Vayikra 9:22
ו ַיִּשּׂ ָּא אַהֲרֹ֧ן אֶת־ידו [י ָדָ֛יו] אֶל־הָעָ֖ם ו ַֽי ְבָרְ כֵ֑ם ו ַיֵּ֗רֶ ד מֵעֲשֹׂ֧ת הַֽחַטָּ֛את ו ְהָעֹ לָ֖ה ו ְהַשּׁ ּלָמִ ֽים׃
Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he stepped down after offering
the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being.
What blessing does Aharon give ישראל בני?
According to רש״י ,Aharon says birchat cohanim.
What other interpretations are there? Why does the פסוק say Aharon went down? What is in the
קרבנות Aharon gives? Why this specific combination of קרבנות?
What does it say that Aharon “went down?” Rashi says that the מזבח was raised above the ground, so to give the Korbanot Aharon would have to climb to get to the מזבח. After giving the Korbanot, Aharon would have to literally climb down to reach the ground. This is why it says he “went down”, because he literally had to go down from his previously elevated state. I like this answer a lot because it is very clear and very Pshat, and this pshat fits very well into the pasuk.
ReplyDeleteThe Ibn Ezra says that him stepping off it actually in the past tense and aharon had already stepped off the mizbeach and he already did bnei yisrael karbanot
ReplyDeleteI like this answer because its straight forward but it still leaves a question of how he knows that its in the past tense
The Or Hachaim quotes the Torat Kohanim who thinks that the part about Aharon descending from the alter should have been written before the words that talk about how he blessed the people. He suggests an answer as to why it is written in this order: Maybe when Aharon realized that the presence of Hashem had not manifested itself he may have felt that both he and the poodle had not yet been completely cleared/forgiven for their sin of the golden calf. Therefore, Aharon thought he brought a curse on Bnei Yisrael so he raised his hands while still at the alter in hopes to counteract the curse. Only after he blesses the people did Aharon feel had successfully completed the ritual. Maybe the Torah wanted the blessing on the people to be included in the procedure of giving the sin-offering because it also cleared Aharon from his share in the guilt. The word “Vayarad” may also refer to a spiritual descent when Aharon saw that the presence of Hashem had not yet descended.
ReplyDeleteWhat blessing does Aharon give ישראל בני?
ReplyDeleteRamban says that Aharon May have blessed Beni Yisroeal similarly to the way shlomoh hamelech blessed the people when the Beit hamikdash was first celebrated and used. He shows that the pasuk where Aharon blessed Beni yisroel were on the same day they finished the Mishkan. And so to shlomoh Hamelech also blessed the Jews on the first day of the mikdash so perhaps it was the same or similar blessing. I like this answer bc I liked how he brought in another story in tanakh to help prove and explain his answer
Kitzur Baal Haturim: The three brachas of the Kohanim correspond to three types of offerings: The first blessing corresponds to sin offerings, “and may He guard you” — from sin, as it says (Shmuel I 2:9), “The feet of His pious ones He will guard”; “May he cause His face to shine” corresponds to the burnt offering [olah], as it says (Shemos 34:24), “When you go up [ba’aloscha] to see”; “peace” corresponds to the peace offerings.
ReplyDelete^^^ Tovi
ReplyDeleteChizkuni says, that when the Pasuk says וירד מעשות החטאת it means that he descended from the altar, where he was performing the ceremony of the sin offering. He was burning up the parts not to be eaten.
ReplyDeleteRivka Krause
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2:
According to the Kitzur Baal Haturim, ויברכם corresponds to the three types of karbnot. The first is the blessing that guards you from sin, the second is the one refers to the blessing that hashem will guard you, and the third corresponds to the peace offering. I like this answer because it takes the simple meaning of a word and elevates it.