[Why indeed should gentiles who are not of Israel, read chapter after chapter of detailed instructions for the priesthood while serving in the Tabernacle in the wilderness, continuing on to the future Temple to be built in Jerusalem . . . both of which don’t even exist anymore? Nor are there Israelis today known to belong to that tribe?
Could we not skip all the information specific to Israel and specific to the tribe of Levi and still live the Torah lifestyle which could be condensed, after all, in the Ten Words or the Decalogue?
The answer is much like the one about climbing Mt. Everest: BECAUSE IT’S THERE.
You might be surprised to know that even secular Jews today, who are of Israel, can hardly relate to the Hebrew Scriptures.
- Read: The Vanishing American Jew?
- While 56 percent of the general public say that religion is very important in their lives, the same is true for only 26 percent of American Jews. Entrusted by God with the task of serving as “a light unto the nations,” we Jews have tragically become doubly more secular than those amongst whom we live.
- Thirty-two percent of Jews born after 1980 — the so-called millennial generation — identify as Jews of no religion, compared to 19% of baby boomers and just 7% of Jews born before 1927. Overall, 22% of US Jews describe themselves as having no religion, meaning they are much less connected to Jewish organizations and much less likely to be raising their children Jewish.
- A growing proportion of American Jews say they are unlikely to raise their children Jewish or connect with Jewish institutions. The proportion of Jews who say they have no religion and are Jewish only on the basis of ancestry, ethnicity or culture is growing rapidly, and two-thirds of them are not raising their children Jewish at all.
- Also, from the Jewish Theological Seminary:
- The recent Pew Report on Jewish identity is a wake-up call for all of us.The statistics say that, in the last 10 years, interest in Jewish religion has continued to decline and the number of intermarriages has increased—how should we respond to this information? What do these changes mean to Jewish life as a whole? And what is Judaism anyway? A religion? A people? A culture? I reflect on these questions and more in my newest article for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, “Reengaging American Jews—Before They Drift Away,” which can be accessed in its entirety on my blog, On My Mind: Arnie Eisen.
Judaism tries to keep the religious life of Israel relevant to the culture and the times, but secular Jews seem be just as clueless as we are in finding the relevance of these chapters to life today. Still, it is good to know what the God of Israel has prescribed for His chosen people and His chosen priesthood-tribe and finding meaning as well as significance to us who so desperately want to understand the why’s of these detailed instructions. We already know for whom they were intended; got nothing to lose in reading and studying them as students of the Hebrew Scriptures. But, as we well recognize, we need the guiding hand of those who have already done the research, then reach our independent conclusions.
Translation is by EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses; commentary is from The PENTATEUCH and HAFTORAHS (P&H), ed. Dr. J.H. Hertz. Commentary from ArtScroll is indicated by (AS), and of course our own commentary if any, would be indicated as (S6K). The intent is to give credit where it’s due, even if it’s a bit confusing for readers.-Admin1.]
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Numbers/Bamidbar 18
DUTIES AND EMOLUMENTS OF PRIESTS AND LEVITES
1-7. The rebellion is made the occasion for recalling the Divine choice of the Levites, and for defining the duties and emoluments of the priests and Levites.
1 YHVH said to Aharon: You and your sons and your father’s house along with you are to bear any iniquity (pertaining to) the Holy-area; you and your sons after you are to bear any iniquity (pertaining to) your priesthood.
bear the iniquity of the sanctuary. i.e. bear the consequences of the inquiry that would be incurred by laymen who, through neglect on the part of the priesthood, performed in the Sanctuary any service assigned to priests or Levites.
of your priesthood. If you allowed any of the ordinary Levites to usurp functions that were the prerogative of Aaron and his sons exclusively.
2 And also your brothers, the stock of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring-near with you, they are to be-joined to you and are to act-as-attendants for you, you and your sons along with you in front of the Tent of the Testimony.
joined unto thee. The two other Levitical families, viz. the Gershonites and the Merarites, shall assist in the duties of the Sanctuary, but Aaron and his sons shall be the principals.
the tent of the testimony. i.e. in the Inner Sanctuary.
3 They are to keep your charge and the charge of the entire Tent, but: to the implements of holiness and to the slaughter-site, they are not to come-near, that they not die-so they, so you!
keep thy charge. Perform whatsoever sacred offices they are bidden to do by the priests.
nor ye. The sons of Aaron, who would suffer the same fate for having permitted the Levites to transgress.
a stranger/common man. a layman.
not draw nigh. To the service in the Sanctuary.
5 but you are to keep the charge of the Holy-shrine and the charge of the slaughter-site, that there be no further fury against the Children of Israel.
that there be wrath no more. As there had been in the case of Korah and his confederates.
6 Now I, I hereby take your brothers, the Levites, from the midst of the Children of Israel, for you (they are) a gift, given-over (for the benefit) of YHVH, for serving the serving-tasks of the Tent of Appointment.
7 And you and your sons with you are to be-in-charge of your priesthood, in every matter (pertaining to) the slaughter-site and (what is) inside the Curtain, and you are to do-service; serving-tasks of special-grant I give your priesthood- any outsider who comes-near will be put-to-death!
that within the veil. The Holy of Holies, the inmost Sanctuary of the Tabernacle.
as a service of gift. Which must not be retarded as a burden or a misfortune, but a privilege.
8-20. The dues of the priests from the people—the provisions made for the maintenance of the priests.
8 YHVH spoke to Aharon: Now I, I hereby give over to you the charge of my contributions, including all the holy-donations (from) the Children of Israel, to you I give them, as an anointed-share,
and to your sons, as an allotment for the ages.
