And the one who offered his offering on the first day ("bayom harishon") was Nachshon the son of Aminadav, of the tribe of Judah (Num. 7:12)
Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value. The sum of "bayom harishon" is 620, which is the same as "keter," crown. This alludes to the fact that Judah, the tribe to which Nachshon belonged, was the progenitor of the Jewish monarchy (including Moshiach, a descendant of King David). (Ohr HaTorah)
The princes of Israel... brought their offering before the L-rd (Num. 7: 2-3)
Although each of the 12 princes brought exactly the same things, the Torah enumerates their offerings separately. This is because the offerings were only the same externally; on the spiritual level, each prince made his offering in a way that was specific to the Divine Source of his tribe, drawing down Divine illumination to its members. "And even today, when the particulars of these sacrifices are read in the Torah, this nullification [before G-d] is drawn down to each and every tribe." (Likutei Torah)
Reprinted from the Parshas Naso 5761/2001 edition of L’Chaim, a publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Brooklyn.
