G‑d then instructed Moses to count the third and final Levite clan, that of Merari.
The Foundation of Everything
בְּנֵי מְרָרִי . . . תִּפְקֹד אֹתָם: (במדבר ד:כט)
[G‑d told Moses,] “You must count the clan of Merari.” Numbers 4:29

The clan of Merari carried the “skeletal” part of the Tabernacle – the planks that formed the walls, together with their bases and connecting poles. The walls were the least “functional” of all the components of the Tabernacle, but they made up its essential frame, the environment in which all of the more “glamorous” activities took place.

In our lives, the framework and basis of our relationship with G‑d is our selfless devotion to His will. While this is the least glamorous aspect of our relationship with G‑d, it is the foundation upon which all the other, more appealing or exciting aspects rest.1