Moses and the Priesthood

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The Consecration of the Priests

TANAKH

Moses played a crucial role in the initiation of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood, marking a significant moment in the consecration of the priests. The book of Leviticus details the sacrificial worship in the Mishkan and includes the moment when Moses summoned Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel on the eighth day.

On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel.

Leviticus 9:1

Moses' Sacrifice

COMMENTARY

Moses faced a profound emotional sacrifice when God asked him to appoint his brother Aaron as High Priest. The midrashic text cited here by Dr. Avivah Zornberg uses a poignant analogy to illustrate the depth of Moses' pain against the backdrop of his compliance with God's will.

The analogy involved in this midrash is startling. Moses is compared to a wife who is asked by her husband to find him another wife! When God asks Moses to appoint his brother High Priest, He is similarly doing him an injury. We require the shocking analogy in order to appreciate how much pain the divine will causes Moses. God asks for Moses’ invetanut, his cooperation, his compliance in a move that undermines his own status. A pang of loss initiates him into conscious mourning.

Moses; A Human Life, 4 Moses in the Family; Mirrors and Foils 28

Moses and the Sacred Vestments

MUSAR

How could Moses perform service in the Sanctuary without the sacred vestments? In his 17th-century work, Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horovitz explores this question and examines the Talmud's answer that Moses wore a white shirt, delving into the seeming incongruity between the question and the answer provided by the sages.

Keeping this in mind we can answer the question how Moses could have performed service in the Sanctuary during the seven days preceding the eighth day of Nissan mentioned in Leviticus 9,1. Our sages answered this question saying that Moses went in wearing a white shirt (Taanit 11). At first glance the question does not seem to fit the answer. If the questioner wanted to know whence Moses had taken the sacred vestments to enable him to perform the service in the Sanctuary -because he presumed that such service could not be performed without the sacred vestments- then the answer simply skirts…

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Tetzaveh, Torah Ohr 5

Aaron's Divine Vindication

MIDRASH

Aaron's elevation to the high priesthood was a divine act to demonstrate that his involvement in the incident of the golden calf was out of fear and not held against him by God. Midrash Tanchuma, an early medieval collection of midrash, offers a narrative that explains Aaron's actions during the golden calf incident and God's subsequent forgiveness and elevation of Aaron to the high priesthood.

When Aaron saw what had happened he built the altar. He took the gold nose rings and cast them into the fire, as it is said: I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf (ibid., v. 24). Aaron was afraid that the Holy One, blessed be He, was angry with him, and so the Holy One, blessed be He, told Moses: And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them (Exod. 29:1); that is, elevate Aaron and his sons to the high priesthood, to make it known that Aaron had acted only out of fear…

Midrash Tanchuma, Tetzaveh 10:7

Aaron's Reward for Joy

TALMUD

Aaron's joy at Moses' rise to greatness, without a trace of jealousy, earned him the High Priesthood and the breastplate of judgment. Rabbi Mallai's interpretation of Exodus 4:14 highlights Aaron's exceptional character and the divine reward he received.

And Rabbi Mallai said: It is stated in the verse: “And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite, I know that he can surely speak, and also behold, he is coming out to greet you, and he will see you and be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4:14). Rabbi Mallai taught that as reward for Aaron’s lack of jealousy at seeing his brother Moses rise to greatness, as it is stated: “And he will see you and be glad in his heart,” he merited to become the High Priest…

Shabbat 139a:14

The Bridge of Holiness

JEWISH THOUGHT

The appointment to priesthood involves much more than mere ritual, serving as a bridge between ritual and spiritual holiness. Eliezer Berkovits, in his mid-20th-century work, explores Moses' explanation during Korah’s rebellion to highlight the sanctification of the priests.

