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Why were the Levites counted separately from the rest of Bnei Yisrael? Rashi (רש"י)'s explanation connecting this to the Golden Calf and the spies seems problematic since the counting preceded the spies' mission. The shiur develops that both sins represented rejection of Hashem (ה׳)'s leadership, and the Levites' loyalty during the Golden Calf earned them special status as Hashem's legion, exempt from the collective punishment.
Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L examines the opening of Parshas Bamidbar where Hashem (ה׳) commands Moshe to count Klal Yisrael but to count the Levites separately. Rashi (רש"י) provides two explanations: first, that the legion of the king is fit to be counted separately, and second, that Hashem foresaw the decree that would come upon those counted - that they would die in the desert due to the sin of the spies - and wanted to exclude the Levites who didn't participate in the sin of the Golden Calf. The shiur focuses on the difficulties with Rashi's second explanation. The Mizrahi and other Rishonim ask several pointed questions: Why does the counting itself matter if the real cause of death was the sin of the spies? If righteous individuals like Yehoshua and Kalev were counted but didn't die, then it's not true that everyone counted would die. Why does Rashi mention the Golden Calf when discussing a decree related to the spies?
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Parshas Bamidbar
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