Midrash su Salmi 133:2
כַּשֶּׁ֤מֶן הַטּ֨וֹב ׀ עַל־הָרֹ֗אשׁ יֹרֵ֗ד עַֽל־הַזָּקָ֥ן זְקַֽן־אַהֲרֹ֑ן שֶׁ֝יֹּרֵ֗ד עַל־פִּ֥י מִדּוֹתָֽיו׃
È come il prezioso olio sulla testa, che scende sulla barba; Perfino la barba di Aaronne, che scende sul colletto delle sue vesti;
Midrash Tanchuma
Another comment on A good name is better than precious oil. A good name increases (among people), while precious oil descends. A good name arises, as it is written: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great (Gen. 12:2), while precious oil flows downward, as it is said: It is like the precious oil upon the head (Ps. 133:2). Precious oil is transitory, while a good name is everlasting, as is said: May his name endure forever; may his name be continued as long as the sun (ibid. 72:17). This was said in reference to the prophets and the wise men. Precious oil may be destroyed, but a good name is indestructible, as it is said: I will give them an everlasting memorial, that they shall not be cut off (Isa. 56:5).
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Shir HaShirim Rabbah
“Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with beads” (Song of Songs 1:10).
“Your cheeks are lovely”—just as these cheeks were created only for speech, so too, Moses and Aaron were created only for speech; “with ornaments [batorim],” with two Torahs, written and oral.
Another matter, batorim, many Torahs; that is what is written: “This is the law [tora] of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “this is the law [tora] of the meal offering” (Leviticus 6:7); “this is the law [tora] of the guilt offering” (Leviticus 7:1); “this is the law [tora] of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11). “This is the law [tora] of a person when he dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14).
Another matter, batorim, with two countenances [te’arim], with two brothers, these are Moses and Aaron, whose countenances were favorable to each other. This one rejoiced over the prominence of the other and that one rejoiced over the prominence of the other. Rabbi Pinḥas said: It is written: “He will speak to the people on your behalf, and he will be a mouth for you, and you will be an elohim for him” (Exodus 4:16). [“He will be a mouth for you,”] a disseminator. “And you will be an elohim for him,” did Moses become a god for Aaron that you say: “And you will be an elohim for him”? Rather, this is what the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Moses, just as fear of Me is upon you, so too, your fear will be upon your brother.’ But he did not do so. Rather, “Moses and Aaron went and they assembled all the elders of the children of Israel; Aaron spoke all the matters” (Exodus 4:29–30). [Moses] equated his shoulder to [Aaon’s] shoulder,252They stood shoulder to shoulder and treated each other as equals. Thus, Moses did not send Aaron to do his bidding; they worked together. as this one still rejoiced over the prominence of the other, and that one over the prominence of the other.
From where [is it derived] that Aaron rejoiced over Moses’s prominence? As it is stated: “He will see you and he will rejoice in his heart” (Exodus 4:14). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: The heart that rejoiced over the prominence of Moses his brother will don the Urim and the Tumim. That is what is written: “You shall place the Urim and the Tumim in the breastplate of judgment and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart” (Exodus 28:30).
From where [is it derived] that Moses rejoiced over Aaron’s prominence? As it is stated: “It is like fine oil on the head, descending onto the beard, the beard of Aaron” (Psalms 133:2). Rabbi Aḥa said: Did Aaron have two beards, as it is written: “Descending onto the beard, the beard of Aaron”?253Why does it say the word beard twice? Rather, when Moses saw the anointing oil descending onto the beard of Aaron, it was comparable for him as though it descended onto the beard of Moses, and he rejoiced; therefore, it is stated: “Onto the beard, the beard of Aaron.”
“Your cheeks are lovely”—just as these cheeks were created only for speech, so too, Moses and Aaron were created only for speech; “with ornaments [batorim],” with two Torahs, written and oral.
Another matter, batorim, many Torahs; that is what is written: “This is the law [tora] of the burnt offering” (Leviticus 6:2); “this is the law [tora] of the meal offering” (Leviticus 6:7); “this is the law [tora] of the guilt offering” (Leviticus 7:1); “this is the law [tora] of the peace offering” (Leviticus 7:11). “This is the law [tora] of a person when he dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14).
Another matter, batorim, with two countenances [te’arim], with two brothers, these are Moses and Aaron, whose countenances were favorable to each other. This one rejoiced over the prominence of the other and that one rejoiced over the prominence of the other. Rabbi Pinḥas said: It is written: “He will speak to the people on your behalf, and he will be a mouth for you, and you will be an elohim for him” (Exodus 4:16). [“He will be a mouth for you,”] a disseminator. “And you will be an elohim for him,” did Moses become a god for Aaron that you say: “And you will be an elohim for him”? Rather, this is what the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Moses, just as fear of Me is upon you, so too, your fear will be upon your brother.’ But he did not do so. Rather, “Moses and Aaron went and they assembled all the elders of the children of Israel; Aaron spoke all the matters” (Exodus 4:29–30). [Moses] equated his shoulder to [Aaon’s] shoulder,252They stood shoulder to shoulder and treated each other as equals. Thus, Moses did not send Aaron to do his bidding; they worked together. as this one still rejoiced over the prominence of the other, and that one over the prominence of the other.
