Yes, There is a Hierarch! - Nasso 5785

Is sameness a good thing?  How about hierarchy?  Equality is the word nowadays, but what does true equality mean?  The Jewish nation was created with a hierarchy.  The 12 sons of Jacob, also called Israel, were the original “B’nai Yisrael.”  Jacob gifted Yosef a double portion, as the first-born of his beloved wife Rachel, making his two sons Menashe and Efraim heads of separate tribes.  Of the 13 tribes, one stood out, the tribe of Levi.  

The Levites were chosen to carry the portable Sanctuary through the desert, and serve in the Temple as guards, singers, doorkeepers and more.  They lived in special cities and guided the people.  The leader of the Jewish people, Moshe, was from the tribe of Levi.  They stood out in their faithfulness to Hashem in Egypt and throughout the journey in the desert, by circumcising their children and following the traditional lifestyle passed down by Jacob.  They did not participate in the Golden Calf and did not accept the spies’ negative reports about the land of Israel.  Hashem chose them to be leaders, teachers and guides.

Within the Levite tribe, Hashem chose one family to be the “Kohanim,” loosely translated as priests.  The father of the Kohanim was Aharon, Moshe’s brother.  It is telling that Moshe found it necessary to assure the people that this was a choice from Hashem, not nepotism.  When the Sanctuary was dedicated and Moshe inaugurated Aharon to do the service, Moshe said: “This is what God has commanded you to do in order that the glory of God appear to you” (Vayikra 9:6), and then proceeded to give Aharon instructions.

Aharon’s descendants were chosen to be the Kohanim who offer the sacrifices in the Holy Temple, and minister to the people’s highest spiritual needs.  They were the ones who determined if someone had Tzara’at (a spiritual skin disease that made them impure) and to clear them of it.  The Kohanim received special gifts, 24 in all, from the people, and the Talmud tells us that when a Koehn ate the meat of a sacrifice, the owner was absolved of sin.

A very special function of the Kohanim was to bless the people.  As we read in this week’s Parsha: “Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is how you must bless the Israelites. Say to them: May Hashem bless you and watch over you. May Hashem shine His face to you and endow you with grace. May Hashem be partial toward you and grant you peace.  Can’t anyone else bless the people?  Can’t anyone bless anyone?  How about Aharon’s daughters?

Well, of course anyone can bless anyone any time, and as Hashem promised Avraham, “I will bless those who bless you.”  But there is something unique about the priestly blessing.  Our mystical teachings tell us that this blessing, when administered by the Kohanim, opens channels of light and blessing that cannot be accessed any other way.  Only the sons (and future male progeny) of Aharon could give these blessings in the Holy Temple, and through the generations it is only male Kohanim who can give that blessing communally to the congregation.  Outside of Israel it is done every major holiday, and in IIsrael every Shabbat, or in many communities every day.

The final verse of the section of the priestly blessings says: “They must bestow My Name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.”  Rashi explained “I will bless them” two ways.  Hashem is saying that while the Kohanim bless the rest of the people, He will bless the Kohanim.  Another interpretation is that the Kohanim say the words of the blessing, and Hashem promised that if they do so, He will bless the people.  

Each of us has a mission.  Hashem determined what that mission is, and if we fulfill that mission we are blessed and fulfilled.  We all need to observe the Mitzvot and study and follow the Torah, and Hashem has given us a hierarchy so that there are people who are spiritually endowed with the ability to inspire us and to bless us.  Cassidus explains that the spiritual source of the Kohanim’s soul is Chesed - unbridled love and kindness, and they are therefore the ones who are able to invoke this lofty blessing.  If they do so, Hashem blesses the people.  

We are all equally Hashem;s people, and we all equally have been given the mission and the ability to fulfill Hashem’s will to make a home for Hashem in this world that is full of darkness.  We are equal in the mission, but we don’t do it the same way.  When we recognize that we each have our path, Kohanim, Levites, “,Yisraelim” men and women, we are each able to make our unique contribution.  Like a beautiful symphony, each of our paths joins and together as one we change the world.