We may distinguish between the ritual and the spiritual aspects of holiness. The holy in relationship to man belongs in the category of the spiritual as does the holiness of God. One might, however, consider the sanctification of the priests as the bridge between the spiritual and the merely ritualistic. Much more than mere ritual is involved in the appointment to priesthood. We adduce this clearly from a passage in Numbers. We have in mind Korah’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron. He and his follower sought priesthood…

Man and God, Chapter 4 the Concept of Holiness 203-205

Divine Selection and Human Doubt

COMMENTARY

The miracles performed during Korach's rebellion were not enough to convince the people of God's definitive choice for the High Priest. Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar, in his 18th-century Torah commentary Or HaChaim, explores the aftermath of Korach's rebellion and the divine selection of leadership.

והיה האיש אשר אבחר בו, "and it will be that the rod of the man whom I choose will bud." All the miracles G'd had performed with Korach had not sufficed to convince the people. Perhaps this was because the people thought that Korach's sin was that he challenged Moses so that G'd had had to defend the honour of His prophet, but that this did not prove that G'd was not willing to choose another tribe from which the High Priest would be chosen.

Or HaChaim on Numbers 17:20:1

The Mystery of Moses' Absence

COMMENTARY

Moses' absence from Parashat Tetzaveh raises intriguing questions about his role and the significance of the priesthood. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his essay on Parashat Tetzaveh, delves into the implications of Moses' absence and what it reveals about Jewish tradition and leadership.

In the previous essays I discussed the importance of focusing a parasha on the legacy of the priestly role for Judaism. However, need this focus have removed Moses from the passage entirely? Is there any larger significance to his absence? The commentators offered various suggestions.

Covenant and Conversation; Exodus; The Book of Redemption, Tetzaveh, Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 3

Unique Priestly Roles in Jewish History

GUIDES

Moses and Pinehas held unique priestly roles that set them apart in Jewish history and religious practice. The Babylonian Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, in tractate Zevachim discusses the special status of Moses and Pinehas as priests.

Other discussions of ritual impurity are included tangentially, as well as a discussion of the unique standing of Moses and Pinehas as priests, both during and following the inauguration of the Temple.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Zevachim, Summary of Perek XII 8

Aharon's Unique Privilege

COMMENTARY

Aharon, the High Priest, had a unique privilege to enter the Holy of Holies daily with specific preparations, unlike his sons who could only enter on Yom Kippur. The 19th-century Torah commentary Haamek Davar by Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (Netziv) explores why God asked Moses to spoke only to Aaron about the High Priest's entry into the Holy of Holies here.

Speak to your brother Aharon. This was already interpreted in Toras Kohanim that the same thing applies to his sons; regular kohanim are included in this warning. If so, why does it say “to Aharon” and not “to Aharon and his sons”? It must be that this section was said solely to Aharon, as it says in the Midrash Rabbah on this section: Aharon was permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies every day. However, it had to be with this preparation. This is derived from here because Yom Kippur was not mentioned in all this matter until afterwards…

Haamek Davar on Leviticus 16:2:1

The Priests as Teachers

COMMENTARY

An important duty of the priests is to study and teach the Torah, not just to serve in the Temple. Sforno, a 16th-century Italian Jewish commentator, emphasizes the educational responsibilities of the priests (Kohanim) in his commentary on the Torah.

וידבר משה והכהנים הלוים, Moses co-opted the priests to caution them on the importance of studying the Torah in depth. This was because it was their primary duty to teach the Torah to the people. [service in the Temple occupied only a few days’ a year of each priest’s time. Ed.] (compare Deut. 33,10 יורו משפטיך ליעקב, “they shall teach Your laws to Yaakov.”)

Sforno on Deuteronomy 27:9:1

Guiding the Priesthood

TARGUM

The detailed involvement of Moses in instructing and overseeing the order of the priesthood and the construction of the Tabernacle is highlighted. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, an Aramaic translation and interpretation of the Torah, provides additional context and explanations about these tasks.

And they brought the tabernacle to Mosheh at his house of instruction, (beth Midrash,) where sat Mosheh, and Aharon, and his sons, where he gave direction to them concerning the order of the priesthood; and there, and Aharon, (also) sat the elders of Israel. And they brought to him the tabernacle and all its vessels: its taches, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its bases;

Targum Jonathan on Exodus 39:33

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