The Bearing of the Ark by the Priests and Levites

            In this shiur, I wish to deal with questions relating to the bearing of the ark. Who carried the ark and what was the significance of this?

 

In the Torah

 

            Let us first examine the Biblical sources dealing with this issue:

 

But you shall appoint the Levites over the Mishkan of testimony and over all its vessels, and over all things that belong to it. They shall bear the Mishkan, and all its vessels, and they shall minister to it, and shall encamp round about the Mishkan. And when the Mishkan sets forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the Mishkan is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death. (Bamidbar 1:50-51)

 

            The background of this command is clear. The beginning of the book of Bamidbar describes how the people of Israel camped around the Mishkan. In the book of Vayikra, the Torah expands upon the central role played by the priests in the service of the Mishkan, when the Mishkan was located at the foot of Mount Sinai and the people of Israel camped around it. It was the job of the Levites to take the Mishkan down, to transport it from place to place, and to safeguard it from outside.

 

            It follows from the aforementioned command that it was the Levites who bore the Mishkan and serviced it while it was in transit and when it reached the camp. They set the Mishkan up, and took it down; they disassembled it and later rebuilt it; and among their duties, as stated, they bore the Mishkan while it was in transit.

 

In a later chapter, the Torah describes in detail how the Mishkan was to be carried by the various Levite families:

 

And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the Ohel Mo’ed shall be the Mishkan, and the tent, its covering, and the screen for the door of the Ohel Mo’ed, and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the court, which is by the Mishkan, and the altar round about, and the cords of it for all its service…

The families of the sons of Kehat shall pitch on the side of the Mishkan southward. And the chief of the house of the father of the families of the Kehati shall be Elitzafan, the son of Uziel. And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary with which they minister, and the screen, and all its service…

And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the Mishkan, and its bars, and its pillars, and its sockets, and all its vessels, and all that belongs to it. And the pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pegs, and their cords. (Bamidbar 3:25-37)

 

            When the Torah later describes the covering of the vessels of the Mishkan in anticipation of its being taken apart and carried away, it says:

 

This shall be the service of the sons of Kehat in the Ohel Mo’ed, namely, the most holy things; and when the camp sets forward, Aharon shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of testimony… And when Aharon and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kehat shall come to bear it, but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kehat, in the Ohel Mo’ed. (Bamidbar 4:4-15)

 

Thus, it is the priests who cover the vessels kept in the inner chambers, whereas the Levites bear the vessels and the structure of the entire Mishkan.

 

            In the continuation, the Torah says:

 

And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying, Take it of them, that they may be to do the service of the Ohel Mo’ed; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service. And Moshe took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the son of Gershon, according to their service, and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari according to their service, under the hand of Itamar the son of Aharon the priest. But to the sons of Kehat he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders. (Bamidbar 7:4-9)

 

It seems clear from these verses at the beginning of the book of Bamidbar that it was the Levites who bore the vessels of the Mishkan, first and foremost among them being the ark.

 

            This also follows from what is stated in the book of Devarim:

 

At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in His name, to this day. (Devarim 10:8)

 

            Interestingly, Rashi (ad loc.) comments as follows:

 

"To bear the ark" – the Levites.

"To stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in His name" – the priests, this being the raising of the hands [for the priestly blessing].

 

According to Rashi, the tribe of Levi was set apart for two purposes that were carried out by different groups of people: the Levites bore the ark, whereas the priests stood before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in His name.

 

            Later in the book of Devarim, however, the Torah states:

 

And Moshe wrote the Torah, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. (Devarim 31:9)

 

According to the plain sense of the verse, Moshe gave the Torah to the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord – that is to say, the ark was borne by the priests.

 

On the other hand, it says in that very same chapter:

And Moshe commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying. (ibid. v. 25)

 

The Chizkuni (ad loc.) addresses the issue:

 

"To the priests the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord" – Even though it was the Levites who bore the ark, and not the priests, nevertheless, he [the Bekhor Shor] explained that after Moshe's death, the priests bore it when Israel crossed the Jordan, as it is stated in Sota 33b: It was taught: R. Yose said: The priests bore the ark in three places – when they crossed the Jordan, when they went around Jericho, and when they returned it to its place.

