Parshat BaMidbar, 5759

One of the reasons underlying this obligation is, as the "Ktav VeHaKabbalah" explains, in connection with the verse in Bereshit 25:30, "the Torah attaches a certain level of holiness to all things that are associated with the attribute of "Reshit," coming into the world "first." And he lists examples: human beings, cattle, produce, etc…"

Sefer BaMibar, which we begin reading this Shabbat, is replete with tragedies, individual and communal. Communal catastrophes include, of course, the "Meraglim," the spies who spoke ill (but not untruth, as they perceived it), of G-d's great gift, the Land of Israel. For their lack of faith, which they communicated to their fellow Jews, the stay in the Desert was lengthened to forty years, an entire generation had to perish in the Desert, and Jewish History was negatively and profoundly impacted.

The tragedy of "Korach VaAdato," "Korach, and his followers," was a communal and a personal tragedy. It was communal in that an entire congregation, the "Adat Korach," was led to their destruction; it was individual in that its leadership was provided by a single individual, frustrated at what he perceived at his own rejection.

The Adat Korach consisted, at least according to one opinion, of first-born from the tribe of Reuven. That conjecture makes sense for two reasons: the first-born had been rejected from the performance of the Divine Service, and been replaced by the Leviim, as this week's Parshah recounts. The background of this is that the "Avodah," the Divine Service, was to have been in the hands of the first-born, were it not for their breakdown and participation in the Sin of the Golden Calf. One reason for the involvement of the Tribe of Reuven was that their encampment was adjacent to that of Korach ("Woe to the wicked; Woe also to the neighbor of the wicked!") The involvement of Reuven, in particular, is still more complex, and will be dealt with further, downstream.

We know that the first-born served in this capacity mainly from the Oral Torah. In Masechet Zevachim (112:) we find, "Before the Mishkan, private altars were permitted, and the Divine Service was performed by the first-born; Once the Mishkan was erected, private altars were prohibited, and the Divine service went to the Kohanim." And the Talmud says in Megillah 14: "The garments referred to as "Bigdei Chamudot," the "beautiful garments," in the incident of Yaakov's impersonation of Esav, were the garments of the "Kohen Gadol," the High Priest.

Midrash Rabbah says, "You should know that the first-born brought sacrifices until the Tribe of Levi superceded them. Take that knowledge from the Beginning of the Creation of the World. 'Adam HaRishon,' 'First Man,' was the 'First-Born' of the World. When he brought his sacrifice, as it is written (Psalms 69), 'And it should be desired by G-d as the sacrifice of oxen,' he wore the garments of the High Priest, as it is written, 'that Hashem made for them garments of skin and He clothed them. They were garments of Shabbat, and the first-born would use them.' "

Even before their participation in the sin of the Golden calf, we find that the bechorim had a "rocky road," to say the least. From Kayin, who committed the first murder (of his brother!), to Yishmael, who was exiled from his father's house, to Esav, perceived as wicked and outmaneuvered by his brother, to Reuven, demoted by his father, to Nadav, the first-born of Aharon, who perished with his brother, when they brought a "strange fire" before G-d.

In fact, there is an interesting linguistic connection between the Torah's accounts of G-d's words to Kayin and the "blessing," or character analysis, provided by Yaakov to Reuven, as well as to his other sons, as he lay on his deathbed.

When Hevel's sacrifice was accepted by G-d after his own was rejected, Kayin was warned by Hashem, "If you behave properly at this point, you will achieve greatness, but if you misbehave, sin crouches at the door," (Bereshit 4,7) The Hebrew word used for greatness, "se-at," reappears in the words of Yaakov to Reuven, "Reuven, You are my first-born, my strength and the first of my vigor, destined for greatness, and for great power. Impetuous as water, you cannot be the first, " (Bereshit 49, 3-4). Jewish tradition says that the connotation of this particular word, "se-at," is spiritual greatness and leadership; specifically, that Reuven, as well as Kayin, would have been the "Kohen Gadol," the High Priest.

Reuven forfeits his birthright because of the character defect of bad judgment at crucial times. He has good intentions, as the Torah itself testifies regarding him, at the time of the selling of Yosef, that he really wanted to save his brother, but somehow, he was never quite able to convert his good intentions into reality.

The figure who rises above the level of the other first-born described in the Chumash is Aharon, the older brother of Moshe. When Hashem was having a great deal of trouble convincing Moshe to go along with His Project of Redemption, He finds that the only way to convince Moshe is to assure him that his brother Aharon will support him. And further, and perhaps more important, when they would meet, there would not be a trace of sibling rivalry, such that when Aharon would see him, "he would have joy in his heart." Ironically, it was Aharon who found himself tragically trapped at the center of the incident, the Golden Calf, which would bring down his fellow first-born.

What is it that the first-born do, or what trait is it that they have, that entitles them to such distinction? Perhaps one might say that, as the first to enter the world, they had to fight hardest to emerge from the womb. And once out, they were the trail-blazers, the pioneers, the ones who went through life's hard experiences first, the ones who would "take the rap" on occasion, so that they might be advisors, comforters, and reliable and trusted guides to their younger siblings.

And perhaps it is that which entitles them to the extra consideration of Rabbi Akiva's comment on the semi-superfluous preposition "et" in the commandment among the Big Ten of "Kabed et avicha v'et imecha," "Honor your father and your mother" - " 'et,' to include the older brother in the obligation to honor the father and the mother."

The obligation upon the father and upon the son of Pidyon HaBen, to "redeem" the first-born son from a Kohen for five "shekalim," (roughly five dollars), shows that although the "bechor," the first-born, was removed from direct involvement in the Divine service, he retains his "holiness," and therefore requires "redemption."

Moshe says to Pharaoh in the Name of G-d, "My "first-born son" is Israel." (Shemot 4,22) Chizkuni explains, "All the nations are My children, but Israel is more beloved to Me than the rest, and they are My first-born, because they were in My Mind, so to speak, to be created, before any other."

Rabbi Shimshon Rephoel Hirsch says, figuratively, "by means of the first-born is the womb 'freed for birth,' and by means of it, are sanctified all who follow. The 'womb' of Humanity, so to speak, was opened by the People of Israel. After it passed through, other nations appeared, also with characteristics of being 'children of Hashem.' "

The Jewish People certainly has gone through many very "hard knocks" on its path through history. May this path lead them finally to Jerusalem, to the coming of Mashiach, and to its hoped-for final destiny.

May this year's Yom Yerushalayim be the gate to the "Yom HaGadol," the Great Day, the "Yom Hashem Hagadol v'HaNora," the Day of Hashem, Great and Awesome." And may the Bechor be reconciled with the Father, in accordance with the verse, "v'Heshiv Lev Avot al Banim, v'Lev Banim al Avotam," "And He will return the hearts of the fathers to their sons, and the hearts of the sons unto the fathers." (Malachi, 3:24)

Rabbi Pinchas Frankel

Rabbi Frankel is an Educational Coordinator at the OU