From where [is it derived] that Aaron rejoiced over Moses’s prominence? As it is stated: “He will see you and he will rejoice in his heart” (Exodus 4:14). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: The heart that rejoiced over the prominence of Moses his brother will don the Urim and the Tumim. That is what is written: “You shall place the Urim and the Tumim in the breastplate of judgment and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart” (Exodus 28:30).
From where [is it derived] that Moses rejoiced over Aaron’s prominence? As it is stated: “It is like fine oil on the head, descending onto the beard, the beard of Aaron” (Psalms 133:2). Rabbi Aḥa said: Did Aaron have two beards, as it is written: “Descending onto the beard, the beard of Aaron”?253Why does it say the word beard twice? Rather, when Moses saw the anointing oil descending onto the beard of Aaron, it was comparable for him as though it descended onto the beard of Moses, and he rejoiced; therefore, it is stated: “Onto the beard, the beard of Aaron.”
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Sifra
10) "And he anointed the mishkan and all that was in it": Not as the anointment of Aaron and his sons, where after he clothed them he anointed them, viz. (Tehillim 133:2): "As the goodly oil upon the head." I might think that he anointed them (the vestments) before he clothed them; it is, therefore, written (Tehillim 133:2): "descending (from his beard) upon his vestments." But, in the anointing of the other vessels, each vessel required anointment in itself, viz. (Vayikra 8:11): "And he anointed the altar and all of its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them" — whereby we are taught that each vessel required anointment in itself.
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Sifra
37) (Vayikra 10:4): "And Moses called to Mishael and Eltzafan, the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron": From (Shemoth 6:18) "And the sons of Kehoth: Amram and Yitzhar and Chevron and Uziel" do I not know that Uziel is the uncle of Aaron? Why, then, need it be stated? The deportment of Uziel is being likened to the deportment of Aaron. Just as Aaron was a pursuer of peace in Israel, so, Uziel. Where is it seen that Aaron was a pursuer of peace in Israel? It is written (Bamidbar 20:29): "And the entire congregation saw that Aaron had died, and the entire house of Israel mourned Aaron thirty days." And in respect to Moses it is written (Devarim 34:8): "And the children of Israel mourned Moses, etc." Why is it that the entire house of Israel mourned Aaron for thirty days and the house of Israel (but not the entire house of Israel) mourned Moses? For Aaron never told a man or a woman: You have offended; but Moses, because he reproved them, it is written of him "And the children of Israel, (but not all) mourned Moses." And thus does Scripture apply (the following verse) to Aaron in the tradition (Malachi 2:5): "My covenant was with him, the life and the peace" — he pursued peace in Israel; "and I gave him fear and he feared Me" — he took upon himself all the words of Torah in awe and trembling and trepidation; "and before My name he cowered": What is the intent of this? When Moses spilled the anointment oil on Aaron's head, he recoiled and fell backwards, saying: Woe unto me for defiling the anointment oil! (He feared that too much of it had been spilled and that he may have derived benefit from it), whereupon he was reassured by the Holy Spirit (Tehillim 133:1): "Behold, how good and how pleasant is the dwelling of brothers together, (Tehillim 133:2) as the precious oil upon the head, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down over his garments, (Tehillim 133:3) as the dew of Chermon running down upon the hills of Zion" — Just as the dew is not defiled, the oil of anointment is not defiled.
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Sifrei Bamidbar
(Bamidbar, Ibid.) "For all the hallowed things of the children of Israel, etc.": Scripture forged a covenant with Aaron with the holy of holies (viz. Ibid. 19) to declare a law to make a covenant with them. And why was this necessary? For Korach arose against Aaron and contested the priesthood. An analogy: A king of flesh and blood had a retainer to whom he gave a field of holding as a gift, without writing or sealing (the transaction) and without recording it, whereupon someone came and contested his (the retainer's) ownership of the field. At this, the king said to him: Let anyone who wishes come and contest it. Come (now) and I will write, seal, and record it. Korach came and contested his (Aaron's) claim to the priesthood, at which the L-rd said to him: Let anyone who wishes come and contest it. I am (now) writing and sealing and recording it — wherefore this section is juxtaposed with (the episode of) Korach. (Bamidbar, Ibid.) "to you have I given them (the gifts)": in your merit "lemashchah": "meshichah" connotes greatness, as in (Vayikra 7:35) "This is mishchath Aaron and mishchath his sons, etc." R. Yitzchak says "mishchah" (here) connotes anointment, as in (Psalms 133:2) "the goodly oil upon the head, running down the beard, the beard of Aaron." (Bamidbar, Ibid.) "and to your sons": in the merit of your sons. "as an everlasting statute": the covenant obtaining for all of the succeeding generations. (Ibid. 9) "This shall be for you from the holy of holies from the fire": I would not know of what this speaks. Go out and see: What remains (for the Cohanim) of the holy of holies, all of which is consigned to the fire? You find this as obtaining only with a beast burnt-offering, (the hide of which reverts to the Cohanim.) "all of their offerings": the two loaves and the show-bread. "all