[Siman 9]
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Exod. 29:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse:
The wise shall inherit honor (Prov. 3:35). Fitting, indeed, is the honor accorded to the wise men who labor in the Torah. The Torah says:
Riches and honor are with me; yea, enduring riches and righteousness (Prov. 8:18). You find that though thirty-six generations passed by between Adam and Jabez, the word
honor is employed only in reference to Jabez, as it is said:
And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren (I Chron. 4:9). Why was he referred to as
honorable? Because he was one of the wise men who arranged public assemblies to discuss problems of law, as is said:
And the families of scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Succathites. These are the Kenites that came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab (I Chron. 2:55). R. Judah the son of Shalum stated in the name of R. Aibu: Two descendants of Adam were similarly honored, etc.
Another explanation of
The wise shall inherit honor. This refers to Joshua, who inherited honor from Moses, our master, when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him:
As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee (Josh. 1:5). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses:
Put off thy shoes from off thy feet (Exod. 3:5), and to Joshua He said:
Put off thy shoe from off thy foot (Josh. 5:15). Concerning Moses it is written:
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel (Exod. 15:1), and about Joshua it is said:
Then spoke Joshua to the Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered (Josh. 10:12). Moses led them out of Egypt, while Joshua led them into the Holy Land. Moses slew Sihon and Og, while Joshua slew thirty-one kings. Moses halted the revolution of the sun in the war with Amalek, as it is said:
And Moses lifted up his hand (Exod. 17:11). The word
lifted up refers to his halting of the revolution of the sun, as it is said:
The deep uttereth its voice, and lifteth up its voice on high (Hab. 3:10). Joshua did likewise, as is said:
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Aijalon (Josh. 10:12). Moses erected an altar, as it is said:
And Moses built an altar (Exod. 17:15), and Joshua did likewise:
Then Joshua built an altar (Josh. 8:3). Moses wrote the law, as is said:
And Moses wrote this law (Deut. 31:9), and Joshua did also, as it is said:
And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God (Josh. 24:26). And so this was in every instance.
However, we find that he did not live the same number of years as Moses, our teacher. It is written about Moses:
And Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died (Deut. 34:7), while Joshua passed away at the age of one hundred and ten years. Why did he live ten years less? Because he spoke ten words before Moses, his master, spoke, as it is said:
And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses from his youth up, answered and said: “My lord Moses, shut them in” (Num. 11:28). That is why He shortened his life ten years. From this verse you learn that no pupil is permitted to speak before his master, and that anyone who teaches anything before his master does, or even if he does not teach but simply tells others what the law is before his master has stated it, will find his life’s span shortened. Another explanation of the verse
The wise shall inherit honor. This alludes to Aaron and his sons, through whom the priesthood was established.
[Siman 10]
This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Exod. 29:1). Scripture states elsewhere in reference to this verse:
But Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore (Ps. 92:9). And preceding this is written:
When the wicked spring up as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they may be destroyed forever (ibid., v. 8). Whenever the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts retribution from the wicked, His name is glorified throughout the world, as it is said:
And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord (Exod. 12:12).
Similarly, Rahab said:
We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt…. As soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, and no spirit remained in any man, and it was because of you. This is followed by:
For the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath (Josh. 2:10–11). It is also written:
And the idols shall utterly pass away (Isa. 2:18),
And at that time the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day (ibid., v. 17). Likewise,
And saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Obad. 1:21).
And then the kingdom shall be the Lord’s (ibid.), and it is written elsewhere:
And the Lord shall be King (Zech. 14:9).
Similarly,
Thus shall you say unto them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens; but He that hath made the earth, by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom,” etc. (Jer. 10:11–12). Likewise it is stated:
Let sinners cease out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more (Ps. 104:35).
At that hour, bless the Lord, O my soul. Hallelujah (ibid.). You can explain innumerable verses in the same way. There are numerous passages to prove that idolaters are punished.
In Salem also is set His Tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion. There He broke the fiery shafts of the bow; the shield, and the sword, and the battle, Selah. In Judah is God known (Ps. 76:3–4, 2). Hence, whenever He exacts retribution from the wicked, His name is magnified in the world.
But Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore (Ps. 92:9). Whenever a mortal king judges a man and acquits him, they praise him, but whenever he holds a man guilty, they do not praise him. When the Holy One, blessed be He, benefits a person, His praises are proclaimed: “Blessed is the good and He who does good,” and when evil befalls a person, His praises are also proclaimed: “Blessed be the truthful judge.” Hence,
Thou art on high for evermore. Similarly David said:
I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I found trouble and sorrow, but I called upon the name of the Lord (Ps. 116:3–4). And likewise,
In God—
I will praise His word—
In the Lord—
I will praise His word (Ps. 56:11). Similarly, Job declared:
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).
Another explanation of
But Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore. David declared: Master of the Universe, whenever You give a leadership role to a man, it never leaves him. You gave kingship to the house of David, and it never departed from him, as it is said:
And David My servant shall be their prince forever (Ezek. 37:25). You gave priesthood to Aaron, and it never departed from him, as it is said:
And it shall be unto him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood (Num. 25:13). Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed that Aaron should be elevated to the high priesthood. Hence,
But Thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore.
Why did He elevate Aaron and his sons to that holy station? R. Mani of Shaab and R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: When the Israelites pleaded with him to erect the golden calf, they said to Aaron:
Up, make us a god (Exod. 32:1). Thereupon Hur the son of Caleb arose and rebuked them. They attacked him and killed him. Aaron beheld what had happened and feared (
vayir’a) for his own life, as it is said:
And when Aaron saw (vaya’r) he built an altar before it (ibid., v. 5). You know that they killed Hur, for Moses told them before he ascended the mountain:
Behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them (ibid. 24:14), but after he descended, you find that he did not refer to Hur either as living or as dead. What does Scripture say:
And Moses said to Aaron: “What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them?” (ibid. 32:21). Obviously they must have killed Hur.
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. In that way he made them realize that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not hold the deed of the golden calf against them.
He took a bullock as an offering to atone for the golden calf, which was a bullock, and two rams to correspond to his two sons who were destined to die. Indeed, all his sons deserved to die, as it is said:
Moreover, the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him (Deut. 9:20).
Have destroyed is an expression used to indicate the complete elimination of offspring, as it is said:
Yet I have destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath (Amos 2:9). Because Moses prayed for him, as it is written:
And I prayed for Aaron also the same time (Deut. 9:29), only two of his sons perished, while the other two survived.
[Siman 11]
This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Exod. 29:11). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse:
The wise shall inherit honor; but as for the fools, they carry away shame (Prov. 3:35).
The wise shall inherit honor refers to the Israelites, and
the fools they carry away shame alludes to idolaters. When did Israel inherit honor? When she accepted the law.
R. Johanan stated: Sixty thousand guardian angels descended at Sinai with the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said:
The chariots of God are myriads, even thousands upon thousands (Ps. 68:18). They placed a wreath upon the head of each Israelite. R. Abba the son of Kahana held: When the Israelites stood at Sinai and proclaimed:
All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and obey (Exod. 24:17), the Holy One, blessed be He, loved them immediately and sent two angels to each of them; one to strap on his armor and the other to place a crown upon his head.
R. Simeon was of the opinion that He clothed them in royal garments, as is said:
I clothed thee also with richly woven work (Ezek. 16:10). R. Huna of Sepphoris maintained: He girded them with armor, as it is said:
I wound fine linen (ibid.). R. Simeon the son of Yohai insisted: He girded them with armor and encircled them with the Tetragrammaton. Therefore,
The wise shall inherit honor (Prov. 3:35) refers to the Israelites who received this honor because of the events at Sinai.
But as for fools, they carried away shame (ibid.) alludes to the nations of the world, who earned their fate at Sinai. Whence do we know this? R. Johanan said: Because it is stated:
Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted (Isa. 60:12), it is written about them:
They shall be utterly wasted.
1 Therefore,
But as for fools, they carry away shame.
Another explanation of
The wise shall inherit honor. This verse refers to David and his son Solomon, who built the Temple and inherited honor.
