Musar for Numbers 1:51

There were three "crowns" as we mentioned earlier. The reason they are referred to as זרים rather than as כתרים, is to reflect the statement of our sages who have said that "he who merits a crown, זר, spelled with the vowel Tzeyreh, does not need to worry about the זר spelled with the vowel kametz. Of the latter the Torah has written: והזר הקרב יומת, "The stranger who approaches will be executed" (Numbers 1,51). What our sages meant was that he who studies Torah in order to observe its precepts, is fortunate and will be crowned with the crown of Torah. If, however, someone is a Torah scholar, preaching Torah values but personally not practising them, he will eventually become totally estranged and his punishment will be twice that of people who do not have Torah knowledge. The reason is that the Torah scholar used to be קרוב, close, whereas now he has become זר, estranged.

In order to explain the nature of this התבודדות, isolation, let me first quote a passage from the Tikkunei Ha-Zohar concerning הבל which is rampant on earth: "It happened on a Sabbath eve that someone who could only walk on crutches encountered two scholars whom he addressed as "masters of the generations" [foremost scholars of their time] and "masters of wisdom." He greeted them cordially, inquiring where they were headed. When told the place the scholars were travelling to (on horseback), the man on crutches mentioned that he was headed for the same place and could arrange board and lodging there for the scholars in the event the latter were in need of same. Upon hearing this, the scholars asked how it was possible that they would not arrive ahead of the man on crutches seeing that they were on horseback whereas he did not even have his own legs. While saying this they turned their heads and observed that the cripple suddenly ran like a rod of lightning. He arranged for the two scholars to experience a contraction of the distance to be covered so that they too arrived simultaneously with the cripple at the entrance of a cave. The cripple asked the scholars to enter the cave. The Rabbis followed him and climbed inside the cave until they arrived at an orchard where they found the cripple divesting himself of his former body and assuming an entirely new body. The former cripple's face shone like the sun and he was seated on a Royal throne surrounded by three hundred disciples at his feet. The disciples were engaged in reciting the first verse of Kohelet: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." The disciples kept on repeating this verse innumerable times. The "leaders of the generation" turned to the disciples inquiring if there was no other verse in the Book of Kohelet that they kept repeating the same verse all the time. Upon hearing this, the man on the throne [who had first appeared to the scholars as a cripple] immediately arose and took hold of the hands of the two scholars and transported them to seven palaces. Each of these palaces was inscribed with the first verse of Kohelet, i.e.: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." When they came to the seventh palace the entrance was decorated with the likeness of an eagle and a crown. On the crown there was the image of a dove. On the crown was inscribed the following: "Anyone who is not conversant with the meaning of the seven vanities in the first verse of Kohelet is the subject of the verse in Numbers 1,51: והזר הקרב יומת, 'And any stranger (non priest) who enters will be executed.'" Thereupon the two scholars turned to leave.

Now to the third "perfection" enjoyed by Adam, that of the נפש, the soul. The priest offering the sacrifice enjoys a higher level of נפש. Any non-priest who arrogated to himself priestly functions was guilty of death by execution (Numbers 1,51). We note that the priest offered sacrifices at a place appointed by G–d at a time designated by G–d. This is the mystical dimension of the עשן.