[Avodah] How were Levi'I'm Counted?

[rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com]

Micha:
> Rashi could mean "how many people too young to give a machatzis
> hasheqel". Although I thought the Leviim were counted by peteq, which
> I would deduce from RKBloom's post was something I saw in HaEmeq Davar
> once. But the same answer would work either way, that the bas qol was
> only needed for those too young for the manual method.

AIUI the bas kol gets around the objectivity problem but not the gulgoles
problem


Artscroll Sapirstein plus the simple mashmaus is that Moshe going into
the tents would be a breach of tznius

So bas kol was needed to help out only with the "nursing" babies AIUI.
Or maybe toddlers, too.

My difficulty is simple, we do not count heads as a matter of halacha.
Now if a mal'ach handed a petek for each baby - fine! But AIUI counting
via bas kol is STILL counting heads! Of course yeish lechaleik - but
it still bothers me

Lemashal if a census taker got the Mommy's Kol instead of a bas kol
isn't this still counting heads?

-RRW
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