A.
Our parasha begins: וידבר ד' אל משה לאמר: נשא את ראש בני גרשון גם הם לבית אבתם למשפחתם: (“And Ha-Shem spoke to Moshe to say: Raise up the head of the bënei Gershon as well [gam hém] to the house of their fathers to their families”).
This is, of course, the continuation of last week’s parasha, in which all of the tribes were counted, the last being the tribe of Lévi, and the Torah then began to differentiate between the various Levitical families and their functions during the desert sojourn and in the Mishkan. Thus, we read last week: נשא את ראש בני קהת מתוך בני לוי למשפחתם לבית אבתם (“Raise up the head of the bënei Qëhath from amongst the bënei Lévi to their families, to the house of their fathers”; IV, 2). The sharp-eyed reader with a living sense of the Hebrew language will already have noticed that v. 22 in our passage differs somewhat from what we read last week. In particular, the verse concerning the bënei Qëhath retains the word order to which we had grown accustomed with all of the other shëvatim, placing the word lë-mishpëhotham (“to their families”) before the phrase lë-véyth avotham (“to the house of their fathers”), whilst ours reverses that order. Why should this be? What does the different word order signify?
B.
If we turn back to last week’s parasha, we find the sons of Lévi listed in the order of their birth: Gershon, Qëhath, and Mërari (cf. e.g. III, 17 and see also Genesis XLVI, 11). Clearly Gershon was the bëchor, the first-born. yet the first of the sons whose families are considered is Qëhath; Gershon is considered second, in our parasha. Why?
The midrash considers the question, and answers that Qëhath is counted first because amongst his functions was to bear the aron ha-qodesh, which contained the Tablets and Moshe’s séfer Torah. It was this preeminence which gave Qëhath pride of place, first amongst his brothers, even if he was not the eldest, and we find an allusion to this in his very name, whose meaning may be discerned from Genesis XLIX, 10: ולו יקהת עמים, “and his will be the peoples’ obedience [yiqhath]”. it was the supreme measure of the bënei Qëhath’s devotion to Torah which brought them this singular honor and distinction, and placed them before their brothers, the descendants of Gershon, the bëchor.
The primacy of Torah over every other sort of honor, and specifically that of primogeniture, may be learnt from Avoth: שלשה כתרים הן כתר תורה כתר כהונה וכתר מלכות וגו' (“There are three crowns, the crown of Torah. the crown of këhunna, and the crown of kingship....”; פ"ד מי"ז), and a bit later on we find: ואל תתאוה לשלחנם של מלכים ששלחנך גדול משלחנם וכתרך גדול מכתרם כו' גדולה תורה יותר מן הכהונה ומן המלכות וגו' (“...and do not lust after the table of kings, for your table is greater than their table and your crown is greater than their crown.... Greater is Torah than the këhunna and than kingship....”; שם פ"ו ה"ה-ו'). Kingship usually, and këhunna certainly are things to which one is born, just like primogeniture; Torah is acquired through diligent effort, and is accessible to all who wish to learn it.
This level of yihus ‘atzmi, of personal achievement and status, is also suggested by our verse’s change in word order, lë-mishpëhotham, reflective of a closer and more personal relationship than the patriarchal lë-véyth avotham, seems appropriately emphasized by its precedence in the case of the bënei Qëhath, but when the spotlight shifts to the bënei Gershon, the word order is changed, and lë-veyth avotham brought forward to show the zëchuth avoth.
C.
