במדבר א,נ: וְאַתָֹּה הַפְקֵד אֶּת-םִּ יִּוְלַה עַל -מִּש ְכַּן הָֹעֵדֻת וְעַל כָֹּל-כֵּלָֹיו וְעַל כָֹּל-אֲש ֶּר-לוֹ הֵמָֹּה יִּש ְאוּ אֶּת -הַמִּּש ְכָֹּן וְאֶּת-כָֹּל-כֵּלָֹיו וְהֵם יְש ָֹרְ תֻהוּ וְסָֹבִּיב לַמִּּש ְכָֹּן יַחֲנוּ :
Baal HaTurim: This word הפקד (appoint) appears twice in Tanach: once here and once in Tehilim (109,6) “Appoint a wicked man over him.” This alludes to the teaching (Sanhedrin 103b) that no one becomes an officer (law enforcement) below unless he is made (naasah) a Rasha (wicked person) above. Hence the Leviim were made officers over the Mishkan.
This certainly can not be taken literally. Follows are a few interpretations.
1)
When a person is elevated to a position of prominence there is a fear of his becoming haughty. He must behave externally as a leader, but internally he must fight this natural tendency. Thus when a person is appointed to a position of authority below, he must act with stature BELOW, i.e. in the eyes of the people. But internally, which only HaShem ABOVE knows, he must look at his faults and shortcomings so that he not become inflated. The Gemara (Nidah 30b) teaches that before a baby is born his soul takes an oath, “Even if the whole world tells you that you’re a Tzaddik, view yourself as if you are a Rasha.” (B'eir Moshe)
2)
When one person is deserving of being elevated there is a spiritual upsurge that requires a counter-balance, based on the verse "Zeh l'umas zeh assah hoElokim" (Koheles). When one person goes up, another who is a "rasha" is given a position of authority as well, downward, as he would pursue persecution of the bnei Yisroel. "Naasah" (being made) does not refer to the same person. (B'eir Moshe)
3)
The Gemara (Sukoh 52) says that whoever is greater than his friend correspondingly has a greater evil inclination. Thus if a person is elevated, likewise, the "rasha" inclination is also elevated. The gemara Kidushin 30b says that one's evil inclination is called "rasha," based on the verse "tzo'feh rasha latzadik" (Tehilim 37). (Ksav Sofer)
4)
The Yerushalmi (Bikurim 3:3) says that he who is elevated to a high position has all his sins forgiven. Thus his mitzvos weigh down heavily on one side of a balance scale, since there are no counter-weight sins on the other side. Thus when one is elevated, he goes "l'matoh," downward, while the "rasha," the other side of the scale, which is now empty, goes "l'maloh," upward. (Ma'yanah Shel Torah)
