Commento su Numeri 4:20

ולא יבאו לראות כבלע את הקדש BUT THEY SHALL NOT COME IN TO SEE WHEN THE HOLY THINGS ARE WRAPPED IN, each into its wrapping, as I have explained above in this section (v. 5 ff.): ‘‘and they shall spread upon it such-and-such a garment”, “and they shall cover it over with such-and-such a cover”, — for the “wrapping-up’ of it mentioned here is identical with the “covering up” of it mentioned in those passages.

AND THEY [i.e., the Kohathites] SHALL NOT GO IN TO SEE THE HOLY THING ‘K’VALA’ (AS THEY ARE BEING COVERED) — “as they [the priests] put each vessel into its wrapping, as I have explained above in this section: ‘and they shall spread upon it such-and-such a garment, and they shall cover it with such-and-such a cover,’ the [term] ‘k’vala’ referring to its ‘covering.’” This is Rashi’s language. It is also Onkelos’ opinion [who translated the verse as quoted above]. But our Rabbis have said in Tractate Sanhedrin²¹⁷Sanhedrin 61 b. that this verse constitutes a prohibition against stealing a sacred vessel, for which one suffers death [by the hand of Heaven], and zealous people have the right to strike such a thief, for stealing and robbing are referred to as b’liah (swallowing, devouring), as in the expressions: ‘bala’ (he hath swallowed down) riches, and he shall vomit them up again;²¹⁸Job 20:15. and I will bring forth out of his mouth ‘eth bil’o’ (that which he hath swallowed up).²¹⁹Jeremiah 51:44.
But Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained [the verse] in its plain sense: that [the Kohathites] should not come in to see when the screening Veil is removed and the ark becomes exposed; only afterwards when it is covered are they to come in to carry it. Accordingly, the expression k’vala eth hakodesh means [they shall not come in to see] “when the structure [i.e., the screening Veil] is being removed from the ark, which is hakodesh (the holiness),” [the word ‘k’vala’] being related to the expressions: ‘bila Hashem’ (the Eternal hath swallowed up) unsparingly²²⁰Lamentations 2:2. [which means that He “destroyed the structure” of the habitations of Jacob mentioned further on in the verse]; Thy hands have framed me … together round about; yet ‘va’tval’eini’ (Thou dost destroy me).²²¹Job 10:8.
Thus the Levites are warned not to touch the holy ark lest they die, and only by means of its staves are they to carry it. He furthermore warned them against coming in at all to see the dismantling of the structure, while Aaron is taking down the screening Veil, in a similar way to that which is said [of the people of Beth-shemesh that they were punished] because they had gazed upon the ark of the Eternal.²²²I Samuel 6:19. He [i.e., Ibn Ezra] has explained it well [i.e., the simple meaning of the verse]. But the [true] intention of the verse is that since the Glory that resides upon the cherubim [on the cover of the ark] is there, the Levites were warned not to break through “to see the Eternal”²²³See Exodus 19:24. until the priests take down the Veil, for then the Glory is seen in the hiding of His power,²²⁴Habakkuk 3:4. and it returns to its former place²²⁵See Hosea 5:15. in “the Holy of Holies.”²²⁶“In the Holy of Holies on Above” (Abusaula). In this way the expression k’vala eth hakodesh is to be understood in its literal sense. The student learned in the mysteries of the Cabala will understand.
Naso

ולא יבאו לראות, by having a previously assigned roster of individual duties you will avoid that someone will see things forbidden to be seen by him, as a result of which he would have to die. He will avoid watching the priests covering the holy vessels, something which would cause their death.

כבלע את הקודש, when the roof and walls of the Tabernacles were being dismantled these furnishings would suddenly be revealed to all. If people would look at these objects they would die. We know this from the inhabitants of Beyt Shemesh who had seen the ark with their own eyes. (Samuel I 6,19)

ולא יבואו לראות כבלע את הקודש ומתו, “but they shall not come and look as the holy is being wrapped lest they die.” According to Rashi the word כבלע means: “when it is being covered.” Ibn Ezra understands the verse to mean that people must not approach and look on when the dividing curtain that enveloped the Holy Ark was being removed from it prior to it being placed back in the Tabernacle. However, he adds that the word כבלע, based on the word בלע as in בלע המוות, “banish, remove death,” refers to the dismantling of the Tabernacle prior to the people’s journeying. The very process of the dismantling must not be watched by people who had no part in performing that duty.

Its “בלוע” refers to the covering of it. Similarly the Targum translates כד מכסן ית מני קודשא — “when the holy vessels are covered.”

V. 20. בלע .כבלע וגו׳: etwas ganz in einen andern Körper versenken: daher verschlucken, daher auch wie פלא das für den Gedankeneinblick Unzugängliche, so. auch בלע etwas für den Augenanblick unzugänglich machen, es ganz dem Anblick entziehen. So ודרך ארחתיך בלעו, sie haben den einzigen rechten Weg unter allen von dir einzuschlagenden Pfaden deinem Blicke völlig entzogen (Jes.3, 12).

כבלע את הקדש, “as the sacred furnishings were being covered;” the expression: בלע is also found in Lamentations 2,2, i.e. בלע ה' ולא חמל, “the Lord consumed without pity;” in light of this we may understand it here as meaning that if anyone wanted to feast his eyes by watching the Tabernacle being dissembled he would die while doing so. We find that something similar happened to the people in Beyt Shemesh (Samuel I 6,19) [where 57000 men were killed by G-d for having dared to look inside the ark that the Philistines had captured from the Israelite soldiers and returned after it had created havoc among them. Ed.] We therefore hear that the Israelites in the desert, every time when the Tabernacle was dissembled prior to the next step in their journey, kept a distance from that area. (Compare verse 5 in our chapter and the whole discussion of what might otherwise be considered trivial detail as it had no historic significance, no portable Temple ever having been constructed again.) [The lesson surely must be, as already hinted at in Exodus chapter 24, where the elite of the people feasted their eyes on what they perceived as a vision of G-d. The Torah pointed out there that G-d took no action against them then as it was such a happy day in the Jewish people’s history. Ed.] The warning in our verse extended even to the people personally charged with the covering of these sacred items.

כבלע, similar to בלע ה' in Lamentations 2,2 or in Isaiah 3,12 ודרך אורחותיך בלעו, “they have swallowed up the way of Your paths.” [swallowing is a form of making something disappear, destroying it. The author quotes more examples of the verb בלע, which I have omitted. Ed.] We have noted from verse 5-15 that from the time the Tabernacle was being dismantled the Levites immediately proceeded to cover up its furnishings. Even the members of the family of Kehat withdrew at the time when Aaron and sons alone lowered the dividing curtain. The entire procedure of dismantling the Tabernacle was performed exclusively by Aaron and his sons.