Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Numbers 1:18/רמב"ן על במדבר א׳:י״ח
אוְאֵת כָּל הָעֵדָה הִקְהִילוּ בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי – יַזְכִּיר זְרִיזוּת מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ בְּמִצְוַת הַשֵּׁם, כִּי בְּיוֹם הַדִּבּוּר לָקַח אֶת הַנְּשִׂיאִים וְהִקְהִיל כָּל הָעֵדָה וְהִתְחִיל לִפְקֹד אוֹתָם, אֲבָל לֹא נִשְׁלַם הַמִּנְיָן בְּיוֹם אֶחָד. וּלְכָךְ חָזַר וְאָמַר: ״וַיִּפְקְדֵם בְּמִדְבַּר סִינָי״ (במדבר א׳:י״ט) לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶׁהָיָה בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא הַמִּנְיָן, לֹא בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא:
1AND THEY ASSEMBLED ALL THE CONGREGATION TOGETHER ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH. Scripture mentions [the date although it is already stated in Verse 1 above, to indicate] the zeal of our teacher Moses in [fulfilling] the command of G-d for on the very day of the communication [that he was to take a census of the people] he took the princes of the tribes and assembled all the congregation and began to count them. The count, however, was not completed in one day, and therefore He states again, so did he number them in the wilderness of Sinai,57 in order to inform [us] that the counting was all done in that place, but was not all [finished] on that day.
בוַיִּתְיַלְדוּ עַל מִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם – הֵבִיאוּ סִפְרֵי יִחוּסֵיהֶם וְעֵדֵי חֶזְקַת לֵידַת כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְהִתְיַחֵס עַל הַשֵּׁבֶט, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר א׳:י״ח). וְאֵינֶנּוּ נִרְאֶה שֶׁיִּהְיוּ צְרִיכִין לְהָבִיא שְׁטָר וְעֵדִים עַל יִחוּסֵיהֶם לְשִׁבְטֵיהֶם. אֲבָל וַיִּתְיַלְדוּ – שֶׁנִּמְנוּ תּוֹלְדוֹתָם לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבוֹתָם. הַטַּעַם לוֹמַר כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אוֹתָם מֹשֶׁה כֵּן מִפִּי הקב״ה, נִקְהֲלוּ כָּל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, חוּץ מֵעֵרֶב רַב אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה, כִּי נִכָּרִים הָיוּ בָהֶם מִיּוֹם שֶׁיָּצְאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם. וְהִנֵּה הֵבִיאוּ כָּל הָעֵדָה אִישׁ שִׁקְלוֹ, וְאָמְרוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה וְהַנְּשִׂיאִים: ״אֲנִי פְּלוֹנִי נוֹלַדְתִּי לִפְלוֹנִי מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת פְּלוֹנִי שֶׁהוּא לְשֵׁבֶט רְאוּבֵן״ וְזוּלָתוֹ, וּמֹשֶׁה נוֹתֵן שִׁקְלֵי כָּל שֵׁבֶט וְשֵׁבֶט בְּמָקוֹם מְיֻחָד וְיָדַע מִסְפַּר הַפְּרָט וְהַכְּלָל. וְהָרְאָיָה בָּזֶה כִּי בַּמִּנְיָן הַשֵּׁנִי שֶׁהִזְכִּיר הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת לֹא אָמַר שָׁם "וַיִּתְיַלְדוּ", וְלֹא הִזְכִּיר "בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם", כִּי מֵעֵת שֶׁחָנוּ לְדִגְלֵיהֶם נִבְדְּלוּ הַשְּׁבָטִים זֶה מִזֶּה וְנוֹדְעוּ הַמִּשְׁפָּחוֹת לְאֵיזֶה שֵׁבֶט הֵמָּה, וְלֹא הֻצְרְכוּ שָׁם רַק לָדַעַת כַּמָּה מִשְׁפָּחוֹת בַּשֵּׁבֶט, וְהַמִּשְׁפָּחָה תִּמְנֶה אֲנָשֶׁיהָ לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם לֹא בְּמִסְפַּר שְׁמוֹתָם. וְלָכֵן לֹא הֻצְרַךְ לִהְיוֹת נְשִׂיאִים בַּמִּנְיָן הַהוּא. וְרַבִּי אַבְרָהָם אָמַר (אבן עזרא על במדבר א׳:י״ח) וַיִּתְיַלְדוּ – בִּקְשׁוּ מָתַי נוֹלְדוּ בַּעֲבוּר חֶשְׁבּוֹן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה:
2VA’YITHYALDU’ (AND THEY DECLARED THEIR PEDIGREES) AFTER THEIR FAMILIES. “They brought the documents of their genealogy and witnesses confirming the birth of each of them, so as to prove their descent from their [respective] tribes.” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear [correct to say] that they should have to bring genealogical documents and witnesses with regard to belonging to a [particular] tribe. Rather, va’yithyaldu means that they were counted by their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses,58 the sense thereof being to state that the whole congregation assembled, as Moses had commanded them by the order of the Holy One, blessed be He, at the door of the Tent of Meeting, except for the mixed multitude59 who were not of the children of Israel,60 for they were recognizable amongst them from the day that they had gone out of Egypt. Thus each man in the congregation brought his [half-] shekel and said to Moses and the princes: “I so-and-so was born to such-and-such a person of such-and-such a family, which is of the tribe of Reuben,” or some other tribe, and Moses put the shekels of each particular tribe in a special place [to be counted later], so that he would know the sum of [each] individual [tribe] and of all the tribes together. And the proof for this61 means merely that they declared to which family and tribe they belonged, is that etc. is that at the second census [taken when they were about to enter the Land of Israel] where the families [of each tribe] are mentioned,62 it does not say va’yithyaldu, nor does it mention according to the number of names, by their polls, [as it says here in Verse 19]. This is because ever since the tribes had pitched by their standards, they were separated from each other and it was clearly known to which tribe each family belonged; thus they only had to know how many families there were in each tribe, and each family counted its men by their polls, but not according to the number of names.63 means, as Rashi explained that they were to produce their genealogical documents, the question arises why was that not required at the second census? According to Ramban, however, who explains that va’yithyaldu means that they each declared to which family and which tribe they belonged, we can understand why va’yithyaldu is not mentioned at the second census. For once they pitched by their standards, each person’s place would indicate to which tribe he belonged, and the families themselves counted their own numbers, whilst Moses counted the numbers of all the families. Hence it was no longer necessary to declare to which family and which tribe one belonged. Therefore the princes of the tribes did not have to be present [with Moses] at that [second] census [as was stipulated at the first census — in Verse 4 — since the princes of the tribes were only needed in order to identify which families belonged to which tribe, and this was already known at the time of the second census]. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explains that va’yithyaldu means that they were asked when they were born, in order to ascertain whether they were [over] twenty years of age.