With Respect to Others
נָשֹׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן גַּם הֵם
Count the heads of the sons of Gershon as well.[1]
It is interesting to consider that our parsha actually begins in the middle of a topic, for the first of Levi’s three families – Kehas – was counted at the end of the previous parsha. Why divide one topic between two parshiyos?
The Abarbanel explains this division by noting that although Kehas was the first son to be counted, was not the firstborn; he was actually the second son. The reason Kehas was counted first is in recognition of the fact that members of his family carried the Aron, which is the repository of the Torah – the ultimate value of Judaism. However, this now beckons the question: What about Gershon, the firstborn? Granted, he does not receive the honor of being counted first, but is he not deserving of honor nonetheless – as mandated by the Torah itself – and if so, how can this be arranged?
The response to this issue was to end the previous parsha after the counting of Kehas, so that Gershon would then have the distinction of having his family opening a new parsha. On this way, the honor due to him was not overlooked, even as he was not counted first.
There is a profound and beautiful lesson here. Ultimate honor accrues to the Torah itself. However, with just a little forethought and attentiveness, it is not hard to arrange for others also to receive the honor due to them – the accordance of which is itself a Torah value.