Бамидбар 7:12 Комментарий: Rashi, Or HaChaim, Rabbeinu Bahya & Chizkuni

ביום הראשון ON THE FIRST DAY — That day received ten crowns (was distinguished in ten different ways): it was the same day as was the first day of Creation, the first day on which the princes offered etc., as it is set forth in Seder Olam 7 (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 9:1 and Note 2 thereon).

המקריב ביום הראשון, the one who presented (his gift) on the first day, etc. Why did the Torah have to write the words את קרבנו, (what else did he offer)? Perhaps the Torah wanted to emphasize that the princes each paid for these sacrifices (gifts) out of their own pockets. It was not paid for by the respective tribe's treasury. Sifri item 48 derive this from the repetition of the words: "this was the offering of so and so," after each report of the prince who offered his sacrifice. The reason the Torah also wrote קרבנו, "his offering," before listing the nature of the offering is because the offering consisted of two aspects. 1) acknowledgment of the exceptional merits of the prince bringing the offering; 2) the offering itself. Bamidbar Rabbah 13,10 extols Nachshon's merits for instance, telling us details of his accomplishments. The words הקריב את קרבנו mean that in addition to the visible aspect of the offering there was an invisible aspect, i.e. the devotion to G'd of the person offering the gift. It is well to remember that whenever a person offers an offering to G'd as a gift, such an offering is accompanied by the forces of sanctity which surround such a person. Moreover, it is the nature of the offering to activate various "branches" of sanctity. Our verse testifies that Nachshon succeeded in "offering his sacrifice," i.e. to imbue it with the "sparks" of sanctity and to thereby accomplish all that it is possible to accomplish by means of such a gift-offering.

ויהי המקריב ביום הראשון נחשון בן עמינדיו, “The prince who brought his offering on the first day was Nachshon son of Aminadav of the tribe of Yehudah.” As mentioned previously, the tribe of Yehudah usually is found in the lead, in the matter of the flags, the tribal offerings, warfare, and even distribution of the land of Israel (Joshua chapter 15). In the future, during the period of the ultimate redemption, the tribe of Yehudah will again be in the forefront (Zecharyah 12,1).
There is what appears to be a grammatical anomaly when the Torah describes the offering of Nachshon with the word וקרבנו, “and his offering,” whereas the offerings of all the other princes are introduced with the word קרבנו, “his offering.” We would have expected the reverse seeing that Nachshon’s offering did not follow the offering of anyone before him. The Torah used the extra letter ו as a veiled warning to that tribe or individual not to consider the fact that he had been the first in that procession of princes as something to boast about. On the other hand, the way the Torah describes the offering of each of the other princes could allow each one to think that his offering had been the first of the string. This idea is reinforced by the absence of the title נשיא, prince, in connection with Nachshon, whereas each of the other princes has his title mentioned alongside his name.

למטה יהודה [NACHSHON THE SON OF AMINADAB,] OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH — By these words Scripture merely states his genealogy after his tribe, and they do not mean that he collected the offerings from his tribe and offered them on their behalf. Or perhaps it does state למטה יהודה only to intimate that he collected the offerings from his tribe and then brought them? Scripture, however, states, (v. 17): this was the offering of Nachshon — he brought it of that which was his own (Sifrei Bamidbar 48).