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1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto Aaron and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the candlestick.

3 And Aaron did so; he lighted the lamps thereof over against the candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.

4 And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had shewed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

6 Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them.

7 And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and so make themselves clean.

8 Then let them take a young bullock with his meat offering, even fine flour mingled with oil, and another young bullock shalt thou take for a sin offering.

9 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together:

10 And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord: and the children of Israel shall put their hands upon the Levites:

11 And Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord for an offering of the children of Israel, that they may execute the service of the Lord.

12 And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites.

13 And thou shalt set the Levites before Aaron, and before his sons, and offer them for an offering unto the Lord.

14 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine.

15 And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.

16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.

17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.

18 And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.

19 And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary.

20 And Moses, and Aaron, and all the congregation of the children of Israel, did to the Levites according unto all that the Lord commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did the children of Israel unto them.

21 And the Levites were purified, and they washed their clothes; and Aaron offered them as an offering before the Lord; and Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse them.

22 And after that went the Levites in to do their service in the tabernacle of the congregation before Aaron, and before his sons: as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:

25 And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:

26 But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

h.בהעלתך WHEN THOU LIGHTEST [THE LAMPS] — Why is the section treating of the candelabrum put in juxtaposition with the section dealing with the offerings of the princes? Because when Aaron saw the dedication offerings of the princes, he felt distressed because neither he nor his tribe was with them in the dedication, whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “By your life! Your part is of greater importance than theirs, for you will kindle and set in order the lamps” (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5; see also Nachmanides).

h.בהעלתך lit., WHEN THOU MAKEST [THE LIGHTS] RISE — Because the flame rises upwards (עולה), an expression denoting “ascending” is used of kindling them (the lights), implying that one must kindle them until the light ascends of itself (Shabbat 21a). — Furthermore our Rabbis derived from here (from the expression בהעלתך) that there was a step in front of the candelabrum upon which the priest stood while preparing the lights (Sifrei Bamidbar 59).

h.אל מול פני המנורה OVER AGAINST THE CANDLESTICK — i.e. over against the central lamp which is not on one of the branches, like the others, but on the body (the central shaft) of the candelabrum itself (cf. Menachot 98b).

h.יאירו שבעת הנרות SHALL THE SEVEN LAMPS GIVE LIGHT — the seven lamps: this central lamp itself which naturally gave light over against the shaft (the פני המנורה) and the six lamps which were on the six branches, viz., the three on the east side of the central shaft should have their wicks turned towards the central one, and similarly the three on the west should have the ends of their wicks turned towards the central one (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 59). And why was this? In order that people should not say: He (God) is in need of its (the candlestick’s) light (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 5).

h.ויעש כן אהרן AND AARON DID SO — This is stated in order to tell the praise of Aaron — that he did not deviate [from G-d's command] (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 60).

h.וזה מעשה המנרה AND THIS IS THE WORK OF THE CANDLESTICK — “This” — we may gather that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed it to him (Moses) with His finger, because he was puzzled by it (how to construct it); and that is why it states, “this is [the construction of the candlestick]” (Sifrei Bamidbar 61; Menachot 29a).

h.מקשה means batediz in O. F., — [English = beaten], an expression of the same meaning as in (Daniel 5:6) “[and his feet] knocked (נקשן) one against another”. There was a block weighing a talent of gold and he (who made the candlestick) beat it with the hammer, and cut away with a chisel in order that its branches might be made to spread out as they should do, and it was not formed of separate pieces made into a whole by joining them together.

h.עד ירכה עד פרחה UNTO THE SHAFT THEREOF, UNTO THE FLOWERS THEREOF — Its ירך was the boxlike base which was above the feet (thus, the feet stood beneath this; cf. Rashi on Exodus 25:31), hollow, like the candlesticks of princely houses (lit., as the candlesticks standing before the princes).

h.עד ירכה עד פרחה — This phrase means as much as: the whole body of the candlestick and everything attached to it.

h.עד ירכה — FROM THE BASE which is a massive part.

h.עד פרחה — UP TO ITS FLOWER, which was the most slender piece of work in it — all was beaten out of the lump. The double form of עד … עד) עד) is used in this sense (to include everything), as e.g., (Judges 15:5) “[and he (Samson) burnt up everything] from the shocks to (עד) the standing corn and to (ועד) the vineyard and the olives“.

