“And God spoke to Moses saying, also count the number of the sons of Gershon according to their father’s house and their family, from age thirty and upwards, all who are eligible to serve in the army, to perform the service in the tent of appointed meeting ….” (Bamidbar, 4:21–23) This Sedra explains the completion of the place of the paramount concentration of God’s will. From the first time building the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) is mentioned in Parshat Truma until now, there are seventeen parshiot, seventeen being the numerical equivalent of the word for good (Tov), hinting at the primary goodness of place. This relates to the verse (in Shmuel 2, 7:10), “I have made a place for my people Israel, and planted them, and they will dwell there, and will no longer be disturbed” etc. So we find that when the Mishkan was completed and the Tribes camped around it, God’s Kedusha (holiness) was fixed in the heart of Israel that they would be drawn after His will. Earlier, with the Exodus from Egypt, though there was a visual apprehension of the Illumination of God, we could still not be drawn after His will, as it is said (Mehilta B’Shelach), “a maidservant saw [at the splitting of the Red Sea more than the prophet Yehezkiel].” At this time Israel was still subject to the mentality of slavery, hence the Mechilta says, “a maidservant,” and we did not yet have the power to choose whether or not to follow the Illumination of God. And with the giving of the Torah, though words of Torah were fixed in our hearts, they were not fixed with the strength to last the length of eternity. However, with the completion of the Mishkan, the words of Torah were fixed in our hearts to last for all time. For this reason we did not enter the land of Israel immediately after leaving Egypt, because when we left the Kedusha of God was not yet permanently installed in our hearts. At that time the land was still under the power of the seven nations, called the refuse of God’s seven attributes (from Hesed to Malchut). Therefore, before the giving of the Torah and the completion of the Mishkan, since Kedusha was not yet fixed in the hearts of Israel, we could not at this time overpower the seven nations (inhabiting the Promised Land). So before entering the land, God commanded that words of Torah and Kedusha be fixed in our hearts in order that we could later emerge victorious over the seven nations. In this way, we are obliged to fix the Torah in our hearts before turning to the affairs of this world in order that we may later overpower whatever comes against us. The families of Gershon, Kehat, Merrari, Moshe, and Aharon constructed and carried the Mishkan. The sons of Kehat were the “masters of the Torah,” since they bore the Ark of the Covenant, and they knew the law of the Torah for any situation they would encounter. The sons of Gershon were the “masters of the fear [or awe of God].” They bore the curtains covering the Mishkan likened to the heavens, and the boards seen in the Mishkan like the stars, two thing the contemplation of which arouses us to fear or awe. The sons of Merrari were the “masters of mitzvot and good deeds,” for they carried the planks of the Mishkan, which represent practical mitzvot, which all in Israel have an understanding. And Moshe and Aharon and his sons are the “masters of the Love of God,” who constantly saw to it that the Torah was dispersed among the people, and this is called Love. Actually all those mentioned had within them all these good attributes, yet in each, one attribute was more apparent than the rest.

“Count the number of the sons of Gershon, them also according to their father’s house ….” (Bamidbar, 4:22) “Them also” is said with the sons of Gershon, where it is not said with the sons of Kehat. For “count,” literally “raise,” nasso in Hebrew, refers to hitnasoot, a state of spiritual elevation, or importance.⁸ uses the term hitnasut, for a state of spiritual elevation. The sons of Kehat achieved this by deliberately entering themselves into situations of doubt and uncertainty, and by being tested. Of this it is said (Bamidbar, 7:9), “and he [Moses] did not give [wagons] to the sons of Kehat, upon them is a holy service, yisa’u - they shall carry upon the shoulder.” In other words, from yisas’u, the act of carrying on their shoulder, a cognate of nasso, or raise, we learn that they had reached the state of patience necessary to enter into and cope with places of uncertainty. We also learn this from the name of the chief of the tribe of Kehat, Elitsafan ben Uziel. Tsafan comes from tsafoon, meaning hidden, that is, it was hidden in his heart that God was his strength and that he would not depart from God’s will. With this he entered into places of uncertainty, thereby achieving hitnasut. However, the special quality of the sons of Gershon was the fear of God, and with this they would get away from uncertainty in every situation that was not clear. In such an instance of uncertainty they would refrain from action, constantly proceeding with surety. For this reason it says “them also,” meaning that they also achieved a state of patience from the ability to remove themselves from uncertainty, thereby also achieving hitnassoot. With the sons of Merrari there is no mention of a leader (whereas with Kehat it is said, “and Moses and Aharon and the chief of the community numbered the sons of Kehat…”) since they occupied themselves with practical mitzvot, of which all of Israel, not just the leaders, has an apprehension. The name of their chief teaches of this, Tsooriel ben Avichail, which translates as “rock of God, my Father of valor,” that is, they had a stronghold from not departing (from the mitzvot), since they acted with simplicity and without doubt.

