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Ramban on Numbers 8:25/רמב"ן על במדבר ח׳:כ״ה

אוְלֹא יַעֲבֹד עוֹד עֲבוֹדַת מַשָּׂא בַּכָּתֵף, אֲבָל חוֹזֵר הוּא לִנְעִילַת שְׁעָרִים וּלְשִׁיר וְלִטְעוֹן עֲגָלוֹת - לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ״י (רש״י על במדבר ח׳:כ״ה). אֲבָל בְּסִפְרֵי (בהעלתך סג) לֹא אָמְרוּ אֶלָּא מַגִּיד שֶׁחוֹזֵר לִנְעִילַת שְׁעָרִים וְלַעֲבוֹדַת בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן. וְכֵן נִרְאֶה, שֶׁאִם כְּדִבְרֵי הָרַב, לָמָּה לֹא הָיוּ מְמַנִּין אוֹתָם בְּנֵי עֶשְׂרִים לְשִׁיר וְלִנְעִילַת שְׁעָרִים וְלִטְעוֹן הָעֲגָלוֹת עַד שֶׁיַּזְקִינוּ? וְלָמָּה הָיָה מִנְיָנָם מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים וְעַד חֲמִשִּׁים אֶלָּא בְּמַשָּׂא בִּלְבַד? וְעוֹד, בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן וּבְנֵי מְרָרִי שֶׁכָּל עֲבוֹדָתָם כְּשֵׁרָה בִּזְקֵנִים לָמָּה נִמְנוּ כֵן? אֶלָּא כֵּיוָן שֶׁהָיָה פְּקֻדָּתָם בְּמַשָּׂא הָאָרוֹן מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים וְעַד בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים, לֹא הָיוּ מְמַנִּין אוֹתָם לְשִׁיר שֶׁהוּא עִקַּר עֲבוֹדָה שֶׁל לְוִיִּם אֶלָּא בָּרְאוּיִים לְמַשָּׂא, שֶׁכָּל הַמְּמֻנִּים לְשִׁיר רְאוּיִים בַּעֲבוֹדַת כֻּלָּם. וּמִתּוֹךְ שֶׁנִּמְנוּ בְּנֵי קְהָת מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים וְעַד חֲמִשִּׁים אֲפִלּוּ לְשִׁיר, נִמְנוּ כֻּלָּם כֵּן, שֶׁלֹּא יִהְיוּ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן וּבְנֵי מְרָרִי בַּשָּׁנִים הָאֵלּוּ כְּשֵׁרִים לְשִׁיר וּבְנֵי קְהָת פְּסוּלִים בּוֹ. אֲבָל לִנְעִילַת שְׁעָרִים אוֹ לִטְעוֹן עֲגָלוֹת כֻּלָּם כְּשֵׁרִים הֵם. וְעוֹד כָּתוּב: ״מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה וְעַד בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה כָּל הַבָּא לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדַת עֲבוֹדָה וַעֲבוֹדַת מַשָּׂא בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד״ (במדבר ד׳:מ״ז), וְדָרְשׁוּ בִּשְׁחִיטַת חֻלִּין (כד): יָכוֹל אַף בְּשִׁילֹה וּבֵית עוֹלָמִים כֵּן? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר ״לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדַת עֲבוֹדָה וַעֲבוֹדַת מַשָּׂא״ - לֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֶלָּא בִּזְמַן שֶׁעֲבוֹדָה בַּכָּתֵף. וַהֲרֵי "עֲבוֹדַת עֲבוֹדָה" הִיא הַשִּׁיר, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתַב לְמַעְלָה רַשִׁ״י בְּסֵדֶר נָשֹׂא (ד מז), אִם כֵּן אַף לְשִׁיר נִפְסְלוּ בִּזְמַן שֶׁעֲבוֹדָה בַּכָּתֵף. וְכֵן בְּדִבְרֵי דָוִד נֶאֱמַר: ״וַיִּסָּפְרוּ הַלְוִיִּם מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה״ (דברי הימים א כג ג), וְכָתוּב: ״מֵאֵלֶּה לְנַצֵּחַ עַל מְלֶאכֶת בֵּית ה' עֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה אָלֶף וְגוֹ', וְאַרְבַּעַת אֲלָפִים מְהַלְלִים לַה' בַּכֵּלִים אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי לְהַלֵּל״ (שם פסוקים ד ה), כִּי עַד שֶׁנִּבְנָה הַבַּיִת שֶׁהָיָה לָהֶם מַשָּׂא בַּכָּתֵף, לֹא הָיוּ מְמַנִּים לְשִׁיר אֶלָּא בָּרְאוּיִים לְמַשָּׂא. אֲבָל חָזַר דָּוִד לִמְנוֹתָם מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים לְצֹרֶךְ הַבַּיִת כְּשֶׁנִּבְנָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁנִּתְבָּאֵר (סוף הדבור הקודם):

1AND FROM THE AGE OF FIFTY YEARS HE SHALL RETURN FROM THE SERVICE OF THE WORK, AND HE SHALL SERVE NO MORE — “the service of carrying loads upon the shoulders, but he returns [i.e., he may still serve] to close the gates, or to sing, or to load the wagons.” This is Rashi’s language. But in the Sifre⁴⁸ 63. the Rabbis mentioned only that “he returns to close the gates or to the work of the sons of Gershon”⁴⁹ [but they did not say that he may return to the service of singing]! And this indeed appears correct [that a Levite above the age of fifty was not allowed to take part in the singing] — for if it