Shoftim | The Priests The Levites

 

 

 

Parashat Shoftim regulates the status of various different social classes in the Israelite nation. The Torah opens with the judges and officers, continues with the king, moves on to the Levites, and ends with the prophet.[3] The verses cited here introduce the topic of "the priests the Levites." We will focus on this unit, noting that a great novelty is introduced here in comparison to what was stated earlier in the Torah.

 

 

            The main unit of laws governing the priesthood in the book of Devarim is found in 18:1-8, although there are additional mentions of the role and status of the priesthood throughout the book.  For now, we will survey the special laws appearing in our section, but in the framework of the shiur we will relate to various laws appearing elsewhere.

 

 

 

The phrase "those that slaughter an animal" can be understood in two ways:

 

1) Those who come to offer sacrifices.

2) Those who slaughter animals in their homes in order to eat their meat.

 

            Chazal interpreted these verses according to the second possibility – even when one slaughters a non-consecrated animal, he must give a priest the gifts mentioned here. According to this understanding, it turns out that that there is a difference between a peace-offering, from which the breast and right shoulder must be given to a priest, and non-consecrated animals, from which the priest must be given the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw, in a manner similar to government taxes.[4]

 

It is possible, however, that the words "those that slaughter an animal [zovechei ha-zevach]" refer specifically to sacrifices, the type of sacrifice referred to as zevach shelamim (and sometimes just zevach).

 

If indeed these verses refer to the gifts given to a priest from peace-offerings, there is a surprising novelty here, in comparison to what is stated in Vayikra. In Parashat Tzav (7:29), we are taught that the breast and right shoulder of a peace-offering must be given to a priest, but here it says that he is (also) to receive the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw. We will examine two proposals raised by the Rishonim to explain this addition, and then we will suggest an alternative explanation.

 

Rashi (ad loc.) uses a midrash to explain the change in the priestly gifts:

 

 

Rashi, based on Chazal, suggests that the change in the gifts of the priesthood stems from the action taken by Pinchas against the sinful act of Zimri ben Salu and Kozbi bat Tzur. The midrash sees these gifts as a reward for Pinchas's action; according to this view, these gifts were not originally meant to be given to the priests. The breast and the shoulder are the gifts given to the priests owing to their special status, similar perhaps to the other portions of the sacrifices that are given to them (the leftover portion of the meal-offering and the meat of an outer sin-offering and a guilt-offering), whereas the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw are a reward and recompense for Pinchas's devotion.

 

Ibn Ezra also brings sort of a "midrash" to explain the change:

 

 

Ibn Ezra suggests that the additional priestly gifts stem from the priest's involvement in the act of sacrificing the animal. The priest receives the foreleg in exchange for the slaughter of the animal, the cheeks in exchange for the blessing he recites, and the maw in exchange for the internal examination of the animal that he conducts. According to him as well, we are dealing with a reward given to the priest – not a historical reward connected to the action of Pinchas, but rather a reward for the priest's service when he offers the peace-offering.

 

According to Ibn Ezra, the verse that speaks of "those that slaughter an animal" refers to those offering a sacrifice, rather than those slaughtering a non-consecrated animal, and the Torah adds to the gifts that must be given to the priest in exchange for his holy service.

 

 

In the following verse, it is also possible to understand that a change has taken place in the mechanism of the priestly gifts familiar to us from the previous books of the Torah:

 

 

There is a halakhic dispute in Chazal regarding the words "the first-fruits of your corn, of your wine, and of your oil." Is the Torah obligation regarding teruma is limited to corn, wine, and oil, as itemized in the verse, or is there is a wider obligation? But the priestly gift in our parasha that is entirely new is the first sheering of a sheep, which we have nowhere yet encountered.

 

The Torah explains why these gifts must be given to the priest:

 

 

These changes leave their mark not only on the conceptual plane, but also on the practical halakhic plain. But these changes are minor compared with the major change that occurs beginning in verse 6.

