The Jews are counted in the beginning of this parshah. Hashem told Moshe not to count Levi amongst all the Jews. Rashi explains why; Hashem knew the Jews would sin and everyone included in the counting would die in the desert, and wished to keep Levi out of the affair. So they were to be counted separately, and on a different basis; from the age of one month, than the rest of the Jews, who were counted from the age of twenty.
The pasuk goes on to direct Moshe to appoint the Levi’im to the service of the Mishkan. Then the Torah reports the actual counting of the Jews. Why does the Torah interpose the Levi’im’s job detail in middle of the story of counting the Jews?!
We suggested that to be considered different one must actually be different. Deciding to be different does not make one so. To justify counting the Levi’im separately the Levi’im had to be indeed unique. And that means they had a meaning and function to their lives which others did not share. So appointing them to the office of serving the Mishkan was not a diversion from the counting, rather it formed the very basis to counting them as a separate group.
Sometimes people who want to be special act different. The opposite is the case; we are different when we are special.
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