Comentario sobre Números 4:22

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.

גם הם; seeing the Torah had written earlier (4,2) “elevate the members of the family of Kehat.”

נשא את ראש, “take a census, etc.” The expression נשא for counting in the sense of “elevating” is used only with the Kehatites and the Gershonites, but not with the members of the family of Merari The reason is that Gershon was especially distinguished by reason of being the eldest of the sons of Levi, whereas Kehat was distinguished by reason of his having been chosen to carry the Holy Ark, etc. This is also why the Torah adds the words: גם הם, “they too,” when speaking of the Gershonites, as their distinction was only by reason of heredity rather than merit, and that although they did not perform the task of carrying parts of the Tabernacle that had been sanctified, they nonetheless qualify for this kind of census. When speaking of the members of the family of the Merarites, the Torah neither uses the term נשא nor the term גם הם. My sainted father, the רא'ש said that the expression גם הם refers to the previous census when the Levites were counted from the age of one month and up. On that occasion the order in which they were counted began with the Gershonites (3,18) seeing that Gershon was the eldest of the three. Now, when the count includes only men who had reached the age of 30 and could therefore begin to perform their allocated tasks, Kehat is counted first as he carried the most sacred furnishings of the Tabernacle, and they had been chosen to carry the holy vessels on their shoulders, as opposed to items of lesser sanctity which were transported by the wagons. The Torah therefore had to write the words גם הם, “they too,” to make plain that these Gershonites were also to be counted from the age of 30 and up at this junction. In connection with both Gershon and Merari, the Torah uses the expression כל הבא, whereas in connection with the Kehatites the Torah speaks of כל בא (compare 4,3) The meaning of the letter ה is that these Levites came of their own volition, did not wait to be assigned their tasks. This was natural, seeing that they had to take part in the dismantling of the Tabernacle. At that stage there was nothing as yet for the Kehatites to do. They had to await Moses’ call to indicate that the time had come to wrap up the Holy Ark, etc. In connection with both the Gershonites and the Merarites, the Torah speaks of לעבוד עבודה, “to perform heavy labour,” whereas in connection with the Kehatites the Torah speaks of לעשות מלאכה, “to carry out the work.” The duties performed by both the Gershonites and the Merarites involved strenuous physical labour. The Kehatites’ duties were easier to perform.

Just as I commanded you. Rashi stated “just as I commanded you concerning the sons of Kehos” rather than “just as you counted the sons of Kehos” because he had not yet counted them. Hashem had commanded Moshe to count them, previously in Parshas Bamidbar (4:2), and the act of doing so is recorded in this Parshah. Therefore Rashi writes “just as I commanded you concerning the sons of Kehos,” meaning that I am also commanding you to do the same for the sons of Gershon. Consequently the word גם (also) is connected to the phrase “according to the house of their fathers, according to their families.” Alternatively, one may say that Rashi was answering the question: The Torah should have stated “גם אותם (also them)” because the word הם is normally used as a subject, for example הם ילכו (they shall go), הם ישרתו (they shall serve). However the word הם is not used [when referring to an object] as with the word נשא (count), rather [the word] אותם is used. Therefore Rashi explains “just as I commanded you…” and אותם is not used with these two words—that are either in the active פועל or in the passive נפעל constructs.

