פּירוש אויף במדבר 1:49

“Do not on any account enroll the tribe of Levi” [1:49]. They were told not to count the tribe of Levi because they were important. Thus, they should be counted separately. They were the servants of the Holy One. Another explanation is that they were not counted with the Israelites, since all those who died in the wilderness were those who were counted and were twenty years old. The Levites did not err at the Golden Calf. Therefore, they remained alive in the wilderness. The Levites were counted when they were a month old, since the Levites were holy as soon as they were born. Therefore, they were counted when they were a month old.¹⁶Rashi, Numbers, 1:49.

Ibn Shuaib writes. The Talmud says that the tribe of Levi was accustomed to be counted when they were born, since Yocheved, the mother of Moses Our Teacher, was born between the gates. When Jacob and his children came to the streets of Egypt, Yocheved was born. The verse counts her among the children of Jacob. That is, with Yocheved there were seventy souls. She was counted as an adult when she was still a child. Therefore, the tribe of Levi is counted from one month old. Moses said to the Holy One. Should I go into each house and see how many children the Levites have in their beds? The Holy One responded to Moses. You do yours and I will do mine. Moses placed himself at the door of the Tabernacle and the Holy One said to Moses. There are so many children and souls with this man, and Moses wrote it down. Therefore, the verse says, “so Moses recorded them at the command of the Lord” [3:16]. That is, Moses counted them through the word of the Holy One. So writes Ibn Shuaib.¹⁷Ibn Shuaib, Derashot, II: 315.

The Levites carried the Tabernacle when they traveled in the wilderness. When they stopped to rest, the Levites erected the Tabernacle and they rested near the Tabernacle.

אך את מטה לוי לא תפקד ONLY THOU SHALT NOT NUMBER THE TRIBE OF LEVI — The legion of the King is worthy to be numbered by itself (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 15). — Another explanation is: The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that a decree would once be made against all those that had been numbered from twenty years and upwards, viz., that they should die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29). He therefore said: Let these (the Levites) not be included amongst those now counted, in which case they must die, because they are Mine, since they did not sin by worshipping the golden calf (cf. Numbers Rabbah 3:7; Bava Batra 121b).