My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Tetzaveh (2)
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on March 5, 2009 | Tags: Tetzaveh
In Parshah Tetzaveh Aaron and his sons are selected as Cohanim (Exo. 28:1), "You shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons, from among the Israelites, to serve Me as priests.." The ancient world placed a lot of value on lineage, and we still do to some extent today. Yet even with hereditary priests and kings, the general body of Israelites was still in many ways a meritocracy. Rabbi Akiva, famously, was an ill-educated laborer until he was 40 and then became one of our greatest sages. As the sages put it, "[T]hough the crown of priesthood is limited to the descendents of Aaron, and the crown of royalty to the descendents of David, the crown of learning is available to anyone would earn it."
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