I have given . . . for ever. Or, ‘I have given thee that which is reserved (from the Altar) of the contributions made to Me, even all the sacred gifts of the children of Israel, to thee have I given them as a perpetual due’ (kennedy).
heave offerings. The general term for offerings made to God.
9 This shall be yours from the holiest holy-offerings, from the fire: including their every near-offering, including their every grain- gift, including their every hattat-offering and including their every asham-offering that they remit to me, it is a holiest holy-portion, for you and for your sons.
reserved from the fire. i.e., saved from being totally burnt upon the Altar.
meal-offering. See Lev. II, 2.3.
guilt offering. See Lev. VII,7.
10 In the holiest state-of-holiness you are to eat it, every male may eat it, holy shall it be for you.
To be eaten in a holy place; viz. in the ‘Court of the Tent of meeting’, which i Lev. VI,19 is designated as ‘a holy place.’
and this is thine. Here begins a second list (v. 11-15) of holy gifts that were to be given by the offerers directly to the priests, to be eaten at home by all ritually clean members of the priestly families.
heave-offering . . . wave-offering. See Lev. VII, 29-34.
12 All your choicest shining-oil, all your choicest new-wine and grain, the premier-part that they give to YHVH, o you I give it.
The best. lit. ‘the fat’ (in English, ‘the cream’), to denote the choicest parts of anything.
13 The first-fruits of everything that is in their land, that they bring to YHVH, it is for you, everyone pure in your house may eat it.
first-ripe fruits. See Deut. XVIII,4.
14 Everything specially-devoted in Israel- it is for you.
devoted. See Lev. XXVIII,28. An object wholly given up to God; i.e. made over to the Sanctuary. I could not be sold or redeemed.
15-18. DISPOSAL OF FIRSTLINGS
15 Every breacher of a womb of all flesh that you bring-near for YHVH, of man and of beast or you it shall be. However, you are to redeem, yes, redeem the firstborn of humans, and the firstborn of tamei animals, you are to redeem.
16 And its redemption-price, from the age of a month you are to redeem, in your assessment: silver, five shekels by the Holy-shrine shekel, -twenty grains it is.
redemption-money. Of the human first-born.
firstling of an ox . . . goat. Being available for sacrifice upon the Altar, these were not to be redeemed.
18 and their meat is to be for you, like the breast of the elevation-offering, like the right thigh, it shall be for you.
as the wave-breast. Which in the case of peace-offerings were given unto aaron and his sons as their due (Lev. VII,28-34), so shall the flesh of these firstlings also be their perquisite and subject to the same restrictions.
19 All the contributions of the holy-things that the Children of Israel set-aside for YHVH I give to youand to your sons and to your daughters along with you. as an allotment for the ages: it is a “covenant of salt” for the ages, before the presence of YHVH, for you and for your seed after you.
the heave-offerings. Enumerated in v. 8-19.
covenant of salt. i.e. a permanent covenant. As salt preserves food from putrefaction, it became the emblem of permanence.
20 And YHVH said to Aharon: In their land you are not to receive-inheritance, no portion-of-land shall be yours in their midst: I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the Children of Israel.
no inheritance. They were to have no share in the land of Canaan at the time of its division among the tribes.
I am thy . . . inheritance. Just as the laity were to live upon what was yielded to them by the land, so the priests were to live upon what God accorded them; i.e. the sacrifices brought to the Altar and the consecrated gifts.
21-24. DUES OF THE LEVITES FROM THE PEOPLE
21 And to the Sons of Levi, here: I give over all tithes in Israel, as an inheritance, in exchange for their serving-tasks that they serve, the serving-tasks of the Tent of Appointment.
tithe. A tenth part.
the tithe in Israel. Was paid on agricultural produce and on cattle to the Levites. It is designated in the Talmud ‘first tithe’, as distinguished from ‘second tithe’ and ‘the tithe for the poor’; Deut. XIV,22-29.
22 The Children of Israel are no longer to come-near the Tent of Appointment, to bear sin, to die.
23 The Levite, he (alone) is to serve the serving-tasks of the Tent of Appointment, it is they who will bear their iniquity, a law for the ages, throughout their generations: but in the midst of the Children of Israel they are not to inherit a (land-)inheritance.
24 For the tithing of the Children of Israel that they set-aside for YHVH (as) a contribution, I give over to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them: in the midst of the Children of Israel they are not to inherit a (land-)inheritance.
no inheritance. Like the priests, they had no separate territory allotted to them. Their possessions consisted of 48 cities ‘with the open land about them’; see XXXV,7.
25-32. THE DUES OF THE PRIESTS FROM THE LEVITES
The Levites were to contribute to the priests a tithe of that which they had received from the people.
26 To the Levites you are to speak, saying to them:
the corn of the threshing-floor. This tithe by you to the priests shall be regarded as though it were direct from your threshing-floor and winepress.
Aaron the priest. And his descendants.
29 From all your gifts you are to set-aside every contribution of YHVH, from all its choice-parts, its holy-part from it.
the hallowed part. So called because of its description in v. 24 as ‘a gift unto the LORD’.
30 And you are to say to them: When you set-aside the choice-part from it , it is to be reckoned for the Levites like the produce of the threshing-floor, like the produce of the vat.
say unto them. i.e., to the Levites.
counted . . . increase. When the Levites had given as a tithe to the priests the best part from the tithe which they themselves had received from the laity, then the remainder was theirs just as if they had grown it and gathered it themselves.
ye shall bear no sin. When the tithe of the tithe had been duly contributed in accordance with the preceding instructions, then would the Levites incur no penalty of sin by eating and enjoying the produce of the threshing-floor and winepress as and when they pleased.