 

 

 

These verses present an enormous interpretative difficulty. The Torah allows every Levite who so desires to come to the house of God and minister there in the sacrificial service and even to eat of the consecrated meat, a right that, according to the earlier books of the Torah, is reserved exclusively for the members of the family of Aharon the priest![5]

 

The answer that Chazal give to this interpretive challenge is cited by Rashi in his commentary to these verses:

 

 

The Sages cited by Rashi replace the word "Levite" with the words, "a priest from the house of Levi." According to this interpretation, the verse comes to teach us certain halakhic details. The first possibility is to say that a priest may offer his own sacrifices not at the time of his family's watch;[6] a second possibility is that the verse comes to permit all priests to come to the Temple on a festival, to participate in the service, and to eat from the sacrifices, even if the festival is not the time of their watch. However, this interpretation must contend with a serious linguistic difficulty; according to the plain sense of the text, the Torah is addressing every Levite. This is evident from the widespread use throughout the book of Devarim of the phrases "the priests the Levites" and "the priests, the sons of Levi."

 

 

            By examining the instances in which the phrase "the priests the Levites" appears in the book of Devarim, we will see that it is difficult to explain the phrase to mean "the priests chosen from the tribe of Levi," as is sometimes suggested, and in light of this it will become clear that we are dealing with an entirely new conception of the institution of the priesthood.

 

 

            Here the phrase "the priests the Levites" relates to the examination of leprosy, a right belonging exclusively to the members of the priestly family, and not to the larger family of Levites. Here it may be understood that the reference is to the priests who were chosen from among the tribe of Levi.

 

            This verse turns again to "the priests the sons of Levi." This, however, is rather astonishing, as we know that it was not the job of the priests to bear the ark of the covenant; rather, this was the task of the Levites! How, then, can the Levites who bore the ark be called "the priests the sons of the Levites"?

 

            At the same time, there are verses that imply that even the book of Devarim knows how to distinguish between priests and Levites:

 

 

            In these verses, there is a clear differentiation between the priests the Levites, who say, "Keep silence, and hear, O Israel," and the Levites, who say, "Cursed be the man." It is fitting to relate also to the verses that we skipped in the previous citation:

 

 

The term Levi is used in verse 14 to describe the Levites as those who stand and pronounce the curses, whereas in verse 11 it becomes clear that Levi is standing on Mount Gerizim, and not in the center of the event of the covenant. These verses present an exegetical challenge that we cannot contend with in detail in this forum. For our purposes, what is important is the distinction in the verses between the tribe of Levi as a whole and "the priests the Levites."

 

Taken as a whole, what we have seen above leads to a surprising conclusion: The phrase "the priests the Levites" (or "the priests the sons of Levi") in the book of Devarim reflects a unique understanding according to which every Levite can decide whether he wishes to be a "priest." In other words, his belonging to the chosen tribe allows him to be a priest, but it is still up to him to decide whether in fact he wishes to minister in the Holy, and only if he so decides does he in fact become a priest of God.

 

In light of this suggestion, let us examine the verses in our parasha mentioned above:

 

 

            The Torah teaches us here that the Levite has the option to choose whether he wishes to be a priest and to function exactly like the priests functioned during the years of Israel's sojourning in the wilderness. This surprising insight follows from the various instances of "the priests the Levites." The Torah makes it very clear when it is referring to a Levite and when to a priest and when to the priests the Levites and when to ordinary Levites. The verse teaches that the entire family of Levites can avail themselves of the possibility to "advance" and become priests.

 

            Moreover, it can be argued that in chapter 14, when Scripture describes the gifts that are given to the stranger and the widow, mention is always made there of the Levite "who is within your gates.” In other words, the Levites who chose not to become priests and to enter further into the Holy retained their original status as Levites who must be maintained:

 

 

The book of Devarim distinguishes thus between the Levites who are "within your gates" and "the priests the Levites."

