The Levi Warrior

The first thought is So, there were many pesukim that came up in today's daf that dealt with the avodah of the Leviim and the avodah of the Kohanim. The first pasuk that was mentioned was "Zois Asher LaLeviim." "MiBen Chamesh v'Esrim Shanah v'Amaylah" "Yavo Litzvo Tzava" "BaAvodas Ohel Moed." So, when the Levi turns 25 years old, at that point he is going to be of an age where he's going to be able to go and do the avodah in uh the Mishkan. The lashon that the pasuk uses when it describes the Levi doing the avodah in the Mishkan is when he's 25 years old, "Yavo." Now, he can enter "Litzvo Tzava" "BaAvodas Ohel Moed." That's what he's allowed to do. In Parshas Naso right in the beginning of the parsha "Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe Leimor" "Naso es Rosh Bnei Gershon Gam Heim L'Veis Avosam L'Mishp'chosam." Third pasuk in this week's parsha of this week's very long parsha "MiBen Shloshim Shanah v'Amaylah" "Ad Ben Chamishim Shanah Yifk'du Eisam" "Kol HaBa" "Litzvo Tzava" "LaAvod" "Avodas Ohel Moed." This is the pasuk that describes the Levi having to be 30 years old when he's coming to do the avodah. And again, the Torah describes him doing the avodah as "Litzvo Tzava." Right? That's what he's coming to do. If you go back to Parshas Bamidbar here the Torah is talking about the Bnei Kehas "MiBen Shloshim Shanah v'Amaylah v'Ad Ben Chamishim Shanah Kol HaBa" "Latzvo LaAsos Melachah BaOhel Moed." You know what? Whenever we describe the avodah of the Levi in the Beis Hamikdash and the Mishkan and the either in the Midbar we describe them as being "BaLatzvo." We describe them as being "Litzvo Tzava." The truth is, right in the beginning of Parshas Bamidbar right in the beginning of the parsha "Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe B'Midbar Sinai B'Ohel Moed" "S'u es Rosh Kol Edas Bnei Yisrael L'Mishp'chosam L'Veis Avosam" "B'Mispar Shemos Kol Zachar L'Gul'gol'sam" >> Right in the beginning of the parsha tells my to go count the Jews, right? Count them from what age? From the age of 20. Why 20? Cuz that's the age that a person is able to be a What does it mean to be So Rashi says, you see from this my age and but that a person didn't go literally but right into the military until he was 20 years old. And the age of when a person was counted as it related to the beginning of was when the person was of age that he was able to go and being that it's for that reason nobody was counted younger than the age of 20. Truth is if you look at the it is right in the beginning of the whole purpose of counting the Jews in the beginning of was to figure out how many people they were going to have enlisted so they going to know when they go fight now they're entering the land they have to figure out exactly how to militarily and strategically put everybody and station everybody. So really the whole objective of that counting was to know who the are. They are more than that. There's a big discussion in the What about somebody who was between the age of 20 and 60 but whatever reason he wasn't going to be included in the draft is he somebody that was counted or is he not counted? Are we literally counting everyone between these ages or no maybe we're only counting PEOPLE THAT ARE THAT'S WHAT the whole purpose is. But here's the bottom line the of WHEN IT CAME TO COUNTING THE chain so what does it mean? when we talk about the word of the Levite? Me and the son of a lion of a commission son of a cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer me and the son of a lion of a commission son of a commission son of a cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer this week's days passing so it's a shallow Levite me and the commission son of a lion of a commission son of a commission son of a cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer. What is cobra in the whole diamond means literally the draft. It means to join the military. It means to enlist. It's not what it means by the Levite, right? Now, he knows what it means by the Levite. First of all, everybody knows Levite were like a cobra cobra. So, we know for sure that's not what it means by the Levite. Additionally, read the passage cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer. That's what it what exactly is going on over here? I saw in the homage from Shamshul Fall Hirsch. Thank you, Yossi. In the beginning of Parshas Bamidbar. So, I'm reading it in English. So, for those that know, Hirsch wrote his homage in German. So, even the Hebrew was not written in his mama lotion. It's just a translation of the German. So, you can read the Hebrew translation of the German or the English translation of the German. We're going to read the English translation of the German. If there's someone who knows how to read the authentic German, other have a but above my pay grade. Either way, says Hirsch right in the beginning of Bamidbar. The passage [snorts] says cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer. The term cobra in scripture