The middle of our Parshah is taken up with the exchange of the firstborn with the Levites. The Firstborn, whom G-d acquired title to when He saved them from the death of their Egyptian contemporaries, lose the duty of serving in the Tabernacle and their place is taken by the Levites. According to Jewish tradition, this was a consequence of the sin of the Golden Calf, in which the Firstborn participated, while the Levites stood aloof. One can, however, see in these two groups, two models of religious and communal leadership, each of which has its positive and negative points. The priesthood of the Firstborn is leadership from within the community. All families with firstborn sons provide them to the tabernacle to serve G-d and instruct the people. In turn, not all their children are firstborn, so they return to their family origins. There is thus a continual bond between the Priesthood and society, and movement between them. This while making the religious leadership more responsive to society also opens it up to corruption by it, as seen in the participation by the Firstborn in worshipping the Golden Calf. Indeed, this was the system of the Catholic priesthood in the middle ages which led to widespread corruption, becoming a major spur for the Reformation. The appointment of a whole tribe as priests, as in the case of the Levites, avoids some of these shortfalls. They are in many ways separate from society, and as such can be the guardians of its morals and values. They can stand aloof from passing fashions, such as the Golden Calf. Yet this system, of leadership distinct from the general community, has its own shortcomings. It can lead to snobbery and class distinction, causing a rift between the society and its religious leadership, which in itself can lead to abuses. This is indeed what happened to the Priesthood at the end of the Second Temple period. Yet the Torah provides a correction to this problem by having both types of leadership. The Levites, distinct from society, are ritual leaders, serving in the Temple. The Judges, and later Rabbis, are the educational leadership, stemming from society. It is they, whose position is based on merit, not inheritance, that eventually became the true guardians of Torah and spiritual leaders of the Jewish people.
ALIYAH BY ALIYAH SYNOPSIS
Rishon |
The command to number the Children of Israel |
Sheni |
The census. |
|
Shelishi |
The division of the people into four standards. |
|
Revi’i |
The Levites and their duties. |
|
Chamishi |
The census of the Levites |
|
Shishi |
The exchanging of the Firstborn for the Levites. |
|
Shevi’i |
The duties of the Kohathites. |
|
Haftorah |
Hosea 2;1–22: Israel should leave false gods and return to G-d. |
Sidra Statistics
Parshat Bamidbar
· has 119 verses;
· is the 1st in Numbers, 34th in the Torah
· 5th longest in Numbers, 19th longest in the Torah
· has no mitzvot.
