REPETITION, REPETITION

The seventh chapter of Bamidbar, at the end of Parshat Naso, is the longest chapter in the Torah. It records the gifts given by the princes of each tribe at the inauguration of the altar.

Curiously, each prince gave exactly the same gift, and even more curiously each gift is recorded in exacting detail, so that we are furnished with a record of twelve identical gifts. 

The Torah is known for being very sparing in its use of words, and even individual letters are used by the Talmudic sages to derive laws. So why does the Torah abandon this principle when informing us of the princes’ donations?

Rabbi Dunner examines the sources, and presents a range of remarkable insights into this startling departure from the Torah’s literary norms.