אל משה ואל אהרן, “to Moses and to Aaron;” seeing that Aaron and his sons had to place the Holy Ark and its contents on the shoulders of the Kehatites.

נשא את ראש בני קהת, “take the sum of the of the sons of Kehat;” even though Gershon was the older son of Kehat, Kehat was given precedence, as he had been chosen to carry the most holy furnishing of the Tabernacle, the Holy Ark.

וכסו בה, “and the shall cover it;” the prefix ב is used in this sense also in Leviticus 8,32: והנותר בבשר ובלחם, “and the surfeit of the flesh and bread;” compare also Leviticus 7,36: ביום משחו אותם, “on the day they were anointed (by means of it). Compare also Numbers 4,9: אשר ישרתו לה בהם, “wherewith they minister unto it.”

ועל שולחן הפנים, “and on the table of the showbreads; ”from this wording (the prefix letter ה in the word הפנים) we may assume that there were also other tables in the Sanctuary on which the sacred flesh was placed. (that flesh was removed daily as opposed to the showbreads. Ibn Ezra)

ולחם התמיד עליו יהיה, “the continual bread shall remain on it constantly.” How could these showbreads stay upright and not fall down during the journeys? [Our verse is G-d’s assurance that it would.]

את כל כלי השרת, “all the vessels of ministry;” knives, bowls, and ladles.

ונתנו על המוט, “and they shall put them on the bar.” Not below the bar so that they would not get damaged by being dragged along the ground.

ונתנו עליו את כליו, “they shall put on it all its vessels.” The pots were not mentioned as they were identical with wicker baskets made of copper which served three different purposes. They were used to transport fire (glowing coal) on the altar during the journeys in order to fulfill the instruction that there must always be fire on the altar (Leviticus 6,6.) They would also contain ashes and not completely burned up remains of sacrifices to be carried beyond the boundaries of the camp. While service was in progress they were used to throw from the ramp to the ground next to it. They would land with a bang and be picked up by any priest or Levi who had heard the bang. (Compare Tamid 5,5 where all this is explained in great detail)

ופקדת אלעזר שמן המאור, “and the charge of Elazar was the oil for the lighting of the menorah;” he was also charged with guarding the oil for anointing. He would carry one type in his right hand and the other in his left hand. He would carry the incense in his arm, and the חביתים, “the daily offering of the High Priest”, consisting of a meal offering, so called, he would carry on his shoulders.

בקדש ובכיליו, “whether belonging to the Sanctuary or its furnishings.” There is a dot above the letter ב in the word בקדש. (In our editions the dot is over the letter ק.)

כבלע את הקדש, “as the sacred furnishings were being covered;” the expression: בלע is also found in Lamentations 2,2, i.e. בלע ה' ולא חמל, “the Lord consumed without pity;” in light of this we may understand it here as meaning that if anyone wanted to feast his eyes by watching the Tabernacle being dissembled he would die while doing so. We find that something similar happened to the people in Beyt Shemesh (Samuel I 6,19) [where 57000 men were killed by G-d for having dared to look inside the ark that the Philistines had captured from the Israelite soldiers and returned after it had created havoc among them. Ed.] We therefore hear that the Israelites in the desert, every time when the Tabernacle was dissembled prior to the next step in their journey, kept a distance from that area. (Compare verse 5 in our chapter and the whole discussion of what might otherwise be considered trivial detail as it had no historic significance, no portable Temple ever having been constructed again.) [The lesson surely must be, as already hinted at in Exodus chapter 24, where the elite of the people feasted their eyes on what they perceived as a vision of G-d. The Torah pointed out there that G-d took no action against them then as it was such a happy day in the Jewish people’s history. Ed.] The warning in our verse extended even to the people personally charged with the covering of these sacred items.

נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם, “count the number of the members of the house of Gershon, also;” even though I have ordered you to count the members of the house of Kehat first, seeing that the most important part of that work is the transportation of the Ark, the Table, the altars and the menorah, as has been stated in chapter 7,1, do not fail to also count the members of the house of Gershon, even though they do not do any carrying, as their work is being performed by the wagons donated by the princes. After all, the members of the house of Gershon are the firstborns of the house of Levi, and for that reason deserve to be counted next.

לעבוד, “to perform service;” their service consisted of erecting and dismantling the Tabernacle, as is written: יורידו אותו הלוים יקימו אותו הלוים, “the Levites are to erect it, the Levites are to dismantle it.” (Numbers 1,51)

ועל המזבח סביב ואת מיתריהם, “and by the altar around and their cords;” why were the pegs for the hangings of the courtyard not mentioned here? (According to Nachmanides, the pegs, and their being fastened into the ground was the duty of the house of Merari)

ואת כל אשר יעשה בהם, “and whatever was to be done with them;” we find this type of construction also Genesis 39,22. in connection with Joseph’s duties in the house of Potiphar.

ופקדתם עליהם במשמרת, “you shall appoint their entire burden as their charge.” This is an instruction that we do not find in connection with the duties of the house of Kehat. The reason is that everything that the Kehatites carried was covered and not visible to anyone else, as we have read in 4,15: וכלה אהרן ובניו לכסות את הקדש ואת כל כלי הקדש בנסוע המחנה ואחרי כן יבואו בני קהת, “and when Aaron and his sons had completed to cover the holy furnishings and the holy vessels when the camp was ready to move. Then the sons of Kehat shall approach, etc.”

ובשמות תפקדו את כלי משמרת משאם, “and by their respective names you shall appoint them for the various instruments.”

לעבוד עבודת עבודה, “to perform the work of bearing burdens.” This task of dismantling and reerecting the Tabernacle was shared in equal measure by all the Levites.

ועבודת משא, “and the work of carrying;” a reference to the table, the Ark, the menorah, and the two altars carried by the Kehatites.