Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”LTo sponsor an episode please visit: https://itistaught.com/support-this-project/To get the daily chumash summaries in your email click here https://substack.com/profile/182692001-sarede-rachel-switzer?utm_source=profile-page.Subscribe on SpotifySubscribe on Apple PodcastsPlease consider leaving a review on the platform of your choice! For comments and inquiries, email itistaught@gmail.comThe Special Role and Legacy of the KohanimG-d tells Moshe to put Aaron’s staff back where it had been, in front of the Ark.Anyone who was not a Kohen who would enter into the Ohel Moed would die, so having this staff on display there would serve as a reminder and a deterrent to anyone who might have an objection regarding Aaron’s priestly status.The Israelites protested that they were worried that since they were permitted to enter into the Courtyard of the Ohel Moed, it would be too easy for someone to go a bit closer and enter into the Ohel Moed itself and thus die. Were they indeed doomed to die? They asked.G-d responds by telling Moshe to relate to Aaron and his family (i.e the Kohanim and Levites who come from Kehoth as did Moshe and Aaron) that they are to take measures to protect the other Israelites from coming too close to the Ohel Moed.G-d says that any Israelite who sins regarding any of the sacred things which the Kohanim were entrusted with (i.e the Tent, the Ark and the Table), is the Kohanim’s responsibility and they are to bear the punishment in such an instance.He continues saying that Aaron’s brethren (i.e. the sons of Gershon and Merari) will be part of this effort of protecting the Israelites from approaching too close to the Ohel Moed. The Levites are to attend to the personal needs of the Kohanim by the gates of the Courtyard and appointing clerks to manage the Mishkan’s accounting.The Levites however are not allowed to approach the holy vessels or the Altar or they will die. They are to prevent other Israelites from getting too close to the Kohanim during their service in the Ohel Moed.These safeguards will eliminate G-d’s anger against the Israelites.The Levites have been given to them as a gift to oversee the clerks and managers in the Mishkan.Similarly, the priesthood was also given as a gift to Aaron and his sons. This section of Chumash states it explicitly in a way that it wasn’t brought up before, though we would have thought that it would have been more appropriate to mention it in the book of Vayirka which deals with laws regarding Kohanim.Rashi explains the reason why it was placed here, right after the incident with Korach, through a parable of a king who gave a field to a close friend without having anything written up or signed officially or sealed in court. Then one day a person claims this field as his own, so the king then writes up and signs a document and brings it to court to prevent any such protests. The claimant to the field in this case was Korach, and the document G-d wrote up was the 24 gifts of priesthood (enumerated in Bava Kamma 110b and Chullin 137b) with an eternal covenant of salt (detailed later on by Rashi in 18:19 – see below).G-d says that the Kohanim are to protect His sacrifices for distinction and greatness by making sure that they do not become ritually impure. They are to make sure that the offerings which have the status of being of the highest degree of holiness are only eaten in the Courtyard of the Mishkan or Temple and be only eaten by men.G-d then outlines those things which are to be set aside as gift to the Kohanim:* The portion which is set aside from the wavings of the Thanksgiving and Peace offerings and the ram of the nazir (to be eaten by any Kohen, even his wife, so long as he is not impure).* The choicest of the first oil, wine and grain which is given to G-d (i.e the first teruma)* Anything set aside in the land of Israel* Any firstborn man or animal (though a firstborn man or impure animal should be redeemed at the age of one month for 5 holy shekels, which equals 12 geirah).* Firstborn oxen, sheep or goats should not be redeemed, as they are holy and offered as sacrifices. These are to to be eaten by Kohanim as well as their wives, children and slaves. This meat can be eaten for two days and one night (this is similar to the rules regarding the breast of the waving and like the right leg of a peace offering, unlike that of the breast and leg of a thanksgiving offering which may only be eaten for one day and one night).G-d summarizes that anything that the Israelites set aside regarding holy things, G-d has given to the Kohanim. He calls it a “covenant of salt”. Rashi explains that salt is apropos since salt is healthy in that it doesn’t spoil and prevents other things from spoiling thus making them “healthy”.G-d tells Aaron that they don’t have a share in the land of Israel, not even a share in the spoils of ...
