In Parashat Bamidbar, God gives the Levites a special honor – they alone will serve the Tabernacle. But hidden in this appointment is a disturbing message about what happens when anyone gains authority.
A great census of the Israelites was conducted, organized by tribe – but one tribe was left uncounted. “For the Lord had spoken to Moses, saying: Do not on any account enroll the tribe of Levi or take a census of them with the Israelites. You shall put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Pact, all its furnishings, and everything that pertains to it: they shall carry the Tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall tend it; and they shall camp around the Tabernacle.” (Numbers 1:48–50)
God designates the Levites as sacred servants, and later instructs that a separate census be taken for them alone.
The King’s legion
The decision not to count the Levites alongside the rest of the Israelites seems puzzling. Rashi quotes an ancient midrash explaining that this was the customary treatment of the king’s legion. Those who held a special royal function were granted distinct status and were therefore set apart from the rest of the people. Call it what it is: this was an attempt to elevate the Levites above the common folk, to underscore that they were different. From a modern perspective, assigning roles based on tribal origin and creating a separate exalted group is problematic – but that was the custom at the time.
A radical connection
The verse “shall put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Pact” reads like it’s interacting with “do not on any account enroll the tribe of Levi.” Do not enroll – but do put in charge. Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, the XIV century Ba’al ha-Turim, saw a far more radical message hidden here. He discovered that the word “put in charge” or “appoint” (hafked) appears only once more in the entire Bible. In Psalm 109, the psalmist asks God to place upon those who scheme evil a wicked man and an adversary: “Appoint someone wicked over him; may an accuser stand at his right side.” (Psalms 109:6)
The Ba’al ha-Turim dares to draw a parallel between the appointment of the Levites and this verse about appointing a wicked man. He writes that this is what the Sages meant when they said no man is made an officer below unless he is made wicked above. The Levites became officers – and therefore, from heaven’s perspective, they became wicked.
If a person acquires authority in this world, takes on a public role that carries power, he immediately becomes “wicked above.” His very position as an officer renders him, in the reckoning of the heavens, a wicked man.
Power corrupts
This is a striking claim. Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903-1994) wrote that this penetrating midrash expresses the rabbinic attitude toward political authority – treating it as equivalent to the wicked who seize control. The fear is not of the wicked per se, but of rulers who become wicked because of being rulers. Authority is necessary and must be maintained, yet it must always be regarded with suspicion, for every ruler is presumed to become wicked.
The Ba’al ha-Turim points us to the Mishnah in tractate Avot and to Maimonides’ interpretation. The Mishnah states: “Shemaiah used to say: love work, hate acting the superior, and do not attempt to draw near to the ruling authority.” (Avot 1:10)
Maimonides explains: “This ‘government’ (rishut) is the authorities. And in these three traits there is refinement of faithfulness and of the world. As with the absence of work, things will be tight for him and he will rob and be unfaithful. And with the pursuit of lordship, he will have challenges in the world and bad things; as since people will be jealous of him and disagree with him, he will lose his faithfulness. [It is] as they said (Sanhedrin 103b), ‘Once a man is appointed an officer over the community below, he becomes an evildoer above.’”
According to this harsh view, the very act of holding power corrupts a person. As the English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer Lord Acton (1834–1902) declared: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” None of us is immune. The exercise of power – whether as a parent, teacher, manager, commander, and certainly as a legislator, ruler, or judge – tends to corrupt.
Checks and balances
The connection between “put the Levites in charge” and “appoint over him a wicked man” lies at the foundation of the modern concept of checks and balances. Democratic governance understands that the more power is concentrated in a single place, the greater the likelihood it will be abused. One may debate which system best separates government branches – but the attempt to erode those checks and concentrate ever greater power in one branch can be very dangerous indeed. For no man is made a leader below unless he is made wicked above.
Lior Tal Sadeh is an educator, writer, and author of “What Is Above, What Is Below” (Carmel, 2022). He hosts the daily “Source of Inspiration” podcast, produced by Beit Avi Chai.
For more insights into Parashat Bamidbar, listen to “Source of Inspiration”.
Translation of most Hebrew texts sourced from Sefaria.org
Main Photo: The Numbering of the Israelites, as in Numbers 1\ Wikipedia
