Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Numbers 17:17/רמב"ן על במדבר י״ז:י״ז
אשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר מַטּוֹת – מַטֵּה אַהֲרֹן הוּא בַּי״ב, כִּי לֹא אָמַר ״וְתִקַּח מַטֶּה לְבֵית לֵוִי וְתִכְתֹּב עָלָיו שֵׁם אַהֲרֹן״, אֲבָל הוּא בַּמִּנְיָן הַנִּזְכָּר. וְהִנֵּה לֹא נֶחְשַׁב יוֹסֵף רַק לְשֵׁבֶט אֶחָד, וְהַטַּעַם כִּי לֹא יִמָּנוּ שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעוֹלָם רַק שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר, וּמִפְּנֵי שֶׁיַּחְשֹׁב לֵוִי יַחְשֹׁב יוֹסֵף רַק אֶחָד. וְעוֹד אֲפָרֵשׁ זֶה בְּסֵדֶר וְזֹאת הַבְּרָכָה (דברים ל״ג ו'), אִם יְבָרְכֵנִי ה' לְהַגִּיעַ לְשָׁם:
1TWELVE RODS. Aaron’s rod was one of the twelve, since it does not say: “and you shall take a rod for the house of Levi and write Aaron’s name upon it” [but instead it says in the following verse, And thou shalt write Aaron’s name upon the rod of Levi]; for he was included in the number mentioned. Thus Joseph was counted as only one tribe [and not as two separate tribes — Ephraim and Menasheh], the reason being that the tribes of Israel are always counted as twelve, and because He counted Levi [here as one tribe], He counted Joseph as only one. I will explain this further in Seder V’zoth Habrachah,191 if G-d will bless me to reach it [in my commentary].
באִישׁ אֶת שְׁמוֹ תִּכְתֹּב עַל מַטֵּהוּ – יֵשׁ מְפָרְשִׁים שֵׁם רֹאשׁ הַשֵּׁבֶט: רְאוּבֵן, שִׁמְעוֹן, לֵוִי, וִיהוּדָה. וְהַנָּכוֹן שֵׁם הַנְּשִׂיאִים, וְעָשָׂה אַהֲרֹן נָשִׂיא לְשֵׁבֶט לֵוִי. וְהֻצְרַךְ לְפָרֵשׁ כִּי הֵם מַטֶּה אֶחָד וְנָשִׂיא אֶחָד לָהֶם, לוֹמַר: אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁחִלַּקְתִּים לִשְׁתֵּי מִשְׁפָּחוֹת, כְּהוּנָה לְבַד וּלְוִיָּה לְבַד, מִכָּל מָקוֹם שֵׁבֶט אֶחָד הוּא וְנָשִׂיא אֶחָד לָהֶם. וְהַטַּעַם כַּאֲשֶׁר פֵּרַשְׁתִּי (רמב״ן על במדבר י״ז:ו׳), כִּי לֹא הֻצְרְכוּ רְאָיָה רַק שֶׁנִּבְחַר הַשֵּׁבֶט הַהוּא מִכָּל שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:
2THOU SHALT WRITE EVERY MAN’S NAME UPON HIS ROD. Some commentators192 explain that this refers to the name of the founder of the tribe: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. The correct interpretation is that it means the names of the [present] princes [of the tribes at that time], and He considered Aaron the prince of the tribe of Levi. It was necessary to explain193 that they each had only one rod and one prince, meaning: “Even though I have divided them [the Levites] into two families, the priests separately and the Levites separately, yet they are [in fact] one tribe, and have only one prince.” The reason for this is as I have explained,194 that they only needed proof that it was that tribe [i.e., the tribe of Levi] which was chosen out of all the tribes of Israel [to minister in the Tabernacle].