Tetzaveh 5782

(10) Lead the bull up to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the head of the bull. (11) Slaughter the bull before יהוה, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, (12) and take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; then pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. (13) Take all the fat that covers the entrails, the protuberance on the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and turn them into smoke upon the altar. (14) The rest of the flesh of the bull, its hide, and its dung shall be put to the fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering. (15) Next take the one ram, and let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the ram’s head. (16) Slaughter the ram, and take its blood and dash it against all sides of the altar. (17) Cut up the ram into sections, wash its entrails and legs, and put them with its quarters and its head. (18) Turn all of the ram into smoke upon the altar. It is a burnt offering to יהוה, a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to יהוה. (19) Then take the other ram, and let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the ram’s head. (20) Slaughter the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the ridge of Aaron’s right ear and on the ridges of his sons’ right ears, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet; and dash the rest of the blood against every side of the altar round about.

(18) And יהוה answered Moses, “Single out Joshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him. (19) Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight. (20) Invest him with some of your authority, so that the whole Israelite community may obey. (21) But he shall present himself to Eleazar the priest, who shall on his behalf seek the decision of the Urim before יהוה. By such instruction they shall go out and by such instruction they shall come in, he and all the Israelite [militia], and the whole community.” (22) Moses did as יהוה commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community. (23) He laid his hands upon him and commissioned him—as יהוה had spoken through Moses.

(9) Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the Israelites heeded him, doing as יהוה had commanded Moses.

(21) Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated agent. (22) Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.

And three rows of Torah scholars sit before the judges, and each and every one among those sitting recognizes his place, i.e., they are seated in accordance with their stature. When the court must ordain an additional judge, e.g., if a judge dies during the proceedings or in the case of a court without a decisive majority (see 40a), the court ordains the greatest Torah scholar from the first row. As a seat in the first row is now vacant, one Torah scholar from the second row comes to the first row, and one Torah scholar from the third row comes to the second row, and the court selects another Torah scholar from among the assembled and they seat him in the third row. And this Torah scholar who moves from the second row to the first row would not sit in the place of the first Torah scholar, who joined the court, rather, he would sit in the place appropriate for him, i.e., at the end of that row, in accordance with his stature.

§ What is the specific nature of this permission? The Gemara relates: When Rabba bar Ḥana descended to Babylonia, his uncle Rabbi Ḥiyya said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: My brother’s son is descending to Babylonia. May he teach people and issue rulings with regard to what is prohibited and what is permitted? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: He may teach. Rabbi Ḥiyya then asked: May he also adjudicate cases of monetary law, and be absolved from payment if he errs? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: He may adjudicate. Rabbi Ḥiyya continued: May he declare a firstborn animal permitted? The male firstborn of a kosher animal may not be eaten, as it is supposed to be offered in the Temple. But if it acquires a permanent blemish it is unfit for an offering, and it may be eaten. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: He may declare such an animal permitted.

In order to act as a judge in the supreme court or in a Small Sanhedrin or in a court-of-three, one must be ordained by someone who has been ordained. Our teacher Moses ordained Joshua by placing his hands upon him, as it is written: "He laid his hands on him and commissioned him" (Numbers 27:23). He also ordained the seventy elders, and the Divine Presence rested upon them. The elders ordained others, who in turn ordained others. This tradition continued until the Talmudic era, when the Sages had received ordination one from the other in a chain extending back to the court of Joshua, and to the court of Moses.

Originally, every ordained teacher would ordain his own students. As a mark of honor to the house of Hillel the Elder, however, the sages later enacted that no person could be ordained without the authorization of the Nasi, and that the Nasi was to ordain only in the presence of the Av-beth-din; the Av-beth-din, in turn, was to ordain only in the presence of the Nasi. Each member of the college was authorized to ordain by permission of the Nasi, provided that he was joined by two others, since the ordination ceremony must be performed in the presence of no fewer than three.