h.כמראה אשר הראה וגו׳ ACCORDING UNTO THE PATTERN WHICH [THE LORD] HAD SHOWED [MOSES] — i. e. according to the shape which he had shewn him on the mountain, as it is said, (Exodus 25:40) and see, that thou make them after their pattern [which was shewn thee in the mountain]”.

h.כן עשה את המנורה SO HE MADE THE CANDELABRUM — “he” means, the one who made it (not Moses, as might be assumed from the wording of the text; the subject is suppressed and it means no more than: so was the candlestick made). A Midrashic explanation is: By the instrumentality of the Holy One, blessed be He, it was made of itself (according to this the subject is “God” who is mentioned immediately before) (Midrash Tanchuma, Beha'alotcha 3; cf. Rashi on Exodus 25:31).

h.קח את הלוים means, win them over with fine words: “Happy are ye that ye are privileged to be servants of the Omnipresent!” (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 8:2.)

h.הזה עליהם מי חטאת SPRINKLE UPON THEM WATER OF PURIFYING — water in which the ashes of the Red Heifer are mingled; on account of those among them who might have become unclean through contact with dead persons.

h.והעבירו תער AND LET THEM SHAVE [ALL THEIR FLESH] — I have found in the work of R. Moses the Preacher the following: Because they were made propitiatory substitutes for the firstborn who had worshipped the idol (the Golden Calf), and it (idolatry) is called (Psalms 106:28) “offerings to the dead”, and the leper is also called dead (cf. Numbers 12:12), it (Scripture) requires them to shave their body like lepers.

h.ולקחו פר בן בקר AND LET THEM TAKE A YOUNG BULLOCK, — and this was to be a burnt offering, as it is said, (v. 12) “and thou shalt offer the one [as a sin offering] and the other as a burnt offering”, and it (a bullock) was the communal offering prescribed (Numbers 15:24) in case of idol worship committed by the community (here the firstborn are regarded as a community).

h.ופר שני AND ANOTHER BULLOCK [THOU SHALT TAKE TO BE A SIN OFFERING] — What is the force of the word שני, the second? (There is no corresponding word אחד at the beginning of the sentence!). But it is used to suggest a comparison between the two sacrifices: How is it in the case of the burnt offering? It is not permitted to be eaten (for it is entirely burnt on the altar)! So, too, is this sin-offering not permitted to be eaten (in spite of being a חטאת חיצונה which as a rule may be eaten; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 9:11). And in this fact (that the חטאת prescribed was not eaten) there is some support in the statement of Torath Cohanim just quoted for his (R. Moses the Preacher’s) view (that the עולה which is paired with it was that enjoined for idolatry committed by the community) (cf. Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Chovah, Chapter 3 4). — I, however, say that it (the fact that this חטאת was not to be eaten) was an occasional (exceptional) decision (הוראת שעה) (contrary to the rule of a חטאת חיצונה, and not because it was intended as a חטאת לע“ז as asserted by R. Moses), for if his view were correct they would have had to offer a goat (as prescribed in Numbers 15:24 not a bullock) as a sin offering to expiate for idolatry together with a bullock for a burnt offering mentioned here.

h.והקהלת את כל עדת AND THOU SHALT GATHER THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] TOGETHER — Because the Levites were made, so to speak, an expiatory offering in their stead, let them come and stand at their offering and put their hands upon them (the Levites) as is prescribed in the case of an offering (cf. Leviticus 1:4).

h.והניף אהרן את הלוים תנופה AND AARON SHALL MAKE A WAVING WITH THE LEVITES — just as the guilt offering of the leper (to whom the Levites are compared in some respect; cf. Rashi on v. 7) required waving whilst alive. — Three times is the command of waving the Levites mentioned in this section (vv. 11, 13, 15): the first refers to the sons of Kohath; therefore (because it is they who are referred to) Scripture adds with regard to them, “that they may execute the service of the Lord” — for it was upon them (the sons of Kohath) that the service of the most holy objects: the Ark, the table, etc., devolved. The second refers to the sons of Gershon, and therefore Scripture adds with regard to them, “a waving for the Lord”, for upon them devolved the service of the holy (though not the most holy) objects: the hangings and the catches which were visible in the Holy of Holies. The third refers to the sons of Merari.

