Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l once related that when he was a young boy, he studied Chumash with his father, the Steipler Gaon zt”l. When they reached Parshas Be'haloscha, where the Pesukim describe the inauguration of the Levi’im, one element of the process stood out: Aaron HaKohen was required to lift each and every Levite.
The Steipler posed the obvious question: how could Aaron possibly have lifted all 22,000 Levi’im? Where did he have the physical strength for such a feat?
The Steipler offered a fascinating explanation. A massive scale was constructed, and on one side of the scale, weights were placed. The Levi would step onto the opposite side, and Aharon would press down slightly on the weighted side, thereby causing the Levi to be elevated. In this way, Aharon was considered to have "lifted" each Levi.
Rav Chaim later recorded this explanation in his Sefer Taimah D’Kra, yet asked two questions.
The first is based on a Mishnah (Menachos 62b) which outlines the laws of Tenufah (the ritual lifting and waving of offerings). The Mishnah specifies that Tenufah requires movement in four directions: forward and backward (moleich u'meivi), and up and down (ma’aleh u’morid). Rav Chaim asked: even if the method of using a scale might fulfill the up-and-down component, how did it satisfy the requirement of forward and backward motion? Perhaps, he suggests, while the Levi stood on the scale, Aharon moved it gently back and forth—perhaps it was suspended by chains or ropes—but this remains speculative.
The second question comes from the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 26:9) which list five areas in which the Kohen Gadol is considered greater than all others: wisdom, appearance, strength, wealth, and longevity. The Midrash proves Aharon’s physical strength from this very episode: he lifted 22,000 Levi’im in a single day. Clearly, the Midrash intends to demonstrate not clever engineering, but raw physical power. But if, as the Steipler suggests, the lifting was done with the aid of a scale, it may display wisdom or ingenuity, but it does not confirm Aharon’s superior strength. How then can the Midrash be reconciled with the Steipler’s explanation?
Rav Chaim concludes that these questions remain unresolved and require further investigation.
There is another Midrash, found in Parshas Korach, which sheds light on the nature of this act. When Korach complained about the process he underwent during the Levi’im’s initiation, he claimed: “They laid me down, held my hands and feet, and Aharon lifted me up and waved me—forward and back, up and down.” This description strongly implies that the Tenufah was a physically demanding process, not just symbolic or mechanical, supporting the explanation that Aharon truly did exert great physical strength.
In addition to these questions, other meforshim raise a practical question. How did Aharon complete the lifting of all 22,000 Levi’im within a single day? If the term yom (day) means 24 hours, then he would have had to lift one Levite every four seconds continuously, day and night. If it means only the daytime hours—approximately 12 hours—then the rate would have been one Levi every 1.96 seconds. Either way, the pace seems almost superhuman.
Rabbeinu Bachye offers two perspectives on this. In one place, he emphasizes Aharon's extraordinary strength, indicating that he was indeed capable of such a feat. Elsewhere, however, he writes that it was done through a nes, a miracle.
How can we understand such a miraculous accomplishment?
Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz, in Sichos Mussar (Ma’amar 67), offers a foundational principle: when a person is charged with a Divine task, he is obligated to exert himself to the fullest. He must invest his energy, focus, and strength completely—b’chol kochosav, with all his might. Only once a person has done everything within his human capacity, then will the miracle come. Only at that point will Siyata Di’Shmaya (Divine assistance) arrive to help him complete the task.
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz explains that this is also the key to overcoming the yetzer hara. As Chazal teach: “Who is strong? He who conquers his desires” (Avos 4:1). And yet, Chazal also state, “If not for Hashem’s help, man could not overcome it” (Sukkah 52b). Meaning: first, a person must exert every effort, and then, Hashem supports him and enables him to succeed.
The same applies here. Aharon did all he could, and gave it his absolute best. He put in effort, strength, focus, and will. And once he did, the miracle occurred. Hashem assisted him. The task was completed not just through natural strength, but through a combination of extraordinary human effort and Divine support.
So yes, Aharon must have been immensely strong. But that alone wasn’t enough. The feat was completed with the synergy of human exertion and Divine intervention—koach and nes, physical power and spiritual assistance—united together.
