NUM240 Take the first tithe for the Levites. Having chosen the tribe of Levi to serve in the Beis HaMikdash on a permanent and consistent basis, Hashem kindly gives them their sustenance in an honorable manner. It is the way of the world that a king's closest assistants have all their needs provided for them, so that they are free to devote all of their time and energy to the important task of serving the king and furthering his interest in every possible way. Also, owing to their special status, the Levites are given a larger portion of the land’s produce than what is taken by the remaining tribes. After all, there are twelve tribes, so one could expect that the Levites would receive only one-twelfth of the produce. Nevertheless, Hashem increases their portion, for the portion of the Levites amounts to one-tenth, and they incur no expenses that reduce their portion. When someone gives of his produce to sustain Hashem's attendance in the Beis HaMikdash, the blessings of Hashem will rest upon all that he has.

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NUM241 The Levites shall give a tithe of their tithe to the Kohanim. Hashem chose the tribe of Levi to serve in the Beis HaMikdash on a permanent and constant basis., but He chose one of them in particular, Aharon, to be the Kohen, chief of staff over everyone else. Aharon and his descendants are the Kohanim for all time, and they, too, are permanently appointed to stand before Hashem in the Beis HaMikdash on a steady basis. In fact, the main avodah in the Beis HaMikdash is the task of the Kohanim. The Levites are secondary to the Kohanim and are there to assist them. Since the Kohanim perform the main avodah in the House of our God, they receive twenty-four gifts. The Levites, as assistants of the Kohanim, also merit good without toil in the form of ma’aser rishon from the rest of the tribes of Israel, from which the Levites have nourishment. So that the Levites appreciate that their goodly portion is due only to their service in the House of God, they are commanded to give one-tenth of their portion to the Kohanim-- those who attend to the main avodah in the House of God. Thereby, the Levites will recognize that there are others over them, and above everyone is God Himself. Also, this mitzvah provides merit and honor to the Levites, for they are not denied the mitzvah of giving ma’aser. They, too, have a share in providing sustenance to the Kohanim.

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NUM244 Observe the laws of the red heifer. As to this mitzvah, my hands are weak and I am afraid to say a word of explanation, even on a simple level, for our Sages spoke at length about the depth of its secrets and its great importance. They also said that due to his formidable wisdom and powers of comprehension, Shlomo HaMelech [i.e., King Solomon–AJL] understood what all of the reasons for the Torah’s mitzvos, except for this one. The mitzvah of the red heifer is supremely important, for through this mitzvah a person becomes cleansed of the high degree of spiritual impurity that he contracts from the dead. Without this mitzvah, someone who was defiled by such impurity cannot bring a Pesach offering, which is a central mitzvah for the Jewish faith. For this reason, the custom is to read the Torah parashah about the red heifer immediately before the parashah about Rosh Chodesh Nisan and the Pesach offering.

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NUM247 Observe the laws of impurity associated with a corpse. Basic ideas about this type of spiritual impurity are discussed in: See [[LEV867]] Leviticus 21:1 impurity CHINUCH 167-8

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NUM332 Observe the laws of inheritance. Key concepts: So that people realize that the world and everything in it belongs to its Creator, Who watches over all of His works and wants only good for them. Due to His goodness, the Creator helps people to earn their livelihood and acquire wealth and property. He sends His blessings continuously, without interruption, so a man's wealth and property are passed down to his children after him. When a man dies leaving behind no son or daughter, it is fitting that Heaven's blessings go to the man's closest blood relative, for perhaps that relative’s merit or the merit of a common ancestor caused the blessing to come. Alternatively, perhaps the deceased received the blessing because of things that he learned from his closest blood relative, and for that reason his relative inherits him.

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NUM343 Bring communal offerings daily in the Beis HaMikdash. The mitzvah of bringing offerings is explained [See [[EXOD940]] Exodus 25:8 sanctuary CHINUCH 62-5]. Those words can be applied to the tamid offering, too. This avodah is an obligation for us twice a day--at sunrise and in the afternoon--so that through its performance we will be inspired to focus all of our thoughts toward the Holy One. By nature, for the sake of his physical wellbeing, a person needs to eat twice a day, morning and evening. To ensure that our efforts for our bodies do not exceed our efforts for our souls, the Torah commands that twice a day we focus all our thoughts and energies on serving the Holy One. Through the mitzvah of the tamid offering, we are inspired to think of our Maker all the time, for a person is awakened only by means of his actions, while mere thoughts do not suffice. By always turning our desires and spirit towards our Maker, we merit His blessings.

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NUM344 Bring a musaf offering on Shabbos in the Beis HaMikdash. The mitzvah of the musaf offering is explained in [See [[LEV918]] Leviticus 23:8 offering CHINUCH 187], with reference to the festivals. Similarly, bringing the musaf offering of Shabbos impresses upon us the importance and great sanctity of Shabbos. We are reminded that Hashem created the heavens and earth in six days, and on the seventh day He rested.

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NUM345 Bring a musaf offering on every first of the month. As it is known, the Creator vested the moon and the sun with power to influence the physical world, the bodies of people, animals and all plant life. For this reason, at the time of the renewal of the moon, people refrain from acts that are potentially dangerous, such as setting out to sea or letting blood. At the time of the renewal of the moon, since the moon exerts such influences, it is fitting that we, too, do something new and different from what we do on other days, and it is most appropriate to bring additional offerings to honor Hashem. This way, we take to our hearts that all changes in the world and new phenomena are from Him exclusively, and so, too, every influence exerted on the world by the celestial bodies. When this pure and true thought occupies our minds, our souls are elevated, and Hashem's blessings descend upon us.

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NUM347 Sound the shofar on the New Year. People are physical beings, and due to the coarseness of the material that comprises our makeup, we are not awakened and stirred into action except by means of an outside stimulus. In wartime, for example, at the start of a battle, it is necessary to blow trumpet blasts and shout in order to arouse the soldiers that they need to fight for their lives. It is no different on Rosh Hashanah--Judgment Day for all beings. If a person's merits outweigh his sins, he emerges from the judgment safely, but if, God forbid, his sins outweigh his merits, he is subject to the death penalty or some other frightening decree. Accordingly, it is fitting for a person to fight his nature and arouse himself to ask Hashem to have mercy and forgive him for his sins, for Hashem is the Master of Mercy. The sound of the shofar has great power to stir the human heart. All the more so the note that we call the teruah, for its shrill, broken, staccato sound when it breaks the air has unique power to open one's heart. In addition to this aspect of stirring the heart, when a man hears broken notes emitting from the shofar, he is reminded of his obligation to break the hold that his evil inclination tries to put on him by enticing him to indulge his lusts for worldly pleasures. Furthermore, as explained in [See [[LEV956]] Leviticus 25:9 shofar CHINUCH 202-3], the blast from the shofar call to our minds Akeidas Yitzchak [i.e., “The Binding of Isaac—AJL]. We are moved to be as Yitzchak, who was ready to sacrifice his very being out of love for his Maker. As a result of such thoughts of supreme devotion, our remembrance arises before Hashem for the good.

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NUM358 Keep the laws of annulment of vows. See [[EXOD382]] Exodus 20:7 vain CHINUCH 25

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