הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. הִלֵּל אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתַּלְמִידָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, אוֹהֵב אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת וּמְקָרְבָן לַתּוֹרָה:
Hillel e Shammai lo hanno ricevuto da loro. Hillel dice: Sii dei discepoli di Aaronne, amando la pace e perseguendo la pace, amando gli uomini e avvicinandoli alla Torà. [Spiegarono in Avoth d 'R. Nathan come Aaronne amasse la pace. Quando vedeva due uomini litigare, andava da ciascuno senza la conoscenza dell'altro e gli diceva: "Guarda il tuo amico. Guarda come si rammarica per quello che ha fatto e come si colpisce per aver peccato contro di te. mi ha chiesto di venire da te e di pregarti di perdonarlo. " In seguito, quando si incontravano, si baciano. E come avrebbe avvicinato gli uomini alla Torah? Quando sapeva che un uomo aveva trasgredito, lo avrebbe fatto amicizia e lo avrebbe guardato gentilmente—allora l'altro penserebbe, vergognoso: "Se quel tzaddik fosse a conoscenza delle mie cattive azioni, come si sarebbe allontanato da me!" Di conseguenza, si pentirà. Questa è la testimonianza del profeta (Malachia 2: 6): "In pace e giustizia ha camminato con me (Aaronne) e molti si sono allontanati dal peccato"].
Shenei Luchot HaBerit
It had to be constructed in one solid piece. It could not be pieced together. This is an allusion to the close ties that ought to exist naturally between all Jews. Their affinity to one another should be natural. This explains why Rashi says that the verse telling us that Aaron did as he was told (8,2), was a compliment to him, commending him for not having departed from G–d's instructions. We could have assumed that it was natural for him to do what G–d had said, and why only here does the Torah state that he carried out his instructions? However, what the Torah wanted to stress is that Aaron was singularly suited to be the High Priest since he did not depart from the essence of what the Menorah symbolised, the unity of the Jewish people. In his capacity of being an אוהב שלום ורודף שלום, "a lover of peace and someone who actively pursued peace," he represented exactly what was needed.
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
The underlying secret dimension of the principle of the relationship of כלל to פרט is the principle governing the relationship of cause and effect, or Creator and creature. These relationships must not be reversed. It is interesting that the Talmud Chullin 133a, tells us that the 24 portions that have been assigned to the Priests are all based on the principle of כלל ופרט, and that he who observes the "covenant of the salt," is considered as having observed the principle of כלל ופרט, whereas he who fails to observe it is as if he had violated the principle of כלל ופרט. I have explained elsewhere the deeper meaning of the relationship of כלל and פרט. The 24 gifts that are assigned to the Priests correspond to the 24 books of the Bible. The Torah in its entirety (the 24 books of the Bible), is the soul of the Jewish nation, and the Priests represent the נשמה of that nation. The written Torah, with its six hundred thousand letters, represents the כלל, whereas the 24 books represent the פרט in that combination. The "covenant of salt," symbolises the attribute of "peace" of which Aaron was the foremost exponent, since he has been described by our sages as being an אוהב שלום ורודף שלום, a lover and active searcher for peace. (Avot 1,12) It is a well known fact that the "lower" waters complained about having been relegated from the "upper" waters [second day of Creation], and that in order to pacify them G–d ordered the ceremony of נסוך המים, the libations of waters which were offered on the altar during the festival of Tabernacles to compensate them (Numbers 29,16 et al). [Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi explains that salt is only congealed water, hence water and salt are viewed as identical. This helps explain the Rashi we quote in the next paragraph. Ed.] Rashi explains on Leviticus 2,13, that the salt which was offered with every sacrifice is an expression of this Covenant made between G–d and the "lower" waters which had been separated from their counterparts. Since all the ways of Torah are pleasantness (Proverbs 3,17), i.e. דרכיה דרכי נועם וכל נתיבותיה שלום, it is only natural that the Priests and the Levites were charged with instructing the people, i.e. יורו משפטיך ליעקב, ותורתך לישראל, "They shall teach Your social laws to Jacob, and Your Torah to Israel" (Deut. 33,10).
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