Aaron Took the Blame Like the Tutor for the Prince

Another interpretation: "And Aaron saw." What did he see? Aaron said: If they build it, the guilt hangs on them; better that the guilt hang on me and not on Israel. A parable: to a king's son whose heart grew proud against him. He took up [the dagger to dig under] (the corrected reading: the sword to cut down) his father. His tutor said to him: Do not weary yourself; give it to me, and I will cut. The king glanced at him and said: I know what your intention was. Better that the guilt hang on you and not on my son. By your life, from my palace you shall not stir, and you shall eat the surplus of my table, and twenty-four allotments you shall receive. So likewise: from my palace you shall not stir, "and from the sanctuary he shall not go out" (Leviticus 21:12); you shall eat the surplus of my table, "and the remainder of the meal-offering shall be for Aaron and his sons" (Leviticus 2:3); and twenty-four allotments you shall receive, these are the twenty-four priestly gifts that were given to Aaron and his sons. He said to him: "You have loved righteousness" (Psalms 45:8); you loved to justify the children of Israel and hated to condemn them. "Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows" (Psalms 45:8). He said to him: By your life, from all the tribe of Levi none was chosen for the high priesthood except you.