Bamidbar 3:15 · EXTRA 1 — from a month old and upward EXTRA

Parashas Bamidbar · Side page (no TT primary unit)

The Complete Passuk

פְּקֹד֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י לֵוִ֔י לְבֵ֥ית אֲבֹתָ֖ם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם כׇּל־זָכָ֛ר מִבֶּן־חֹ֥דֶשׁ וָמַ֖עְלָה תִּפְקְדֵֽם׃

Record the descendants of Levi by ancestral house and by clan; record every male among them from the age of one month up.

Bamidbar Rabbah — EXTRA.

Core Text

מבן חדש ומעלה —\ldots שאין הולד נקרא בן קיימא עד שיהא בן חדש.

English: “From a month old and upward” — \ldots for a child is not called viable until it is a month old.

On the midrash / in context: The Levitical census begins at thirty days, matching the age at which a firstborn becomes subject to pidyon.

Custom

Chazal link the one-month threshold to the legal definition of a viable child.