However, the midrash continues, the bënei Qëhath’s gain was not the bënei Gershon’s loss: ומנין את למד שגרשון לא איבד מחלתו לפי שהי' בכור? שכן את מוצא כשם שאמור בקהת "נשא את ראש בני קהת" כך אמור בגרשון "נשא את ראש בני גרשון". ומהו שאמר הכתוב "גם הם" שלא תאמר שלכך מנה בני גרשון שניים שהם פחותים מבני קהת לאו אלא כתוב "גם הם" שאף בני גרשון כיוצא בהם של בני קהת אלא שהקדימו הכתוב כאן בשביל כבוד התורה אבל במקומות אחרים הקדים לגרשון תחלה לקהת (“And whence do you learn that Gershon did not lose his inheritance because he was a bëchor? For you find that just as it is said of Qëhath, ‘Raise up the head of the bënei Qëhath,’ so is it said of Gershon, ‘Raise up the head of the bënei Gershon.’ And why does the Scripture state, ‘gam hém’? That you should not say that the bënei Gershon were counted second because they were inferior to the bënei Qëhath; it is not so, but rather gam hém is written because the bënei Gershon, too, were the same as the bënei Qëhath, but the Scripture put [Qëhath] first here for the honor of the Torah, but in other places it puts Gershon before Qëhath”; שם, סוף סי' ב').
The Haqal Yitzhaq tells us in what Gershon excelled besides his having been born first: וגרשון הוא העניו ושפל רוח שהוא כגר הארץ (“And Gershon was the most humble and modest, for he was like a stranger [gér] in the Land....”, based on wordplay in his name; cf. how Moshe defines his son, Gershom’s name in Exodus II, 22). In consequence of his humility, the Rebbe continues, יש להוסיף שע"י מדריגת גרשון שהוא הענןה ושפלות רוח ע"כ אינו מדבר לה"ר על חבירו כי הוא יודע בעצמו שהוא גרוע הרבה מחבירו ואיך ידבר בקלון חבירו מוטב לו לדבר בקלון עצמו ואחז"ל במצורע אם נתגאה כארז ישפיל עצמו כתולעת וכאזוב ויתרפא וא"כ עי"ז ניצולים מהצרוע כו' וע"כ י"ל דמש"ה נאמר ג"ם ה"ם שהוא נוטריקון ג'רשון מ'בטל ה'טומאת מ'צורע וגו' (“One may add that through Gershon’s level of humility and modesty he would never speak lashon ha-ra‘ of his fellow, for he held himself to be far worse than his fellow, and how should he speak ill of his fellow? Better for him to speak ill of himself; and Hazal say, ‘If one has been arrogant as a cedar, let him humble himself like a worm and a hyssop [a vine which stretches across the ground] and be healed [cf. Rashi on Leviticus XIV, 4], and if so, by this means one is rescued from tzora‘ath... And therefore one may say that for this reason 'gam hém' is said, for it is an acronym for Gershon Mëvattél Ha-tum’ath Mëtzora‘ [‘Gershon annuls the tum’a of a mëtzora‘,’ the Hebrew words being made of the initials of the Hebrew phrase]....”).
If Qëhath represents zealous obedience to Torah, providing an example and role model of how to comport oneself to all of Israel Gershon represents that quintessential quality necessary to learn from such an example and internalize it, the quality of humility. Thus both were equally tzaddiqim, equally worthy of being raised up as examples to their brothers.
D.
The Shëlah ha-qadosh famously notes the relationship between the season and the parashoth read during it, as has been cited numerous times in these pages. As we are nearing the culmination of our count, and Shavu‘oth, the anniversary of Mattan Torah, is scant days away, the apparently paradoxical concepts of elevation or exaltation through Torah, coupled with the humility which enables one to learn much Torah both seem appropriate.
The first Gerer Rebbe, the Hiddushei ha-Ri”m, notes that Naso’ is the longest single parasha in the Torah, comprising 176 verses in toto. He finds in this fact an allusion to what can happen when one humbly resolves to dedicate oneself wholeheartedly to Torah study, the result is a harvest of Torah beyond one’s wildest dreams, the gift of inordinate amounts of learning beyond “natural” human capacity to absorb and internalize.
Let us all resolve to renew and redouble our commitment to the mitzvoth of talmud Torah, and shëmirath mitzvotheha, that we may experience what the Rebbe confidently predicts lies in store for us.
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