Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Torah

AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE DAY THAT MOSES HAD FINISHED SETTING UP THE TABERNACLE. “Scripture does not say ‘on the day that Moses set up’ [but it states ‘on the day that Moses had finished setting up’]. This teaches us that on each of the seven days of initiation [of the priests] Moses erected and dismantled the Tabernacle, and on that day [the eighth day] he erected it but did not dismantle it. Therefore it says, on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle, since it was on that day that he finished all his erections. This happened on the first of Nisan; on the second day the Red Heifer was burnt, on the third day they sprinkled [upon the Levites] the first sprinkling [of the water of purification in which the ashes of the Red Heifer were mingled],, 19:12. and on the seventh day [of Nisan, after having been sprinkled again], 19:12. the Levites were shaven [and were ready to be initiated into their service].” This is Rashi’s language on the basis of the words of our Rabbis 44. of blessed memory. But it is not a complete proof [that Moses set up the Tabernacle and dismantled it again on each of the seven days of initiation], for the expression on the day that he had finished is not connected only with the word l’hakim (setting up), but [its meaning is rather as follows]: “on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle and anointing and sanctifying it, and [doing likewise to] the altar and all the vessels thereof — the princes offered their offerings, when all this was done.” Nonetheless [however we explain the verse], it was [indeed] on the eighth day [of the initiation of the priests]. This section was written here because on the first day of the initiation He called unto Moses out of the Tent of Meeting and G-d spoke to him all the sections [of the Torah] from the beginning of the Book of Leviticus until the section of Vayehi Bayom Ha’shemini,, 22. which all deal with the laws of the offerings. From that eighth day on Moses was told all the sections beginning with These are the beasts which ye may eat,, 11:2. which contain the laws of forbidden and permitted foods, since they are all related to the subject of the offerings, and these topics continued in their correct order up to this place [before us], as I have explained. Thus when He had completed the commandments which Moses was ordered to say to Israel, all of them being laws of the Divine Service and the offerings, the charge of the Tent of Meeting and its Service, He reverted here afterwards to tell of the freewill offerings of the princes, which took place from the eighth day until the nineteenth day of Nisan, or until the twelfth day of the month in accordance with the words of our Rabbis.
VAYIMSHACHEIM’ (AND HE HAD ANOINTED THEM), ‘VAYEKADEISH’ (AND SANCTIFIED) THEM. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that “Moses anointed them with the oil of anointment, and sanctified them by [sprinkling upon them] the blood of the sin-offering, as it is said there, and he purified the altar, and poured out the remaining blood at the base of the altar, and sanctified it, to make atonement upon it. ” But it is not so, for it is likewise said about the Tabernacle [in the verse before us], and he had anointed it, and sanctified it and all its vessels, and yet the Tabernacle was not sanctified by means of [sprinkling upon it] the blood and any offering. Rather, the meaning [of the phrase vayimshacheim vayekadeish otham] is that “he anointed them in order [thereby] to sanctify them.”
AND THE ALTAR AND ALL THE VESSELS THEREOF. This is connected with the beginning of the verse, [so that the sense thereof is as follows]: “and it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished setting up the Tabernacle [and the altar] and all its vessels, and had anointed them and sanctified them — [that the princes of Israel offered etc.].”

AND THEY BROUGHT THEIR OFFERING BEFORE THE ETERNAL. Since the wagons [which the princes brought] were for the purpose of the offerings [i.e., for transporting the Tabernacle, where offerings are made before G-d] they are also called “offering.” Similarly, And we have brought the Eternal’s offering, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, meaning “an offering” for the repairs of the Tabernacle. Now the princes thought that it would be impossible for the Levites to carry on their shoulders the boards of the Tabernacle and the sockets, which were very heavy, and therefore they brought the wagons of their own accord, for such is the way that all those who carry houses of kings and their palatial tents adopt, transporting them on wagons. We may also explain that the expression And they brought their offering before the Eternal, six wagons ‘tzov,’ means six large wagons bearing their offerings, and twelve oxen drawing the wagons. Thus they brought the wagons laden [with the offerings], and the oxen [drawing the wagons] before the Tabernacle. And G-d commanded Moses, Take all of it of them, and the wagons and the oxen which were not brought for offerings shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting. Afterwards the princes took their offerings down from the wagons and brought them before the Tabernacle, intending to offer them all up on that day since they had been given permission to offer them before Him, but G-d commanded, each prince on his day shall they bring their offerings. And because of this [i.e., since the wagons that the princes brought contained the animals that they intended to offer up] it was not necessary now that He should say to Moses “take it of them,” [as the original statement already implies G-d’s consent to the offerings as well]., the question arises: when the princes came back and brought the actual dedication-offerings, why did G-d likewise not tell Moses to take the offerings from them? Hence the second interpretation is to be preferred. And it is a linguistic expression [in the Sacred Language] to say “wagons” when referring to their