14
votes
Accepted
In Bamidbar 4:3 they had to be 30 yrs old; in Bamidbar 8:24 they were 25 yrs old; why?
Chullin 24a (citing Sifrei Beha'alotekha 62) notes this contradiction in starting age and reconciles it by saying that Levites entered training at 25 and began to serve at 30. This restriction ...
- 56.4k
8
votes
Bamidbar Census does not add up
603,550 excludes the Levites:
Reuven: 46,500.
Shim’on: 59,300.
Gad: 45,650.
Yehuda: 74,600.
Yissachar: 54,400.
Zevulun: 57,400.
Efra’im: 40,500.
Menashe: 32,200.
Binyamin: 35,400.
Dan: 62,700.
Asher: ...
- 3,775
7
votes
Accepted
Who carried the kiyor?
There are multiple opinions
Ramban שמות לח/כא and Sefer Chassidim offer an opinion that בני קהת carried it
אבן עזרא(שמות לה/טז) & חזקוני (שמות ל/יח) say that it might have been either בני גרשון ...
- 2,064
6
votes
In Bamidbar 4:3 they had to be 30 yrs old; in Bamidbar 8:24 they were 25 yrs old; why?
The Ibn Ezra (8:24) reconciles these contradictory verses by proposing that the age of twenty five was appropriate only for the work of the tent (עבודת אוהל) whereas thirty was appropriate for ...
- 2,669
5
votes
In Bemidbar 2.14 , it says רעואל is the father of Eliasaph. Isn't the father of Eliasaph דעואל?
There are a number of possibilities as shown by Rabbi Buchwald. Rav Hirsch, besides citing the Ramban refers to his own commentary on Vayishlach 36:1 which explains the concept of multiple names for ...
- 42.9k
5
votes
Were the *meraglim* also the *nesi'im*?
I believe some commentators state they were Nesi'im. However, even if they weren't,1 I think there's a simple explanation as to why the Nesi'im did not go. In at least one case, we know that the Nasi ...
- 24.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Explain the anomaly in Bemidbar 2:20
The Netziv in Ha'amek Davar addresses this issue:
ועליו מטה מנשה – משונה הלשון כאן. ויש נפקא מינה במשמעות, ד״החונים
עליו״ משמע כקטן הנסמך על הגדול, וחנייתו ומילוי צרכיו תלויים בדעת מי
שגדול ...
- 14.3k
4
votes
Bamidbar Census does not add up
The easy answer is provided by Bamidbar 1:47-9, the Levites were excluded from the Tribal Count.
וְהַלְוִיִּ֖ם לְמַטֵּ֣ה אֲבֹתָ֑ם לֹ֥א הָתְפָּקְד֖וּ בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
The Levites, however, were not ...
- 5,020
4
votes
Accepted
What were the approximate ages of the heads of house(niseim) in parshat bamidbar. Above or below 60 years old
Elishama ben Amihud was Yehoshua's grandfather (Divrei Hayamim 1:7:26-27), and Yehoshua was 58 years old at the time(*). So at least one nasi was over 60.
(*) Yehoshua lived 110 years (Yehoshua 24:...
- 9,117
4
votes
Accepted
Census only those below 60
By the Meraglim, the decree was that "in this desert, your carcasses will fall, for all of your countings and all of your numbers, from the age of 20 and older..." (Bamidbar 14:29).
The Gemara (Bava ...
- 34.1k
3
votes
Why does the tribe of Gad have an unusual population count in Bamidbar 1?
See Shiras Dovid (to Bamidbar 26) by R. Aharon Dovid Goldberg. He also explains that the unusual Gad's counting in 1:25 came exactly to 50 because it was not possible to round it to a (1)00 since it ...
- 6,874
3
votes
Accepted
Tzelophechad's daughters and temeim of Pesach Sheini
Sifrei to Bamidbar (paragraph 133) addresses this point:
ראויה היתה פרשת נחלות שתאמר על ידי משה, אלא שזכו בנות צלפחד שנאמרה על ידן. לכך מגלגלים זכות על ידי זכאי וחובה על ידי חייב:
The ...
- 41.8k
2
votes
Unusually high ratio of Levites to Firstborn-Levites
I am unaware of any classical commentators who address this question. However, I know of 3 different approaches that have emerged in recent years:
Some cite the midrash about each birth in Mitzrayim ...
- 2,008
2
votes
Facing the Tent of Meeting from the tents of the people?
Rashi to Bamidbar 24:5 quotes this Gemara as follows. The Hebrew is the original, via Sefaria, and the English is the most literal translation I can muster that makes any sort of sense.
מה טבו ...
- 34.1k
1
vote
Accepted
Parashas Bamidbar: a preparation for Shavuos
There are several sources:
Rav Moshe Feinstein (as brought down in Tallelei Oros on Bamidbar) - Counting inspires self-worth.
Rav Moshe brings similar to your first point (that it connects to the ...
- 30.3k
1
vote
The purpose of the detailed counting of Benei Yisrael in the Torah
The repeating of the counts in Bamidbar chapter 2 is to reiterate the counts in the context of their arrangement as a camp around the mishkan.
It gives the whole event much festivity and pomp and ...
- 77
1
vote
Why mention "the wilderness" in the opening of Bamidbar?
The Ramban writes:
במדבר סיני בעבור שהפסיק במצות השמיטה והיובל, שהיו בהר סיני חזר ואמר כאן שהיה הדבור הזה באהל מועד, ככל המצוות אשר הזכיר מתחילת ספר ויקרא. וכן יהיו כלם מכאן ואילך: באהל מועד. כי מעת ...
- 30.3k
1
vote
Repetition in Bamidbar
A nice question, and one that sort of pops-out every time you read this Parasha...
First of all I'd like to point out that your question is inaccurate, there are several modifications in the sentence ...
- 1,279
1
vote
Why is Parsha Naso (and Bamidbor) all mixed up?
If I could, I'd rather phrase the question differently. To me, most of the beginning of Sefer Bamidbar is not intertwined: it is a detailed discussion of how Israel was arranged around the Mishkan. ...
- 3,090
1
vote
The encampment around the Tabernacle: What did it look like?
There is a dispute in the g'mara about what shape (viewed aerially) the people were in as they walked. One opinion says they were shaped like a "box" - i.e. rectangle*, and the prooftext is
...
- 23.7k
1
vote
Timing of the Princes' Appointment
You ask a great question, but are incorrect that no one addresses it...
The Torah tells us (Bamidbar 7:2, all translations from Alhatorah):
וַיַּקְרִ֙יבוּ֙ נְשִׂיאֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רָאשֵׁ֖י בֵּ֣ית ...
- 20.9k
1
vote
Why is it in the merit of flags that Klall Yisoel becomes worthy to be redeemed?
There can be many meanings to this Midrash. Here are a couple of suggestions that could use some nice development and make a very beautiful Devar Torah (in fact, I may do so myself!). (Please note ...
- 20.9k
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