The tally of the clan of Gershon, by their families and according to their fathers’ houses.
Numbers 4:38
The clan of Kehat carried the Ark, which housed the Torah. The clans of Gershon and Merari, in contrast, carried the Tabernacle itself, which alludes to the performance of G-d’s commandments, which transform the world into G-d’s “Tabernacle,” or home.
The fact that the Torah places the census of the clan of Gershon at the beginning of a parsha, Naso, highlights the advantage of action over study. Torah study and the concrete performance of G-d’s commandments are each superior in different ways: Torah study unites us consciously with G-d, but primarily affects our intellect. In contrast, performing the commandments unites us with G-d less obviously, but this union pervades the physical body.
Recording the command to take the census of the clan of Kehat first – at the end of the preceding parashah, Bemidbar – emphasizes the superiority of Torah study; having the command to take the census of the clan of Gershon introduce parshat Naso emphasizes the superiority of performing the commandments.
—From Daily WIsdom