פירוש על במדבר 4:32

ויתדתם ומיתריהם [AND THE COLUMNS OF THE ENCLOSURE ROUND ABOUT IT AND THEIR SOCKETS] AND THEIR PINS, AND THEIR CORDS — i.e. the pins and cords of the columns only, because the pins and cords of the hangings were part of the burden of the Gershonites (not of the sons of Merari). There were, as a matter of fact, pegs and cords for the curtains and the hangings on their lower edges in order that the wind should not raise them, there were also pegs and cords for the columns, round about, upon which to suspend the hangings by their upper edges on poles and rails, just as it is set forth in the Boraitha dealing with the work of the Tabernacle (cf. Rashi on Exodus 27:10, 19; Numbers 3:26 and our Note thereon).

AND THE PILLARS OF THE COURT ROUND ABOUT, AND THEIR SOCKETS, AND THEIR PINS, AND THEIR CORDS. “[These sockets, pins and cords refer only to] those of the pillars, because the pins and cords of the hangings were part of the burden of the Gershonites [as stated above in Verse 26, and here Scripture is speaking of the work of the sons of Merari]. For there were pins and cords for the curtains and hangings on their lower edges, so that the wind should not raise them, and there were [also] pins and cords round about the pillars, in order to suspend the hangings on them at their upper edges with poles and rails, as we have been taught in [the Beraitha] on the work of the Tabernacle.” This is Rashi’s language. But I do not understand what pins have to do with the pillars!⁸The pins were made of brass (Exodus 27:19) and their purpose was to secure the hangings to the ground so that the wind would not blow them from side to side. The poles and rods to which the upper end of the hangings was fixed, however, were made of wood, not of brass, and are not included in the Hebrew word for pins. Therefore Ramban asks what do the pins [made of brass] have to do with the pillars? (Kur Zahav). Moreover, [even if the pillars did have pins], why were the pins of the pillars different from the other pins, in that [the other pins were given] to the sons of Gershon, and those [of the pillars were given] to the sons of Merari? Nor have I found in the Mishnah⁹See further in the following text, and also in Ramban on Exodus 26: 17, from which it is clear that Ramban when referring to the “Mishnah”, is in fact referring to the Beraitha on the construction of the Tabernacle. For the nature of this book, see Vol. II, p. 448, Note 108. on the work of the Tabernacle that there were pins to the pillars! Instead, the Rabbis taught there the following:¹⁰M’lecheth Hamishkan, Chapter 5 (p. 33, in Ish Shalom’s edition). “He [Moses] joined the rails by means of cords to the pillars, and attached them to the pins of the Tent. And just as there were pins to the Tabernacle, so were there pins to the court, as it is said, All the instruments of the Tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, round about, shall be of brass. ”¹¹Exodus 27:19. The expression “round about” is found ibid., 38:20. This is the language of the Beraitha. And it does not teach there that there were pins to the pillars.
But we must rather explain that the pins and cords of the hangings of the court¹²Above, Verse 26. were in the hands of the sons of Merari [not, as Rashi understands, that they were in the charge of the Gershonites]; whereas it is the cords and pins of the Tabernacle and Tent¹³See Note 179 in Seder Bamidbar. that were in the hands of the Gershonites, for [the prepositions] and ‘their’ cords, and all the instruments of ‘their’ service¹²Above, Verse 26. [mentioned in connection with the charge of the Gershonites] are a reference to the curtains of the Tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting¹⁴Ibid., Verse 25. mentioned in [the beginning of] the previous verse [relating to the work to be done by the Gershonite], and do not refer to [the hangings of] the court [as Rashi wrote]. Similarly, when He said above [with reference to the charge of the Gershonites], and the cords ‘of it’¹⁵Ibid., 3:26. [the preposition “it”] alludes to the Tabernacle mentioned there [in the preceding verse],¹⁶Ibid., Verse 25: And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle and the Tent etc. — Ramban is thus, interpreting the preposition “it” [and the cords of ‘it’] — in 3:26 — as referring back to Verse 25 which mentions the Tabernacle and Tent and does not refer to the hangings of the court mentioned in the selfsame Verse 26. To prove this method of exegesis, Ramban proceeds to bring examples from other places in Scripture where this principle perforce applies. and not to the hangings of the court [mentioned in the same verse]. A similar case [of a Scriptural reference to a prior subject] is [G-d’s command addressed to Aaron]: only ‘they’ shall not come nigh unto the vessels of holiness and unto the altar¹⁷Further, 18:3. [where the pronoun “they”] refers back to the more distant [phrase, namely: thy brethren, the tribe of Levi] the tribe of thy father¹⁸Ibid., Verse 2. [mentioned] in the preceding verse, and does not refer to the nearer [phrase] thy sons. So also the verse, And ‘their’ redemption-money — from a month old shalt thou redeem them¹⁹Ibid., Verse 16. [where the word “their”] refers back to the firstborn of man²⁰Ibid., Verse 15. [mentioned in the earlier part of the preceding verse], and not to the firstling of unclean beasts [stated at the end of the preceding verse]. There are many cases like this.
However, it appears to me that according to the text of the Beraitha [mentioned further on] the Gershonites only carried cloths, but [did] not [carry] any brass and wood at all. This is the Beraitha wherein we are taught:²¹M’lecheth Hamishkan, Chapter 13 (p. 80, in Ish Shalom’s edition). “The sons of Gershon were assigned [to pitch] on the west²²Above, 3:23. [of the Tabernacle], and they were in charge of all woven materials.” If so, the meaning of the term and their pins [mentioned in the verse before us dealing with the charge of the sons of Merari] is: “[the pins] of the Tabernacle and of the pillars of the court,” while [the term] and their cords refers only to those of the pillars of the court [since the cords of the Tabernacle itself were in the hands of the Gershonites]. Similarly He said above [with reference to the burden of the sons of Merari]: the boards of the Tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the instruments thereof, and all that pertaineth to the service thereof,²³Ibid., Verse 36. including [in general terms] the pins thereof [i.e., of both the Tabernacle and the pillars of the court]. Therefore He mentioned the cords [in speaking of] both [the burdens of the sons of Gershon²⁴Verse 26. and those of Merari,²⁵In this verse. because the cords of the Tabernacle were carried by the sons of Gershon, and those of the pillars of the court by the sons of Merari], but the pins He mentioned only [in the verse before us] with reference to the sons of Merari [because the Gershonites carried no objects of brass or wood at all, but which instead were carried by the sons of Merari].

