Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5774
Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5774
Rabbi Hal Miller
And you shall bring near to yourself Aharon your brother and his sons with
him, from among the Children of Israel to be a Kohen to me, Aharon, Nadav
and Avihu, Elazar and Itamar, sons of Aharon. [Shemos 28:1]
Our pasuk sets apart the Kohanim. Other verses set apart the rest of the tribe
of Levi. In other ways, Jews are separated into groups or classifications. Is
this a good thing? Why did the Torah do this?
In describing the priestly garments, Sforno says their purpose is "to render
honor and glory to the Almighty". We see elsewhere that this applies to the
Kohanim themselves as well. Does this mean that the rest of us cannot do this
too? Or perhaps we cannot do it only in this particular manner?
The tribe of Levi performed various supportive roles in the Temples, things
that were not done by anyone else. The biggest example was the singing. Does
this mean all Leviim can sing? I can tell you from personal experience (I am
a Levi whose singing voice scares away children and small animals) that it
does not. Does this mean nobody other than a member of the tribe of Levi can
sing? You have but to spend a couple moments with a radio or television to
know that there are some wonderful songbirds out there who are not of that
tribe. Why do only Leviim sing in the Temple?
There was a 'station' in the Temple, where the other tribes stood. Was this
just to get them out of the way? Or was there a grander purpose to having
non-Kohanim/Leviim in that particular position?
These events occurred a very long time ago. Do they still apply now? Later
in our parsha the Torah writes, [29:9] "The priesthood shall be an eternal
duty for them." Rashi says this refers only to the anointing, but for our
purpose it makes no difference. The Torah still says there is something
'eternal' about being a Kohen. The role does not change.
But, up until this point, Moshe Rabbeinu performed the priestly functions.
He was obviously not a son of Aharon. The priesthood was transferred--it was
not always in the one segment of the population. There is a midrash that says
that Moshe was upset about this transfer. Ibn Ezra says that G-d explained
His making the change: "It was his (Moshe's) task to teach them Torah,
leaving him no time for sacrificial worship." This tells us that there are
separate roles involved in the practice of Judaism. Moshe's role was split,
some of it handed to his brother for all time. The Dubno Magid tells us that
a Kohen's job is to teach by personal example. Moshe's job was to teach by
lecture. Some lessons require one approach, some require the other. It is not
likely that one individual can continue to perform both processes successfully
so teamwork becomes the name of the game.
The kehuna, the priesthood, is a channeling device. Kohanim do not 'give' a
blessing. Only G-d blesses. He wants our involvement in the running of the
world, including this bestowal of blessings. The Kohen is the tool He uses to
spread blessing upon the people. This is only one tool, for specific purposes.
A saw is not jealous of a hammer for pounding nails--that's the hammer's job.
When it comes to cutting, it will be the hammer sitting on the sideline while
the saw goes to work.
The role of the Kohen is to act as the conduit for G-d's blessings upon the
nation of Israel. The role of the Levi is to perform support services for that
process. The role of the other tribes at the station is to act as the receiver
representing all of the nation. Shining a light off into the darkness is of no
value. Shining the light upon some item gives people the ability to see that
item. Without the item, the light has no purpose. Without the light, it is as
if the item did not exist.
Each of us has a role to play. That role has been assigned by G-d. My role may
be quite different from yours, but that's okay. They don't have to be the
same. We just both need to recognize what our role is, then go out and fulfill
it. The Jewish nation must act as a team.