Service of the Levites/0

Service of the Levites

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Chosen for Service

When was the Tribe of Levi designated to assume their special responsibilities and why did they merit them? The command to consecrate Aharon and his sons appears in the midst of the directives regarding the construction of the Tabernacle in Shemot 28, while the Levites are first consecrated in Bemidbar 8.  Does this suggest that the two groups were selected separately and for different reasons?  See Selection of the Priests and Levites for details.

• Before the Exodus– Accoridng to Jubilees  the tribe of Levi was elevated as a reward for Levi's avenging of Dinah in Shechem
• Before the Sin of the Golden Claf
• After the Sin of the Golden Calf

Age of Service

While Bemidbar 4 sets 30-50 as the age of Levite service, Bemidbar 8 instead sets 25 as the lower age limit. How can this contradiction be understood? How do both verses work with the fact that in the era of David (Divrei HaYamim I 23:24-28), Chizkiyahu (Divrei HaYamim II 31:17) and Ezra (Ezra 3:8-11), it appears that the Levites began working already at the age of twenty? For discussion, see Ages of Levite Workers.

• Different Levels of Obligation
• Different Tasks

Types of Work

The following is a list of the various functions carried out by the Levites in the Tabernacle and Mikdash:

Transport and Assembly

Bemidbar 1:50, Bemidbar 3:21-38 and Bemidbar 4 describe how the Levites were tasked with transporting the Tabernacle. Kehat carried the various vessels, Gershon took the curtains, and Merari was in charge of the boards. The Levites were further responsible for the dismantling and erecting of the Mishkan throughout the travels in the Wilderness (see Bemidbar 1:51 and Bemidbar 10:17-21).

• Who carried the ark?  Though Bemidbar 3-4¹ suggest that it was the Levites' job to carry the ark, other verses² imply that perhaps this was a task reserved for the priests. Yet other verses³ are ambiguous, mentioning both the priests and Levites. How can the differing portraits be reconciled? Whose job was it to carry the ark?
• Levites – According to Sotah, the Levites normally were in charge of carrying the ark, but there were a few special occasions (crossing the Jordan, conquering Yericho and placing the ark in the Mikdash) when the priests were given the honor in their stead.
• Priests – Rambam, in contrast, suggests that really the task of transporting the ark was reserved for the priests.  It was only in the wilderness period, due to the small number of priests,⁴ that Levites were allowed to carry it.
• Both allowed – Ramban points out that since the task of carrying the ark was given to the family of Kehat, of whom the priests are a part,  the priests, too, are allowed .

• Transport and assembly – Bemidbar 1:50, Bemidbar 3:21-38 and Bemidbar 4 describe how it was the task of the Levites to carry the Tabernacle and its vessels. Kehat carried the various vessels, Gershon transported the curtains, and Merari was in charge of the boards. The Levites were further responsible for the dismantling and erecting of the Mishkan throughout the travels in the Wilderness (see Bemidbar 1:51 and Bemidbar 10:17-21).
• Who carried the ark?  Though Bemidbar 3-4⁵ imply that it was the Levites job to carry the ark, other verses⁶ imply that perhaps this was a task reserved for the priests. Yet other verses⁷ are ambiguous, mentioning both the priests and Levites. How can the differing portraits be reconciled? Whose job was it to carry the ark?
• Levites – According to Sotah, the Levites normally were in charge of carrying the ark, but there were a few special occasions (crossing the Jordan, conquering Yericho and placing the ark in the Mikdash) when the priests were given the honor in their stead.
• Priests – Rambam, in contrast, suggests that really the task of transporting the ark was reserved for the priests.  It was only in the wilderness period, due to the small number of priests,⁸ that Levites were allowed to carry it.
• Both allowed – Ramban points out that since the task of carrying the ark was given to the family of Kehat, of whom the priests are a part,  the priests, too, are allowed .

