|
|
|
|
Sponsored
Results: Hebrew Words |
|
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z |
|
A |
 Encyclopedia
Judaica 2nd Edition
An essential source of information on
Jewish life, culture, history, and
religion.
In 1972, the Encyclopaedia Judaica
fulfilled the longstanding dream of
capturing the full richness of Jewish
culture in a single authoritative
publication, heralded in the scholarly
community as one of the best reference
works ever compiled.
|
Aaron's Rod
/ Aharon's Rod
By : J. Frederic McCurdy Louis Ginzberg
ARTICLE HEADINGS:
Biblical Data:
In Rabbinical Literature:
Haggadic Modification.
Christian Modifications.
Biblical Data:
A rod which, in the hands of Aaron, the
high priest, was endowed with miraculous
power during the several plagues that
preceded the Exodus. In this function the
rod of Moses was equally potent. Upon two
occasions, however, the singular virtue of
spontaneous power, when not in the grasp
of its possessor, was exhibited by Aaron's
Rod. At one time it swallowed the rods of
the Egyptian magicians, and at another it
blossomed and bore fruit in the
Tabernacle, as an evidence of the
exclusive right to the priesthood of the
tribe of Levi (see
Aaron). In commemoration of this
decision it was commanded that the rod be
put again "before the testimony" (Num.
xvii. 10). A later tradition asserts (Heb.
ix. 4) that the rod was kept in the Ark of
the Covenant. The main fact, however, is
thus confirmed, that a rod was preserved
in the Tabernacle as a relic of the
institution of the Aaronic priesthood.J.
F. McC. |
|
|
|
|
Best Deals found at:
Aharon's Jewish Books and Judaica
600 South Holly Street Suite 103
Denver, Colorado 80246
303-322-7345
800-830-8660 -
Judaic
Online store that
provides a wide selection of all types of Judaica,
Sterling Silver, Jewish Jewelry, Seder Plates,
Menorah, Jerusalem Stone,
Jewish gifts, Jewish books, Jewish ritual items and
more
www.judaic.com
|
|
|
|
In
Rabbinical Literature:
The Bible ascribes similar miraculous
powers to the Rod of Aaron and to the
staff of Moses (compare, for example,
Ex. iv. 2 et seq. and vii. 9). The
Haggadah goes a step further, and
entirely identifies the Rod of Aaron
with that of Moses. Thus the Midrash
Yelamdenu (Yalk.. on Ps. ex. § 869)
states that
"the staff with which Jacob crossed the
Jordan is identical with that which
Judah gave to his daughter-in-law, Tamar
(Gen. xxxii. 10, xxxviii. 18). It is
likewise the holy rod with which Moses
worked (Ex. iv. 20, 21), with which
Aaron performed wonders before Pharaoh
(Ex. vii. 10), and with which, finally,
David slew the giant Goliath (I Sam.
xvii. 40). David left it to his
descendants, and the Davidic kings used
it as a scepter until the destruction of
the Temple, when it miraculously
disappeared (). When the Messiah comes
it will be given to him for a scepter in
token of his authority over the
heathen."
That so wonderful a rod should bear
external signs of its importance is
easily to be understood. It was made of
sapphire, weighed forty seahs (a seah =
10.70 pounds), and bore the inscription
, which is composed of the initials of
the Hebrew names of the Ten Plagues
(Tan., Waëra 8, ed. Buber).
 Haggadic
Modification.
Aaron's Rod. (From the Sarajevo
Haggadah.)
Legend has still more to say concerning
this rod. God created it in the twilight
of the sixth day of Creation (Ab. v. 9,
and Mek., Beshallah., ed. Weiss, iv.
60), and delivered it to Adam when the
latter was driven from paradise. After
it had passed through the hands of Shem,
Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
successively, it came into the
possession of Joseph. On Joseph's death
the Egyptian nobles stole some of his
belongings, and, among them, Jethro
appropriated the staff. Jethro planted
the staff in his garden, when its
marvelous virtue was revealed by the
fact that nobody could withdraw it from
the ground; even to touch it was fraught
with danger to life. This was because
the Ineffable Name of God was engraved
upon it. When Moses entered Jethro's
household he read the Name, and by means
of it was able to draw up the rod, for
which service Zipporah, Jethro's
daughter, was given to him in marriage.