Another explanation: Since the priests prepared the loads for the sons of the Levites, as it is stated explicitly in Parashat Bamidbar (4:5), the priests are called "the bearers of the ark of the covenant of the Lord." (Devarim 31:9)

 

            According to the first explanation, which is already found in the gemara in Sota, it was fundamentally the Levites who bore the ark, with the exception of three times at which the ark was borne by the priests. Since these events took place immediately following Moshe's death with Israel's entering the land of Israel and conquering Jericho, Scripture relates to them already here.[1]

 

            According to the second explanation, since the priests prepared the loads for the sons of Levi (for example, they covered the ark of the testimony with the veil of the screen; Bamidbar 4:5), the priests were called the bearers of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, even though in actual practice it was the Levites who bore the ark.

 

            In any event, based on what is stated in the Torah, it is difficult to arrive at an unequivocal answer to our question. It would seem that the bearing of the ark was fundamentally the responsibility of the Levites, but in certain cases it was performed by the priests.

 

In the Prophets

 

            On the final leg of the Israelites' journey into the land of Israel, it was the priests who bore the ark of the covenant (Yehoshua, chapters 3-4; 6:6-12; 8:33). As we saw earlier, this is stated explicitly with respect to the crossing of the Jordan, the encompassing of Jericho, and the assembly at which the blessings and curses were proclaimed at Mount Eival.[2]

 

            In the book of Shmuel, in the account of the return of the ark by the Pelishtim, it says: "And the Levites took down the ark of the Lord" (I Shmuel 6:15), whereas in the description of the return of the ark to the city of David at the time of Avshalom's rebellion, mention is made of Tzadok and Evyatar the priests (II Shmuel 15:24-19).[3]

 

Similarly, it is stated in the book of Melakhim:

And all the men of Israel assembled themselves to king Shlomo at the feast in the month of Eitanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the Ohel Mo'ed, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Shlomo and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled to him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to it place into the sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the keruvim. (I Melakhim 8:3-6)

 

But in the parallel passage in the book of Divrei Ha-Yamim, we find:

 

And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the Ohel Mo'ed, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Shlomo and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled to him and before the ark sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be counted or numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, to the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the keruvim. (II Divrei Ha-Yamim 5:4-7)

 

            When David transfers the ark from the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite to the city of David, it is the Levites who bear the ark:

 

Then David said, “None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of God, and to minister to Him forever”… And David assembled the children of Aharon, and the Levites… And David called for Tzaddok and Evyatar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaya, and Yoel, Shemaya, and Eliel and Aminadav, and he said to them, “You are the chiefs of the fathers' houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place that I have prepared for it…” So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders, the bars being upon them, as Moshe had commanded according to the word of the Lord… And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and seven rams. And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites who bore the ark, and the singers, and Kenanya the master of the song with the singers. David also had upon him an efod of linen. (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 15:2-27)

 

            When the ark was hidden away during the days of Yoshiyahu, it is the Levites who bore the ark (II Divrei Ha-Yamim 35:3).

 

            Thus, the verses indicate that fundamentally it was the Levites who bore the ark, but on special occasions, it was the priests who bore it. The cases where it is noted that the priests carried the ark are: when the people of Israel crossed the Jordan, when they went around Jericho, when they received the curses and blessings on Mount Eival, when the ark was returned to Jerusalem, during the time of Avshalom's revolt, and when the ark was brought into the Holy of Holies during the days of Shlomo.

 

            We mentioned earlier the words of the gemara in Sota:

 

R. Yose said: The priests bore the ark in three places – when they crossed the Jordan, when they went around Jericho, and when they returned it to its place.[4] (Sota 33b)

 

What does R. Yose refer to when he says: "And when they returned it to its place"? The commentators disagree about this point. Rashi explains that he refers to when the ark was brought into the Holy of Holies during the days of king Shlomo. The Radak, in contrast, explains that R. Yose refers to the time that the ark was returned to its place following the rebellion of Avshalom.[5]

 

Why did the priests carry the ark on these three occasions? The Radak explains:

 

"And the priests the Levites" – Until now, the Levites bore the ark, but now the priests bore it to add to its sanctity through the miracle performed now before it. And Chazal said: "The priests bore the ark in three places – when they crossed the Jordan, when they went around Jericho, and when they returned it to its place." This was when David fled from Avshalom, as it is stated: "Tzaddok and Evyatar carried back the ark of God to Jerusalem" (II Shmuel 15:29). And all this was to magnify its sanctity. (Radak, Yehoshua 3:3)[6]

 

            The Rambam takes a different approach:

 

