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Home , Korach (parashah)

בייה

A Daily Bread Date: 30 Sivan 5781 (June 10, 2021) Portion: Korach Topic: The Priestly Gifts

From Numbers 18:5-20, Hashem listed the donations the people must give Him and that are to be given to the priests in exchange for their responsibilities. It would be expected these laws to have been given in the , in the context of the other laws pertaining to the priesthood, but Hashem gave them here in order to indicate the irrevocability of Aharon’s appointment, even beyond that which was indicated by having Aharon’s staff blossom and give fruit. The fact that some of these gifts are given to the priests even outside the context of their Temple service proves that the priesthood is theirs even when they are not serving as priests. (See below)

From verses 21-24 lists donations to be given to the .

From verses 25-29 lists the Levites’ donations to the priests.

It is written (Num. 18:30), “And you shall say to them, ‘When you have presented the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Lĕwites as the yield of the threshing-floor and as the yield of the winepress.” Although the physical priesthood in the Temple was reserved for the descendants of Aharon, the spiritual priesthood is open to all. Hashem called the Yisraelites as a whole “a kingdom of priests.” As explains, “Anybody who dedicates himself and understands the intellectual imperative to separate himself - to stand before Hashem and serve Him, and to know Hashem – has become sanctified like the Most Set-Apart…and will be granted all of his physical needs, just as they were provided for the priests and Levites.”1 In other words, if we recognize the purpose of our creation, which is to serve Hashem, and dedicate ourselves to accomplishing that purpose, we are assured of the best of everything at all times.2

3 In Korach Gifts Cross Reference 1 18:9 The flesh of the communal peace-offerings of Shavuot Lev. 23:19-20 2 18:9 The remainder of Yisraelites’ grain-offerings after a fistful Lev. 2:3, 10, 6:9-11 is offered up on the 3 18:9 The flesh of sin-offering Lev. 6:19, 22 4 18:9 The flesh of guilt-offering Lev. 7:6 5 18:9 Property stolen from a convert who died in the interim and Num. 5:8 left no heirs 6 18:11 One from each of the three sets of ten loaves accompanying Lev. 7:12-14 thanksgiving offerings 7 18:11 The breast and right thigh of personal peace-offerings Lev. 7:30-34 8 18:11 The breast, right thigh, and foreleg of the peace-offering of Num. 6:19-20 the Nazirite and two of its twenty accompanying loaves 9 18:12 : a portion of every Yisraelites’ , , and Deut. 18:4 grain 10 18:13 The first fruits (of wheat, barley, wine, figs, pomegranates, Deut. 26:1-11 olives, and dates) 11 18:14 All property segregated by an individual for the priests Lev. 27:28 12 18:15 The redemption money for firstborn Yisraelites Exo. 13:2, 11-13; 34:19-20 13 18:15 The firstborn cow, sheep, or goat Exo. 13:2, 11-13; 34:19-20; Lev. 27:26-28; Deut. 15:19-23

1 , Shemitah VeYoveil 13:13 2 Likutei Sichot, vol. 2, pp. 690-691 3 Chumash , the Lubavitcher Rebbe, p. 114 www.kohebroots.com

בייה

In Korach Gifts Cross Reference 14 18:15 The sheep used to redeem the firstborn donkey Exo. 13:13, 34:20 15 not listed The skins of ascent-offerings Lev. 7:8 16 not listed The remainder of the log of oil brought by the healed Lev. 14:10, 21 after its prescribed applications 17 not listed The remainder of the Omer grain-offering after a fistful of Lev. 23:13 it is offered up on the altar 18 not listed The two loaves of Shavuot Lev. 23:17, 20 19 not listed The showbread Lev. 24:5-9 20 not listed One tenth of the that Yisraelites must give to Levites Num. 18:25-32 21 not listed The first of the dough Num. 15:17-21 22 not listed The first wool shorn from sheep Deut. 18:4 23 not listed The shoulder, cheeks, and stomach of every cow, sheep, or Deut. 18:3 goat slaughtered for personal use 24 not listed The right to purchase an inherited field that has been Lev. 27:21 dedicated to the Temple and has not been redeemed by the Jubilee year

Shalom.

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