Her father had sworn that she should
become the wife of the man who should be
able to master the miraculous rod and of
no other (Pirk.e R. El. 40; Sefer ha-Yashar;
Yalk.. Ex. 168, end). It must, however,
be remarked that the Mishnah (Ab. v. 9)
as yet knew nothing of the miraculous
creation of Aaron's Rod, which is first
mentioned by the Mekilta (l.c.) and
Sifre on Deut. (Ber. xxxiii. 21; ed.
Friedmann, p. 355). This supposed fact
of the supernatural origin of the rod
explains the statement in the New
Testament (Heb. ix. 4) and Tosef, Yoma,
iii. 7 (it is to be interpreted thus
according to B. B. 14a), that Aaron's
Rod, together with its blossoms and
fruit, was preserved in the Ark. King
Josiah, who foresaw the impending
national catastrophe, concealed the Ark
and its contents (Tosef, Sot.ah, 13a);
and their whereabouts will remain
unknown until, in the Messianic age, the
prophet Elijah shall reveal them (Mek.
l.c.).
Christian Modifications
A later Midrash (Num. R. xviii. end)
confuses the legends of the rod that
blossomed with those of the rod that
worked miracles, thus giving us
contradictory statements. There exists a
legend that Moses split a tree trunk
into twelve portions, and gave one
portion to each tribe. When the Rod of
Aaron produced blossoms, the Israelites
could not but acknowledge the
significance of the token. The account
of the blossoming of Aaron's Rod
contained in Clement's first letter to
the Corinthians (ep. 43) is quite in
haggadic-midrashic style, and must
probably be ascribed to Jewish or, more
strictly speaking, Jewish-Hellenistic
sources. According to that account,
Moses placed upon each of the twelve
staffs the corresponding seal of the
head of a tribe. The doors of the
sanctuary were similarly sealed, to
prevent any one from having access to
the rods at night. This legend of the
rod as given by the Syrian Solomon in
his "Book of the Bee" ("Anecdota
Oxoniensia, Semitic Series," vol. i.
part ii.) has Christian characteristics.
According to it the staff is a fragment
of the Tree of Knowledge, and was
successively in the possession of Shem,
of the three Patriarchs, and of Judah,
just as in the Jewish legend. From Judah
it descended to Pharez, ancestor of
David and of the Messiah. After Pharez's
death an angel carried it to the
mountains of Moab and buried it there,
where the pious Jethro found it. When
Moses, at Jethro's request, went in
search of it, the rod was brought to him
by an angel. With this staff Aaron and
Moses performed all the miracles related
in Scripture, noteworthy among which was
the swallowing up of the wonder-working
rods of the Egyptian Posdi. Joshua
received it from Moses and made use of
it in his wars (Josh. viii. 18); and
Joshua, in turn, delivered it to
Phinehas, who buried it in Jerusalem.
There it remained hidden until the birth
of Jesus, when the place of its
concealment was revealed to Joseph, who
took it with him on the journey to
Egypt. Judas Iscariot stole it from
James, brother of Jesus, who had
received it from Joseph. At Jesus'
crucifixion the Jews had no wood for the
transverse beam of the cross, so Judas
produced the staff for that purpose
("Book of the Bee," Syr. ed., pp. 50-53;
Eng. ed., pp. 50-52). This typological
explanation of Moses' rod as the cross
is not a novel one. Origen on Exodus
(chap. vii.) says: "This rod of Moses,
with which he subdued the Egyptians, is
the symbol of the cross of Jesus, who
conquered the world." Christian legend
has preserved the Jewish accounts of the
rod of the Messiah and made concrete
fact of the idea. Other Western legends
concerning the connection of the cross
and the rod may be found in Seymour,
"The Cross," 1898, p. 83.
The rod is likewise glorified in
Mohammedan legend, which, as is usually
the case with the Biblical accounts of
the Mohammedans, is plainly derived from
Jewish sources. The following passage
will serve as an illustration: (G. Weil,
"Biblische Legenden der Muselmänner," p.
140, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1845)
"Moses flung his staff upon the ground,
and instantly it was changed into a
serpent as huge as the largest camel. It
glared at Pharaoh with fire-darting
eyes, and lifted his throne to the
ceiling. Opening its jaws, it cried
aloud, 'If it pleased Allah, I could not
only swallow up the throne with thee and
all that are here present, but even thy
palace and all that it contains, without
any one perceiving the slightest change
in me'" L. G. |
|
|
|
