Chapter 23 opens a new stage in the book: King David reaches old age, and before his passing he attends to the final preparations for the Beit HaMikdash. After crowning his son Solomon, he establishes the watches of the Kohanim and the Levites, charges Solomon, and is then gathered to his people. Our chapter focuses on the watches of the Levites: their division into ancestral houses, their numbers, their ages, and their duties in the service of the House of Hashem.
וְדָוִיד זָקֵן וְשָׂבַע יָמִים וַיַּמְלֵךְ אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - "And David was old and sated with days, and he made his son Solomon king over Israel."
King David is already seventy years old, sated with days, and we are near the end of his life. The text describes what David did at this stage: he crowned Solomon, prepared to go the way of all the earth, and arranged the watches of the Kohanim and the Levites - this too being part of the preparation for the Beit HaMikdash.
וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת־כׇּל־שָׂרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהַכֹּהֲנִים וְהַלְוִיִּם׃ וַיִּסָּפְרוּ הַלְוִיִּם מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה וַיְהִי מִסְפָּרָם לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם לִגְבָרִים שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁמוֹנָה אָלֶף׃ - "And he gathered all the leaders of Israel, with the Kohanim and the Levites. And the Levites were counted from thirty years old and upward; and their number by head, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand."
David gathers all the leaders of Israel, the Kohanim, and the Levites in order to organize the watches - who will serve in the Beit HaMikdash. Therefore, he counts the Levites from thirty years old and above, which is the age when they begin their service, and their number reaches thirty-eight thousand men. Even though it says here, "their number by head," it does not mean that he counted them by actual heads, but rather by means of a coin, just as Moses counted the people.
מֵאֵלֶּה לְנַצֵּחַ עַל־מְלֶאכֶת בֵּית־יְהֹוָה עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה אָלֶף וְשֹׁטְרִים וְשֹׁפְטִים שֵׁשֶׁת אֲלָפִים׃ - "Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the House of Hashem, and six thousand were officers and judges."
From among the Levites, David appointed men to "oversee [lenatzei'ach] the work of the House of Hashem," meaning those responsible for the work at the altar. The Metzudat David explains that the craft of song itself is called nitzu'ach - as in la-menatzei'ach in the Psalms, and just as the conductor of an orchestra is called a menatzei'ach. The reason for the term is fascinating: it is the nature of vocalists to triumph [lenatzei'ach] over one another by raising their voice and carrying the melody. When several sing together, each seeks to elevate his voice and overpower the voices of his peers, and because of this, the craft is called nitzu'ach. "Officers" (shotrim) are the enforcers who compel compliance with the judges' rulings: the judge rules, and the officer carries it out.
וְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים שֹׁעֲרִים וְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים מְהַלְלִים לַיהֹוָה בַּכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי לְהַלֵּל׃ - "And four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand offered praise to Hashem with the instruments which I made for praising."
The Malbim notes that all these verses - starting from "Of these, to oversee the work of the House of Hashem" - are the words of David himself, and the proof is from this verse: "with the instruments which I made for praising" - David speaks in the first person about the instruments he crafted. According to this, the breakdown is clarified: twenty-four thousand were vocal singers, four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand offered praise with musical instruments. From here onward, David will command how they are to be divided for their work.
וַיֶּחָלְקֵם דָּוִיד מַחְלְקוֹת לִבְנֵי לֵוִי לְגֵרְשׁוֹן קְהָת וּמְרָרִי׃ לַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי לַעְדָּן וְשִׁמְעִי׃ - David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kehat, and Merari. Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
"Vayechalkem" - Malbim notes that this is synonymous with vayachlekem (he divided them), except that the conjugation here is in an intensive form. And machlakot means divisions. David divided the Levites according to the three patriarchal families: Gershon, Kehat, and Merari. Here we return to the recurring challenge throughout the Book of Divrei HaYamim regarding names: the need to harmonize the names listed here with names elsewhere, to discern which names are actually the same person with a slight variation, and how someone can appear here as a son and elsewhere as a brother. For anyone who might have forgotten the first ten chapters of the book, we are back to that very subject. "Ladan" is Libni, who is mentioned in the Torah as the son of Gershon, and Gershon had sons named Ladan and Shimei.
