And Moses said: “This is the thing that G-d has commanded that you do--and the glory of G-d will appear to you.” (Lev. 9:6)
Every mitzva in the Torah has a myriad of inner, esoteric meanings, which each Jew understands according to his or her intelligence and level of Torah learning. Even the most learned scholar cannot fully grasp these secrets, for human comprehension and understanding of the infinite is limited and finite. This is why Moses commanded the Jews- -”This is the thing that G-d has commanded”--no matter how much one has studied and no matter how many inner meanings a person has learned, the real reason to do a mitzva is because G-d has so commanded. When your intent in performing a mitzva is solely because G-d wants that particular act to be performed, then “the glory of G-d will appear to you.”(Tiferet Shmuel)
And Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar” (Lev. 9:7)
For his part, however passive, in the sin of the Golden Calf, Aaron was judged by G-d to be deserving of the punishment of feeling shame and embarrassment. When Moses saw that Aaron was hesitant to approach the altar, he said to him, “Why do you hesitate? For this you were chosen to be the high priest.” Aaron’s guilt and shame were atonement for his sin. (Maharim of Gastinin)
And Aaron lifted up his hands (Lev. 9:22)
In this verse, the Hebrew word for “hands” actually spells out the word “hand” (singular)--yud, dalet, vav, and is missing the other yud which would indicate the plural. Our Sages learned from this that when the kohanim (priests) raise their hands to pronounce the Priestly Blessing, the right hand is to be slightly higher than the left. (Bait Yosef)
Yet these you may eat (Lev. 11:21)
The Torah does not content itself with giving us signs of purity to look for when it tells us which animals are kosher, it actually lists each and every one which is permissible. In the thousands of years which have elapsed since the Torah was given, not one animal, bird or creature has been discovered by man to possess those signs, which was not specifically mentioned in the Torah. (Kuzari Hechadash)
