פרשת קרח תשכ"ט - פרקים י"ז-י"ח: שאלות שונות

And the children of Israel spoke unto Moses, saying: ‘Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.

And the LORD said unto Aaron: ‘Thou and thy sons and thy fathers’ house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

ויאמר ה' אל אהרן AND GOD SAID UNTO AARON — i.e. He said it to Moses that he in turn should speak to Aaron to admonish him regarding the precautions to be taken for the benefit of the Israelites in order that they might not enter the Sanctuary (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 1:1 s. v. אליו and Note thereon).

ויאמר ה' אל אהרן “The Lord said to Aaron, etc.;” Rashi comments that we must understand this line as meaning that G-d spoke to Moses, to tell what follows to Aaron. To the question of what forced Rashi to ignore the text as written, i.e. that G-d addressed Aaron directly, we must understand what transpired as follows: The Torah, i.e. G-d, wishes the people to know that they were wrong in thinking that anyone daring to come into the vicinity of the Tabernacle would either be killed by G-d, or by a human tribunal, seeing that G-d had already said concerning Aaron: “you and your sons and your fathers, (all the priests) shall bear the iniquity of the Sanctuary;” in other words, it was the task of the priests to ensure that the boundaries would not be crossed by people who had no authority to enter the Sanctuary. G-d had said the following to Moses to convey to Aaron: “you and your sons, etc,”In other words, what Rashi was saying here is that G-d had already told Moses to tell Aaron what follows;He had done so in the portion of Bamidbar chapter 1, verse 51, etc. These instructions have been repeated here in verse 7, because a new element has been added, i.e. אתה ובניך ובית אביך, “you, your sons, and the house of your father;”Seeing that this paragraph has been written close to the people’s, especially Korach’s, complaints about the priests and the institution of hereditary priesthood, it has been positioned as a sort of introduction to the people’s gifts to the priests, seeing that these people were not landowners and depended for their livelihood on the willingness of the people to carry out all these instructions. Our author adds as his own commentary concerning Rashi’s words, that seeing that we have learned from the Sifri on 18,8 where the author quotes our verse, i.e. G-d, as speaking directly to Aaron, and in verse 8 of our chapter where we have the Torah writing again that G-d spoke to Aaron, and it certainly sounds very direct, that he had already stated on a previous occasion that every time we have the Torah writing: “G-d spoke to Aaron,” this refers to something that had first been told to Moses and he had been instructed to relay it to Aaron. In this instance also, the substance of the message was to be ultimately relayed to the Jewish people to avoid tragedy through misunderstanding. [Leviticus 10,8 also has G-d speaking (apparently) directly to Aaron, as well a verse 20 in our chapter. Ed.]

And the LORD spoke unto Aaron: ‘And I, behold, I have given thee the charge of My heave-offerings; even of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel unto thee have I given them for a consecrated portion, and to thy sons, as a due for ever.

And thy brethren also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee, thou and thy sons with thee being before the tent of the testimony.

And thy brethren also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee, that they may be joined unto thee, and minister unto thee, thou and thy sons with thee being before the tent of the testimony.

And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood in everything that pertaineth to the altar, and to that within the veil; and ye shall serve; I give you the priesthood as a service of gift; and the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death.’

עבדת מתנה [I HAVE GIVEN YOUR PRIESTHOOD UNTO YOU] AS A SERVICE OF GIFT — This means as a gift have I given it to you, [and the stranger that comes near shall die].

And the LORD said unto Aaron: ‘Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any portion among them; I am thy portion and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

Why were the Levites not allotted land in Eretz Yisrael or a share in its booty along with their brethren? Because they were singled out to serve the Lord and minister to him, to teach his upright ways and just laws to many people, as it is written: "They shall teach thy laws to Jacob, and thy instruction to Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:10). For this reason, they were separated from worldly affairs: they fought no battles like the rest of Israel; they inherited no land; they won nothing by means of their physical ability. They are indeed the Lord's army, as it is written: "Bless, O Lord, his substance" (11). He, blessed be he, has won them for himself, as it is written: "I am your portion and your share" (Numbers 18:20).