ועמודי החצר סביב ואדניהם ויתידותם ומיתריהם, “and the pillars of the Courtyard all around and their sockets, their pegs and their ropes, etc.” According to Rashi the sockets and pegs mentioned in our verse were needed to support the pillars mentioned in our verse. Nachmanides, commenting on this, writes that he does not know how these pegs could have been of any use to the pillars. Moreover, Nachmanides could not see in what sense the pegs of the pillars would have been different from those of the קלעים, the curtains of the courtyard that were transported by the Gershonites. He arrives at the conclusion therefore that the pegs and their ropes mentioned must have been the ones used to hold down the curtains covering the Tabernacle as a roof, and that these were the ones looked after by the Gershonites, whereas the ones pertaining to the pillars of the courtyard and their ropes were the ones looked after by the Merarites.

And ropes for the pillars. With this Rashi explains how both [Gershon and Merori] had stakes and ropes. You might ask: Previously in Parshas Bamidbar (3:26) Rashi explained [that Gershon’s load was] the ropes of the Mishkon and the Tent but not of the courtyard. If so how can he explain that the sons of Gershon also carried the ropes of the courtyard? The answer is: When Rashi said previously “but not of the courtyard” he meant that the ropes of the Mishkon were all in the load of the sons of Gershon. However the ropes of the courtyard were not all in their load, rather some were in the load of the sons of Gershon and some in the load of the sons of Merori, as he explains here.

V. 32. ובשמת תפקדו את כלי משמרת משאם. Auch die den Merariden anvertrauten Gegenstände sind bedeutungsvolle, mit Bewusstsein ihrer Bedeutung (siehe zu Kap. 2, 29 f.) zu wahrende Objekte. Sie sind daher mit ihren "Namen" zu nennen, indem sie übergeben werden.

ובשמות תפקדו את כלי משמרת משאם, “and by their respective names you shall appoint them for the various instruments.”

AND BY NAME YE SHALL APPOINT THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE CHARGE OF THEIR BURDENS. This means that he [Ithamar] should put the vessels which they were to carry in the hands of each man, according to the number of names, by their polls.²⁶Above, 1:18. He [Ithamar] is to say: “This person shall carry a certain number of the boards, and that person a certain number of the bars or of the pillars,” rather than commanding [generally]: “The sons of Merari as a whole shall carry all the boards, sockets and pillars.” He mentioned this first in the case of the sons of Merari although this principle applied also to the work done by the sons of Kohath and Gershon because of the weight of their burdens, for each one [of the sons of Merari] might [be inclined to] make his load lighter by putting it upon his fellowman, [therefore the command had to be given to each person individually].

ובשמות תפקדו את כלי משמרת משאם, “you shall appoint the people keeping watch over these various utensils by name.” In other words, every person in charge of carrying a single beam, etc., would be assigned to “beam # such and such.” What the Torah mentions here in connection with the Merarites applied in equal measure to Gershonites and the Kehatites. You should not think that seeing the Merarites carried heavy burdens there might have been some who tried to shirk their duty.

By their upper border. Re’m explains that stakes were connected to the pillars. They were made like rods called falush, which are stakes six tefachim long and three tefachim wide with a copper ring in the middle. One would wrap the border of the curtain around it with the ropes in a position next to each pillar, and hang the rod with the ring on hooks that were on the pillar, made in the shape of the letter vav with one side bent upwards and the other inserted into the pillar.

And rods. In Parshas Terumah (Shemos 27:10) this is explained fully.