What Rests Alongside the Ark and Inside it? The Tablets of the Covenant. The Jar of Manna and the Staff of Aharon

 

Laying the jar of Manna in the Holy of Holies

 

            The Torah states:

 

And Moshe said, “This is the thing which the Lord commands: Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.” And Moshe said to Aharon, “Take a jar, and put an omer full of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moshe, so Aharon laid it before the Testimony, to be kept. (Shemot 16:32-34)

 

            Several points may be noted with respect to the plain sense of these verses:

 

·           The timing of the command – following the parting of the Red Sea, on the fifteenth of the second month counting from Israel's exodus from Egypt – the fifteenth of Iyar, a month after the exodus. At the time, there was still no Divine command to build a Mishkan, so Scripture is relating to the future, when the Mikdash will be built, and in it a jar of manna will be placed before the ark to be kept for later generations.

·           The objective is apparently explained in the verse itself: "That they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness." The Meshekh Chokhma emphasizes in his commentary (ad loc.) that the manna was given immediately following the exodus, before the giving of the Torah, in order to stress God's great providence over us, which is not dependent on anything.

·           Why doesn't Moshe fulfill the command himself, rather than ask Aharon to put the jar of manna before the Testimony?

·           What is the spiritual meaning of this command?

 

Let us begin with the issue of the timing. The Mekhilta (ad loc.) asks whether the jar was put in its place during the second year or only in the fortieth year:

 

"This is the thing which the Lord commands" – I might have thought that Aharon only laid it in the fortieth year. Therefore, the verse states: “So Aharon laid it before the Testimony." When was the ark made? In the second year. So too, Aharon laid [the jar of manna] in the second year. This is one of the ten things that were created on the eve of Shabbat between sunset and nightfall, namely: The rainbow, the manna, the staff, the writing, the shamir, the tablets, the mouth of the earth that swallowed up the wicked, the mouth of the wicked Bil'am's she-ass, the site of Moshe's burial, the cave in which Moshe and Aharon stood. Some say even the garments of Adam, and the staff of Aharon, its almonds and blossoms.

 

            The midrash's answer is that just as the ark was fashioned in the second year, the jar of manna was laid in its place in the second year. The midrash emphasizes that the manna was one of the ten things that were created during bein-hashemashot (and similarly in Midrash Lekach Tov).

 

            The Ibn Ezra (ad loc.) says as follows:

 

This section should have been written after the Mishkan was already made. It was written here only to relate the miracle that the manna endures for generations.

 

            The Meshekh Chokhma also relates to this issue:

 

See Mekhilta (6:3) that Aharon laid the jar of manna immediately after the Mishkan was erected in the second year, and not in the fortieth year. This is in accordance with the words of the Rambam (Guide II:29) that a miracle does not persist, for that which persists is not a miracle, but rather natural, for nature is also consecutive miracles, as is known. [Miracles come] only to demonstrate the despoiling of nature. If so, if the [miracle] would persist, the demonstration would be nullified. But the manna was needed by Israel for forty years. Therefore, so that nobody should say that the falling of the manna is a natural event that was introduced and then remained in nature, a jar was laid at the beginning to show them that immediately after Moshe's death and their arrival in Eretz Yisrael, the manna will cease, for it only falls when it is needed.

 

            The Meshekh Chokhma wishes to explain the timing in light of the Rambam's position that a miracle does not persist in time, but rather by definition is a one-time event. In order to emphasize the miraculous nature of manna, despite the fact that it would continue for the forty years that Israel is in the wilderness until they enter the land, God commanded at the outset that a jar of manna be laid up before the Lord, so that the people should understand that the manna is a miracle appropriate for its time.

