Why did God command Moses to take some blood from a ram and dab it on the ear, thumb, and big toe of Aaron and his sons?
Here is God’s command to Moses:
20. And you shall slaughter the ram. Then you shall take some of its blood and place it on the right ear tip of Aaron and on the right ear tip of his sons, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot, and you shall throw the blood around about upon the Altar.
Background
In Exodus 29 God teaches Moses how to consecrate Aaron and his sons to be the priests. The fulfillment of these commands is recorded later in Leviticus 8 and 9.
The consecration process for the Tabernacle and the newly appointed priests was to last 7 days. Moses served as the High Priest during this 7-day period.
A significant part of the inauguration ceremony was 3 animal offerings:
- A bull for a sin offering (Exodus 29:10-14)
- A ram for a burnt offering (Exodus 29:15-18)
- A second ram of consecration (Exodus 29:19-27)
The blood that Moses is commanded to dab on the new priests comes from the ram of consecration.
Let’s look at the details of this verse and then explore the symbolism of the blood and where it was to be dabbed.
Exodus 29:20 Explained
Then you shall take some of its blood – After slaughtering the blood is collected in a service vessel.
Then Moses is to take some of the blood with his finger [Daat Mikra].
right ear tip – “tip” is the translation of the Hebrew “tenuch” spelled: tav-nun-vav-kaf. This unusual word appears only in two places in the Bible: here and in the purification ceremony for a person cured of tzara’at (Leviticus 14).
The commentators have different ideas about which part of the ear is called “tenuch.”
Onkelos and Daat Mikra write it’s the highest point, the upper tip of the ear.
Rav Saadia Gaon claims it’s the bottom of the ear, the earlobe.
Rashi says it’s the cartilage in the middle of the ear.
on the right ear tip of Aaron and on the right ear tip of his sons – Daat Mikra writes that Aaron and his sons are mentioned separately to show that they are equal in the placing of the blood on their right ear. Once it is established that there is no difference between them, then they are grouped together when mentioning the thumb and big toe.
thumb – this means the middle joint of the thumb. [Rashi]
throw the blood around about upon the Altar – Daat Mikra explains the remainder of the blood is thrown around the Altar. Moses was required to throw some of the blood on the northeast corner and then on the southwest corner of the Altar. This resulted in some of the blood touching each of the 4 walls of the Altar which fulfills the concept of “around about.”
Symbolism of the Blood
What lessons can we learn from blood being placed on these 3 limbs of the new priests?
Rabbi Sorotzkin
Daat Mikra points out the blood is placed on 3 limbs that are from the upper, middle, and lower sections of the body.
R. Sorotzkin expands on this idea. He asks why the command was to place blood on these 3 places?
He answers that the priests wore holy garments that covered their body from the head down to the ankle. The garments sanctified them and without wearing them, they were not permitted to perform the service.
The only uncovered parts of the priest’s body were the face, hands, and feet. The service in the Tabernacle required that these parts of the body not be covered.
The blood on the ear, thumb, and big toe symbolizes the sanctification of even the uncovered parts of the priests’ bodies to God for all generations.
Ibn Ezra and Rabbi Hirsch
Ibn Ezra writing on Leviticus 14:14 claims that the one who is cleansed from tzara’at is like the priest who is being inaugurated into service.
Blood is placed on the thumb because it is key to all acts involving the hand. On the right side because this is the strong side of a person.
Blood on the ear is a reminder to listen to what is commanded (which this person had failed to do in the past). Ibn Ezra does not mention the blood on the big toe.
Rabbi Hirsch expands on Ibn Ezra’s approach.
He explains that these 3 parts of the body represent 3 different aspects of human activity:
- ear – hearing and understanding
- hand – creative work
- foot – striving to advance
As for the blood of the ram, it symbolizes giving up profane existence. “The intellect, actions and endeavors of the priests must, as it were, be given up and accepted, must die and revive.”
Rabbi Hirsch when writing about the metzora going through the purification process (Leviticus 14:18) writes:
“Toward this end [of fulfilling the Torah] he must devote first the mind, which absorbs ideas (as symbolized by his ear); the deeds, which implement (as symbolized by his thumb); and the aspiration, which seeks possessions and relationships (symbolized by his big toe).” [Emphasis in the original]
Netziv – HaEmek Davar
The Netziv sees a progression in the placement of the blood.
Hearing brings a person to action. Repeated action brings a person to habit.
The placement of the blood on the ear, thumb, and big toe, is to elevate those limbs. First, the power of hearing is elevated, then the action [thumb], finally, the habit [symbolized by the big toe]. They should all be elevated to make the service of God second nature to the priest.
The Netziv’s point about the big toe of the foot symbolizing habit is not clear in English.
The Hebrew word for foot is “regel” spelled reish-gimmel-lamed.
The Hebrew word for habit is “hergel” spelled hey-reish-gimmel-lamed.
What a person does often with the foot (regel) will become a habit (hergel).
An Atonement for the Past
In the previous section we looked at lessons that we and the new priests could learn from the blood on three limbs.
Rabbi Avraham Saba in his commentary Tzror Hamor links the consecration of Aaron and his sons back to the beginning of human history.
He writes that the bull and the 2 rams correspond to Adam and his two sons, Abel and Cain. The second ram corresponds to Cain who murdered his brother.
Blood was placed on the tip of Aaron’s ear to atone for the hearing of Adam who did not listen (obey) the words of God. God commanded him not to eat of the tree in the center of the garden.
I will add here another concept that Tzror Hamor only hints at.
According to Jewish tradition, the prohibition against murder was first given to Adam. That is to say, Cain would have known he was sinning when he murdered Abel.
Blood was placed on the thumb to teach about “hands that shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17), that is, the blood of Abel.
Blood was placed on the big toe to teach about “feet that swiftly run to evil” (Proverbs 6:18). This teaches about the punishment of Cain “a fugitive and a wanderer shall you be in the earth” (Genesis 4:12).
He concludes, that the blood that was thrown “around about upon the Altar” was to atone for the blood of Abel.