were as the Rabbi [Rashi] has written, why were the twenty-year old Levites not appointed to sing, to close the gates and to load the wagons until they reached the required age,⁵⁰ and why were they counted from thirty to fifty years old and only for the work of bearing burdens [since both before and after these two age-limits they could still serve by singing etc., therefore they should have been counted from twenty years, with no upper limit]? Moreover, why were the sons of Gershon and Merari counted in this way [from thirty to fifty] since all their work [i.e., singing, closing the gates and loading the wagons] could be done when they were older?We must rather say that since they were appointed to carry the ark at the age from thirty to fifty, they [therefore] were not appointed to sing, which was the main function of the Levites, unless they were also qualified to carry the ark, for all those who were appointed to sing were qualified to perform all the services [including the carrying of the ark]. And since the Kohathites [who were the only ones permitted to carry the ark] were counted from thirty to fifty years old, even for singing, they were all counted in this manner, in order that the sons of Gershon and Merari should not be qualified to sing during these years [i.e., below the age of thirty and above the age of fifty] and the sons of Kohath be disqualified. [Hence the age limits of thirty and fifty applied to the Kohathites’ singing, which was their main function, as well as to their carrying of the parts of the Tabernacle, and therefore these age limits applied to the function of singing of the sons of Gershon and Merari as well, and they could not, as Rashi wrote, return to the singing.] But for closing the gates or loading the wagons all of them were qualified [even after the age of fifty, as quoted in the Sifre above]. Furthermore it is written, from thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entered in to do the work of the service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,⁵¹ and the Rabbis interpreted in the Tractate of Shechitath Chullin:⁵² is in contrast to the Tractate Schechitath Kodashim (The Slaughtering of Hallowed Animals), now generally called Zebachim (Offerings). “I might think that in Shiloh and in the Eternal House [at Jerusalem,⁵³ when the services of the Levites were limited to gatekeeping and singing] it was also so [that the Levites were disqualified after the age of fifty]; Scripture therefore says, to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens.⁵¹ I have only said so with respect to a time when there is bearing burdens upon the shoulders.” Now [the expression] ‘avodath avodah’⁵¹ [the work of service, but literally “a service of a service”] is a reference to singing, as Rashi has written above in Seder Naso;⁵¹ if so [it is clear that] when there was [the duty of] bearing the burdens upon the shoulders, the Levites were disqualified from singing as well [after the age of fifty]. And so it is said in the words of David, And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward,⁵⁴ and it is further written there, Of these twenty and four thousand were to oversee the work of the House of the Eternal etc.,⁵⁵, Verse 4. and four thousand praised the Eternal with the instruments which I made to praise therewith.⁵⁶, Verse 5. For until the House [of G-d in Jerusalem] was built, when they still had to carry [the ark and the Tabernacle] on their shoulders, they only appointed Levites to sing who were also fit to carry [i.e., from the age of thirty to fifty]; but David counted them again from twenty years old⁵⁷, Verse 27. to meet the requirements of the House [of G-d] when it was built, as has been explained [above at the end of Verse 4].