The sacred tasks associated with the Tabernacle that traveled with our ancestors through the desert were divided among the families of the tribe of Levi. The Kohanim performed the sacrificial service, while the Levites served as honor guards and were responsible for assembling, disassembling, and transporting the Tabernacle.

When the Tabernacle was inaugurated, the princes of the twelve tribes brought inaugural gifts. Among them were wagons and oxen to assist with transportation. These wagons carried the walls, hooks, sockets, and coverings of the Tabernacle. The sacred vessels themselves, however, were carried by hand. They were too holy to be placed on oxen-drawn wagons; carrying them manually was considered an honor.

This raises an intriguing question. Before the princes donated the wagons and oxen, the assumption was likely that the Levites would carry every part of the Tabernacle by hand. True, the walls and coverings were not as sacred as the vessels, but they too possessed holiness, and carrying them by hand would also have expressed reverence. By donating wagons, the princes made the Levites’ task easier, but seemingly at the cost of diminishing the honor shown to the Tabernacle. Why would they do that?

The change appears to involve a double loss: (a) the Tabernacle was treated with less deference, and (b) the Levites were spared some of the physical exertion involved in this sacred duty.

We will suggest two answers. The first highlights a benefit to the Tabernacle itself; the second, a benefit to the Levites.

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