contents, just like: those who eat ‘shulchan Izebel’ [literally: “Jezebel’s table,” which means “the food on Jezebel’s table”]. So also: for all ‘sha’ar ami’ do know [literally: for all “the gates of my people” do know, which means: “for all the people in the gates of my people do know”]. And [likewise we find] in the language of the Sages: “a hundred wagons of pitchers of wine and pitchers of oil, and of silver and golden vessels” [the meaning being “the amount of wine and oil and vessels that can be contained in a hundred wagons,” and not just wagons of pitchers of wine and oil]. It is possible that the word tzov [six wagons ‘tzov’] means “full,” and so also: ‘uvatzabim’ and upon mules, which means “in wagons full of people.” In that case six wagons ‘tzov’ [in the verse before us] means “six wagons laden full,” their load being the dedication-offerings which Scripture specifies further on. Now Scripture mentions the offerings of each of the princes individually and afterwards it includes them all in a general statement, saying, This was the dedication-offering of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, at the hands of the princes of Israel: twelve silver dishes, and Rashi wrote:, Verse 85. “This teaches you that the vessels of the Sanctuary were exactly equal in weight [as specified in the verses: one silver dish, the weight whereof was a hundred and thirty shekels etc.]. If one weighed each one separately and then weighed them all together, it was neither more nor less [than the total should have been]. This is based on [the explanations of] Rabbi Moshe the Preacher.” But I cannot understand what they mean in saying this. If we are to consider this a miracle, what benefit is there in the occurrence of this miracle? And if this is the natural result with all weights, why should Scripture specifically mention it? In the Sifre the Rabbis have clearly said: 54. “This is to teach you that the vessels of the Sanctuary refers both to the Tabernacle and to the Sanctuary. were not like ordinary vessels. In the case of ordinary vessels, if one weighs each separately and then weighs them all together, the total is sometimes more or less [than it should have been] etc.” And there [in the Sifre] the Rabbis further said: “Rabbi Nathan says: If one were to weigh all the vessels of the Sanctuary together refers both to the Tabernacle and to the Sanctuary. and then turn them into bullion, and again make vessels of it, they would be neither more nor less [than the original weight].” He means to say by this that [these vessels were made of] a very pure gold [or silver, as the case may be], so that even if one melted them down and turned them into bullion, they still remained at their original weight. This was not because a miracle happened to them, but because they were made of a very pure gold. The correct interpretation of the verse is that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows honor upon those who fear Him, just as He said, for them that honor Me I will honor. Now all the princes brought this offering on the same day, because they all agreed to it simultaneously. But since it was impossible that one of them should not precede the others, He honored those who came first in [the position of] the standards to bring their offerings on the earlier days. He wanted, however, to mention them all by name and the details of their offerings, and to cite the day of each one, rather than honoring the first one by saying, This was the offering of Nachshon the son of Amminadab and then saying “and so did each of the princes offer on his day,” for that would have been a diminution of the honor of the others. Afterwards [i.e., after having listed them all separately] He included them all again in a general verse, in order to tell us that they were all equal before Him, blessed be He. And so did the Rabbis say in the Sifre: 53. “Scripture tells us that just as they were all equal in the thought [of bringing these offerings] so were they all alike in merit. Twelve silver dishes — these were the same ones that they donated, and nothing which would have invalidated them). occurred to them.” There is another explanation of this [chapter] in the interpretations of the Rabbis, namely that each of the princes intended to bring a dedication-offering to the altar which would be of the amount [specified in the verses, each one of them intending to bring the same offerings], but Nachshon [prince of the tribe of Judah] had a particular reason for [bringing] this number [of offerings], and each of the other princes thought of an independent reason. Thus the Rabbis said that Nachshon thought he would bring a ka’arath keseph (a silver dish), since the numerical value of its [Hebrew] letters is nine hundred thirty, is 100; ayin 70; reish, 200; tav 400. Kaph is 20; samech 60; pei 80. The total is 930. corresponding to the years of the first man; and the weight thereof was a hundred and thirty shekels indicating the years when he [Adam] begot children [to maintain the existence of the world, i.e., when he begot Seth,, Verse 3. from whom the world was founded] — and likewise the whole Midrash, as Rashi wrote it. Or [the offerings of each prince were,] according to another Midrash, [an allusion to] the tradition each tribe had from our father Jacob about all that would happen to it until the days of the Messiah. And so Nachshon [prince of the tribe of Judah] began by bringing his offerings with reference to royalty. The dish and the basin corresponded to the two kings who would be descended from him, who would rule over the sea and land, these being Solomon and the Messianic King. This was why Nachshon brought a ka’arah (silver round dish), to symbolize the ocean which covers the whole world and is like a [round] dish. [The weight of the dish was] a hundred and thirty shekels, since it was on the third day [of Creation] that the Holy One, blessed be He, gathered all seas together to one place and called them yamim, the numerical value of these letters being one hundred; is 10; mem 40; yod 10; mem 40 — totalling 