 

            What is the meaning of the command to lay the manna up before God to be kept for generations? The Mekhilta states as follows:

 

"And put an omer full of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations." R. Yehoshua says: For the patriarchs. R. Elazar ha-Moda'i says: For future] generations. R. Eliezer says: For the days of Yirmiya the Prophet, for when Yirmiya said to Israel: Why do you not occupy yourselves with the Torah? They said to him: How shall we maintain ourselves? At that time, he took out for them the jar of manna and said to them: "O generation, see the word of the Lord" (Yirmiya 2:31). Your forefathers, who occupied themselves with the Torah, see how they were maintained! You too, occupy yourselves with the Torah, [and] the Holy One, blessed be He, will maintain you from this. And this is one of the three things that Eliyahu will in the future present to Israel: a jar of manna, a jar of purifying water, and a jar of anointing oil. And some say: Also Aharon's staff, almonds and blossoms, as it is stated: "Put Aharon's rod back" (Bamidbar 17:25).[1]

 

            As for the question of why was this deed cast upon Aharon and not upon Moshe himself, the Midrash Lekach Tov says:

 

"And Moshe said to Aharon." Why did he say this to Aharon? Because Aharon would in the future sanctify himself in the Holy of Holies and minister before the Testimony. And also because Aharon's rod would in the future be kept for a token against rebels. Therefore, Moshe our master said to him: "Take a jar, and put an omer full of manna in it." (Pesikta Zutrata [Lekach Tov], Shemot 16)

 

            Rabbeinu Bachye adds the following explanation in his commentary to the Torah:

 

"And Moshe said to Aharon, ‘Take a jar.’" It does not say: “Moshe took a jar, and Moshe put.” And it should have said this, for Aharon had not yet been chosen to be the priest, and afterwards we find that Moshe offered and burned [the sacrifices] in the Ohel Mo'ed until the priesthood was given to Aharon. It is possible to say that his commanding Aharon comes to hint about the Priests among the Levites, the teachers of Torah, who would in the future descend from Aharon, that their sustenance would come with ease and not with toil, in the manner of those who ate the manna. (Shemot 16)

 

            The Meshekh Chokhma also relates to our issue:

 

"And lay it up before the Lord to be kept for your generations… as the Lord commanded Moshe, so Aharon laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept." The difficulty is clear. It is possible that there is an allusion here that as long as Moshe would be alive, there would be manna, for the manna came down by the merit of Moshe, as [the Sages] said in Ta'anit (9a). And this is "as the Lord commanded Moshe," for it was for Moshe that the manna came down. Or else it is possible that the words of God only said that it should be kept (v. 32), and it was not written "before the Lord." But in Keritut (8b) and Horayot (12a), they learn a gezera shava between "to be kept" and "to be kept." For regarding Aharon's staff it says in Parashat Korach that God commanded it "to be kept before the Testimony" (Bamidbar 17:25). And perhaps Moshe would have learned from this a gezera shava. And the reason that God does not say here (v. 32), "Before the Testimony" is because the ark had not yet been fashioned. Therefore, Moshe said to Aharon, “Take a jar… and lay it before the Testimony… as the Lord commanded Moshe." This means: As He commanded Moshe regarding Aharon's staff that, Moshe himself should lay it before the Testimony, so too here Aharon should lay the jar of manna before the Testimony. And that which it says, "To Moshe" – that is, like the command that was to Moshe himself that he himself should do it, that is, the staff of Aharon. This fits in better according to what is found in the Mesora that all commands use the word "et" except for one – "As the Lord commanded Moshe," that is, for the aforementioned teaching that I mentioned that Moshe himself was commanded to do this. See Rashi, Ki Tisa (Shemot 32:27): "Thus says the Lord… Put every man his sword by himself." See there. (Shemot 16:33-34)

 

            God commanded Moshe and Moshe commanded Aharon; Moshe commanded that it be laid before God, whereas Aharon laid it before the Testimony. It is possible to say that Aharon was to place before God the manna that God gave the people of Israel in the merit of Moshe.