h.נתנים נתנים FOR THEY ARE GIVEN, GIVEN ARE THEY [UNTO ME] — i.e., given twice: dedicated for bearing the holy objects and dedicated to sing in chorus in the Sanctuary.

h.פטרת means OPENING OF (such that open the womb, i. e. firstborn).

h.כי לי כל בכור FOR ALL THE FIRSTBORN [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] ARE MINE — This means: they became Mine by strict right (lit., by the line of justice), because I protected them distinguishing between them and the firstborn of Egypt, and I took them as Mine — until they sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, but now ואקח את הלוים I HAVE TAKEN THE LEVITES in their stead.

h.ואתנה וגו׳ AND I HAVE GIVEN [THE LEVITES etc.] — Five times are the “children of Israel” mentioned in this verse (where the last four times they might have been alluded to by a personal pronoun), in order to show what affection they are held by the Lord in that the mention of them is repeated five times in one verse corresponding in number to the “Five Books of the Torah”. Thus I have seen stated in Genesis Rabbah (Leviticus Rabbah 2:4; cf. Genesis Rabbah 3:5).

h.ולא יהיה בבני ישראל נגף [AND I HAVE GIVEN THE LEVITES … TO DO THE SERVICE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] THAT THERE BE NO PLAGUE AMONG THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL COME NIGH UNTO THE SANCTUARY] — The meaning is: I have given them etc. so that it should be unnecessary for them to come near to the Sanctuary, because [having sinned by worshipping the Calf], if they came near there would be a plague among them.

h.ויעש משה ואהרן וכל עדת וגו׳ AND MOSES AND AARON AND ALL THE CONGREGATION … DID [TO THE LEVITES ACCORDING UNTO ALL THAT THE LORD COMMANDED MOSES] — i.e. Moses presented them (v. 13), Aaron made the waving with them (v. 11) and the Israelites put their hands (v. 10) upon the Levites’ heads (cf., however, Ibn Ezra).

h.כאשר צוה ה'… כן עשו AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED [MOSES CONCERNING THE LEVITES] SO DID THEY [UNTO THEM] — This is repeated (cf. v. 20) to tell the praise of those who performed the rite (Moses, Aaron and the Israelites) and those who had it performed on them (the Levites) — that none of them put any obstacle in the way.

h.זאת אשר ללוים THIS IS THAT WHICH BELONGETH TO THE LEVITES [FROM TWENTY FIVE YEARS etc.] — This suggests: years (the question of age) can disqualify them for the service (i.e. if they are younger than 25 and older than 50 years), but bodily blemishes cannot disqualify them, [as in the case of priests] (Sifrei Bamidbar 62; Chullin 24a).

h.מבן חמש ועשרים FROM TWENTY AND FIVE [YEARS] AND UPWARD [THEY SHALL GO IN TO WAIT UPON THE SERVICE] — But in another passage, it states, (Numbers 4:3) “from thirty years old [and upwards … all that enter into the host to do the work in the tabernacle]”! How are these apparently contradictory passages to be reconciled? In the following way: From twenty five years on he (the Levite) comes to learn the laws regulating the service, and he studies for five years, and at the age of thirty he may actually do the service. — From here we may derive the principle that a pupil who does not see an auspicious omen (i. e. success) in his study during five years will never see it. (Sifrei Bamidbar 62; Chullin 24a.)

h.ולא יעבד עוד [AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL CEASE WAITING UPON THE SERVICE] AND SHALL DO NO MORE SERVICE — the service of bearing loads on the shoulder, but he still returns (i. e. may be called upon) for closing the Temple gates, for the service of singing and for loading sacred articles upon the wagons; for this is the meaning of (v. 26) “But he shall serve את אחיו” i. e. together with his brethren, just as the Targum renders it (not, “he shall serve his brethren, i. e. wait upon them) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 63).

h.לשמר משמרת TO KEEP THE CHARGE — i.e. to encamp round about the tent of meeting in order to keep strangers away, and to erect and dismantle it at the time of finishing and beginning the journey.