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Why does the Torah (תורה) command bigdei kohanim in Parshas Tetzaveh—before the sin of the golden calf—when avodah still belonged to the bechor? The shiur develops a fundamental distinction: avodah (service) is representing the Jewish people, while kehunah (priesthood) is being God's staff. Bigdei kohanim are not required by the service itself; they mark membership in God's household. This explains Yaakov and Esav's sale, Korach's delayed rebellion, and the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s counting of the clothing as a separate mitzvah (מצוה).
Rabbi Zweig opens with a fundamental chronological question posed by the Ramban (רמב"ן): Parshas Terumah and Tetzaveh, according to Ramban's view, precede the sin of the golden calf. If so, at the time these commandments were given, the avodah (Temple service) was still supposed to be performed by the bechorim (firstborn) of all Jewish tribes, as Rashi (רש"י) explicitly states happened at Har Sinai. Why then does the Torah (תורה) command Moshe to prepare clothing specifically for Aharon and his sons, who were not firstborn? Aharon himself was not a bechor, nor were all his sons, and the transfer of avodah from the bechorim to the Kohanim occurred only after the golden calf. This poses a serious difficulty. A second question compounds the problem: Korach's rebellion against Aharon's appointment as Kohen Gadol does not occur until after the Mishkan is erected—according to Rashi, not until after the story of the Meraglim, more than a year later. Yet Aharon's selection and the preparation of his clothing happened before the chet ha'egel. Why did Korach wait so long to object if his grievance began so early?
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Tetzaveh (Shemos 28-29), Terumah, Ki Sisa, Bereishis 25:29-34 (sale of birthright), Vayechi 49:3 (Reuven), Korach (Bamidbar 16)
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