בְּנֵי לַעְדָּן הָרֹאשׁ יְחִיאֵל וְזֵתָם וְיוֹאֵל שְׁלֹשָׁה׃ - The sons of Ladan: the chief was Yechiel, and Zetham and Yoel, three.
How should the verse be read? "The sons of Ladan the chief" - and then "Yechiel, Zetham, and Yoel, three"; or "The sons of Ladan" - and then "the chief, Yechiel"? Who is "the chief," Ladan or Yechiel? Radak explains that the word "the chief" (ha-rosh) is indeterminate, applying both to what precedes it and what follows it. This fits beautifully: Libni, who is Ladan, was the firstborn of Gershon, and Yechiel was also the firstborn of Ladan - so both are called "the chief."
Another difficulty: elsewhere we find that Zetham and Yoel are the sons of Yechiel, meaning they are grandsons of Ladan, whereas here it appears that all three - Yechiel, Zetham, and Yoel - are sons of Ladan. Do not be surprised, says Radak, offering an answer we have seen many times: Scripture often lists grandsons alongside sons, as occurs frequently throughout the book. Thus, Ladan's direct son was Yechiel, while Zetham and Yoel were Yechiel's sons. Another possibility, also a familiar principle: there is no contradiction at all and both statements are true - Ladan indeed had sons named Yechiel, Zetham, and Yoel, and Yechiel also had sons named Zetham and Yoel, having named his children after his brothers. A third possibility: a conjunctive vav is omitted, as if it said "the sons of Yechiel, and Zetham and Yoel his brothers" - meaning that Zetham and Yoel were Yechiel's brothers, not his sons.
בְּנֵי שִׁמְעִי שְׁלֹמִית וַחֲזִיאֵל וְהָרָן שְׁלֹשָׁה אֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לְלַעְדָּן׃ - The sons of Shimei: Shelomit, Chaziel, and Haran, three; these were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan.
First, we learn that the name "Shelomit" here is a masculine name - Shimei had three sons, and Shelomit was one of them. In the Torah we find "Shelomit the daughter of Dibri" as a woman's name, whereas here it is the name of a man. There are names used for both, for a man and for a woman - such as the name "Yonah," which among Ashkenazim is a male name, while among Yemenites and Sephardim it is a female name. Radak notes precisely that this is not Shimei son of Gershon, but rather a descendant of Ladan whose name was Shimei, and his sons were heads of the ancestral houses of Ladan.
וּבְנֵי שִׁמְעִי יַחַת זִינָא וִיעוּשׁ וּבְרִיעָה אֵלֶּה בְנֵי־שִׁמְעִי אַרְבָּעָה׃ - And the sons of Shimei: Yachat, Zina, Ye'ush, and Beriah; these four were the sons of Shimei.
Here, Radak explains, the verse refers to Shimei the son of Gershon, unlike the previous verse where Shimei was of the descendants of Ladan. Radak explains that the Ladan mentioned from verse 7 through verse 9 is the Libni mentioned in the Torah, whom we saw earlier in the book; according to this, Yechiel, Zetham, and Yoel mentioned here correspond to Yachat, Zina, and Yoach found elsewhere - and the names are indeed similar to one another. However, Malbim writes that this is entirely mistaken, because earlier Scripture traces the genealogy from father to son, as proven there. The crux of the matter is that Ladan is not Libni at all, but rather one of the sons of Libni, from whom a distinct ancestral house began. And the Shimei in verse 9 is Shimei the son of Yachat, the son of Libni. According to this, one can understand how two ancestral houses branched off from Libni: Ladan son of Libni, whose son was Yechiel, and Zetham and Yoel were the sons of Yechiel. Malbim adds that according to the sequence of events, it appears that Yechiel and Zetham lived several generations after Libni.
וַיְהִי־יַחַת הָרֹאשׁ וְזִיזָה הַשֵּׁנִי וִיעוּשׁ וּבְרִיעָה לֹא־הִרְבּוּ בָנִים וַיִּהְיוּ לְבֵית אָב לִפְקֻדָּה אֶחָת׃ - Yachat was the chief, and Zizah the second, but Ye'ush and Beriah did not have many sons; so they became a single ancestral house for one census.
