Bamidbar
Do not cut off the
tribe of the families of the Kohatites from among the
Levites. Do this that they may live and
not die, when they approach the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go
in and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden. They shall not go in to see the holy things,
as they are being covered, lest they die.
When the roof and walls of the
Tabernacles were being dismantled these furnishings would suddenly be revealed
to all. If people would look at these
objects they would die. We know this
from the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh
who had seen the ark with their own eyes (Samuel 1
Rashba’am (18th Century)
Do not allow the procedure of
carrying parts of the Tabernacle to be a free for all, the one first on the
spot carrying the part he chooses to, of if you do this the resulting chaos
will lead to destruction, to death. Such
chaotic conditions will inevitably lead to desecration of holy things; holy
objects with tragic results such as loss of life…The sages illustrated what is
meant by describing the murder of Kohanim in a rush to be the first to carry
out the cleaning of the ashes off the top of the altar…
Sforno (15th Century)
We are told that the Kehatites must not even be present while the covering (of
the sacred objects they are to carry) is done.
They must not see these sacred objects while they are still in the
process of being covered. If we are not
in error, the intent of the prohibition is that the sacred things should remain
to their bearers’ ideational concepts, not objects of physical perception, so
that these individuals should be inspired all the more by the ideals the
objects represent. The spiritual
contemplation of the sacred objects entrusted to the care of the Kehatites would seem to be an essential aspect of their
duties, and a physical perception of these objects while they are being covered
would distract…and desecrate the objects themselves.
Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th
Century)
I believe the text contains a
warning against the temptation of high office and the cure – humility. Pride and the feeling of success come before
a fall. True contentment and happiness
can only be achieved by the feeling of reverence and humility. The sons of Kohat
were in danger of becoming victims of pride and vanity as a result of the
privilege of carrying the ark which had been bestowed on them. God therefore withheld from them one
important detail. They were not allowed
to carry the ark until Aaron and his sons ha covered the holy things, so that
they should realize that they, too, were subordinated to someone higher than
themselves…The prohibition of touching the holy things was designed to disinflate their pride…
Moshe Hefez
(16th Century)
There is always a danger involved
when man strives to grasp that which is beyond h8im, to soar higher and higher
to that which is hidden and concealed…It should be sufficient for man to rest
content with that which has been granted him to understand, with that which has
been entrusted to him in his tasks, both sacred and profane…
Nechama Leibowitz
(20th Century)