Bamidbar / Korach: What We Guard in the Mikdash

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 2-page article I wrote and published on rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/ on 5/14/26 titled: Bamidbar / Korach: What We Guard in the Mikdash. Why is the Tribe of Levi commanded to guard the Mikdash? Do the Rambam and Torah Temimah disagree? And what relevance does this mitzvah have to the current state of the Jewish people?

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The Torah content for the month of Iyyar is sponsored by Naomi Schwartz Rothschild in memory of her mother, Breindel Bracha bas Mordechai z”l, whose yahrzeit falls on the 8th of Iyyar. She learned and lived Torah, and was a tremendous baalas chesed.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hello, I'm Rabbi Matt Schneewiss, and this is the audio version of the two-page article I wrote and published on my Substack at rabbi Schneeweiss.substack.com on May 14th, 2026. And the article is titled Bamidbar slash Korach, What We Guard in the Mikdash. Parshis Bamidbar contains the first mention of Shmiras Amikdash, guarding the sanctuary. Quote, Moshe and Aron and his sons shall serve as guardians of the guardianship of the sanctuary to guard on behalf of the children of Israel. Any outsider who approaches shall die. End quote from Bamidbar 338. This duty of Shavat Levi, the tribe of Levi, only alluded to here, is presented as a mitzvah in Parshas Korach. Quote, Hashem said to Aron, you and your sons with you, also your brethren, the tribe of Levi, shall be before the tent of the testimony, and they shall guard the guardianship of the tent of meeting. End quote. Strictly speaking, Shmersa Middash comprises two mitzvahs, according to the Ramam's count. Quote, from the Sefer Mitzvah's Asai 22, the 22nd positive mitzvah is the commandment we've been commanded to guard the mikdash and to patrol around it continually each night for the duration of the night. And in Seifra mitzvah's Los Aseh 67, the 67th negative mitzvah is the warning we've been warned against neglecting the guarding of the Mikdash and its patrol continually every night. End quote. The question is, why does the mikdash need to be guarded? The Mikdash is Hashem's dwelling place, not in the sense that he actually dwells there, but that it is the locus of his Hajjgaha, providence, as I elucidated in my article, Truma, the where, what, and why of Shrina. Won't Hashem protect his own sanctuary? Ramam answers this most explicitly in Hilkus Besabhira eight, one through three. Quote, guarding the Mikdash is a positive mitzvah, even though there is no fear of enemies or thieves, for its guarding is nothing but a covod, honor for it. A palace with guards cannot compare to a palace without guards. And the guards are the Levim and the Kohanim. And if they neglect this Shmirah, they transgress a negative mitzvah. End quote. Essentially, the Kohanim and Levim serve as honor guards. Their function is not to protect the Mikdash from actual harm or crime, but to enhance its covod. Why is this necessary? Because of another mitzvah, quote. This is in Sever Mitzvah, I say 21. The 21st positive mitzvah is the commandment we've been commanded to revere this aforementioned temple to an exceedingly great degree until we establish it in our souls as a place of awe and fear. This is the Mora Ha Mikdash, reverence of the sanctuary. End quote. And what is the purpose of Mora Ha Mikdash? According to the Ramam, it's Yuras Hashem, fear of God, as he states in Hilvas Basebakira 7.1, quote, it is a positive commandment to revere the Mikdash, as it is stated in Vyakra 1930, you shall revere my sanctuary. And it is not the mikdash you shall revere, but he who commanded you regarding its reverence. End quote. The Tort Mima, however, gives a different explanation for Kavotha Mikdash. He begins in his commentary on Bamidbar 338, note 12, by endorsing the Ramam's explanation of Shemir's Ha Mikdash, adding only his own view that Shmeerah is by day and night. He links this to Khazal's explanation of the Ner Tamid, the continual lamp, quote, from Shemos 2720, and you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take for you pure pressed olive oil for the light, to raise up the lamp continually. End quote. And then in Menachos 86b, Shmu Shmuel Bar Nachmini said, the verse says, For you rather than for me, because I, Hashem, do not need the light. End quote from Menachos. In his commentary there on Shemos 2720, note 