does not necessarily or even primarily denote an army or military service. Consider cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer or cobra cobra glasses of a lawyer lawyer. And elsewhere in chapter 4 where it says cobra denotes the service of the Levite in the oil lawyer. The same is true in chapter 8 verses 24 and 25. Those are the ones that talk about the Levite doing the lawyer. when they're 25 years old. From all these sources, it is clear that denotes a multitude united for communal service under the command of a higher authority or the service that is performed by such a multitude. So, it says that I'm just going to the and I'm doing what I do and I see that people mis translate the word . We usually think as meaning military. That's what it means. Cuz look by the Levite, by the Levite it can't mean military. And I feel you find this over and over and over again that the and if that's the case, I think we have a misunderstanding of what the word means. It means you have a group of people that united, they have a commander, right? Attention, right? The whole set up with the whistle and all. So, THAT IS WHAT MEANS. SO, IT COULD BE IN the context of a military, it could be a group of people that are united FOR SOMETHING ELSE. LIKE IN THE CASE of the Levite, they're doing the in the but the word does not inherently mean military and my right is from these that we just spoke about. But I think there's a lot of stuff to what it really refers is . And that is the says in by by the of Benjamin the of the morning he ate the lamb and in the evening he ate the lamb. Benjamin was compared to a wolf. He says the of the morning he ate the lamb. In the morning he eats his prey and in the evening he ate the lamb. And in the evening he divides the spoils of his [snorts] hard day's work. If you take a look at Onkelos, the Onkelos says Benjamin the 10th of the month and the 15th of the month Benjamin is going to be the host of the Beit Hamikdash as you know. But in the morning he brings the sacrifices in the morning and the evening the Kohanim are going to bring carbonos. And then when it comes night they're going to take all the halakim of the Beis Hamikdash and all the things and they're going to go ahead and they're going to divide it. >> [snorts] >> That you see from the Targum Onkelos who's taiching the pshuta shmikra of the words Binyamin that together of this fight that Binyamin is going to have and the shul that they're going to divide is referring to the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash and all the kashin that got divided amongst the Kohanim. And said Rav Shmuel Yankev that the Biur Halacha is based on something that the Netziv wrote in his Ha'amek Davar in Parshas Mini where the Netziv said that what's the lashon of korban? I quote. Cuz when the Kohanim and the Leviim were in the Beis Hamikdash and they were doing the avodah they were fighting a war a war against the klipos a war against the stutzachim and the hecher oilam os but the avodah of the Beis Hamikdash is biged milchama. Rav Shmuel Yankev still too that the pasuk says in Devarim perek chof isha Hashem venachalasa So you want to know what Levi is going to have the nachala k'ilu k'ilu so what they're going to have is the isha Hashem venachalasa. Rashi says what does it mean that lo yihyeh l'Kohanim Halviim kol shevet Levi chelek chelek venachala chelek kainu b'bizos of the Leviim Rashi. What are they going to get? They're going to get isha Hashem. Him kodesh Hamikdash because the bizos of the Kohanim is the kodesh Hamikdash. There were always spoils of war. The get there of all the kashin that was divided amongst Shimon and Levi, amongst the Kohanim was it was the spoils of war. Binyamin avi etrog, baboycha yoichal ad, v'lo erev yechalek shalal. The shalal is the kodeshim. It's the spoils of war. When the Kohanim did the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash, when the Levi did the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash, what he was doing was he was fighting a war. HE WAS FIGHTING a war against the klipus. That's exactly what was going on. And really the avodah of Shimon and Levi is also litzba itzva. It's also on some level he's enlisted. He's also been drafted. He's fighting a war. He's wearing a different uniform and it's happening in a different way. But the truth is elu v'elu. THEY'RE BOTH OUT THERE FIGHTING WARS. THERE WERE yidden that were fighting wars miben esrim and there were yidden that were fighting wars miben shloshim. Um mishiyo vi beis siris as it relates to the Kohanim. But at the end of the day it's called tzava. Rashi said, "OH, I SEE TZAVA FROM HERE. TZAVA MUST MEAN SOMETHING ELSE." IT COULD be there's another inyan over here because really the avodah of Shimon and Levi is avodah of milchama. And that's why it very much passes to have this word of litzba itzva just like you find it right in the beginning of just like you find it right in the beginning of parshas bamidbar. That's the first thought.