נָשׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי קְהָת מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי לֵוִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם: נָשׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן גַּם הֵם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם: בְּנֵי מְרָרִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם תִּפְקֹד אֹתָם: (ד:ב, כב, כט(
Take a census of the sons of Kehas from among the sons of Levi, according to their families, according to their fathers’ house. Take a census of the sons of Gershon, them as well, according to their fathers’ house, according to their families. The sons of Merari, according to their families, according to their fathers’ house shall you count them. (4:2, 22, 29(
The sons of Kehas, the sons of Gershon, and the sons of Merari are the three families of Sheivet Levi who merited and were commanded to carry the Mishkan from place to place, to dismantle it from its previous location, and to erect it in its new place.
The most distinguished among them were the sons of Kehas, who were commanded to carry the holiest items: the Ark, the altars, and the Menorah. Below them were the sons of Gershon, who were commanded regarding the curtains of the Mishkan. Below them were the sons of Merari, who were commanded with the most difficult and burdensome items—the beams of the Mishkan.
These commandments certainly also come to teach us ways of service for all generations, for the Torah is eternal, and necessarily, everything stated in it comes to instruct eternally. And although in the plain meaning of these verses, one finds only instructions for the family of Kehas while they were in the wilderness, the details of these matters hint at paths of life necessary for every Jew in all times.
It is fitting to quote from the holy sefer Beis Avraham (Slonim), which speaks about the general divine service hinted at in these posukim. The essence of his words is that these three families represent three aspects and levels in which a person may find himself. In every state and level, it is incumbent upon a person to serve the Creator Baruch Hu according to his strength and ability. And even one who is on a low level should not belittle the aodah appointed to him from Heaven. He must know that just as HaKadosh Baruch Hu desires the service of the one on a high level, so too He desires the service of the one on a low level. The delight that is aroused through his lowly service cannot be aroused by the lofty service of his fellow.
And here are his words: “The sons of Kehas are those upon whom the service of the holy rests—’they shall carry on the shoulder.’ They are the ones close to Hashem and see the greatness of His glory. Therefore it is written regarding them (4:19), את בגשתם ימותו ולא וחיו להם עשו וזאת’ ’הקדשים קודש - ’ And do this for them and they shall live and not die when they approach the Holy of Holies’—meaning, from the immense fear of Hashem and the majesty of His glory, they would die from the expiration of the soul, and this instruction is so that they will have the strength to remain in their souls.
Below them are the sons of Gershon. ’Gershon’ is from the expression (Shmuel I 26:19), בנחלת מלהסתפח היום גרשוני כי’ ’’ה - ’for they have driven me out today from attaching myself to the inheritance of the Lord’—they stand in the struggles of the yetzer. There are indeed times when he is close, and there are times when he is in a state of being cast out. Of them it is written (4:24), ’ולמשא לעבוד’ - ’to serve and to bear’—at times it is in the aspect of service, and at times in the aspect of burden.
Below them is the aspect of the sons of Merari, from the expression merirus (bitterness). They are filled with bitterness. If regarding the two aspects of Kehat and Gershon it is written in the language of ’ראש את נשא’ - ‘lift the head’, meaning they have an aspect of ’head’ (importance, leadership), regarding the sons of Merari it does not say at all the phrase ‘lift the head.’ Rather, it begins with the phrase מררי בני’ למשפחותם - ’the sons of Merari according to their families’—they have no aspect of ‘head’ at all. Therefore, it is written regarding them (4:32), ’משאם משמרת זאת’ - ’ This is the duty of their burden’—they do not feel the aspect of ’holy service,’ only the aspect of ’burden.’ And it is the beams of the Mishkan, difficult things that burden the body.
However, through all these, the name of Yisbarach becomes great and sanctified. Just as there are servants of the king who deal with the royal crown, so too there must be servants of the king who prepare shoes for His feet. הארץ ומלאה’ ’קניניך - ‘The earth is filled with Your possessions’(Tehillim 104:24)—the earth and all its fullness are filled with matters through which one may acquire Him, Yisbarach Shemo. And each and every person must know to fulfill his role according to the will of the King.” End of his words.
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A similar idea also emerges from the words of the Maharal in his sefer Gur Aryeh, and these are his words: “It appears that there were three types of service: the service of the sons of Kehas, who carried the sacred vessels, and due to their importance, Elazar the son of Aharon was appointed over them. The last were the sons of Merari, who carried the beams of the Mishkan, and over them was appointed Isamar the son of Aharon HaKohen. Gershon was like an intermediary between the services. Therefore, the Torah states that their charge was under the general supervision of Aharon and his sons, because the intermediary always resembles the general category, as the intermediary inclines to both sides. And since the service of the Gershoni is like the middle between the service of the Kehasi and that of the Merari, their service was general, as it leans toward both. Therefore, Aharon and his sons were appointed over them. However, we elevate in matters of holiness and do not lower, so this [oversight] belonged to Elazar, who had already been given a holier task—that is, the charge of the Kehasi. All the more so Aharon, who was even more distinguished than Elazar, thus the oversight remained with Isamar the son of Aharon,” end quote.
The conclusion of all this is that people who are suited for Torah study and are like the “family of Kehas,” who carried the Ark of the Covenant, which alludes to Torah, must engage solely in Torah and avodas Hashem. However, even those who are similar to “the sons of Gershon” and “the sons of Merari,” who were on a lower level than them, must nevertheless cleave to holiness and do everything within their power regarding divine service. Even concerning their physical needs, they must strive to find roles that are in the category of “within the Mishkan,” through which they can remain attached to the bond of holiness. And if they direct all their affairs for the sake of Heaven, they will thereby arouse a divine delight that cannot be awakened even by those who devote their entire day to Torah.
This was one of the motivations behind the strategy of the Rebbe of Gur, the Beis Yisrael, who instructed his community to establish many shuls—shtieblach, meaning that they would divide into many groups, and each group would gather on their own and establish their Tefillos in a shtiebel that served as their shul. Thus, each individual would find for himself some role within the shul, because each group would need to appoint for themselves gabba’im, shamashim, baalei tefillah, baal koreh [Torah reader], and other roles needed by the community. In this way, the outcome would be that even those who were not of a high spiritual level would find for themselves some connection to the bond of holiness.
It is well known that when the spirit of secular enlightenment spread through the vineyard of the House of Israel, it caused great destruction even among the camp of the G-d-fearing and tragically caused many spiritual casualties. However, among the Chassidic communities, it almost did no harm, because they ensured that each member of their circle had some form of spiritual fulfillment. They saw it necessary to assign a particular mission to anyone who needed it, in order to keep him within Judaism. Likewise, they greatly praised every small act done for the sake of Heaven, so that everyone felt they had a place within their community and did not feel the need to dig for themselves broken cisterns.
In light of the above, it may be said that for this reason our parashah counts each family of the sons of Levi individually—to teach that each family is equally beloved before HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and due to their importance, each family is worthy of being counted on its own. Likewise, every individual in Israel is deserving of respect, even if he is of a lower spiritual level, as Shlomo HaMelech said (Shir HaShirim 4:7): כולך יפה רעיתי ומום אין בך‘’ - “You are altogether beautiful, my beloved, and there is no blemish in you.”
