Комментарий о цитате к Шмот 28:30

קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו, “Moses called out to Aaron and his sons.” Our sages (Tanchuma Shemini 3) comment that the word קרא ל.. means that Moses called upon Aaron to wear the mantle of the position of High Priest. When told that he was to be the High Priest, Aaron said to his brother: “seeing you have worked tirelessly to make the Tabernacle a reality, it does not seem fair that I should be the High Priest.” Moses answered him that although Aaron had been appointed to this position by G’d, He, Moses, was as happy for him as if he himself had been appointed to that position. He added that just as Aaron had rejoiced at the time when Moses was appointed the leader of the people, although he was the older of the two, now it was his turn to rejoice in Aaron’s promotion. The occasion when Aaron had rejoiced at Moses’ appointment is recorded in Exodus 4,14 where G’d told Moses that his brother Aaron would rejoice in his appointment. One of the reasons Moses had not wanted to accept the position was that he was afraid that Aaron who had been the people’s spokesman up until then would be offended. This is what Moses had meant when he said to G’d: “appoint (send) the one whom You are in the habit of sending on such missions” (Exodus 4,13).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said that the heart which had been able to sincerely rejoice at the promotion of his younger brother was the most suitable one to wear the urim vetumim, as is written “he shall carry the judgment of the Children of Israel on his heart” (Exodus 25,30). This is why during the seven days that Moses performed the sprinkling of the blood on the Altar, offering incense, etc., G’d said to him: “Moses in case you think that you are going to be the High Priest, call in Aaron and appoint him to the position.” Why did Moses also have to call in the elders of the people? G’d told him to appoint Aaron in their presence in order that later on no one could claim that Aaron had appointed himself to this position.

a consecrated linen tunic This verse does not mention the breastplate, or the ephod, or its robe, since they are already mentioned in the passage that ends in the verse “its sound shall be heard when he enters the holy place….” [Exodus 28:35]. However, the men of the Second Temple did learn from this verse that the High Priest may officiate without the ’Urim and the Tummim (moreover, there were prophets then to take their place).

AND HE PUT UPON HIM THE TUNIC AND HE GIRDED HIM WITH THE BELT. This was the order in which Moses did it. But in the section containing the command, He said, and thou shalt put upon Aaron the tunic, and the robe of the ephod¹⁸¹Exodus 29:5. [and mentioned the belt only later on in the section, and not right after the tunic, as here], because there He wanted to mention the belt for Aaron and his sons in one command, saying, And thou shalt gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons.¹⁸²Ibid., Verse 9. Thus the command for the belt, referring as it did to both Aaron as High Priest and his sons as common priests, is mentioned there once in connection with both, in order to save repeating it; but here where the actual fulfillment of the command is narrated, Scripture mentions all the garments that Aaron was clothed in together, separate from those of his sons. Thus Moses clothed Aaron with the tunic and the belt, and afterwards with the robe and the ephod, in the order mentioned there.¹⁸³Ibid., Verse 5. Here [when performing the command] he girded him with the skilfully-woven band of the ephod¹⁸⁴In Verse 7 before us. before he placed the breastplate upon him,¹⁸⁵Verse 8. [while in the section containing the command the breastplate is mentioned before the skilfully-woven band of the ephod], for Moses knew that the usual way of dressing is that immediately after putting on a garment, one girds it with the belt made for it. Therefore, he girded him with the belt immediately after the tunic, and with the skilfully-woven band [of the ephod] immediately after the ephod, it being improper that the putting on of the ephod should be done with intermissions. But there [in the section containing the command] it is said, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the skilfully-woven band of the ephod,¹⁸³Ibid., Verse 5. because He dealt briefly there with the subject of the breastplate, and did not say that it be placed on the ephod, nor that he should put in it the Urim and the Thummim,¹⁸⁶Exodus 28:30. See Ramban there. since He had already commanded all this in explaining the work of the ephod and the breastplate.