 

 

In light of this interpretation, we can understand the exegetical disagreement between the Rambam and the Sefer Ha-Chinukh:

 

 

The Rambam learns from our verses the halakhic principle that follows from the midrash cited by Rashi – that every priest can serve in the Temple on a festival, even if his family's watch does not fall out on that festival. The Sefer Ha-Chinukh writes something similar,[7] although with a dramatic difference that apparently stems from the aforementioned difficulty in the verses:

 

 

Despite the great similarity between the words of the Rambam and the words of the Chinukh, the Chinukh, unlike the Rambam, found it necessary to mention both the priests and the Levites (with a vav ["and"] separating between them). The Chinukh proposes that there are not only twenty-four watches of priests, but also twenty-four watches of Levites. This almost prompts us to say that the Chinukh considered the verse, saw that it speaks of the Levite, and attributed the verse also to the Levites, and not only to the priests – even though the Rambam translated the word "the Levite," based on the midrash, as "a priest from the family of the Levites."

 

The revolutionary significance of this lies in the very assertion that the clear distinction between the priests and the rest of the Levites, which appeared to us would be preserved forever – as follows from the plain understanding of the previous three books of the Torah – was only a temporary distinction. In the book of Devarim, on the eve of Israel's entry into the Promised Land, the priestly and Levitical classes merge.

 

The change we have just described can be explained as if the turnaround came in the wake of the entry into the land. The main function of the Levitical class in the wilderness was intimately connected to the nature of the camping and journeying in the wilderness – carrying the sacred vessels and guarding the Mishkan around which all of Israel camped, which raised the concern that a non-priest would draw near to the Holy.

 

But even if this is so, this change has essential significance that transcends the historical change. The tribe of Levi was chosen to serve in the Holy in the wake of their following Moshe at the time of the sin of the Golden Calf and in the wake of their responding to his call:

 

 

In this respect, there is a profound difference between the sanctity of the priests in the book of Shemot, which stems from God's choosing Aharon and his descendants, and the status of the tribe of Levi, which stems from their choosing of God. The book of Devarim gives great weight to the voluntary choice to serve God, and in this respect the tribe of Levi receives all of the possibilities that had originally been given exclusively to the chosen class of priests.

 

Support for this argument can be adduced from Parashat Eikev, where Moshe relates to the sin of the Golden Calf and mentions the process by which the tribe of Levi was chosen:

 

 

"At that time" – at the time of the sin of the Golden Calf – the entire tribe of Levi was set apart for the holy service, both the carrying of the ark (the traditional role of the Levites) and the service before God and the blessing in His name (the traditional role of the priests). The book of Devarim renews the choosing of the tribe of the Levi and merges the two statuses together. From now on the matter depends on the choice of each and every individual Levite.

 

In conclusion, the significance of the unique phrase "the priests, the Levites" is that every member of the tribe of Levi has the authority to decide for himself whether to remain an ordinary Levite or to become a priest-Levite. We proposed that this might be connected to the historical change in the role of the Levites between the time of Israel's sojourning in the wilderness and their permanent settlement in the land of Israel. But even if this is so, the decision in the book of Devarim gives more weight to human choice than to Divine choice. In more moderate terms: Divine selection is not enough; what is necessary is human partnership and the decision of each and every individual. In the first books of the Torah, we see the distinction between a priest and a Levite, but after the classes in Israel became fixed, they could be reconsidered and the priesthood could be turned into a role open to each and every Levite.

 

 

In light of these insights, we can attempt a fresh reading of other stories in the Bible. We will suffice with one example: Shemuel, as it would appear from the plain sense of Scripture, belongs to the family of the Levites, and according to the plain sense of Scripture, he is consecrated to become a priest.[8] Scripture describes Shemuel as one who performs all aspects of the holy services. Indeed, many Rishonim attempt to explain this strange phenomenon; how can a Levite serve in the Holy like a priest? According to our proposal, it does not appear necessary at all to change the plain meaning of these verses, as the Torah already opened the possibility of a consecratory action on the part of a Levite who chooses to become a priest.

 

It turns out then that Chazal adopted in their halakhic interpretation the model of the priesthood that was developed in the books of Shemot, Vayikra, and Bamidbar. Perhaps the model developed in the book of Devarim, which offers a Levite the choice of becoming a priest, will be realized in the Messianic period.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

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