This week’s study is from Parashat Bamidbar (Bamidbar / Numbers 1:1-4:20), the Lord God speaks to Moshe in the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed, בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד) saying ב שְֹאוּ אֶת-רֹאשׁ כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל-זָכָר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם: 1:2 ‘Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. (NASB) The men who are to be numbered are those who are able to go to war, twenty years and older. Moshe then proceeds to take a census of the people from each tribe, the number of men who are able to go to war from each tribe is given in Bamidbar 1:4-46. The Levites however were not numbered among them because they are given to the service of the Lord in the Mishkhan (Tabernacle) (1:47-50). The scriptures state that the Levites will camp around the Mishkhan so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Yisrael (1:53). The Torah then lists who will camp on the north, east, south, and west sides of the Mishkhan (2:1-34). The generations of Aharon are given in Bamidbar 3:1-4. The Lord then commands that the Levites be brought before Aharon and declares יג כִּי לִי כָּל-בְּכוֹר בְּיוֹם הַכֹּתִי כָל-בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם הִקְדַּשְׁתִּי לִי כָל-בְּכוֹר בְּיִשְֹרָאֵל מֵאָדָם עַד-בְּהֵמָה לִי יִהְיוּ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: 3:13‘For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the Lord.’(NASB) Moshe then numbered them according to the command of the Lord (3:14) and so the number of the first born are given in Bamidbar 3:15-50. This week’s reading ends with the mitzvot on what to do when the Mishkhan moves from one place to another, how the Levites are to prepare the Tabernacle for traveling (4:4-20). Read more here.
