The Installation Rites
Fourth Reading 8:1 The Torah previously recounted how God commanded Moses to install the priests over the course of the full week preceding the 1st of Nisan, 2449. It will now recount how, when the time to begin these rites arrived, God repeated His command to Moses to perform them—since it is always proper to remind a person of what was previously discussed when the time arrives to do it—and then how Moses performed these rites as he had been commanded.
On the 23rd of Adar, 2449, God spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Take Aaron, together with his sons, the priestly garments, the anointing oil, the sin-offering bull, the two rams, and the basket of 30 loaves of unleavened bread, as I instructed you to six months ago,
3 and assemble the entire community at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. You shall officiate as the high priest, offering up all the sacrifices. For this purpose, wear a simple, white tunic.”
Component Role Distribution of Parts
- young bulls: sin-offering; blood applied to protrusions of Altar, rest of blood spilled onto base of Altar; fat burned up on Altar; flesh burned up outside camp
- ram #1: ascent-offering; blood applied to opposite corners of Altar; fat and flesh burned up on top of Altar
- ram #2: installation-offering; blood applied to priests, rest of blood applied to opposite corners of Altar, then sprinkled on priests and their garments; fat and right thigh burned on Altar; breast eaten by Moses; rest of flesh eaten by priests
- 10 regular loaves of unleavened bread: grain-offering; 1 burned up on Altar, the rest eaten by priests
- 10 scalded loaves of unleavened bread: grain-offering; 1 burned up on Altar, the rest eaten by priests
- 10 flat unleavened cakes: grain-offering; 1 burned up on Altar, the rest eaten by priests
Figure 2. The Installation Offerings
4 Moses did as God commanded him, and the entire community miraculously assembled in the very limited space at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
5 Moses said to the community: “This procedure, which you are about to witness, is what God has commanded me to do. I am not doing this for my own glory or for that of my brother Aaron, but only because God commanded me to do it.”
6 Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and immersed them in the water of a mikveh.
7 He dressed Aaron with the trousers, placed the Tunic upon him, girded him with the Sash, clothed him in the Robe, placed the Ephod upon him, girded him with the belt of the Ephod by tying its two ends together, and adorned him with it.
8 He placed the Breastplate upon him and inserted the urim and the tumim into the Breastplate.
9 He placed the Turban on his head, and he placed the golden Forehead-plate—the holy diadem—suspended by a cord placed over the Turban, resting on his head below the front of the Turban, as God had commanded Moses.
Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the Sanctuary and everything in it, and thereby sanctified them.
11 He sprinkled some of it upon the Altar seven times, and he anointed the Altar and all its vessels and the Laver and its base, to sanctify them.
12 He poured some of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head and anointed him, to sanctify him.
13 Moses brought Aaron’s sons forward and dressed them in trousers, tunics, girded them with sashes, and put on their headdresses, as God had commanded Moses.
