[Yechezkel
44:15-31]
Aside
from holidays, the Cohanim would only work in the Temple for two weeks a
year. So what was their role during the
rest of the year?
"But
the Cohanim, who are Levi'im, descendants of Tzadok, who faithfully carried out
the duties of My Temple when the Children of Israel went astray from Me, are to
come near to minister before Me. They
are to stand before Me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares Hashem, G-d. They are to enter My Temple and to come near
My table to minister before Me and perform My service" (Yechezkel
44:15-16).
There
are four fundamental positions among the Nation of Israel: King, Sage, Prophet,
and Cohain. Compared
to the well-defined public roles of the other three, the Cohain seems to have been
secluded in the Temple - away from the concrete reality which surrounds
us. The fact that the Cohanim wore
distinct clothing only further separated them from the rest of the Nation. "When they enter the gates of the inner
court, they are to wear linen clothes.
They must not wear any woolen garment while ministering at the gates of
the inner court or inside the Temple.
They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen pants around
their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire" (ibid.
v. 17-18).
But
when we continue reading, we see that the next verse points out that this is
not so: "When they go out into the outer court to the Nation, they are to
take off the clothes they have been ministering in and are to leave them in the
sacred chambers, and wear other clothes, so that they do not mingle with the
Nation in their special garments" (ibid. v. 19). At the time of the Divine service in the
Temple, the Cohain would separate himself and wear the appropriate uniform for
his special role. But immediately after
completing his task and leaving the confines of the Temple's walls, he would
not be different in appearance from the rest of the Nation.
Do
not think that the Cohain was only a "man of the Temple." The Divine service was not quantitatively the
largest part of his life. Each Cohain
would, in addition to the holidays, serve only two weeks a year in the
Temple. And even on the holidays, he was
on standby in the event that there was extra work to perform. The Cohanim and Levi'im would spend the
remainder of the year traveling throughout the length and breadth of Israel
teaching Torah. They served as the
spiritual guides of the Nation, providing personal and communal counsel. They therefore were also involved in rulings
in the area of Halachah. The Cohanim did
not wait until people turned to them - rather they went out to the Nation. A few times during the year, when people
visited the Temple on the holidays, they saw the Cohanim in their full glory in
their impressive clothing. The meetings
with the Cohanim outside of the Temple may have been more frequent, but meeting
them at the Temple was qualitatively the greatest experience (see Orot, Orot
Ha-Techiya 4-5).
The
Cohain did not own land, have a profession, or items to sell. He dedicated himself day and night to
teaching. He would travel around and
make a livelihood from the tithes (Terumot and Ma'asrot) which each Jew would
separate from his produce for the Cohanim and Levi'im.
It
is interesting to point out that when the movement to return to Zion began more
than 120 years ago, there were all types of people who became concerned about
the material concerns of the Nation of Israel – in politics, agriculture,
industry, etc. – while others saw Judaism as a theoretical religion. Two extremes emerged: on the one side were
great Torah scholars aspired to have the religion completely detached from this
world; on the other side were secular thinkers who recommended a solely
intellectual Judaism.
This
dilemma was not new. The spies, sent by
Moshe Rabbenu, refused to enter the Land.
They did not fear a military defeat, but rather a spiritual decline.
When they describe the Land as one "which devours its inhabitants"
(Bemidbar 13:32), they are voicing their fear that the Nation would become
pre-occupied with daily existence and lose its spiritual bearings.
But
we must ask: How can we ensure a religious and spiritual existence when we are
involved in the day-to-day material reality?
An individual might be able to detach himself from the physical world, exist
on the minimum amount necessary, and dedicate himself to learning Torah and
Divine service, but this is impossible for an entire Nation. What then is the solution? It is the Cohanim, who are in constant
contact with the Nation and are responsible for its spirituality. This is explained by Maran Ha-Rav Kook in his
book "Orot". He used a parable
of a man who wants to cleave to Hashem not through the physical but through his
mind, spirit and heart. When his
thoughts are dedicated to Hashem, they illuminate his entire body. The same applies to human society. In the merit of the Cohanim, who dedicate
their lives to Hashem, the entire Nation takes a part in the spiritual reality
(Orot, Orot Ha-Techiya 4).
When
the Nation met the Cohanim in the Temple – the very men from whose rulings,
teachings, and counsel they have benefited – there is no need to describe the
sublime spiritual experience that occurred!
