Chumashחומש

פקד כל בכר זכר מבן חדש ומעלה. מִשֶּׁיָּצָא מִכְּלַל סְפֵק נְפָלִים:

פקד כל בכר זכר … מבן חדש ומעלה NUMBER ALL THE FIRSTBORN OF THE MALES [OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] FROM A MONTH OLD AND UPWARDS — as soon as he (the firstborn) has passed the age when it might possibly prove non-viable (Numbers Rabbah 4:3; cf. Rashi on v. 15).

ואת בהמת הלוים וגו'. לֹא פָדוּ בְהֵמוֹת הַלְוִיִּם אֶת בְּכוֹרֵי בְהֵמָה טְהוֹרָה שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא אֶת פִּטְרֵי חֲמוֹרֵיהֶם, וְשֶׂה אֶחָד שֶׁל בֶּן לֵוִי פָּטַר כַּמָּה פִטְרֵי חֲמוֹרִים שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל. תֵּדַע, שֶׁהֲרֵי מָנָה הָעוֹדְפִים בָּאָדָם וְלֹא מָנָה הָעוֹדְפִים בַּבְּהֵמָה (שם ד'):

ואת בהמת הלוים וגו׳ AND [THOU SHALT TAKE] THE BEASTS OF THE LEVITES [INSTEAD OF ALL THE FIRSTBORN AMONG THE BEASTS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] — The beasts of the Levites did not redeem the firstborn of the clean beasts belonging to the Israelites, but only the first offsprings of their asses (cf. Bekhorot 4a). One lamb of the Levites (it must be remembered that for the redemption of פטר חמור a lamb is prescribed; cf. Exodus 13:13) could, however, release several first offsprings of asses belonging to Israelites. You may know that this is so, for it (Scripture) mentions the number of firstborn Israelites in excess of the number of Levites in the case of human beings, but mentions no number of firstborn animals belonging to the Israelites as being in excess over the lambs of the Levites, [although there were undoubtedly many more firstborn asses of the Israelites than ordinary lambs of the Levites] (cf. Bekhorot 4b).

ואת פדויי השלשה וגו'. וְאֶת הַבְּכוֹרוֹת הַצְּרִיכִין לְהִפָּדוֹת בָּהֶם, אֵלּוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה וְשִׁבְעִים וּמָאתַיִם הָעֹדְפִים בָּהֶם יְתֵרִים עַל הַלְוִיִּם, מֵהֶם תִּקַּח חמשת שקלים לגלגלת; כָּךְ הָיְתָה מְכִירָתוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף, עֶשְׂרִים כֶּסֶף, שֶׁהָיָה בְּכוֹרָהּ שֶׁל רָחֵל (ב"ר פ"ד):

ואת פדויי השלשה וגו׳ AND AS FOR THOSE THAT ARE TO BE REDEEMED [OF THE TWO HUNDRED THREESCORE AND THIRTEEN etc.]… [THOU SHALT TAKE…] — This means, “and as for those firstborn who are yet to be redeemed among them (the Israelites), viz., the 273 who were in excess among them, being more than the 22,000 Levites, of them thou shalt take חמשת שקלים לגלגלת FIVE SHEKELS BY THE POLL, such, viz., twenty pieces of silver, was the selling price of Joseph who was Rachel’s firstborn. (Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 2:4; Genesis Rabbah 84:18).

העדפים על פדויי הלוים. עַל אוֹתָן שֶׁפָּדוּ הַלְוִיִּם בְּגוּפָן:

העדפים על פדויי הלוים THE OVERPLUS THAT WERE MORE THAN THOSE REDEEMED BY THE LEVITES means, that were more than those whom the Levites redeemed by their own person.

חמשה וששים ושלש מאות ואלף. כָּךְ סְכוּם הַחֶשְׁבּוֹן: חֲמֵשֶׁת שְׁקָלִים לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת — לְמָאתַיִם בְּכוֹרוֹת אֶלֶף שֶׁקֶל, לְשִׁבְעִים בְּכוֹרוֹת שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁים שֶׁקֶל, וְשָׁלֹשׁ בְּכוֹרוֹת חֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר שֶׁקֶל; אָמַר, כֵּיצַד אֶעֱשֶׂה? בְּכוֹר שֶׁאֹמַר לוֹ תֵּן חֲמֵשֶׁת שְׁקָלִים, יֹאמַר לִי "אֲנִי מִפְּדוּיֵי הַלְוִיִּם". מֶה עָשָׂה? הֵבִיא שְׁנַיִם וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף פְּתָקִין וְכָתַב עֲלֵיהֶם "בֶּן לֵוִי" וּמָאתַיִם וְשִׁבְעִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה פְּתָקִין כָּתַב עֲלֵיהֶן "חֲמֵשֶׁת שְׁקָלִים", בְּלָלָן וּנְתָנָן בַּקַּלְפִּי, אָמַר לָהֶם, בּוֹאוּ וּטְלוּ פִתְקֵיכֶם לְפִי הַגּוֹרָל (סנהדרין י"ז):

חמשה וששים ושלש מאות ואלף A THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND THREESCORE AND FIVE — This is the total sum: five shekels per head for two hundred firstborn if one thousand shekels; for seventy firstborn is three hundred and fifty shekels, and three firstborn give fifteen shekels, — thus altogether 1,365. — He, (Moses) said, “How shall I proceed? Any firstborn to whom I will say, “Give five shekels’ will answer me, ‘I am one of those redeemed by the Levites’!” What, then, did he do? He brought 22,000 tablets and inscribed them with the words “A son of Levi”, and 273 tablets, and wrote upon them the words “Five shekels”. These he mixed up, putting them into an urn. He said to them, “Come and draw your tablets and decide the matter by lot” (Sanhedrin 17a).