Commentaire de citation sur Les Nombres 1:23

May Reuven live He begins with the eldest, as is customary. He does not mention Shimon, either because of the incident of Baal Peor [Numbers 25: 3], in which the worshipers were Shimonites, as evidenced by their decline in numbers [Numbers 26: 14] [cf. Numbers 1: 23], as well as by the fact that it was their chieftain who was killed [Numbers 25: 14]. or He follows Yaaqov’s example, who did not bless Shimon or Levi. Out of respect for Aaron, his tribe was excepted, borne up on the coattails of Aaron; but Shimon lacked a great man of equivalent stature. If one should object, and ask, Why, then, did Moshe bless Reuven? — the answer is that Yaaqov did bless Reuven, the blessing being “you shall not stand out” [Genesis 49: 4], i.e., that he should be as one of his brethren. After Reuven, he mentions Y e hudah, who was the standard-bearer, and the first to go into battle. Then Levi, and then Benjamin, on account of the Levites’ dwelling in Jerusalem, which lay between the territory of Y e hudah and the territory of Benjamin, as it is written [cf. Joshua 18: 28 , Judges 1: 8]. Then the tribe of Joseph, in order not to postpone them, having already given precedence to his younger brother. Then Zevulun, on account of his going into war [Judges 5: 18], and then Yissakhar. After completing the children of the major wives, he begins with Gad, who encamped under the standard of two children of the major wives, and then Dan, since he was a standard-bearer, and then Naftali, because he was greater than Asher.

לזרח OF ZERAH — He is identical with Zohar (mentioned in Exodus 6:15 as a son of Simeon), which is an expression equivalent to צהר, shining (a synonym of זרח). However, the family of אהוד (mentioned there) had ceased to exist by now. The same was the case with five families of the tribe of Benjamin, for with ten sons did Benjamin go down to Egypt and here it enumerates only five. Similarly with Ezbon of the tribe of Gad. So you have seven families that had become extinct (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 5). — And I have found in the Talmud Yerushalmi Yoma 1:2 the reason why these seven families were now extinct: that when Aaron died the clouds of glory departed and the Canaanites came to wage war against Israel. These therefore set their hearts on returning to Egypt and turned back eight stages from Mount Hor to Moserah, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 10:6) “And the children of Israel journeyed from Bene Jaakon to Moserah; there Aaron died”. But did he not die at Mount Hor and from Moserah to Mount Hor there were eight stages in a backward direction? But the explanation is that they turned back, and the Levites pursued them to force them to return and slew of them seven families. And besides these, of the sons of Levi there fell four families: the families of Shimei and Uzzieli, and of the three sons of Izhar (Exodus 6:21) only the family of one son, Korah, is enumerated here, v. 58, so that the family of Izhar may be regarded as extinct — making three families missing. And as regards the fourth family I do not know which of those mentioned in 3:21, 27, 33, it was that had become extinct by now (Talmud Yerushalmi Sotah 1:10; Yoma 1:1). But Rabbi Tanchuma (Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 5) explained that they (the families not mentioned here) died by the plague in the matter of Balaam. But this can hardly be so, because according to the deficiency that shows itself in the tribe of Simeon in this census, as compared with the first census in the wilderness of Sinai (1:23), it would appear that all the twenty four thousand who died of that plague (Numbers 25:9) must have fallen from the tribe of Simeon.