 

            Alternatively, the Meshech Chochma notes that the gemara in Keritut and in Horayot learns a gezera shava between the keeping of Aharon's staff before the Testimony and the keeping of the manna, and indeed both were hidden away at the same time and in the same place. Since Aharon's staff was laid before the Testimony, the jar of manna was similarly laid by Aharon before the Testimony. God could not have commanded at this time that it be placed before the Testimony, because the Mishkan had not yet been built and there was no ark. Therefore, Moshe mentioned that it should be laid before God. When the Torah writes that Aharon placed it before the Testimony, this relates to what actually happened when there was a Mishkan and the ark. What it says about the future accords with the continuation of the Torah's description of what happened with the manna until the people of Israel arrived in the land of Israel.

 

Of what material was the jar of Manna made?

 

            The Mekhilta states:

 

"Take a jar." I do not know of what it was made, whether it was silver, or gold, or iron, or brass, or tin, or lead. Therefore, it says: "A jar (tzintzenet)” – something that keeps it cool (metzayen). And what keeps it cool? Only a clay utensil.

 

            Only a clay utensil could keep the manna cold, and not utensils made of other materials, and therefore the jar of manna was made of clay.

 

What is the spiritual significance of placing the jar of manna in the Holy of holies?

 

1) To serve as a reminder of the miracles performed in the wilderness. It is clear that over the course of time, settlement in the land of Israel could easily bring the people of Israel to the feeling that "My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth."

 

2) To remind us Who continues to bestow material plenitude. The manna from heaven symbolizes the Divine plenitude in the wilderness; in corresponding fashion, the table with the showbread symbolizes human blessing from below.

 

3) To demonstrate that precisely in the most sanctified and removed place, the site of the creation of the world, is found the source of physical blessing, allowing the connection between earth and heaven. The jar of manna rests in the same place as the tablets of the law and the Torah, in the place which more than anywhere else symbolizes God's providence, the source of all spiritual and material blessing.

 

Laying AHaron's staff before the ark

 

            Following the cessation of the plague that struck in the wake of the rebellion of Korach and his company and following the blossoming of Aharon's staff, God commands:

 

And the Lord said to Moshe, “Put Aharon's rod back before the Testimony, to be kept (mishmeret) for a token against rebels, that there may be an end of their murmurings against Me, that they die not.” And Moshe did so; as the Lord commanded him, so he did. (Bamidbar 17:25-26)

 

            Let us try to understand the meaning of these verses through the midrashim and the words of the commentators. The Midrash ha-Gadol notes that the word "mishmeret" denotes "something that exists for generations":

 

"Before the Testimony, to be kept" – Wherever it says "mishmeret," it exists for generations. And so we find that as long as the Temple stood, Aharon's staff and its almonds and blossoms rested before the ark, as it is stated: "Before the Testimony." And when Yoshiya hid away the ark, he hid it away with it. (104)

 

            Similarly, the gemara states:

 

When the ark was hidden, there was hidden with it the jar containing the manna, and the jar containing the anointing oil, and the staff of Aharon with its almonds and blossoms, and the chest which the Pelishtim had sent as a gift to the God of Israel. (Yoma 52b)

 

            What is the meaning of the phrase: "For a token against rebels"? The Midrash ha-Gadol explains that the intention is that they should not challenge the priesthood ever again:

 

"Against rebels" – These are the two hundred and fifty burners of incense, the numerical value of the word “meri.” This should serve as a reminder to them and to all others like them, that they should never again challenge the priesthood. (106)

 

            The Ramban (ad loc.) emphasizes that the staff served as a sign for the selection of the tribe of Levi:

 

"To be kept for a token" – As a reminder that I chose Aharon as priest, that they should not again complain against the priesthood; these are the words of Rashi. This staff serves as a sign not only that the tribe of Levi was chosen from among the other tribes, but that Aharon was chosen for the priesthood. And the correct understanding: "To be kept as a sign" that the tribe of Levi was substituted for the firstborns. For the fire was a sign for the priesthood and the blossoms for the Levites, as I have explained (v. 6). This explains: "The rod of Aharon sprouted for the house of Levi" (v. 23), for it sprouted for the entire house of Levi, and by their merit. It is possible that once it became known through the staff that God does not desire the firstborns and that he desires the tribe of Levi, the priesthood would go to Aharon without complaint. For he was the most distinguished member of the tribe and its prince, and it is fitting that he should lead that tribe. This is incorrect in my eyes, for Gershon was Levi's firstborn.

