I have many friends who are Kohanim, and if you ask them, they will tell you that it is not a role that comes with many obvious benefits today, living in Israel or abroad, as compared to ancient times. They do not receive gifts of meat, grain, oil, or wine as their ancestors once did. There is no steady stream of Terumah arriving at their door, no portions from offerings waiting to be eaten. Instead, what they experience most tangibly are the obligations: the need to avoid contact with the dead, the additional restrictions at times of funerals, and the heightened awareness of their status in moments of loss.

And yet, alongside those limitations, there remain certain privileges and signs of honour and respect – the first aliyah to the Torah, the opportunity to bless the community with Birkat Kohanim, a quiet but enduring sense of distinction. Even today, Kohanim are often invited to lead Birkat Hamazon, and there remains a sensitivity not to place them in roles that would be considered undignified. It is a role that, in our time, is more symbolic and spiritual than economic – but not without form.

Which makes Parashat Tzav all the more striking.

Because when we read the parasha, we encounter a completely different reality – one in which the Kehunah is not only a spiritual role, but an economic one as well. The Torah speaks repeatedly, almost insistently, about what the Kohanim receive, as well as what they don’t.

“That which is left thereof shall Aharon and his sons eat… I have given it unto them for their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy” (Vayikra 6:9–11). “The breast of waving and the thigh of heaving… have I given unto Aharon the priest and unto his sons as a due forever” (7:34). “This is the anointing portion of Aharon and the anointing portion of his sons…” (7:35).

“That which is left thereof shall Aharon and his sons eat… I have given it unto them for their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy” (Vayikra 6:9–11).

“The breast of waving and the thigh of heaving… have I given unto Aharon the priest and unto his sons as a due forever” (7:34).

“This is the anointing portion of Aharon and the anointing portion of his sons…” (7:35).

The language is unmistakable. These are not incidental details. The Torah........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)