14
votes
Accepted
In Bamidbar 4:3 they had to be 30 yrs old; in Bamidbar 8:24 they were 25 yrs old; why?
Chullin 24a (citing Sifrei Beha'alotekha 62) notes this contradiction in starting age and reconciles it by saying that Levites entered training at 25 and began to serve at 30. This restriction ...
- 56.4k
8
votes
Where are the 24 places that Kohanim are called Leviim?
I could not find any mainstream commentary which listed them.
Based on a search, I found 14 cases where they are explicitly referred to as Kohanim Haleviyim, with a couple more questionable (unlikely) ...
- 20.9k
7
votes
What is the source for the role of the Levi in the Torah service?
It's an explicit Mishna in Gittin 5:8
וְאֵלּוּ דְבָרִים אָמְרוּ מִפְּנֵי דַרְכֵי שָׁלוֹם. כֹּהֵן קוֹרֵא רִאשׁוֹן, וְאַחֲרָיו לֵוִי וְאַחֲרָיו יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִפְּנֵי דַרְכֵי שָׁלוֹם
These were ...
- 42.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Were the priests that served in the unsanctioned Temple in the northern kingdom Levites?
The verse (Kings 1:12:31) is clear that Jeroboam appointed new priests, not from the tribe of Levi:
And he made the house of altars, and he appointed as priests some of the people, who were not of ...
- 8,045
7
votes
Accepted
Who carried the kiyor?
There are multiple opinions
Ramban שמות לח/כא and Sefer Chassidim offer an opinion that בני קהת carried it
אבן עזרא(שמות לה/טז) & חזקוני (שמות ל/יח) say that it might have been either בני גרשון ...
- 2,049
6
votes
In Bamidbar 4:3 they had to be 30 yrs old; in Bamidbar 8:24 they were 25 yrs old; why?
The Ibn Ezra (8:24) reconciles these contradictory verses by proposing that the age of twenty five was appropriate only for the work of the tent (עבודת אוהל) whereas thirty was appropriate for ...
- 2,669
6
votes
about scar and people of God
I'm aware of nothing at all like that.
(Some Christian theology discusses "the mark of the beast", but Judaism does not acknowledge that.)
There are plenty of instances of not knowing whether ...
- 131k
6
votes
Why were the Levi'im not enslaved?
From Tiferes Yonasan,(pg 85)
Rav Yehonasan Eibschutz writes that Pharaoh freed shevet Levi from slavery so that they would not identify with the suffering of the rest of the Jews. He saw through ...
- 573
5
votes
Are there leviyim in the Beta Israel Community?
I want to preface my answer by noting that I am very far from an expert or authority on the Beta Israel or their traditional minhag (known as haymanot).
However, from what I have been able to ...
- 3,622
4
votes
Does anyone say the "extra" pesukim in Yehoshua about the cities from Reuven belong there?
Minchas Shai there quotes various versions which were changed in order to answer your other question about style of the surrounded Pesukim, but seems to agree that there were not many old manuscripts ...
- 20.9k
4
votes
Accepted
Hacohen and Halevi in Hebrew names
The way the term is used is (Elazar ben Aharon) hacohen and not Elazar ben (Aharon hacohen). Thus the title applies to the person whose name is being stated and not to his father. As an example, if a ...
- 42.9k
4
votes
Were there Bigdei Leviim (and if not why not?), what did the Leviim wear in the Mishkan?
Here are some sources that come from two Otzar Hachochma forum pages (here and here).
Yagid Davar points out 3 quick finds:
Divrei Hayamim 2 5:12 says that they wore Butz (linen):
וְהַלְוִיִּ֣ם ...
- 20.9k
4
votes
Should Cohanim and Levi'im prioritize their knowledge and study of sacrificial laws, today?
This was the opinion of the Chafetz Chaim. In the biography by M. M. Yoshor (The Chafetz Chaim – The Life and Works of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin) we are told:
In the years after the first ...
- 49.1k
4
votes
How did the Levites erect the mishkan at each stop if they couldn't the first time?
Rashi says that Hashem set this up in order to honor Moshe. Once he set it up then it became possible for the Leviim to continue setting it up and taking it down. My son said at his son's bris (Yom ...
- 42.9k
4
votes
Why were the Levi'im not enslaved?
