ספר במדבר - פרשת מטות - לא:כה-מא - רביעי

Hashem speaks to Moshe, saying the following instructions about the division of the spoil from the war.

Hashem tells Moshe to Sa Es Rosh Malkoyach HaShvi, which means to count or get the total of what was taken in captivity, both humans and animals. Moshe, together with Elozor the Kohen (who now takes the place of Aharon after his passing), and the heads of the tribes, should be present to count up the total of the spoil. The word Malkoyach here refers to what was brought in, both humans and animals, and the phrase HaShvi clarifies that it is the taking in at captivity. The Torah uses this phrase to include both categories together, not as two separate things. The heads of the fathers' tribes are to be involved in this counting as well.

Rashi explains that Sa Es Rosh means Kach Es HaCheshbon—take the accounting, the calculation, of what came in. Sa is to count, and Rosh refers to the total, the heads, meaning the number that came in, similar to Ki Siso Es Rosh elsewhere in the Torah.

The verse instructs that the spoil should be split between two groups: those who actually went out to war (Teufsei HaMilchomo), meaning the thousand from each tribe who fought, and the rest of the community (Kol HaEidah). Half goes to the warriors, and half goes to the rest of the Jewish people.

Rashi explains that Vechatzisa Es HaMalkoyach Bein Teufsei HaMilchomo VeGomer means half goes to these (the warriors), and half goes to those (the rest of the community).

After the division, the Torah says to raise a tax for Hashem from the half that went to the warriors. From their half, one out of every five hundred—whether it is a person, cattle, donkey, or sheep—should be separated as a tax for Hashem. The verse specifies these categories, whereas earlier it only spoke generally about animals.

From their half, you should take this separated portion and give it to Elozor the Kohen as a gift for Hashem. This is the Trumas Hashem—the separation for Hashem that goes to Elozor.

From the half that went to the rest of the Bnei Yisroel, you should take one out of every fifty—whether it is a person, cattle, donkey, sheep, or any kind of animal. This separated portion should be given to the Leviim, who guard the Mishkan. The Torah adds Mikol HaBehemah here, possibly to include other animals not previously specified.

Moshe and Elozor the Kohen did exactly as Hashem commanded Moshe regarding the division and the separations.

The verse now gives the actual numbers. The Malkoyach—the spoil that was to be divided and taxed—was 675,000 sheep. This number refers to what was brought in by the army, beyond the regular spoil that each person took for themselves.

Rashi explains that the reason the Torah uses the language Vayehi HaMalkoyach Yeser HaBaz is because they were only commanded to take the tax from the Malkoyach (the animals and humans brought in), not from the regular movable spoil (Metaltlin). Therefore, the Torah specifies this number, as only the Malkoyach was divided and taxed, not the rest of the spoil.

The number of cattle that was brought in was 72,000.

The number of donkeys was 61,000.

The number of humans—specifically women who had not known intimacy with a man—was 32,000. This refers to those who were fit for marriage but had not yet been with a man, as determined by the test with the Tzitz, as explained earlier.

The half that went to those who went out to war—the army—was 337,500 sheep. This is half of the total 675,000 sheep.

The tax for Hashem from the sheep was 675. This is one out of every 500 from the 337,500 sheep that went to the warriors.

The half of the cattle that went to the warriors was 36,000. The tax for Hashem from this was 72, which is one out of every 500.

The half of the donkeys that went to the warriors was 30,500. The tax for Hashem from this was 61, which is one out of every 500.

The half of the humans (the women who had not known a man) that went to the warriors was 16,000. The tax for Hashem from this was 32 souls, which is one out of every 500.

Moshe gave the tax—the separated portion for Hashem—to Elozor the Kohen, just as Hashem had commanded him. This included the 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 people.