EXOD996 A person’s obligation of service corresponds to the degree of favor bestowed upon him ... the Creator's favor bestowed on one people among the peoples, one nation among the nations, as he favored the Children of Israel, when he took them out of Egypt and brought them to the land of Canaan. Correspondingly, He required of them additional service -- beyond the first [level] of service [i.e., corresponding to the goodness of the Creator which embraces all of mankind: He brought them into existence when previously they did not exist; He gave them life; And He favors them with all that we have spoken of in the Second Gate of this book. They are accordingly under a universal obligation of service to the Creator, may He be exalted. This consists of [obedience to] all the commandments called for by the intellect, which were observed by Adam, Chanoch, No’ach and his sons, and Iyov and his friends, up to the days of Moshe, our Master, peace be upon him] -- namely, [adherence to] the commandments that have their origin in revelation alone, after first warning them and exhorting them in regard to the commandments called for by the intellect. Whoever assumed this service for the glory of God, God singled him out for special favor, and held him under an obligation of service beyond that of his nation or the rest of his tribe. We find, for example, in the case of the tribe of Levi, that when Moshe said, “‘Whoever is for God, come to me!’ and all the Levi’im gathered themselves to him” (Shemos 32:26), God lavished favor upon them and chose him among them Aharon and his sons to minister to His glory; charged them with special precepts in addition to those given the rest of the nation; and promised them great reward in the World-to-Come. But whoever of them rebels against the Creator, May He be exalted, will fall from both levels and will be punished in both worlds, as the Wise Man said, “It will not be well with the wicked, nor will he prolong his days” (Koheles 8:13).