Just as the Egyptians freed their clergy from the taxes that Yoseph set up, so to the Leviim were in effect the clergy of the Bnai Yisrael. As a result, the Egyptians treated them the same way as they ...
- 42.9k
4
votes
Accepted
What should the Gabbai say when calling up the Cohen when there is no Levi?
So firstly to ascertain a source for a Kohein going up in place of a Levi:
Rambam in Mishneh Torah in Hilchos Tefillah and Bircas Kohanim 12:19 writes:
אֵין שָׁם כֹּהֵן עוֹלֶה יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְלֹא ...
- 30.1k
4
votes
Where are the 24 places that Kohanim are called Leviim?
For some reason everyone seems to be focus on the examples of "כהנים לוים" meaning "כהנים"; however, I found a number of places where the pasuk literally says just plain (לוי(ם and ...
- 351
3
votes
What happened to Leviim as teachers?
According to the Rambam, Hilchot Shemita 13:13, anyone who decides to "set aside to serve God and minister unto Him and to instruct people at large in His just paths and righteous judgments" (13:12) ...
- 43.9k
3
votes
Why are the cities Reuven gave to the Leviyim not listed in Yehoshua?
Daas Soferim on 21:38 suggests that when the cities were being allotted, there weren't suitable ones in Reuven's territory. (There are various criteria for them, listed in Makkos 10a and codified from ...
- 7,781
3
votes
Levi tribe and the spies story investigation
I
Reuven and Gad did not request the land on the east of the yarden until after it had been conquered. See Matos 32:2 which has them asking Moshe and Elazar Hacohen (after the death of Aharon in the ...
- 42.9k
3
votes
Accepted
Measuring Levi's cities
The reason you didn't see the cities' sizes being determined is that the cities were existing cities allocated by lottery to the different sons of Levi according to the size of the tribe giving them ...
- 47.8k
3
votes
Accepted
When did the Levites say to their father and mother “I have not seen him” as mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:9?
Rashi on the verse explains:
"WHO SAID TO HIS FATHER AND TO HIS MOTHER, I HAVE NOT SEEN HIM — When they sinned in the matter of the golden calf and I said, “Who is on the Lord’s side, let him come ...
- 24.8k
3
votes
Why were the Levi'im not enslaved?
B"H
I am actually writing a sefer on this (and more), so I've got this ready :)
The Rabbeinu Bahya (sv. לכו לסבלותיכם) explains:
The Egyptians, i.e. Pharaoh, respected Joseph’s law that ...
- 8,697
3
votes
Did Levites minister within the Temple building itself or just its courts?
No one was allowed to enter the Sanctuary itself unless they were a Kohen who had washed his hands and feet, and only for the purposes of service (usually bringing incense or lighting the menorah).
...
- 2,513
3
votes
Accepted
What was Levi's Zechus?
When Levi was born, Leah said "This time my husband will become attached (yeloveh) to me". Then he called him Levi.
According to Midrash, Hashem named the boy Levi, because Levi was destined ...
- 7,162
2
votes
Why don't we distribute Ma'aser Rishon or Ma'aser 'Ani nowadays?
To address your final paragraph:
I understand that if I buy a Jaffa orange in the US, it's impractical and undesirable for me to try to bestow one of the segments on a local Levite or poor person. ...
- 41.7k
2
votes
Musical Instruments of the Levi'im
The Temple Institute claims to have reconstructed many of the holy artifacts required by the Bais Hamikdash
The chatzotzros (trumpets), Gold plated Shofar,
Silver Plated Shofar,
Harp,
Lyre
- 42.9k
2
votes
Accepted
Could a Levi be the one who leads Birkas Kohanim?
The Mishnah Berurah writes more clearly that the key part is that "it shouldn't be a Kohain", and he brings the Chemed Moshe I'm his Shaar Hatziyon that says according to all opinions, a Levi could be ...
- 6,753
2
votes
What if a Levite acquired property?
The status of land transferred between tribes through inheritance is dealt with in the Mishna Arakhin 33b. This is how the Rambam rules (Yovel 13:8-9 (English)):
ישראל שירש את אבי אימו לוי--הרי זה ...
- 97.3k
2
votes
Why was the division between Leviim and Israelim so clear cut when Moses called out for those who were with God?
The Bnei Levi were separate all along, according to Chazal. They studied Torah and were not involved in the work. Therefore, it stands to reason that they weren't influenced by Egyptian ideas and didn'...
- 4,988
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