Yachat was the first ancestral house among the sons of Shimei. "Zizah" is the same person as "Zina" mentioned earlier - he had two names. Ye'ush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore, as Metzudat David explains, they were combined into one group and one ancestral house, with a single head over both of them. Pekudah denotes appointment and oversight, referring to the officer appointed over them. From here, Malbim deduces that there were nine ancestral houses from Gershon, and he rejects the view that they did not merge into a single ancestral house until the days of Ezra: for Scripture is speaking here of the days of David, implying that they already formed a single ancestral house then.
בְּנֵי קְהָת עַמְרָם יִצְהָר חֶבְרוֹן וְעֻזִּיאֵל אַרְבָּעָה׃ - The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
בְּנֵי עַמְרָם אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה וַיִּבָּדֵל אַהֲרֹן לְהַקְדִּישׁוֹ קֹדֶשׁ קׇדָשִׁים הוּא־וּבָנָיו עַד־עוֹלָם לְהַקְטִיר לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בִּשְׁמוֹ עַד־עוֹלָם׃ - The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before Hashem, to minister to Him, and to bless in His Name forever.
The sons of Kohath appear here by their names in the Torah. Aaron was set apart, for the priesthood begins with him - to burn incense before Hashem, to minister to Him, and to bless in His Name forever. "To bless in His Name forever" refers to the Priestly Blessing, which is eternal, as even today Kohanim fulfill the positive commandment to bless His people Israel with love.
An interesting anecdote is told regarding this verse. The Malbim was accustomed to delivering a shiur on the weekly Torah portion every Friday night, and the public would arrive in droves to hear his marvelous explanations of the flow of the parashah. Even laymen who leaned toward the Maskilim greatly enjoyed his novel insights and would attend the shiur; although the Malbim himself was one of the foremost fighters against the Haskalah movement, one could not ignore his brilliance, the depth of his understanding of the peshat, and his precise definitions of words throughout Tanach.
One Shabbat, in Parashat Tetzaveh, the Malbim concluded his shiur with the verse, "it is most holy to Hashem." He cited Rashi's commentary that this refers to the altar, and added that it could be interpreted differently: "And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns... it is most holy to Hashem" - referring to Aaron the Kohen who effects atonement, rather than the altar. This explains why Aaron specifically was chosen for this sacred service: since Aaron is most holy to Hashem and his sanctity is exceedingly high, he possesses the power to perform this service, to effect atonement and purify the altar.
When the Maskilim heard this interpretation, they began to mock: How could he offer a peshat contrary to Rashi, and especially when this reading seems completely untenable - could the Torah possibly refer to a flesh-and-blood human being as "most holy"? Such phrasing belongs only to the Holy One, Blessed is He, Himself! They found ample ground to scoff at the Torah sages. One of the Malbim's confidants told him of their mockery and asked: Could it be that the grammatical nuance was overlooked, and perhaps the Rav erred in his interpretation? The Malbim remained unfazed and dismissed their words: "Why should I care about their mockery?" The confidant said: "Yet there is a substantive argument here." The Malbim answered: "If anyone harbors doubts about my words, I will repeat them next week at the beginning of the shiur."
The following Shabbat, the synagogue was packed to capacity. Everyone came to see how the Malbim would retract the strange interpretation he had given, or what mental gymnastics he would perform to reconcile it. The Malbim opened and said: "Before I begin Parashat Ki Tisa, I want to review the final verse of Parashat Tetzaveh" - and he repeated the exact same explanation word for word, that "it is most holy to Hashem" can be interpreted as referring to Aaron, and that is why he was chosen for the service. As if to say: laugh and mock as you will, what I told you is the true interpretation. The congregation was astonished that the Rav did not correct his words, and the next day they came to ask. He told them: "These words are no mistake, and they have explicit backing in Divrei HaYamim - 'The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever.' Behold, it is stated here explicitly that Aaron is 'most holy'!" They asked him: "Why then did the Rav not cite this verse in the shiur, thereby blunting the teeth of those Maskilim?" He answered: "'Do not answer a fool according to his folly.' Therefore, I saw fit to repeat the explanation alone, without bringing the proofs."
