Commentaire sur Les Nombres 8:6

קח את הלוים means, win them over with fine words: “Happy are ye that ye are privileged to be servants of the Omnipresent!” (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 8:2.)

קח את הלוים, "Take the Levites! etc." Rashi explains that the word "take!" means by means of words. Apparently Rashi means that Moses was to separate the Levites from the camps of the Israelites and make a separate camp for them seeing the Levites had to guard their ritual purity more than ordinary Israelites. The proof is to be found in the words וטהרת אותם, "and purify them!" Clearly what concerns the Torah at this point is the need for the Levites to maintain a state of ritual purity.

קח את הלוים, “take (aside) the Levites, etc.” According to Ibn Ezra the reason why this paragraph was written here is to teach us that whereas only Aaron would perform the kindling of the lights, there were many other functions connected with the Temple service in which the Levites could participate, thus lightening the burden of the priests. [My edition of the Ibn Ezra describes the Levites as having been scattered among all the tribes, and they were now to be concentrated in one area. The same supposedly applied to the other tribes, also. Ed.] Nachmanides writes that after the firstborn and the Levites had been counted, they lined up in front of Moses awaiting his instructions. They were presented with the wagons that the princes had donated ready to commence their diversified duties around the complex occupied by the Tabernacle. There was an immediate need to ritually purify the Levites, who previously had not needed to be especially concerned about this in their daily routines.