Leviticus 10 begins with the death of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Abihu. Then God speaks to Aaron.
Here’s God’s message to Aaron:
8. And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying,
9. Wine or strong drink, do not drink: you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of Meeting, lest you die; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations;
10. And to distinguish between the holy and the profane, and between the impure and the pure;
11. And to teach the people of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.
I will begin by clarifying a bit about the above translation.
A Short Grammatical Note
In Leviticus 10:10, “to distinguish” is the translation of the Hebrew “l’havdil.” And in verse 10:11, “to teach” is from the Hebrew “l’horot.”
These are two examples of the Hebrew infinitive verb form.
However, Rav Saadia Gaon in his commentary writes that they are to be understood as “you may distinguish” and “you may teach.” In the Hebrew of his comment it’s clear he means the plural “you” addressed to Aaron and his sons.
Many English translations follow this approach, but I’ve chosen to use the more literal translation in these verses.
Forbidden Beverages
What is meant by the phrase “wine or strong drink”?
Rashi explains the phrase means wine drunk in a way that leads to intoxication. He understands that “strong drink” is not fundamentally different than “wine.” Rather it means “strong wine” that more easily leads to intoxication.
Daat Mikra disagrees with Rashi and states that “wine or strong drink” means any intoxicating beverage made from grain or fruit.
Rabbi Steinsaltz and others write that the prohibition “wine or strong drink, do not drink” implies that the death of Nadav and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2) was related to intoxication.
Now let’s look more closely at our verses.
Leviticus 10:8-11 – Their Meaning
Leviticus 10:8
And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying – Rabbi Steinsaltz asks if this was this addressed directly to Aaron, or did God speak to Moses who then gave this message to Aaron?
Daat Mikra accepts that these commands were addressed to Aaron. This is understandable because Aaron was a prophet. We also read that God told Aaron to go meet Moses (Exodus 4:27).
Daat Mikra does raise the question of when these verses were told to Aaron.
It is accepted that not all events in the Torah are recorded in strict chronological order. A clear example of this is Numbers 1:1 compared to Numbers 9:1.
Daat Mikra suggests it’s possible that these commandments were told to Aaron before he and his sons began to serve as priests. But they are intentionally recorded here after the death of Nadav and Abihu.
Leviticus 10:9
when you go into the Tent of Meeting – this means every time when you come into the Tent of Meeting. The priest’s mind must not be impaired because the Divine service requires clear thought and intention. [Daat Mikra]
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch comments: “The discussion here, then, is not of full-fledged drunkenness, but of reasonable grounds for suspecting the clouding of mental clarity… For what is required for the practice of God’s commandments is not hazy and excited emotion and imagination, but a clear mind and a sharp and sober intellect…”
Leviticus 10:10
And to distinguish – R. Steinsaltz writes the priests must be able to distinguish between holy and profane, pure and impure to perform their duties in the Temple.
Daat Mikra adds that holy objects require a high level of protection so that they won’t be used improperly. For example, animal offerings have specific time limits as to when they can be eaten.
and between the impure and the pure – because usually there are not external, visible signs of impure and pure. [Daat Mikra]
The concepts of pure (Hebrew: tahor) and impure (Hebrew: tamei) have many complicated details that are not usually part of our lives these days. I’ve written a little about it here.
Leviticus 10:11
And to teach – Daat Mikra writes we learn from this verse that one of the required tasks of the priests was to teach the Jewish people God’s Torah. A person whose mind is dim or blurred from alcohol is forbidden to teach because he may make mistakes in what he says.
Ibn Ezra’s Approach
Ibn Ezra views Leviticus 10:10 as a preview of the next few chapters.
And to distinguish – Ibn Ezra writes that God is telling Aaron that as the High Priest he must be able to distinguish between places that are holy and places that are not. He must also be able to distinguish between a holy day and a regular day.
between the impure and the pure – this refers to the land animals, water animals, and birds. That is why Leviticus 11 is about those animals that may be eaten (kosher) and those that may not be eaten (non-kosher).
I will add a note of support for the Ibn Ezra from the end of Leviticus 11:
46. This is the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the water, and of every creature that creeps upon the earth;
47. To distinguish [Hebrew: l’havdil] between the impure and the pure, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.
Ibn Ezra continues that Leviticus 12 is about the pure or impure status of a woman after giving birth.
This is followed by Leviticus 13 and 14 concerning the affliction called in Hebrew tzara’at. This affliction can occur on a person, garments, or buildings. In each case, the priest must distinguish between the signs that indicate tzara’at and those that indicate the affliction has ended.
The next chapter, Leviticus 15, is about discharges that men or women may experience that indicate that person has become impure.
The priest should be an expert in all of these different categories of impure and pure to know how to deal with them.
Distinguish, Divide, Separate
As I wrote above, in Leviticus 10:10 “to distinguish” is the translation of the Hebrew “l’havdil.” This is based on the 3-letter root bet-dalet-lamed which first appears in Genesis 1:4.
4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided [root: bet-dalet-lamed] the light from the darkness.
The same root appears in these verses from Genesis 1:
- 1:6, 1:7 – divide between upper and lower waters
- 1:14 – distinguish between day and night
- 1:18 – divide between light and darkness
Genesis 1:18 repeats the distinction made in verse 1:4. The creation of the sun and the moon in 1:16 marks the completion of the process of division that began earlier.
Rabbi Steinsaltz (Genesis 1:4) explains the significance of what’s described in these verses:
“Distinction and separation are essential for the existence of the universe… The hierarchical structure of existence established by this division, between what is above and what is below, emphasizes the concepts of sanctity and superiority but also allows for the existence of inferiority and impurity.”
May we learn how to make proper distinctions between objects and states of being: between the holy and the profane, and between the impure and the pure.