footnotes: ⁸ The Mei HaShiloach

With the sons of Kehat and the sons of Merrari it says that they were numbered, “by the hand of Moses” (see 4:37 and 4:45), while with the sons of Gershon (4:41) “by the hand of Moses” is not mentioned. Moses teaches of refined wisdom⁹ and intent for the sake of Heaven. The sons of Kehat derived their strength from the goodness of their intentions, and the sons of Merrari derived their strength from purity of action apparent to all. Yet the quality of the sons of Gershon’s was the fear of God and getting away from uncertainty, which could not have been pure if they did not act when God commanded action.¹ In the end, when all are counted (4:49), it says “by the hand of Moses.” In the end, everything was purified and went according to God’s will.

footnotes: ⁹ Chochmah mvurerret. ¹ See Parshat Toldot, where Yitschak wants to bless Eisav rather than Yakov because he was willing to take risks. One who takes a risk when God’s will is doubtful, and succeeds, is greater than one who never took the risk.

“… and you shall send out of the encampment all who are leprous, and all who suffer from an gonorrheal emission, and all who have come in contact with the dead.” (Bamidbar, 5:2) “Leprous” means anger, for the word for leprosy, (tsara’at) contains the word “evil,” Ra’a. (Gemara, Arachin, 15b). A “Zav,” is man who suffers from a gonorrheal emission, a man who entertains lusts. “One who comes in contact with the dead” is depression. The law requires that the leper is sent outside of all three encampments,¹⁰ (Tabernacle). Directly surrounding it was the Machnei haShechina, the encampment of the Divine Presence, which only admitted Cohanim. In the middle there was the Machanei haLevia, permitted only to Cohanimand Levites. On the outside was the Machanei Israel, the encampment of the rest of Israel. because the attribute of anger has no place in all of Israel. The Zav was sent outside both the encampment of the Levites (see previous note) and the encampment of the Shekhina, for Torah Scholars, exemplified by the Cohanim and the Levites, may not be steeped in lust. “One who has come in contact with the dead” is only sent outside of the Machanei haShechina, for Torah scholars also succumb at times to the attribute of sadness, as it is written in the Gemara (Ta’anit, 4a), “the Torah causes him to boil,” and this “boiling” is depression. Tainted by sadness, he is forbidden from entering into in the place of the Shechina(The Tabernacle in the desert or the Temple in Jerusalem, and so too the place where you have the greatest feeling of God’s presence.) because “strength and joy are in His place” (Divrei haYamim 1, 16:27).

footnotes: ¹⁰ Three concentric circles of encampments encompassed the Mishkan

“Speak to the children of Israel … a man or woman who commits any of the sins that men commit ….” (Bamidbar, 5:6) The sin mentioned is stealing from a convert who dies before compensating him for the loss (see Rashi on Bamidbar 5:8). Here it appears that teshuva (repentance) is of no use.¹¹, 219b) writes, “Rabbi Yehuda said, there is no sin in the world for which there is no teshuva (repentance) to rectify it except for this, and and there is no evil one who cannot see the face of the Shechina except for one who does this, as it is written (Yeshaya, 60:21), “and Your people are all righteous .…” Although there is nothing man can do from his side, God can surely rectify it. (R. Pinchas of Koretz, “Imrei Pinchas”) However, the Torah teaches that nothing will stand in the way of teshuva, and God gives advice as to how nothing will fall irrecoverably into exile. So, too, with robbing a convert, it also seems as if it cannot be rectified. The intention of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the Zohar was that the sin in question causes man to tremble to the core of his inner being and propels man to plead with God, pouring his heart out before God. For it is indeed an extremely grave sin. Knowing this, when the sin does not come to man, he would, of course, be overjoyed.

footnotes: ¹¹ The author is making an oblique reference to the sin of spilling semen. On this the Zohar (in Bereshit

“… a man whose wife is unfaithful, and commits a trespass against him.” (Bamidbar, 5:12) In the Torah, the section discussing the waters of Sotah, the ritual and judgment for a suspected adulteress, precedes the discussion of the laws of the Nazirite. In the Gemara, the tractate Nazir precedes the tractate Sotah. Sotah teaches of one looking into his own deficiencies, withdrawing, and keeping himself within the boundaries of the Torah. Therefore the Torah first mentions Sotah, and afterwards the law of the Nazirite, who takes upon himself extra boundaries. Truly (Gittin, 43a), “one can only truly uphold the Torah if he has failed in it.” After failing, we have a deep understand the meaning of the mitzvot. However, our Sages of blessed memory, who we call “the Torah of your mother,”¹ who love man and desire his well-being, purposely put the tractate Nazir before the tractate Sotah. This means for man to first separate himself like the Nazir and prevent transgression. It will suffice for him to contemplate the passage about the Sotah in order to understand where he needs to guard himself, thereby preventing failure. (His Torah study enables him to understand and foresee possible stumbling-blocks so as to avoid them.)