 

            R. Eliahu Mizrakhi explains that according to Rashi, the staff was chosen for two matters: 1) Aharon's priesthood; 2) The selection of the tribe of Levi. Were this not the case, Elazar, who was appointed over the Levites, should have given his staff, as in all the other tribes, the prince gave his staff. Instead, Aharon gave his staff so that it would be a sign for his priesthood.

 

            The Ramban, on the other hand, maintains that the fire was a sign for the priesthood and the blossoming of the staff was a sign for the Levites. The Ramban writes as follows:

"You killed the people of the Lord." Because of you, two hundred and fifty firstborns who had been dedicated to the service since the exodus from Egypt were killed. You should not have disqualified the firstborns and entered the Levites in their place. (Bamidbar 17:6)

 

            The Ramban understands that there were those who complained about the tribe of Levi and wanted the firstborns to serve in the Mishkan in place of the Levites. Since God desired the tribe of Levi, the priesthood went unchallenged, as Aharon was the most distinguished member of the tribe and their prince.

 

            The Maharal disagrees with the Ramban and maintains that the tribe enjoys special sanctity because they are the Levites, and Aharon enjoys special sanctity because he was chosen from among them for the priesthood. He writes as follows:

 

"That they should never again challenge the priesthood" – The Ramban raised a difficulty that the miracle involving the staff was only for the selection of the tribe, and not for the priesthood of Aaron. It seems that this is not correct. Rather, the sign of the staff was for the priesthood, that it was fitting that this tribe should have the priesthood. Therefore, he took one staff from each of the tribes and wrote the name of the prince on the staff, because the priest was chosen because of the tribe, and the staff was from each tribe, and the individual name was that of the prince, to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, chooses the particular priest because he is a member of this tribe. Therefore, the staff was for the entire tribe, and the name that of the prince. And so it is explicitly written (v. 23): "And, behold, the rod of Aharon for the house of Levi had sprouted for the house of Levi." He means that Aharon's staff sprouted because he came from the house of Levi. Therefore, the essence of the miracle related to the priesthood, but since the sign that Aharon was chosen was because he was from the tribe of Levi, it turns out that the tribe has special sanctity and Aharon has special sanctity – special sanctity for the tribe because they are Levites, and special sanctity for Aharon because he was chosen from among them for the priesthood. This is correct and clear. (Gur Aryeh, Bamidbar 17:25)

 

            The spiritual significance of placing Aharon's staff in the Holy of Holies is that the selection of the tribe of Levi in its entirety and of the priesthood in particular is a Divine selection. The fact that the staff is found in the most sanctified place relates the priesthood to God and teaches that they are "agents of God," that they represent God as those who serve Him inside and outside the Temple.

 

            It is interesting that the Mekhilta (Shemot 16:32) lists Aharon's staff as one of the things that were created on Friday afternoon between sunset and nightfall: "And some say: Also the garments of Adam and the staff of Aharon with its almonds and blossoms."

 

            According to this view, the selection of the tribe of Levi and the priesthood was made when the world was first created, even thought the revelation of this selection came about only with the blossoming of Aharon's staff.

 

The Mekhilta (Shemot 16:33) records that some say that Aharon's staff with its almonds and blossoms will also be presented in the future by Eliyahu to the people of Israel. According to this view, the future renewal of Aharon's staff symbolizes the renewal of the selection of the tribe of Levi and of the priesthood in time to come, with all that this entails.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

 

 

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