And the 34^th commandment is that we were commanded that the priests should bear the ark on their shoulders when we wish to move it from one place to another. This is what it says (Bamidbar 7:9): "Because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders." Even though this commandment was addressed to the Levites at that time, that was because of the small number of priests at the time, as Aharon was the first [priest]. But in later generations, it is the priests who are commanded in this commandment, and they bear it, as is explained in the books of Yehoshua and Shmuel… And it says afterwards (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 24:19): "These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the Lord, according to the forms prescribed to them by the hand of Aharon their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him." The Sages explained that this alludes to the fact that it was the service of the priests to bear the ark on the shoulders. And this is what is meant by: "As the Lord God of Israel had commanded him." (Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, positive commandment 34)[7]

 

The Rambam's position notwithstanding, most of the commentators indicate that the service of bearing the ark was the responsibility of the Levites. Most of the commentators understand that the cases where the priests bore the ark were exceptional events, and they try to explain what was exceptional about them (heightened sanctity, paucity of Levites, a miracle; see Seforno, Devarim 31:9).

 

            In addition to the explanations offered above as to why the priests bore the ark in those cases, there seems to be another unique aspect that characterizes them. In all these places, carrying the ark included a dimension of added sanctity, and it is precisely the priests, the most sanctified tribe in Israel, who were fit to carry the ark:

 

·           Parting the Jordan and going around Jericho – In these cases it was precisely the priests who bore the ark in order to give expression to the sanctity of the land of Israel in general, as well as the sanctity of the conquest of the first city captured in the land. Indeed, with its conquest, Jericho was dedicated totally to God (Yehoshua 6:17-25).

·           Bringing the ark into the Holy of Holies at the time of the building of the Temple in the days of Shlomo – It was only the priests who were eligible to bring the ark into the inner chamber of the sanctuary.

·           Carrying the ark at the time of Avshalom's rebellion – The ark's return to the city meant that Jerusalem had been chosen as the city in which the Temple was to be built. David chose to bring up the ark from Kiryat-Ye'arim to the city of David because he wished to turn his kingdom into the place in which at some future point the Temple would stand. When Avshalom was on his way to Jerusalem and the question was raised as to what to do with the ark, David decided, against his own personal interest at the time, to leave the ark in Jerusalem. He thereby established that the city was not merely a royal city, but rather the city destined to serve as the site of the future Temple. This goal is directly connected to the sanctity of Jerusalem in which the Shekhina would rest, and therefore here as well the ark was borne by the priests.[8]

·           The covenant entered into at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival – According to the opinion that it was the priests who bore the ark there, and not the Levites, this assembly was special in that it served to complete the covenant of Arvot Moav in Eretz Yisrael. In certain senses, it was similar to entry into the land. Writing the Torah on stones meant that those entering the land accepted upon themselves to observe it, and therefore it was fitting that the priests should bear the ark on that occasion.

 

In addition, let us mention the fitting words of Yisrael Ariel,[9] who writes that it was the role of the priests, who raised their hands to bless the nation, to bring the Shekhina to the people and to draw down the light and bounty from heaven to earth, whereas it was the role of the Levites accompanying the priests to raise the real world toward heaven. The priests faced the people, whereas the Levites faced the Temple inwards and upwards. The priests stood in a place abundant in bounty and caused it to extend outwards, while the Levites stood in thirst facing that source of bounty in order to receive it. In general, the Levites bore the ark, as it was fitting for them to lead the journey that aimed upward toward the goal of "Rise up, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered" (Bamidbar 10:35). In contrast, at the crossing of the Jordan, the priests bore the ark, because there the ark served not only to blaze the path, but as a conduit for the appearance of the Shekhina, by way of the miracle that would be performed with it. The same was true when Israel encircled Jericho and when the ark was brought into the Temple.

 

The emphasis here is on the fact that on these occasions, the priests bearing the ark made it possible for the Shekhina to appear, and through it the land became sanctified (with the crossing of the Jordan and by encompassing Jericho), Jerusalem became sanctified (with the leaving of the ark in Jerusalem), and the Temple became sanctified (by bringing the ark into the Temple).

 

All this follows from the sanctity of the ark borne by the priests, who made it possible for the Shekhina to rest. This understanding accords with the understanding of the classical commentators that the occasions on which the priests bore the ark were connected to its sanctity and to the miracles connected to it.

 

THe Mitzva within the context of the 613 Commandments.