of their meal-offerings": the sinner's meal-offering and the donative meal-offering. "all of their sin-offerings": the sin-offering of the individual and the communal sin-offering (viz. Vayikra 6:18), the bird sin-offering and the beast sin-offering. "all of their guilt-offerings": the "certain" guilt-offering, the "suspended" guilt-offering, the guilt-offering of the Nazirite and the guilt-offering of the leper. "which they shall return to Me": This refers to the theft of a proselyte, (which reverts to the Cohanim [viz. Ibid. 5:8]). "holy of holies": This refers to the leper's log of oil. "to you and to your sons": in your merit and in the merit of your sons. (Ibid. 10) "In the holy of holies shall you eat it": Scripture forged a covenant with Aaron with the holy of holies that they are to be eaten only in a holy place, within the curtains (i.e., in the azarah [the Temple court]). R. Yehudah said: Whence is it derived that if gentiles surrounded the azarah, they may be eaten (even) in the sanctuary? From "In the holy of holies shall you eat it." (Ibid.) "Every male shall eat it": Scripture forged a covenant with Aaron with the holy of holies that they are to be eaten by males of the priesthood. "Holy shall it be to you": What is the intent of this? I might think that only something fit for eating should be eaten in holiness. Whence do I derive (the same for) something which is not fit for eating? From "Holy shall it be to you." (Ibid. 11) "And this is for you the terumah of (i.e., what is set apart from) their gift-offerings": Scripture hereby apprises us that just as Scripture included holy of holies to decree a law to make a covenant with them, so, did it include lower-order offerings. "From all the wave-offerings of the children of Israel": This thing requires waving. "To you have I given them, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, as an everlasting statute": the covenant obtaining for all of the succeeding generations. "Every clean one in your house shall eat it": Scripture forged a covenant with lower-order offerings that they are to be eaten only by those who are clean. "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine and of the wheat": Scripture hereby apprises us that just as Scripture included the offerings of the sanctuary to decree a law to make a covenant with them, so, did it include the border offerings (i.e., those outside the sanctuary) to decree a law to make a covenant with them. "All the best of the oil": This is terumah gedolah (Devarim 18:4). "and all the best, etc.": This is terumath ma'aser (Bamidbar 18:26). "the first of them": the first of the shearing (Devarim 18:4). "which they shall give": shoulder, cheeks and maw (Ibid. 3). "to the L-rd": challah (Bamidbar 15:20). (Ibid. 18:13) "the first-fruits of all that is in their land": Scripture here comes to teach us about the bikkurim that holiness "takes" upon them while they are yet attached to the ground. For it would follow (otherwise, viz.:) Since holiness "takes" on bikkurim and holiness "takes" on terumah, then, if I have learned about terumah that holiness does not "take" on it while it is yet on the ground, so, with bikkurim. It is, therefore, written "the first-fruits of all that is in their land," to teach us otherwise. (Bamidbar 18:12) "To you have I given them": Scripture comes to teach that it is given to the Cohein. (Bamidbar, Ibid. 13) "Every clean one of your household shall eat it": Why is this stated? Is it not already written (Ibid. 11) "Every clean one in your house shall eat it (terumah)"? Why repeat it? To include the daughter of an Israelite betrothed to a Cohein as eating terumah. Does this include one who is betrothed? Perhaps it speaks only of one who is married! — (This is not so, for) "Every clean one in your house shall eat it" already speaks of one who is married. How, then, am I to understand "Every clean one of your household"? As including the daughter of an Israelite betrothed to a Cohein, as eating terumah. This would seem to include (as eating terumah) a betrothed one and a toshav (a ger toshav [sojourner]) and a sachir (a hired non-Jew). How, then, am I to understand (Shemot 12:45) "a toshav … shall not eat of it"? A toshav who is not in your domain; but one who is in your domain may eat of it. Or even a toshav who is in your domain (may eat of it). And how am I to understand "Every clean one of your household may eat of it"? As excluding a toshav and a sachir. Or perhaps, including a toshav and a sachir! It is, therefore, written (Vayikra 22:10) "and a sachir shall not eat the holy thing" (terumah): whether or not he is in your domain. And it happened that R. Yochanan b. Bag Bag sent to R. Yehudah in Netzivim: I heard about you that you said that the daughter of an Israelite betrothed to a Cohein eats terumah. He sent back: And I held you to be expert in the recesses of Torah when you cannot even expound a kal vachomer (a fortiori, viz.:) If a Canaanite maidservant, whose intercourse (with her master) does not acquire her (or him) for (purposes of) eating terumah, her money (i.e., the money by which he acquired her [viz. Vayikra 22:11]) causes her to eat terumah — then the daughter of an Israelite, whose intercourse (with her husband) acquires her (to him) for (purposes of) eating terumah, how much more so should her money (by which he betroths her) acquire her for (purposes of) eating terumah! But what can I do? The sages said: The daughter of an Israelite betrothed (to a Cohein) does not eat terumah until she enters the chuppah (the marriage canopy). Once she enters the chuppah, even if there were no intercourse, she eats terumah, and if she dies, her husband inherits her.
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