Moses then instructed the Jewish people to honor the priests, taking care to give them their allotments from their produce and flocks.
Cultivating the Inner Priest
וְזֶה יִהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַכֹּהֲנִים מֵאֵת הָעָם מֵאֵת זֹבְחֵי הַזֶּבַח אִם שׁוֹר אִם שֶׂה וְנָתַן לַכֹּהֵן הַזְּרֹעַ וְהַלְּחָיַיִם וְהַקֵּבָה:
(דברים יח:ג)
[Moses told the Jewish people,] “The following must be the priests’ entitlement from the [lay] people, from those who slaughter an ox, a sheep, [or a goat]: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.”
Deuteronomy 18:3
The priests were allotted these specific parts of our
animals in honor of Pinchas, Aaron’s grandson. Pinchas used his cheeks
to pray for G‑d’s help when he used his shoulder to drive
his sword through the stomachs of those who were defying G‑d.
Inasmuch as the Jewish people are all a “kingdom of priests and a
holy nation,” we are all meant to learn from Pinchas’ example. When forces
within us or outside us oppose the continued progress of the world toward its
Divine goal, we must summon our inner Pinchas in order to overwhelm our own
stubbornness or the stubbornness of others with the sheer power of holiness.1