Some time later, that confidant moved to Eretz Yisrael, visited the Maharil Diskin, and related the entire episode to him. The Maharil Diskin immediately said to him: "And did it even cross your mind that the Malbim, Heaven forbid, could be mistaken?" It was so obvious to him that if the Malbim offered an explanation, it was surely built upon solid foundations and firm evidence, and there was no mistake here. Through this, we also glimpse the greatness of the Malbim: Any other person, upon hearing mockery and clicking tongues, would have rushed to present his proofs, blunt their teeth, and expose their ignorance. Yet the Malbim not only declined to engage with their remarks initially, but even when repeating his words, he repeated them precisely without bringing any proof. What about the humiliation and the embarrassment? The Malbim made no such calculations. His sole aspiration was to fulfill the will of Hashem; and since he held that Hashem's will in this case was "Do not answer a fool according to his folly," even though he could have gained honor, made a grand impression, and won the debate, he did not respond. How praiseworthy such a heart is, and what a wonder.
וּמֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים בָּנָיו יִקָּרְאוּ עַל־שֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי׃ - And as for Moses the man of God, his sons are counted with the tribe of Levi.
The verse comes to tell you: do not consider the sons of Moses as Kohanim. Only the sons of Aaron are designated and set apart for the priesthood, and not all descendants of Amram - rather, solely those who descend from Aaron. The sons of Moses remain Levites, and are reckoned with the tribe of Levi. It is very likely that the novelty lies precisely in the fact that Moses himself served in the High Priesthood during the Days of Inauguration (the Milu'im), and one might have thought that even if the priesthood did not continue with him, perhaps his sons would become Kohanim. The verse comes to dispel this notion: even though he served briefly as Kohen Gadol, and even though it is taught that he was originally worthy of the High Priesthood and lost it because he hesitated to go at Hashem's bidding for seven days, do not think he lost it only for himself and not for his sons. The text teaches us that his sons after him will forever remain Levites and not Kohanim.
בְּנֵי מֹשֶׁה גֵּרְשׁוֹם וֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר׃ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹם שְׁבוּאֵל הָרֹאשׁ׃ - The sons of Moshe were Gershom and Eliezer. Of the sons of Gershom, Shevuel was the chief.
The sons of Moshe were Gershom and Eliezer, as recorded in the Torah, and the son of Gershom was Shevuel. Regarding him, the Sages teach that he was initially an idolatrous priest - people hired a descendant of Moshe to supervise the idolatry of Michah, and the Gemara explains that he simply lusting after money. Later, King David sought to reform him, redirecting his financial appetite by appointing him over the royal treasuries. Subsequently, King Shlomo discerned an unreliability in him, did not trust him, and dismissed him, whereupon he reverted to his corrupt ways.
וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי־אֱלִיעֶזֶר רְחַבְיָה הָרֹאשׁ וְלֹא־הָיָה לֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר בָּנִים אֲחֵרִים וּבְנֵי רְחַבְיָה רָבוּ לְמָעְלָה׃ - The sons of Eliezer were Rechavyah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rechavyah multiplied exceedingly.
The Malbim notes: Later, in chapter 26, the verse states, "To Eliezer: Rechavyahu his son, Yeshayahu his son," which could lead one to mistakenly assume that Yeshayahu was also Eliezer's son - so how could our verse state that he had no other sons? The answer is that Rechavyah was Eliezer's son, and Yeshayahu was Rechavyah's son; Eliezer truly had no other sons of his own.
"And the sons of Rechavyah multiplied exceedingly (ravu lema'alah)" - Metzudat David explains this as a term of numerical increase, meaning they multiplied greatly. The Malbim, however, explains it as an expression of greatness and prominence, related to the word ravuta, meaning they rose to high stature. For later on we see that Shelomit was of the descendants of Rechavyah, and he and his brethren were appointed over all the treasuries of the consecrated items dedicated to the Beit HaMikdash - vast caches and enormous wealth, which are entrusted only to men of immense stature and never to lowly individuals. This is the meaning of "ravu lema'alah": they attained great authority, highly distinguished positions, and exceptional virtue.
בְּנֵי יִצְהָר שְׁלֹמִית הָרֹאשׁ׃ בְּנֵי חֶבְרוֹן יְרִיָּהוּ הָרֹאשׁ אֲמַרְיָה הַשֵּׁנִי יַחֲזִיאֵל הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וִיקַמְעָם הָרְבִיעִי׃ בְּנֵי עֻזִּיאֵל מִיכָה הָרֹאשׁ וְיִשִּׁיָּה הַשֵּׁנִי׃ - Of the sons of Yitzhar, Shelomit was the chief. The sons of Chevron: Yeriyahu the chief, Amaryah the second, Yachaziel the third, and Yekam'am the fourth. The sons of Uzziel: Michah the chief, and Yishiyah the second.
