The Leviim chosen through bittul to the whole

בשם אא"ז ז"ל על מ"ש רש"י שנזכרו בנ"י ה"פ בפסוק שחביבין כחמשה חומשי תורה.

In the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory, on what Rashi wrote — that Bnei Yisrael are mentioned five times in the verse, that they are beloved like the Five Books of the Torah.

Citing his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim), the Sefas Emes brings Rashi's comment that the fivefold mention of Bnei Yisrael in the verse shows they are as beloved as the five Chumashim of the Torah.

ולמה דוקא בפרשה זו.

And why specifically in this passage?

He asks why this expression of Hashem's love for Yisrael appears precisely here, in the passage about the Leviim.

רק לפי שנבחרו הלוים לא יחלש דעתן של בנ"י בעבור זה כי חביבין הם ודפח"ח.

Only because the Leviim were chosen, the rest of Bnei Yisrael should not become disheartened on account of this, for they are beloved — and these are words of the living God (beautiful words of Torah).

The grandfather's answer: lest the rest of Bnei Yisrael feel diminished by the Leviim's selection, the Torah reassures them here that they too remain beloved to Hashem.

והאמת דכתיב מתוך בני ישראל שבחירת הלוים הוא מכח כללות בנ"י.

And the truth is, as it is written "from among Bnei Yisrael," that the choosing of the Leviim is by the power of the collective of Bnei Yisrael.

The phrase "from among Bnei Yisrael" teaches that the Leviim were chosen precisely as representatives drawing on the strength of the entire nation.

וזה שנבדלו הלוים אינו מטעם שנפרשים הם מן הציבור רק אדרבא כפי מה שאדם בטל אל הציבור הקב"ה בוחר בו.

And the fact that the Leviim were set apart is not because they separate themselves from the community — but rather, on the contrary, to the degree that a person nullifies himself to the community, Hashem chooses him.

Being "set apart" is not separation from Klal Yisrael; the opposite — Hashem chooses a person precisely in proportion to his bittul, his self-nullification toward the tzibbur.

ולפי שהלוים הן היותר מתבטלין לכלל ישראל לכן נבחרו והוא פרט הצריך לכלל.

And because the Leviim are the ones who nullify themselves most to Klal Yisrael, they were therefore chosen — and this is a "particular that is needed by the whole" (a specific that serves the general).

The Leviim were selected because they most fully embody bittul to the collective; their distinctness is the kind of "particular" that exists to serve and represent the whole.

לכן וסמכו בני ישראל ידיהם על הלוים שמסרו כל כחם להלוים כנ"ל:

Therefore "and Bnei Yisrael shall lay their hands upon the Leviim" — that they handed over all their power to the Leviim, as above.

The laying of hands expresses that all Bnei Yisrael transmitted their collective strength into the Leviim, who serve as their representatives — confirming that the Leviim's selection flows from, and belongs to, the whole nation.

Summary: The fivefold mention of Bnei Yisrael, beloved like the five Chumashim, appears in the passage of the Leviim to reassure the nation that the Leviim's selection does not diminish them. In truth the Leviim were chosen "from among Bnei Yisrael" — by the power of the whole — for Hashem chooses a person precisely to the degree of his bittul to the community; the Leviim, who most nullify themselves to Klal Yisrael, are a "particular that serves the whole," and the laying-on of hands shows the nation transmitting all its power into them.