פירוש על במדבר 8:10

V. 10. וסמבו וגו׳ (siehe zu Kap. 1, 4). Mit dieser סמיכה spricht die Nation aus, dass alles mit den Leviten vorzunehmende Folgende in ihrem Namen geschehe und es ihr Wille sei, dass die Leviten ihre Stellvertreter dem Heiligtum gegenüber werden.

And Bnei Yisroel shall lay. The Levites were like an offering that atones, because they were set apart for Torah and service in the Tent of Meeting. Therefore, Bnei Yisroel were commanded to treat them as an offering, with the laying of hands and waving.

וסמכו בני ישראל את ידיהם “and the Children of Israel shall place their hands, etc;” the “Children of Israel” referred to here are the firstborn for whom the Levites had served as atonement. Every firstborn Israelite would place his hands on the Levite who was to perform that service for him.

Bnei Yisroel refers to some of the great men of Israel who were emissaries for all of Israel.

וסמכו בני ישראל את ידיהם על הלוים, we find this kind of procedure also in Numbers 27,18, where G-d tells Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor, i.e. וסמכת ידך עליו, “you are to place your hand upon him.” Whenever this procedure is mentioned in the Bible it means that authority is being transferred by the person placing his hand or hands on the person to be appointed. The first person to do so was Yaakov in Genesis 48,14, where he placed his right had on Joseph’s younger son Ephrayim, indicating that he should be treated as his firstborn.