Parshas Bamidbar 5786: Unfair to Compare

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Parshas Bamidbar

לעלוי נשמת האדא בת מרדכי

Unfair to Compare

The Torah relates that B’nei Kehas were entrusted with one of the greatest privileges imaginable: carrying the holiest vessels of the Mishkan, including the Aron itself. Yet alongside this incredible responsibility came a striking warning: “וְלֹא יָבֹאוּ לִרְאוֹת כְּבַלַּע אֶת הַקֹּדֶשׁ וָמֵתוּ”. The B’nei Kehas were forbidden from seeing the Aron and other keilim uncovered as the Kohanim prepared them for travel. This immediately raises a question: If the B’nei Kehas were “holy enough” to carry the Aron itself, why were they not permitted to see it uncovered? 

Perhaps the Torah here is teaching a foundational lesson about avodas Hashem and about human individuality in general. We live in a world increasingly driven by the narrative that everyone should be exactly the same in every way - same roles, same strengths, same paths, same forms of expression. But the Torah’s view is profoundly different. Not every avodah is the same, and an avodah of closeness for one, does not mean it is an avodah of closeness for all. 

Different roles do not necessarily mean lesser roles. The Kohanim served through preparing and covering the keilim. The Kehatim served through carrying the keilim. We could compare and try to determine who is greater based on what avodah each had, but the reality is that different does not translate to better or worse.  

The Ohr HaChaim (Bamidbar 4:19) comments on “וְחָיוּ וְלֹא יָמֻתוּ” that kedusha itself can either elevate a person or chas v’shalom destroy him. Through engaging with kedusha in the proper way, aligned with the role Hashem intended, one attains life. But attempting to force onself into a domain outside of one's avodah scope - even if it appears spiritually elevated - can become destructive. What may look externally like “growth” is not necessarily growth if it comes at the expense of one’s own tafkid.  

Perhaps this is precisely why the B’nei Kehas were not allowed to see the Aron uncovered. Their role was to carry the keilim. One might assume that the greatest relationship with holiness would come through maximum exposure and unrestricted access. Yet the Torah teaches the opposite. The B’nei Kehas carried the Aron properly specifically because they were not involved in covering it and the other keilim.  

This is a theme that could be seen in the opening of Sefer Bamidbar as well. The Torah seems to introduce a multi-dimensional K’lal Yisroel. There is B’nei Yisroel in its entirety, the identity of each shevet, and the importance of each family and individual. Each shevet camped in a specific place, traveled under its own degel, and carried its own identity and mission. This ideal state, which existed with Yaakov’s original family structure, somehow reemerged in the midbar despite the nation-wide and “melting pot” shared experiences of Mitzrayim, Yetzias Mitzrayim, and Matan Torah. Somehow the roots were rediscovered, as though the Torah were emphasizing that a complete K’lal Yisroel is not created when every shevet looks the same, but when each embraces its unique tafkid. 

Each had its own flag, place, personality, and mission. The Torah never asked Yehudah to become Yissachar, nor Dan to become Levi. A healthy person can and should be inspired by others, but comparison becomes destructive when inspiration turns into dissatisfaction with one’s own mission. 

This is the meaning of “וְחָיוּ וְלֹא יָמֻתוּ.” Spiritual life comes from embracing the role Hashem gave us, while spiritual danger begins when we abandon our own tafkid in pursuit of someone else’s. 

May Hashem help us recognize that our own tafkid is what is most important to him, and to internalize that by leaning in and being the best we can be, we will merit to live not only a life of accomplishment in this world, but also a world of Olam Habbah in the next world.