• How did the ark travel?
• Guard duty – Bemidbar 1:53, 3:7-8, 8:26, and 18:1-5 all speak of guarding the Tabernacle. See also the many verses⁹ which speak of the Levites serving as gate-keepers of the Mikdash.¹⁰
• Song – Though no verses in Torah explicitly mention that the Levites were supposed to function as singers or musicians,¹¹ verses throughout Divrei HaYamim attest to this role.¹²
• Preperation of Incnse, Bread erc
• Purification
• Teachers of Torah and arbiters of law

 

• Service of the Mishkan / Priests - Bemidbar 1:50 speaks of the Levites serving the Tabernacle, while 3:6 and 18:1-3 speak of them serving Aharon.¹³ What is included in this "service"?
• General service - R. HirschBemidbar 1:50About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that the service of the Tabernacle spoken of in Bemidbar 1 is explained by the surrounding verses and refers to the Tabernacle's transportation and assembly.  NetzivBemidbar 1:50About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin suggests that it might refer to repairs as well.
• Guard duty – RashiBemidbar 3:6Bemidbar 18:2About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R. Yosef KaraBemidbar 3:6About R. Yosef Kara, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBemidbar 3:6About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RalbagBemidbar 3:6Bemidbar 18:2-3About R. Levi b. Gershom, all explain that the service refers to assisting to guard the Tabernacle (and later Mikdash), lest a foreigner come close.  This is supported by the context as each of the verses mentioning "שרות" is followed by a variation of the command "וְשָׁמְרוּ אֶת מִשְׁמַרְתּוֹ".
• Song – MalbimBemidbar 3:6Bemidbar 18:2About R. Meir Leibush Weiser, following R. Yehuda in Bavli ArakhinArakhin 11aAbout the Bavli, understands "service" to refer to singing during the sacrificial service. According to him, the verse is referring to a service that is unique to the Levites, hence singing. This understanding of "service" might be supported by Divrei HaYamim I 6:16-17 which mentions that the Levites "מְשָׁרְתִים לִפְנֵי מִשְׁכַּן אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בַּשִּׁיר".
• Assist in sacrificial service – R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBemidbar 3:6About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor posits that the service might also include helping the priests with the sacrificial service: slaughtering and skinning, jobs which were allowed to non-priests.¹⁴

Supervisors

Was Elazar or Itamar assigned to supervise the Levites?

¹ See also Devarim 31:25 and Divrei HaYamim II 35:3.

² See, for example, Devarim 31:9, Yehoshua 3-4 and Melakhim I 8:1-6.

³ See Yehoshua 8:33, Shemuel II 15:24 and Divrei HaYaamim I 15.

⁴ As there were only three priests in the Wilderness period and the ark required four people to carry it, it was impossible for them to assume to carry out the job.

⁵ See also Devarim 31:25 and Divrei HaYamim II 35:3.

⁶ See, for example, Devarim 31:9, Yehoshua 3-4 and Melakhim I 8:1-6.

⁷ See Yehoshua 8:33, Shemuel II 15:24 and Divrei HaYaamim I 15.

⁸ As there were only three priests in the Wilderness period and the ark required four people to carry it, it was impossible for them to assume to carry out the job.

⁹ See, for instance, Ezra 2:42, 7:7 and Ezra 10:2, Nechemyah 7:45, Divrei HaYamim I 9:17-26 and Divrei HaYamim II 23:19 and 34:13.

¹⁰ RambanBemidbar 1:53About R. Moshe b. Nachman points to Bemidbar 1:53 as the source for the obligation that the Levites guard the Mikdash as well, pointing to Divrei HaYamim I 24:19 which attests that David's division of the Levites into groupings of guards was instituted already by Aharon.

¹¹ Various verses have been proposed as the source for the Levite's obligation to sing during the sacrificial service. See the discussion in Bavli ArakhinArakhin 11aAbout the Bavli

¹² See, for example, Divrei HaYamim I 6:16-17, 9:33, 23:5, 30, and Divrei HaYamim II 29:25-2.

¹³ Bemidbar 8:26 also uses the verb "שרת" but this verse is speaking of the older Levites serving (with) the other Levites in the Tabernacle, in contrast to "working" in the Tabernacle.

¹⁴ As evidence he points to Divrei HaYamim II 30:17 and Divrei HaYamim II 29:34, where the Levites assist the priests in sacrificing and skinning the Pesach sacrifice. See also the commentary attributed to RashiDivrei HaYamim I 23:31About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki who understands Divrei HaYamim I 23:31 to refer to work done by the Levites relating to the sacrificial service (bringing of the animals and skinning them).