Every meal-offering of a kohen shall be completely burned; it shall not be eaten.
Why is the meal-offering of a kohen, of all people, singled out for destruction in lieu of consumption?
In order to answer this question, let us first address a verse in Emor: ומחלב ולכאי םה ותיב דיליו וב לכאי אוה ופסכ ןינק שפנ הנקי יכ ןהכו , When a kohen will acquire a person, the acquisition of his money, he shall eat of [the terumah], and [regarding] those born in his house – they shall eat of his food.1 The Torah describes the acquisition of a slave as that of a שפנ, a word associated with the soul or lifeforce. Would it not have been more appropriate to describe it as the purchase of the slave’s body?
The well-known mishnah in Pe’ah2 lists those mitzvos whose reward is saved for the World to Come, while its derivatives are enjoyed in this world. One of them is וריבחל םדא ןיב םולש , brokering peace between man and his fellow. While this certainly refers to resolving discord between two people, it also includes a loftier application – creating harmony between the soul and the body. Since these two parts of man are of contradictory natures, they cannot share power, hence they are locked in a constant struggle for ascendency. The only solution is for the soul to subdue the body, removing its conflicting agenda. In this sense, the expression תאבה can be rendered “between man,” i.e., the essence of man – the soul, “and his superimposed attachment,” i.e., his body. וריבחל םדא ןיב
This elevated form of peacemaking is not limited to the inner world of an individual; it must also be achieved in the external world of mankind. The essential “soul” of society is the righteous, who animate and drive the exterior “body” of the masses. And as with the micro, harmony within the social macro is through the submission of those masses to its spiritual leadership. Through the latter’s example, instruction, and reproof, the former can reach its greatest and most harmonious expression. Indeed, the verse depicts just such a scenario: הרותו ןועמ בישה םיברו יתא ךלה רושימבו םולשב ,והיפמ שקבי תעד ורמשי ןהכ יתפש יכ .3 If the kohen, the biblical paradigm for the tzaddik, serves as the fount of Torah for the public that he is meant to be, he will be successful in promoting peace and fidelity to the will of Hashem. In truth, this is the most ideal fulfillment of the mitzvah of תבהאו ךערל ךומכ ,4 to love your fellow as yourself. For this command would seem to run up against a philosophical dilemma: being that love is generated by similarity, how can it exist between dissimilar entities? The answer is that the commandment is directed to an individual who has already achieved personal perfection – it is he who is to turn his love to others. As Avos5 elaborates, one ought to be from the students of Aharon who is בהוא תא תוירבה ןברקמו הרותל , loving people and thus drawing them closer to Torah. Since the goal of the love is make the recipient more similar to the bestower, the issue of dissimilarity is mitigated. It is this that the Torah alludes to with תבהאו ךערל ךומכ , love your fellow in order to make him more like yourself. We thus see that harmony is all about bringing the inferior elements in line with the superior ones, whether within the individual, within relationships, or within society. We may now reinterpret our verse. The word kohen can refer to anyone who ministers to Hashem, as in םתאו ויהת יל תכלממ םינהכ , you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests,6 which was directed to the entire nation. With most such Avodas Hashem, its reward is set aside for the World to Come, as stated in the aforementioned mishnah from Pe’ah. Hence, לכו תחנמ ןהכ , any offering of service produced by one who serves Hashem, לילכ היהת , is dispatched to the distant, ethereal regions, to be awarded in the future – leaving no trace in this world. The exception, as mentioned there as well, are those mitzvos which have an interpersonal component. They provide fringe benefits within one’s lifetime, aside from the standard future reward. Hence, ןהכו יכ הנקי שפנ ןינק ופסכ : when a ןהכ, a minister to Hashem, through his good influence, fashions (as הנוק can mean7) a member of the public into a more spiritual being,8 he effectively brokers peace between the individual’s body and soul. As such, he is deserving of the promised dividends in this world. Hence, the verse continues, אוה לכאי וב , the Kohen shall “eat” in this world on his account. The verse concludes דיליו ותיב םה ולכאי ומחלב . Why the switch from the singular (דיליו) to the plural ( םה ולכאי )? This alludes to another dimension of the influence of the tzaddik over others. As the Alshich writes,9 on occasion, a tzaddik may be observed performing a good deed and thus inspire the observers to follow suit. Thus, without any intention to teach or set a good example, he accrues credit for positively influencing others. Our verse can be taken to say, דיליו ותיב , the unintended byproduct of having others around in the tzaddik’s home, הם יאכלו בלחמו, will allow the Kohanim to enjoy a bonus of reward.