22, the Tortamimah explains how the Ner Tamid is for you. Quote, one can say an explanation based on what is written in the Sefrachinoch in the reason for the mitzvah of the lamps, that is, that it is for the covod and splendor of the temple, and that when the temple is gloriously illuminated, this will be a covod for Israel. Likewise, the Khinoch wrote as the rationale for the Katoris, the incense, that it is to magnify the covet of the temple, that its aroma should waft like it does in the palaces of kings. And so we have written in Parshis Bamidbar regarding the guards who guarded the mikdach by day and by night, due to the covet of the temple. This is the general meaning of this Russia, for you and not for me, because I don't need the light, meaning to say that this illumination is not inherently necessary, that the light should be for me, as it were, rather it is for you, for the covot of Israel. End quote. It would appear that this is a machlogus, disagreement. Both the Ramam and the Torah Tmimah agree that Shmiras Hamikdash is for Kavod Hamikdash. But the question is, what is the purpose of Kovod Hamikdash? The Ramam maintains that Kovod Hamikdash serves the purpose of Mora Hamikdash, which itself is a means of Yiras Hashem, whereas the Torah Tmimah maintains that the purpose of Kavud Hamikdash is Kavud Yisrael. While it is possible to treat this as a genuine machlocus, I prefer to see the Ramam and the Torah Tmimah as being in agreement, each emphasizing a different side of the same coin. The premise of this approach is that Kabud Hashem and Kavud Yisrael are interrelated and interdependent. Although there are many Psukim and statements of Khazal to this effect, my mind went to Devarim 28, 10, and all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of Hashem is proclaimed over you, and they will revere you. Rubina Bahya on that Pasuk explains, quote, The rank of a servant to a particular officer of the king is not as great as one who is a servant of the king himself. For the servant of the king, even the officers and officials of the king revere him out of awe of the king, since the servant since that servant is called by the name of the king, his master. This is the meaning and explanation of this verse. It says, And all the peoples of the land, who are under the dominion of the stars and the constellations, i.e., the natural forces that govern the world, will see that the name of Hashem, who is the Lord over them and over their officers, is proclaimed over Israel, and that Israel is designated as the Lord's portion. And then they will revere you. They will certainly be in awe of Israel. End quote. Conversely, when the other nations see Hashem in the covod, uh I shouldn't say conversely, maybe. Maybe the words likewise. Let's try that. Likewise, when the other nations see Hashem in the covod befitting the king of kings, that covod will extend to Israel, his servant. All the various means of Kovot Hamikdash and Morah Hamikdash, the guards, the Nir Tamid, the Khtorist, the magnificence of the architecture, the restricted access, the physical splendor of the Kohanim, the Korbanos, all of it has the effect of enhancing Kovod Hashem in the hearts of Israel, which in turn enhances Kovod Yisrael in the eyes of the nations, which then increases the Kov Hashem in Israel, which generates even more Kovod in the world in a virtuous cycle. I guess, and so on in a virtuous cycle. Ramam and the Torah Timima are both correct. But the reverse is also true. When the designated honor guards are lax in their duties, Kovod Hashem is diminished. This in turn diminishes Kovud Yisrael. The cycle becomes vicious. The same holds for our spiritual guardians, those who physically protect the nation, and every other member of Israel. Each of us is in a position to enhance Kovud Hashem and Kovud Yisrael, or the opposite. When we honor Hashem by authentically keeping his Torah and his mitvos undiluted by foreign ideology and values, this enhances Kovud Yisrael. And when we give our fellow Jews the honor they are due, without being blinded or impeded by our own prejudices and imperfections, this brings covod to Hashem. But if we fail in one, the other will suffer. Such lapses in Kovod may not result in any tangible harm, just as the negligence of the Mikdash's honor guards wouldn't leave it vulnerable to theft or attack. But we see from their duty of Shemir's Mikdash what must truly be protected the Kovod Hashem, to which the Kovod and fate of Israel is tied.