במדבר

The Kohanim as Descendants of Aaron and Moshe

Following the counting of the people and the description of the camp layout, the Kohanim are introduced as follows:

וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר ה' אֶת־מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינָי: (במדבר ג:א)

Much to our surprise, the following verses then proceed to list only the children of Aaron:

וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי־אַהֲרֹן הַבְּכוֹר נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אֶלְעָזָר וְאִיתָמָר׃ אֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֲנִים הַמְּשֻׁחִים אֲשֶׁר־מִלֵּא יָדָם לְכַהֵן׃ וַיָּמָת נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא לִפְנֵי ה' בְּהַקְרִבָם אֵשׁ זָרָה לִפְנֵי ה' בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי וּבָנִים לֹא־הָיוּ לָהֶם וַיְכַהֵן אֶלְעָזָר וְאִיתָמָר עַל־פְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן אֲבִיהֶם׃ (במדבר ג:ב-ד)

The obvious question is why the opening verse refers to the generations of Aaron and Moshe when the children listed are exclusively those of Aaron.

Rashi answers that Moshe is mentioned alongside Aaron to convey that one who teaches another person Torah is considered like their parent.[1] Presumably the basis for this explanation is the latter part of the verse which specifically references Mt. Sinai being the place where Moshe received the Torah and transmitted it to the people.[2] This unexpected reference to Sinai certainly requires explanation. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to see how this justifies the inclusion of Moshe alongside Aaron, the biological father. 

It seems that an important key to understanding this verse lies in the association of the אלה תולדות  phrase. The phrase appears on multiple occasions throughout the book of Bereshit, with no fewer than 11 referendes at various significant junctures. The objective of Bereshit is to trace the origins and development of the Jewish nation, and אלה תולדות acts as a marker of the major rifts in a prolonged process of selection and rejection. The process starts with the unique creation of man, existentially separated from the rest of the creation, continues with the selection of certain worthy individuals, and culminates in the descent of the twelve tribes to Egypt as one nation with no further rejections.

Crucially, after the conclusion of the book of Bereshit the only other appearance of אלה תולדות is in our context. Thus, introducing the children of Aaron (i.e. the Kohanim) with the phrase אלה תולדות should already alert us to a deeper meaning connecting us back to Bereshit. This is particularly the case as our verse introduces the selection of the Kohanim and tribe of Levi which is itself reminiscent of the earlier selection processes.

More specifically, the structure of our verse comprising the final appearance of the אלה תולדות formulation, seems to recall the very first time the same phrase is used:

אֵלֶּה תוֹלְדוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ בְּהִבָּרְאָם בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם: (בראשית ב:ד)

Several points are worthy of note. In all other references to אלה תולדות the only parent referred to is the father. Our verse and the aforementioned verse are the only instances where two ‘parents’ are mentioned (heaven + earth / Moshe + Aaron). These instances are also the only ones in which the אלה תולדות is referenced to any specific point in time and the word used to mark the timing (ביום) is the same in both cases.

Perhaps we can add to the above that when discussing the תולדות of heaven and earth the subsequent verses only focus on the products of the earth:

וְכֹל שִׂיחַ הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ וְכָל־עֵשֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶה טֶרֶם יִצְמָח כִּי לֹא הִמְטִיר ה' אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָרֶץ וְאָדָם אַיִן לַעֲבֹד אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה׃ וְאֵד יַעֲלֶה מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת־כָּל־פְּנֵי־הָאֲדָמָה׃ וַיִּיצֶר ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃ (בראשית ב:ה-ז)

We hear nothing (at least overtly) about the תולדות of the heavens, just as we hear nothing about the תולדות of Moshe. Finally, it does not seem coincidental that the two reference points in these verses are of monumental significance - the creation of the world and revelation of God into the world:

בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר ה' אֶת־מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינָי / בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת ה' אֱלֹהִים אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם

We may further propose that the relationship between these two sets of אלה תולדות represents the culmination of a series of broader and well-known correspondences between the Mishkan on the one hand, and creation on the other. The examples below should suffice for our purposes:

Mishkan	Creation
וַיַּרְא מֹשֶׁה אֶת־כָּל־הַמְּלָאכָה וְהִנֵּה עָשׂוּ אֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה כֵּן עָשׂוּ (שמות לט:מג)	וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי (בראשית א:לא)
וַיְכַל מֹשֶׁה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָה (שמות מ:לג)	וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה (בראשית ב:ב)
וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם מֹשֶׁה (שמות לט:מג)	וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי (בראשית ב:ג)

The underlying idea of these comparisons relates to the inverse nature of the relationship. If the creation of the world is God creating space for man to exist then the building of the Mishkan is the fulfilment of his task of imitatio dei by creating ‘space’ for God to reside on earth.

Within this paradigm, the Kohanim are those tasked with maintaining that divine space within the Mishkan and bridging the physical and spiritual to the extent humanly possible. This parallels man's original task when he was placed in God's Garden 'to work it and preserve it' - לעבדה ולשמרה.[3]

The special task of the Kohanim is most clearly expressed through the Kohen Gadol’s once a year entry into the holy of holies. Notwithstanding that this became the exclusive role of the Kohen Gadol descended from Aaron, when God initially spoke 'from upon the Keruvim' it was in fact Moshe who was the recipient of that first communication. It was Moshe who stood 'alone' on Mt. Sinai, and it was he who ministered alone during the inauguration ceremony of the Mishkan.

In summary, the ability to approach the limits of the God/human divide was the overarching legacy of Moshe to be transmitted to the Kohanim. It seems that Moshe is mentioned here alongside Aaron to acknowledge the fact that it was Moshe’s spiritual legacy now vested in the Kohanim and the Mishkan enterprise, which supplemented the biological legacy of Aaron.[4]

This combination models the creation of man described as a 'descendant' of heaven and earth. Physically he was formed from the 'dust of the earth' but this was accompanied by the tzelem elokim, a derivative of heaven.

Thus, the selection of the Kohanim can be viewed as the final chapter in the long selection process commencing with Adam as a unique product of heaven and earth and concluding with the Kohanim as spiritual and physical products of Moshe and Aaron. 

Moshe's actual descendants

It is fascinating that the verse under discussion appears immediately after the detailed description of the encampments and counting of the other tribes. That section concludes as follows:

כֵּן־חָנוּ לְדִגְלֵיהֶם וְכֵן נָסָעוּ אִישׁ לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָיו עַל־בֵּית אֲבֹתָיו (במדבר ב:לד)

The strong emphasis on the encampment in family units proliferates in these earlier sections. There is therefore a certain (bitter?) irony in Moshe’s תולדות being described purely with reference to his spiritual heir but his biological family is absent.

This merits wider discussion but certainly there exists a tension between the physical preoccupation of family life and the vacuum required for pure spiritual engagement. This finds expression in God’s words to Moshe immediately after Matan Torah - לך אמור להם שובו לכם לאהליכם. After the revelation at Sinai at everyone was commanded to return to their ‘tents’ to resume normal family life (apparently not self-evident). Moshe, on the other hand, was to remain by God's side - ואתה פה עמוד עמדי ואדברה אליך. It seems that this verse alludes to a permanent state of being from this point forth for Moshe specifically, with the perhaps inevitable consequence that Moshe’s תולדות were more closely defined by the Kohanim than his actual children - of whom we hear very little.      

 

 

 

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[1] The alternative explanations offered by Rashbam and Ramban do not resolve the difficulty in the wording, as Ramban himself acknowledges. Compare also to Rashi’s commentary to Gen. 6:9.

[2] See, for example, Gur Aryeh ad loc.

[3] The עץ החיים standing the center of the Garden, said to be guarded by the Keruvim following the expulsion, corresponds to the ten commandments housed within the Aron and 'protected' by the Keruvim on top.

[4] This also explains the significance of referencing the תולדות specifically to the 'day when when God spoke to Moshe at Mt. Sinai' as it was the task of the Kohanim to perpetuate the Sinai experience within the Mishkan.