100. and Solomon added one sea to the work of the Sanctuary, and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. Thus you have one hundred and thirty. One silver basin of seventy shekels corresponds to the world which is shaped like a sphere. The seventy shekels symbolize that they [Solomon and the Messiah] will rule over the seventy nations. Both of them full, for gifts will be brought to them from all peoples. ‘Soleth’ (fine flour) corresponds to these [two kings — as in the expression: the precious sons of Zion] ‘hamesulaim’ (who were comparable to) ‘fine’ gold. Mingled with oil — A good name is better than precious oil. Silver — as it is said, The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver. One golden pan of ten shekels, this corresponds to the ten generations from Peretz to David. Ten generations are listed there. who were all righteous men full of good deeds, [as pleasant] as the odor of the incense. One young bullock — in allusion to Abraham; (Genesis 18:7). one ram — in allusion to Isaac;, 22:13: and he [Abraham] took the ram — as a substitute for Isaac. one he-lamb — in allusion to Jacob., 30:40: And Jacob separated the lambs. One male of the goats for a sin-offering, to atone for the deed of Judah who brought Joseph’s coat to his father [dipped in the blood of a he-goat]. And for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, two oxen — alluding to David and Solomon, who began the royal line [of the House of David], and who were righteous men [during whose reigns] the kingdom was whole.. These are the two kings — David and Solomon — whose reigns were characterized by shelamim [“peace-offerings,” a term which also suggests “peace” and “completeness”]. Five rams, five he-goats, five he-lambs of the first year — in allusion to the fifteen monarchs from Rehoboam to Zedekiah, who were kings and sons of kings [and may be classified in three groups, just as the fifteen peace-offerings came in three groups], some completely righteous, some average, and some very wicked. This was what Nachshon thought [in bringing these offerings, which symbolized the history of his tribe]. And Nethanel the son of Zuar [prince of the tribe of Issachar] also thought in his heart that he would bring a dedication-offering of this amount, but he had a different reason for it, bringing his offerings in allusion to the Torah, because the special merit of the tribe of Issachar was [in their knowledge] of the wisdom of the Torah., Note 117. A silver dish — referring to the Torah which is called “bread,” as it is said, Come, eat of my bread, and it is said of the showbread, And thou shalt make the dishes thereof. And [the prince of the tribe of] Zebulun brought his offerings in relation to commerce, which he engaged in and exerted himself in, and [from the profits of which he maintained [through his generosity the Torah-studying tribe of] Issachar, with whom he [equally] shared the reward [for the studying of the Torah]. The [round] dish was symbolic of the ocean, since he [Zebulun] dwelled at the shores of the sea. Similarly the Rabbis found in that Midrash a special reason for the offering of each and every tribe and for the amount of the offerings [in accordance with the subsequent history of the tribe]. It is for this reason that Scripture treated them all equally, giving the details of each one separately as if the others had not been mentioned, after which it mentioned them all together, to hint that at the same moment it occurred to each of them to bring the dedication-offering, and none of them preceded the other either in thought or in the actual bringing of the offerings to the Tabernacle. It is because of this Scripture mentioned them all in identical words.

FINE FLOUR (MINGLED) WITH OIL FOR A MEAL-OFFERING. The princes dedicated the altar with all the kinds of offerings that can be brought upon it. Therefore they brought a meal-offering, incense, a burnt-offering, a sin-offering, and a peace-offering. Now the incense and the sin-offering were [permitted to be brought by] a special temporary decree, since they cannot usually be brought as freewill offerings. But [this exception was made] in order to complete the dedication with all kinds of offerings, for no other offerings can be brought in Israel except for these offerings [mentioned here], the sin-offering and the guilt-offering being the same thing and having the same name, and there is one law for them.. Hence although no guilt-offering was brought as part of the dedication-offerings, it may yet be said that all kinds of offerings were brought on these days of dedication, since the sin-offering was brought. Now the Glorious G-d agreed to the intention of the princes and commanded, they shall present their offering, each prince on his day. Therefore it is possible that this is a commandment for all generations, that the Sanctuary and the altar should always be dedicated [with special offerings upon their completion]. It is for this reason that Solomon made a dedication of the House [of G-d], as it is written, So the king and all the people dedicated the House of G-d. Similarly the men of the Great Assembly dedicated [the Second Temple], as it is written, And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of captivity, kept the dedication of this House of G-d with joy. And so [will it be also] in the days of the Messiah, as it is said in the Book of Ezekiel, Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; so shall they consecrate it. And when they have accomplished the days, it shall be that upon the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt-offerings upon the altar, and your peace-offerings, this being the dedication of the altar with offerings to consecrate it. Thus the subject of this commandment is similar to that of the section about the impure people on Passover, and the section concerning the sons of Joseph,, Chapter 36. See also in Seder Korach, Note 67. whose opinion coincided with the opinion on High, and which we were commanded to observe in all subsequent generations. Beha’alothcha