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Why does the Torah (תורה) use the seemingly derogatory term "Kohen hedyot" for ordinary kohanim? The shiur explores the Ibn Ezra's observation that the Torah says "l'chane'li" (singular) rather than "l'chahanim li" (plural) when appointing Aharon and his sons, revealing that there is only one Kohen—the Kohen Gadol—and the ordinary kohanim exist to accentuate his greatness, like baguettes highlighting a diamond.
This pre-Shabbos (שבת) shiur on Parshas Tetzaveh analyzes the mitzvah (מצוה) of bigdei kehunah, the priestly garments. Rabbi Zweig begins with the Sefer HaChinuch's formulation of mitzvah 63, which states that kohanim must wear special garments designated for "gedula u'lchavod"—greatness and honor. The Chinuch appears to cite a pasuk combining Aharon and his sons: "v'asisa bigdei kodesh l'Aharon achicha u'vanav l'chavod u'ltiferes." However, this presents an immediate difficulty: in the actual text of the Torah (תורה), the phrase "l'chavod u'ltiferes" appears only regarding Aharon's garments (28:2), while the verse about Aharon and his sons together (28:4) states only "bigdei kodesh...l'chane'li"—holy garments for serving as kohanim. The shiur's central question emerges: why does the Chinuch apply the kavod u'ltiferes requirement to both Aharon and his sons when the Torah explicitly distinguishes between them? The bigdei Kohen Gadol included gold and were manifestly more majestic than the white linen garments of ordinary kohanim. How can the Chinuch treat them as equal?
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Shemos 28:1-4 (Parshas Tetzaveh)
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