V. 22. נשא וגו׳. Die Zählung der Kehatiden war vorangegangen. Obgleich Gerschon der ältere war, so waren doch hier, wo zugleich die Übergabe der Heiligtumsobjekte beim Lageraufbruch bestimmt wird, die Kehatiden zuerst zu besprechen, da deren Aufgabe die heiligsten Gegenstände bildeten, deren Einhüllung und Übergabe auch beim Lageraufbruch zuerst erfolgte. Es war daher die Zählung derselben mit dem Ausdruck מתוך בני לוי geboten worden, da sie ein Hervorheben derselben involvierte. Indem nun jetzt die Zählung der Gersoniden und ihre Anweisung folgt, heißt es im Hinblick hierauf: גם הם, wohl um zu sagen, dass mit dieser scheinbaren Zurücksetzung keine wirkliche Zurücksetzung beabsichtigt sei. Vielleicht heißt es darum auch hier: לבית אבתם למשפחתם, wie in bezug auf den ganzen Levitenstamm Kap. 3, 15, während es sonst למשפחתם לבית אבתם lautet. Es ist damit gesagt, dass die Gersoniden nicht minder als die übrigen ein eigenes Stammeshaus bilden: מהו שאמר הכתוב גם הם שלא תאמר :מ׳׳ר שלכך מנה בני גרשון שניים שהם פחותים מבני קהת לאו אלא כתב גם הם שאף בני גרשן ביוצא בהם של בני קהת אלא שהקדימם הכתוב כאן בשביל כבוד התורה (לפי שקהת היה מטועני הארון) וכו׳.

נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם, “take the sum of the sons of Gershon, also;” seeing that on the first occasion, (Numbers 3,17) when the Levites were counted from 30 days old and up, the Gersonides were listed first, (seeing he was the oldest of sons of Levi, as per Genesis 46,11) whereas here when only the ones thirty years and older were counted and Kehot was counted first, (seeing that he performed the most holy tasks of the Levites), the words גם הם, “they also,” were added here to show that this section of the Levites also was counted.

נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם, “count the number of the members of the house of Gershon, also;” even though I have ordered you to count the members of the house of Kehat first, seeing that the most important part of that work is the transportation of the Ark, the Table, the altars and the menorah, as has been stated in chapter 7,1, do not fail to also count the members of the house of Gershon, even though they do not do any carrying, as their work is being performed by the wagons donated by the princes. After all, the members of the house of Gershon are the firstborns of the house of Levi, and for that reason deserve to be counted next.

Have reached [the working] category. Rashi did not state “just as I commanded you concerning the sons of Kehos to count them” because he was answering the question: Why didn’t the Torah write “also count the sons of Gershon according to the house of their fathers…” such that there would have been no need to write הם (them). He answers that if it had written “also count…” this would have implied that you should also take their count from twenty-five years and above, or alternatively from one month and above. Therefore it wrote גם (also) at the end of this phrase to indicate that גם does not refer to the count mentioned previously, rather to the phrase “from thirty years…” below (v. 23). This is why Rashi stated “[how many] have reached the working category,” which lasts from the age of thirty until fifty.

Take the count. The likely explanation for this is that the Holy One wanted to show that “the wise shall inherit honor.” The nation needed to be taught that they should honor those that study Torah, and that “the holy of Hashem should be honored,” to give them precedence in every matter of holiness. Thus, Kehos was counted first because they carried the Aron with the word of Hashem. If the Aron had been given to Gershon, the firstborn, and his family was counted first, we might have thought he was counted first because he was the firstborn and we would not have attached the importance to being the bearers of the Aron. Therefore, the Aron was given to Kehos and he was counted first. Thus, all would know to give honor to the Torah and those who study it. Another explanation: The task of carrying the Aron was not given to the firstborn so that he would not become haughty. Some say the reason Kehos was counted first is because of Moshe and Aharon, who received the Torah, and were descended from Kehos.

נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם לבית אבותם למשפחותהם, מבן שלשים שנה ומעלה עד בן חמישים שנה, “take a census of the sons of Gershon, as well, according to their fathers’ household, according to their families.” The words גם הם mean that the same procedure which was observed concerning the census of the Kehatites was followed here. Although Gershon was the oldest of the sons of Levi, the Kehatites were counted first as they were entrusted with transporting the Holy Ark as well as other holy vessels. I have already mentioned earlier that just as the encampments of the twelve tribes were four, three tribes in each direction, so the Levites also were divided into four groups, the three sons of Levi (descendants) Kehat, Gershon, and Merari who were encamped around the Tabernacle in three directions, and Moses, Aaron, and his sons who had their tents to the east of the Tabernacle.