would die by accidentally touching or viewing what they were not supposed to view or touch.