Honoring the Kehunah
Parsha Pages | February 18, 2024
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Honoring the Kehunah

Parsha Pages | December 10, 2025

שמות כח,ז: שְׁ תֵּי כְׁתֵּפֹת חֹבְׁרֹת יִהְׁיֶה־לּוֹ אֶל־שְׁ נֵּי קְׁ צוֹתָיו וְׁחֻבָר:

The Baal haTurim comments that the phrase אל שני appears in two other places in Tanach. They appear in Shmuel 1, 2:34, where the Navi writes (in connection with Eli haKohen) about "the sign that will come upon your two sons (el-sh'nei bonecha); and again in Melachim (2, 5:23), where the Pasuk describes how Naaman gave the money and the suits to Elisha's servant, Geichazi. The sons of Eli, despised the Kehunah, about which the Torah writes (here) el-sh'nei. Hence they were punished and killed; Naaman, on the other hand, honored the Kehunah (in that he asked for holy earth to take with him back to Syria, to build a Mizbeach for HaShem). Consequently, his descendants converted and later taught Torah in public.

Naaman, the chief general of Aram (not Jewish) was afflicted with Tzaraas. When none of the doctors of Aram could heal him, his king sent him to the Jews where the prophet Elisha cured him. In gratitude, Naaman vowed to refrain from idol worship and to worship only HaShem. He then requested two muleloads of earth from the Holy Land so he could build a Mizbeach to HaShem when he returned to his homeland of Aram.

שמות כח,ז: שְׁ תֵּי כְׁתֵּפֹת חֹבְׁרֹת יִהְׁיֶה־לּוֹ אֶל־שְׁ נֵּי קְׁ צוֹתָיו וְׁחֻבָר:

The Baal haTurim comments that the phrase אל שני appears in two other places in Tanach. They appear in Shmuel 1, 2:34, where the Navi writes (in connection with Eli haKohen) about "the sign that will come upon your two sons (el-sh'nei bonecha); and again in Melachim (2, 5:23), where the Pasuk describes how Naaman gave the money and the suits to Elisha's servant, Geichazi. The sons of Eli, despised the Kehunah, about which the Torah writes (here) el-sh'nei. Hence they were punished and killed; Naaman, on the other hand, honored the Kehunah (in that he asked for holy earth to take with him back to Syria, to build a Mizbeach for HaShem). Consequently, his descendants converted and later taught Torah in public.

Naaman, the chief general of Aram (not Jewish) was afflicted with Tzaraas. When none of the doctors of Aram could heal him, his king sent him to the Jews where the prophet Elisha cured him. In gratitude, Naaman vowed to refrain from idol worship and to worship only HaShem. He then requested two muleloads of earth from the Holy Land so he could build a Mizbeach to HaShem when he returned to his homeland of Aram.

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