 

            Those who list the 613 Torah commandments relate to our issue. The Rambam writes in his Sefer ha-Mitzvot:

 

We were commanded that the priests should bear the ark on their shoulders… Even though this commandment was addressed to the Levites, that was because of the small number of priests at the time. (Commandment 34)

 

The Ramban disagrees:

 

In my opinion, also that which he said that the commandment was given over to the priests is not true. Heaven forbid that we should say that any commandment in the Torah should change, so that the Levites should be forever disqualified from carrying the ark. The Levites carried it in the days of David the second time, when he acted properly, as it is stated (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 15): "And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord." And it is written: "And all the Levites who bore the ark, and the singers." Rather, we should say that all the priests and the Levites are fit to carry [the ark] by Torah law, as they are all called Levites. Moreover, it only says in the passage that [the ark should be borne by] the children of Kehat, and the priests are the children of Kehat. And it is written (Devarim 10:8): "At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in His name." And so you see in the verse that says (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 15): "And David called for Tzaddok and Evyatar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaya, and Yoel… You are the chiefs of the fathers' houses of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord." And there it is written: "So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders the bars being upon them, as Moshe had commanded according to the word of the Lord." And this is what they said in Sifrei (Parashat Naso): "Where did He command? 'But to the sons of Kehat he gave none; because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders' (Bamidbar 7:9)…." All this is to say that no novelty whatsoever was introduced by David in the Temple. Rather it was all from the mouth of Moshe based on the word of the Holy…

The Master also said (positive commandment 34) that this was explained in the book of Yehoshua and in the book of Shmuel, that in later generations the priests were obligated in this commandment and they carried it. I did not find this explanation. But in the book of Yehoshua, it says (3:3): "And they commanded the people, saying, ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests and the Levites bearing it, then you shall remove from your place, and go after it.’" And the matter is, as I said, that the entire tribe was fit to bear the ark, and that family of the descendants of Kehat was put in charge of it in the wilderness. I am astonished about the Master on this matter as it is explicit. And the Sages have already explained it, as they said in tractate Sota (33a): "How did Israel cross the Jordan?… Each day the Levites carried the ark, but on this day the priests carried it." This is as we explained, for when they journeyed from the camp on the first day, the Levites as well bore it, as it says: "And the priests and the Levites bearing it." And the day that they crossed the Jordan, the priests alone carried it, as it is written (ibid., v. 6): "And Yehoshua spoke to the priests saying, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant,’" so that the miracle should be performed through the sanctified priests of the seed of Aharon. But in the book of I Melakhim (8:6), when Shlomo brought the ark into the Holy of Holies, there it says: "And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the sanctuary of the house, the most holy place." This was because the Levites never enter into the Holy of Holies. For even in the wilderness, they would not go there until the parokhet was take down by the priests, as it is written (Bamidbar 4:17): "Do not cut off the tribe of the families of the Kehati from among you," and the entire passage. And there too it is written (I Melakhim 8:4): "And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the Ohel Mo'ed, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up." For the Levites also bore the tent and all the holy vessels, except for the ark, for which the priests were now singled out so that they could bring it into the Holy of Holies, since the Levites do not go in there, whether in the wilderness or in later generations. All this is spelled out explicitly. And so too they said there in the gemara in Sota (33b): "It was taught: On three occasions the priests carried the ark: when they crossed the Jordan, when they walked around Jericho, and when they deposited it in its place." It is also clear that the mitzva of carrying it is forever on all the Levites, except for these three places where it was assigned to the priests based on the word of a prophet, at the Jordan, when going around Jericho, and when it was brought into the Holy of Holies. In any event, we have learned that this negative commandment regarding the Levites is counted among the three hundred and sixty five negative commandments. For carrying the ark is a mitzva that applies in later generations. This reconciles the words of the Halakhot Gedolot, and the Master seized upon him about this for naught. (Strictures to the Sefer Ha-Mitzvot, principle 3)

 

According to the Ramban, the priests and the Levites are all fit to carry the ark by Torah law, as they are all called Levites. And furthermore, all that is stated in the relevant Torah section is "sons of Kehat." Heaven forbid that we should say that any mitzva in the Torah was changed, that the Levites were ever disqualified from carrying the ark.

 

            The Sefer Ha-Chinukh summaries the positions of the Rambam and the Ramban as follows:

The mitzva of bearing the ark on the shoulder: That we were commanded that the priests should bear the ark on their shoulders, when Israel transports it from place to place, as it is stated (Bamidbar 7:9): "Because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them; they bore it on their shoulders." And the Rambam wrote: Even though this mitzva was addressed to the Levites, it was at that time, that is to say, in the wilderness, owing to the small number of priests in those days. But in later generations, the priests are obligated in this mitzva and they must bear it, as is explained in the book of Yehoshua (3:6) and in the book of Shmuel.

