Aliya Summary: G‑d commands Moshe to
return "Aaron's staff" to the Holy of Holies, where it is to remain for
perpetuity. The Jews express to Moshe their fear of mistakenly
entering a restricted area of the Tabernacle, and dying as a result. In
response, G‑d commands the priests and the Levites to carefully guard
the Tabernacle, to prevent unauthorized entry by non-priests. The Torah
then lists the various gifts to which the priests were entitled. These
include the privilege of eating certain sacrifices, as well as select
portions of other sacrifices; receiving the five shekels for the
redemption of Israelite firstborn sons; a portion of all grain, oil,
and wine crops; the "first fruit"; and more. Aaron is informed that his
descendents will not receive a portion in the land of Israel--instead,
G‑d is their inheritance and portion.
The
staff is meant to dissuade those rebellious ones from complaining, but
the Passuk says that "their complaints will stop" (utechal telunotam),
"complaints" being plural, but "stop" being singular. Why the
discrepancy? Is it one complaint that this staff will deter, or many?
Rashi analyzes the grammar and determines that the word used to mean
"complaints" is actually a collective singular noun, so it makes sense
that "stop" is singular. Nonetheless, logic would dictate that this
staff should deter more than just one complaint. It could be, however,
that complaints all come from the same lack of faith, and rather than
focusing on the symptoms, the Torah focuses on the disease. How a staff
can help deter someone from complaining is a discussion for another
time (maybe next year's Aliya?).
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