Do not assume that Amaryah, Yachaziel, and Yekam'am were additional sons of Chevron; these last three were actually the sons of Yeriyahu. It is as if the verse said: The sons of Chevron were Yeriyahu the chief, and his sons were Amaryah the second, Yachaziel the third, and Yekam'am the fourth. This is stated explicitly later in chapter 24, from which one is compelled to interpret the verse here in this manner.
בְּנֵי מְרָרִי מַחְלִי וּמוּשִׁי בְּנֵי מַחְלִי אֶלְעָזָר וְקִישׁ׃ וַיָּמׇת אֶלְעָזָר וְלֹא־הָיוּ לוֹ בָּנִים כִּי אִם־בָּנוֹת וַיִּשָּׂאוּם בְּנֵי־קִישׁ אֲחֵיהֶם׃ - The sons of Merari: Machli and Mushi. The sons of Machli: Elazar and Kish. And Elazar died, and had no sons, but daughters; and their brethren the sons of Kish married them.
Seemingly, since Elazar, who headed one of the watches, died leaving only daughters and no sons, we would be left with only twenty-two watches. However, as the principle goes, words of Torah poor in one place are rich in another. The Malbim explains: Later it is stated, "The sons of Merari: Machli and Mushi... the sons of Ya'aziyahu his son: Shoham, Zakkur, and Ivri." Machli produced Ya'aziyahu, who was his grandson mentioned earlier in the lineage: "Machli... Libni his son, Shimei his son, Uzzah his son, Shima his son" - where Uzzah is Ya'aziyahu. And the son of Ya'aziyahu was Shoham (who is Shima mentioned earlier), and Shoham had two sons: Zakkur and Ivri. They became ancestral heads after Elazar died childless without sons, and these two completed the quota of twenty-four watches: nine ancestral houses from Gershon, nine from Kehat, and six from Merari. Note that these are the watches of the Levi'im; later we will discuss the watches of the Kohanim.
אֵלֶּה בְנֵי־לֵוִי לְבֵית אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם רָאשֵׁי הָאָבוֹת לִפְקוּדֵיהֶם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם עֹשֵׂה הַמְּלָאכָה לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמָעְלָה׃ - These were the sons of Levi according to their ancestral houses, the heads of the fathers' houses according to their musterings, by the number of names by their polls, who performed the work for the service of the House of the Lord, from twenty years old and upward.
"Those who did the work" - these are the singers, the gatekeepers, and the overseers; this was the role of the Levites. As is well known, the Levites did not ascend the Altar, but they served as an auxiliary force in the service of the Beit HaMikdash, as we shall see further on. Their two primary roles were song and guarding the gates, along with additional accompanying responsibilities that the Malbim will explain.
כִּי אָמַר דָּוִיד הֵנִיחַ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעַמּוֹ וַיִּשְׁכֹּן בִּירוּשָׁלִַם עַד־לְעוֹלָם׃ וְגַם לַלְוִיִּם אֵין־לָשֵׂאת אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְאֶת־כׇּל־כֵּלָיו לַעֲבֹדָתוֹ׃ - For David said, "Hashem, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people, and He dwells in Jerusalem forever; and also the Levites no longer have to carry the Mishkan and all its vessels for its service."
Here Scripture explains why David counted them from twenty years old and upward, whereas the Torah counted from thirty, and even David himself counted them from thirty in verse 3. The answer is that Hashem gave rest to His people and caused His Shechinah to dwell in Jerusalem forever, never to depart from there. Therefore - as the Radak explains - the Levites no longer had the labor of carrying, which had been part of their service in the wilderness: dismantling the Mishkan, carrying it, and transporting its vessels. Primarily, only the service of song remained for them, and according to the Metzudat David, thirty years of age was not required for the service of song; twenty was sufficient. The age of thirty had been needed for the sheer physical strength required for carrying - transporting the Mishkan was extremely heavy work, with beams five meters long, heavy wagons, and massive loads, requiring powerful men. Even though youth might imagine an eighteen-year-old to be at the peak of strength, in reality, a thirty-year-old is in his prime physical strength. The Malbim also cites the Kesef Mishneh, explaining that thirty was specifically for the service of song, while the younger Levites from age twenty were assigned to other necessary tasks, as we shall see shortly.