And the Ramban z"l wrote [in his strictures to the third principle]: That which the Master said that the commandment was given over to the priests is not true. Heaven forbid that we should say that any commandment in the Torah should change, so that the Levites should be forever disqualified from carrying the ark. And he explained the matter well. And the Levites bore it during the days of David, as it is stated (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 15:26): "When God helped the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord." And it is written (ibid. v. 27): "And all the Levites who bore the ark." But the truth is that all the priests and the Levites are fit to carry the ark by Torah law, as they are all called Levites, as it is written (Yechezkel 45:15), "The priests the Levites." And it is also written (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 15:14-15): "So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God upon their shoulders the bars being upon them, as Moshe had commanded according to the word of the Lord." And they said in Sifrei: "Where did he command? 'But to the sons of Kehat he gave none.' Because they are all called the sons of Kehat." And he wrote further that that which the Rambam z"l said that this is explained in the books of Yehoshua and Shmuel, he did not find this explanation. Rather, he found the opposite, for it says there (Yehoshua 3:3): "And they commanded the people, saying, ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests and the Levites bearing it.’" But the truth is as we said that the entire tribe is fit to bear the ark. And furthermore the matter is spelled out in tractate Sota (33b), as the Sages said: "How did Israel cross the Jordan?… On ordinary days the Levites carried the ark, but on this day the priests carried it alone." As it is written (Yehoshua 6:6): "And Yehoshua spoke to the priests saying, Take up the ark of the covenant," so that the miracle should be performed through the priests who are the Holy of Holies in the tribe.

It seems that what the Rambam z"l said that it is explained in Yehoshua, he is referring to this verse, but it is not at all a necessary explanation, as we have explained.

And that which it says in the book of I Melakhim (8:6): "And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to it place into the sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place." This too should not be difficult in your eyes, as it was because the Levites may not enter the Holy of Holies that the priests brought it in by themselves.

It seems that the correct view is in accordance with the words of the Ramban z"l that the entire tribe is fit to carry the ark. And that which it says (II Divrei Ha-Yamim 35:3): "And he said to the Levites… Put the holy ark in the house which Shlomo the son of David king of Israel did build; you need no longer carry it upon your shoulders," this means that Israel would no longer have to carry the ark from place to place. But it does not mean that if they would have to carry it, the Levites would not carry it. This is clear and evident to all. And that which the Sages said (Chullin 24a), "Blemishes disqualify priests, but years do not disqualify priests," they only said this about the priestly service, that years do not disqualify from that service. But as for the service of carrying, even priests are disqualified by years, like the Levites.

The root of the mitzva is that the essence of the glory of Israel is the Torah through which they were distinguished from the other nations, and they were made God's portion. Therefore, it is fitting and proper that it should be carried on the shoulders of the most distinguished and sanctified people among us. There is no need to go on at length about a matter that is obvious to school children.

The substance of the mitzva is spelled out in Scripture, namely, that the priests and the Levites should bear the ark on their shoulders, when it becomes necessary to transport it from place to place, e.g., during a time of war or for any other purpose, and that it should not be carried on a wagon or on the back of an animal. The Sages already accused David of erring in a matter that school children can read when he bore the ark on a wagon (Sota 35a).

This mitzva applies when Israel dwells in their land, because then it was necessary to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord owing to war or when their king ordered. But now, owing to our sins, we have no king and no ark to bear any place. This commandment is cast upon the tribe of Levite, and upon the rest of Israel who should agree with them. That which is the custom in [certain] exiles today to take out a Torah scroll to greet the kings of the nations, this is not at all part of the obligation of this mitzva, for all members of Israel are permitted to carry it. If, as a show of honor to the Torah, they choose today that it be carried by Levites, let a blessing come to them.

 

The simple explanation is in accordance with the view of the Ramban and the Sefer Ha-chinukh, that the mitzva can be properly fulfilled by both priests and Levites. Fundamentally, the mitzva falls upon the Levites, although in certain cases, the parameters of which we attempted to define, it must be performed by the priests.

 

The position of the Rambam emphasizes the special sanctity of ark that is carried by the priests, the agents of God, who represent the manner in which the Shekhina rests. The position of the Ramban, according to which it is the Levites who bear the ark, is based on the idea that the Levites represent the people of Israel. The bearing of the ark is not considered a service, and the ark in transit does not have the ordinary sanctity of the structure of the Mishkan. The ark is therefore borne by the Levites, who are sent by the people of Israel.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

, full_html, In this shiur, I wish to deal with questions relating to the bearing of the ark. Who carried the ark and what was the significance of this?