footnotes: ¹ See Rashi on Mishlei, 1:8

"May God bless you and keep you." (Bamidbar, 6:24) The holy name associated with the priestly blessing contains twenty-two letters, as is known.¹ The first holy name, which is the theurgic kavonna on the first word of the blessing, יברכך, is א"נ"ק"ת"ם. This name signifies a time when a man has not yet received his portion of the Torah, and cries out to God to save him from the thoughts and desires that confuse him.¹²,” which reads “enkat asir - the cry of the bound, the prayer of the prisoner …” Enkat, the cry, is the same as the first holy name. i Afterwards, God has mercy upon him, and releases him from the confusion that disturbs him. This release is hinted at in the second name, פ"ס"ת"ם, the kavonna for second word in the blessing, God’s name YHVH, where the first two letters, פ"ס, are related to expansion, as in (Tehilim, 72:16), פּסּת בּר—"the abundance of a grain field." This signifies how God grants him the expansion necessary to relieve him of his confusion. The next holy name (intended on וישׁמרך—and keep you) is פ"ס"פ"ס"י"ם, which means that God grants him hitnasoot (elevation, importance, exaltation. Two times פ"ס, more than expansion—elevation.) There is a dilemma regarding hitnasoot, but it leads to an understanding of great depth. How can God grant hitnasoot to two Tsaddikim in one generation, where each one is elevated in his portion and status over all, even the second one? This is as we find with Moshe and Aharon, where each one was altogether unique in his generation. This is understood through the fourth name, ד"י"ו"נ"ס"י"ם. The first three letters of this holy name is the kavonna on the word יאר, “shall shine,” and the last four on God’s name YHVH, which follows directly after. ד"י"ו—Diyo is like "Duo," or two, for God grants both of them hitnasoot. נ"ס"י"ם, or nissim, means miracles. This paradox is only resolved through a miracle. The words of the priestly blessing hint at these four levels; crying out for his portion of Torah, God granting him the expansion necessary to receive it, being granted hitnasoot, and the miracle of allowing the “crown” of hitnasoot to two in one generation.

footnotes: ¹ Elie Wiesel once mentioned that when Hassidic texts say, “as is known,” it means, “as virtually nobody knows.” ¹² See the last line in the liturgical poem for Rosh Hashannah, “Taalat zo c’chefetz lehat’il

The Birchat Cohanim, the priestly blessing, contains eleven words, not counting the repeated words. These correspond to the eleven spices in the incense offering. (A possible connection between the two besides the numeric equivalence is that just as the Birchat Cohanim brings down blessing to the world, similarly the incense with its ascending smoke lifts blessing heavenward.) "eleicha - Unto you," and "lecha - to you," are two different words. "May God raise His countenance unto you" means hitnasoot (exaltation). He will draw them all to you – you will not have to face opposition. "And give to you peace," means the greatest hitnasoot. Furthermore - even if you have many opponents, do not fear them, for God is with you. This is the meaning of, "to you," for you personally.

“And they brought their offerings before God; six covered wagons and twelve oxen, one wagon for every two princes, and a bull for each one, and they offered them before the Mishkan.” (Bamidbar, 7:3) Truly, they had great mercy on the Levites who had to carry the heavy loads of the Mishkan without the aid of wagons (see verse 9). But what could they do? Moshe had not been given any specific instructions to tell the Levites to use or not to use wagons. They were concerned that perhaps the Levites needed to toil with their bodies in order to refine their hearts, for sometimes one cannot refine his heart until he serves God with his body. Perhaps this mercy was not coming from God, but rather from something in their own hearts and in a place that God did not desire? Perhaps they were actually exemplifying “the cruel mercy of the wicked?” Therefore it was proper that each pair of Levites would bring one wagon, and thus God would agree with their action. This is as it is written (Mishlei, 11:9), “Tsaddikim will be saved through knowledge.” This is when two Torah scholars, “one wagon for every two princes,” agree on the same opinion. “A bull for each one.” This is as it is said (Rosh Hashanah, 4b, “if you take hold of too much you may lose your hold,) Tafasta mu’at tafasta - If you take hold of less, you will hold it.” In this context the phrase means not to rely on your own knowledge.(If you feel you really understood something new with ease that you have not really learned it, as the learning process requires difficulty and perplexion.) Each prince did not want to rely on his own knowledge, but when he saw that the other prince agreed to his opinion, he knew that it was from God. This is as we find with Yirmiya (32:8), who had a vision that told him to buy Chanamel’s field, and he was uncertain about it. Then, after Chanamel came to him and offered him to buy his field, he said, “now I know that this matter is from God.” This is as already has been explained on the verse, “do not make yourselves molten gods,” in Parshat Kedoshim. When Moshe Rabeynu saw this he was shocked, thinking that God related the instructions to them without his knowledge. Then God said to him (verse 5), “take it from them,” in order to tell him that it was done only of their own minds, but regardless, “take from them,” for their intention went according to the truth of My will. In this way God was saying, “it was My will that they should each volunteer one bull, and two wagons for each prince.”