כִּי בְדִבְרֵי דָוִיד הָאַחֲרוֹנִים הֵמָּה מִסְפַּר בְּנֵי־לֵוִי מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וּלְמָעְלָה׃ - For by the final words of David, the number of the Levites was counted from twenty years old and upward.
From here the contradiction is resolved: the count from thirty years old took place at the beginning of David's reign, whereas "by the final words of David" - at the end of his life - he counted them from twenty years old. Initially, he thought to maintain the practice as written in the Torah, but ultimately he realized that they could be counted even from age twenty: either because they no longer had the labor of carrying on the shoulder, or because the younger Levites could assist in the additional tasks that we will see shortly.
כִּי מַעֲמָדָם לְיַד־בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה עַל־הַחֲצֵרוֹת וְעַל־הַלְּשָׁכוֹת וְעַל־טׇהֳרַת לְכׇל־קֹדֶשׁ וּמַעֲשֵׂה עֲבֹדַת בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים׃ - For their station was at the hand of the sons of Aaron for the service of the House of Hashem, over the courtyards, over the chambers, over the purifying of all holy things, and for the work of the service of the House of God.
"For their station was at the hand of the sons of Aaron" - the commentary attributed to Rashi explains this in the sense of "and they shall be joined with you and minister to you," meaning they assisted the sons of Aaron. "Over the purifying of all holy things" - if the Temple or its vessels became defiled, the Levites were tasked with purifying them, as we find in the days of Hezekiah: "And the Levites received it to carry it out to the Kidron Valley," and it is written, "And they began on the first of the first month to sanctify" - the Beit HaMikdash had to be purified after it had been defiled, and these actions were carried out by the Levites. And "the work of the service of the House of God" - that they would be readily available for any task, assisting and supporting.
The Malbim explains that many tasks were required, and the Levites aged thirty and above were not sufficient in number. This accords with what is well known: that the Levites did not ascend in full numbers during the return under Ezra and Nehemiah - they were counted and found to be few. This also connects to the tradition regarding the Jews of Yemen, who did not ascend during that return because they knew the Second Temple was destined to be destroyed; many Yemenite Jews are Levites, while Kohanim among them are few - there are many Yemenite synagogues without a single Kohen, yet you will find Levites in every synagogue. Thus, there was a shortage of Levites. Therefore, the Malbim explains, they assigned the non-primary tasks to those under thirty, who had not yet reached the age of their formal Temple service, while reserving the most important tasks for those thirty and older. This is what is stated here: purifying ritual defilement in the Temple, tending the courtyards, and purifying the sacred vessels. However, removing defilement from within the Heichal (Sanctuary) was a mitzvah incumbent specifically upon the Kohanim, as the Malbim cites from the Gemara at the end of Eruvin. Purifying was done by the younger Levites; removing the defilement was done by the Kohanim.
וּלְלֶחֶם הַמַּעֲרֶכֶת וּלְסֹלֶת לְמִנְחָה וְלִרְקִיקֵי הַמַּצּוֹת וְלַמַּחֲבַת וְלַמֻּרְבָּכֶת וּלְכׇל־מְשׂוּרָה וּמִדָּה׃ - And for the showbread, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, and for the unleavened wafers, and for that which is baked in a pan, and for that which is soaked, and for every capacity and measure.
The Radak explains that the Levites were also appointed to establish and calibrate the measures needed for the Temple: the hin, the ephah, the third of a hin, the quarter-hin, the tenth-ephah, and the mesurah - which encompasses all the small liquid measures, while middah encompasses the larger measures. Precise measuring vessels had to be crafted. Even today, someone who wants to manufacture a standard meter cannot simply make it up on his own: there is a master prototype meter kept in a secured facility in Europe, at an exact temperature, against which everything is calibrated - for if everyone manufactured according to their neighbor's copy, imagine what would ultimately become of that meter. So too with these vessels: they could not be produced without a precise standard, and overseers were needed to calibrate the vessels, ensure that every measure was exact, and fashion vessels of precise dimension - and this was done by the younger Levites. Furthermore, it was their duty to prepare the Showbread (Lechem HaPanim), the fine flour for the meal offerings, the unleavened wafers, and the other varieties of meal offerings specified in the Torah, and to oversee all liquid and dry measures required in the Temple Courtyard.