As for fools, they carry away shame alludes to the nations that destroyed the Temple. The Holy One, blessed be He, put them to shame. Proof of this is contained in the verse:
O Lord, in the city Thou wilt despise their semblance (Ps. 73:20). Why is the word
ba’ir (“in the city”) used?
2 There is a proverb which states: The brigand is hung at the place of his crime,
And therefore, O Lord (in the city), Thou wilt despise their semblance. Hence,
for fools, they carry away shame. The wise shall inherit honor refers to Moses and Aaron, and
Fools, they carry away shame alludes to Dathan and Abiram. Why is that so? When the manna descended for the Israelites, Moses said to them:
Let no man leave of it till the morning (Exod. 16:19). Everyone did not listen to Moses; some of them permitted some of it to remain. Those that did so were Dathan and Abiram. R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: What is meant by
And it bred worms, and rotted (ibid., v. 20). It means that the source of worms (
kelanin)
3 went from the tent of Dathan and Abiram into the tents of the Israelites. Hence,
Fools, they carry away shame. Another explanation of
The wise shall inherit honor. This refers to the tribe of Levi, while
Fools, they carry away shame alludes to Korah and his supporters (who rebelled against Moses). Another explanation of
The wise shall inherit honor. This alludes to Aaron and his sons, through whom the high priesthood was firmly established in accordance with the decree:
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them.
[Siman 12]
And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (Exod. 29:1). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse:
Forever, O Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven (Ps. 119:89).
R. Berechiah the priest BeRabbi,
4 declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, will deal mercifully with us forever. Wherein is this stated? At the time that Abraham descended into the fiery furnace, the guardian angels quarreled with one another. One said: I shall descend and save him; while another one insisted: I shall descend and save him. While Michael declared: I shall descend (to save him), and Gabriel called out: I shall descend. Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angels: None of you will do so. I, in all My glory, will descend and rescue him, as it is said:
I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 15:7).
The Holy One, blessed be He, told the angels: You shall descend to rescue his descendants Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they are cast into the furnace. The angels did descend to rescue them, as it is said: Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him (Dan. 3:26). Then the guardian angels proclaimed: Forever, O Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth. They stand this day according to Thine ordinances (Ps. 119:89–91). Unto all generations you demonstrated Your faithfulness when You informed us that we would descend to rescue Abraham’s descendants.
Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth. They stand this day according to Thine ordinances (ibid.). It was according to Your ordinances that You created everything, as is said:
In the beginning God created (Gen. 1:1). Another comment on
They stand this day according to Thine ordinances. Even this day was brought forth according to Your ordinances, as it is said:
Every morning, every morning doth He bring His ordinance to light (Zeph. 3:5).
They stand this day according to Thine ordinances; they shall perish, but Thou shalt stand (Ps. 102:27), for You are the foundation of the world. Another explanation of
But Thou shalt stand is that You shall cause others to stand. Another comment on
And it standeth according to thine ordinances. That is, according to the words You spoke to Aaron (that) the priesthood would be firmly established through him.
[Siman 13]
This is the thing that thou shalt do unto them (to hallow them … take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, and unleavened bread) (Exod. 29:1). You shall do it for them, but not for any others. For this tribe You shall do it, but not for any other tribe.
To minister unto Me (ibid.). He began to teach them how they should purify themselves so that they might eat in holiness; how they should immerse themselves so that they might eat in levitical purity; and how they should sanctify themselves so that they might eat in cleanliness. And He prepared for him the rules for holiness and purity.
To hallow them, to minister unto Me (ibid.). R. Mana BeRabbi
5 stated in the name of R. Eliezer: Each time Scripture says
unto Me it means “forever and ever.”
Take one young bullock (ibid.). This implies that it may not be a stolen one.
And two rams without blemish. He arranged them in the form of a mound, with one ram placed on either side and with the bullock in the middle. Why did he use three? Because they corresponded to the three illustrious men of the world, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The bullock symbolized Abraham:
And Abraham ran unto the herd (Gen. 18:7); and the two rams symbolized Isaac and Jacob.