וְלַעֲמֹד בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר לְהֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לַיהֹוָה וְכֵן לָעָרֶב׃ - And to stand morning by morning to give thanks and praise to Hashem, and likewise at evening.
This refers to the song sung during the offering of the daily Tamid sacrifices, and it is termed "morning by morning" because the offering of the Tamid was performed morning by morning. Indeed, we find a custom among Ashkenazim to awaken less early on Shabbat - each according to his own measure of "less" - because regarding the weekday Tamid offering Scripture states "morning by morning," whereas regarding Shabbat it states "morning" only once, indicating that there is no need for a double early start and a single "morning" suffices. In any case, this was the song of the Levi'im during the offering of the Tamid. And take note: this refers to Levi'im from thirty years old, for standing and singing was not performed by the younger ones, but by those who were already obligated in the service, as explained by the Malbim. However, according to the second explanation we saw, the younger ones could also be part of the choir of Levi'im who stood to sing.
וּלְכֹל הַעֲלוֹת עֹלוֹת לַיהֹוָה לַשַּׁבָּתוֹת לֶחֳדָשִׁים וְלַמֹּעֲדִים בְּמִסְפָּר כְּמִשְׁפָּט עֲלֵיהֶם תָּמִיד לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה׃ - And to offer all burnt offerings to Hashem on the Shabbatot, the New Moons, and the appointed seasons, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Hashem.
Pseudo-Rashi explains that they were appointed over the chambers, including the Chamber of the Lambs where the offerings were kept, and they would bring the offerings to the Kohanim - an auxiliary force in the Beit HaMikdash. According to the required tally, they would bring the offerings each day: on weekdays, on Shabbatot, on Rosh Chodesh, and on the festivals, when additional offerings were added to the Tamid, all "in number according to the ordinance." They also assisted the Kohanim in flaying the sacrifices, which was one of the strenuous tasks requiring strength to strip the hide. We find similarly in the days of Chizkiyahu: "Only the Kohanim were too few to flay all the burnt offerings, so their brethren the Levi'im strengthened them" - the Kohanim were few and not sufficient, so they needed their brethren the Levi'im to strengthen them, meaning to assist them in flaying the sacrifice.
וְשָׁמְרוּ אֶת־מִשְׁמֶרֶת אֹהֶל־מוֹעֵד וְאֵת מִשְׁמֶרֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ וּמִשְׁמֶרֶת בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן אֲחֵיהֶם לַעֲבֹדַת בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - And they shall keep the charge of the Tent of Meeting, and the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the sons of Aharon their brethren, for the service of the House of Hashem.
"And they shall keep the charge of the Tent of Meeting" - so that no unauthorized person would approach; and this is what we noted regarding their role as gatekeepers, charged with guarding the Beit HaMikdash. And although there was no concern about theft there, the guarding in the Mikdash was not like security today, where a business hires a guard service, but rather a guard of honor: it is not fitting for a king's palace to stand open to anyone who pleases. Even today there is the royal guard, and as theatrical and ceremonial as it may seem, it is a matter of dignity - that a sentry stands at the gate and not just anyone may enter. "The charge of the sanctuary" refers to the sacred items, and "the charge of the sons of Aharon their brethren" means assisting them, as we saw with flaying the burnt offering and similar tasks, for the service of the House of Hashem.
In Chapter 23, King David, old and advanced in days, crowns Shlomo and organizes the shifts of the Levi'im in preparation for the building of the Temple. He counts the Levi'im and divides them into twenty-four ancestral houses - nine from Gershon, nine from Kehat, and six from Merari - and defines their roles: singing vocally and with instruments, gatekeepers, officers and judges, assisting the Kohanim, purifying the holy items, preparing the Lechem HaPanim and the meal offerings, and calibrating the measures. And because the work of carrying ceased once the Shechinah rested in Yerushalayim forever, David amended the practice in his final directives and counted them from twenty years of age rather than thirty, so that the younger ones could assist with secondary tasks. Within the chapter, we also learned of the permanent setting apart of Aharon and his descendants for the priesthood, whereas the sons of Moshe were reckoned within the tribe of Levi, and the incident involving the Malbim, which taught us that the primary focus is Hashem's will alone - and when the operative rule is "Answer not a fool according to his folly," there is no room for calculations of personal honor or contention.