<b>And thou shalt command the children of Israel (Exod. 27:20).</b> Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: <i>Thou wouldst call, and I would answer Thee; Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand</i> (Job 14:15). The congregation of Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, Master of the Universe: You will call, and I will respond. Whatever You decree, I will fulfill, but with reference to <i>Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand</i>, is there a man who actually desires to perform the work of His hand? The word <i>desire</i> can only be understood as in the verse, <i>Now that thou have surely gone, for thou sore longest after thy father’s house</i> (Gen. 31:30). Hence, <i>Thou wouldst have a desire to the work of Thy hand</i> means that You longed for the assistance of man in the work of Your hand. For though You bear the entire world, as is written: <i>I have made and I will bear; yea I will carry and will deliver</i> (Isa. 46:4), yet You did command the sons of Kohath to bear Your glory (the ark), as is said: <i>But unto the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the holy things belongs unto them</i> (Num. 7:9). Hence, <i>Thou wouldst have a desire to work of Thy hand</i>. You feed the entire world, yet You did command me to offer sacrifices: <i>My food which is presented unto Me</i> (ibid. 28:2). You are a light to the whole world, yet <i>Thou didst enjoin us to burn a lamp continually</i>. By Your light, we see light, yet You tell us to light a lamp.
R. Meir declared that the Holy One, blessed be He, said: The lamps that Aaron lights are more precious to Me than the luminaries that I placed in heaven. Why was he permitted to perform that act? At the time the heads of the tribes brought the dedicatory offering to the altar, the tribe of Levi was not called upon to bring a sacrifice and Aaron was deeply distressed. He said: All the chiefs of the tribes brought a dedicatory offering, but I have had no share in the sacrifices. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Be assured, all the other tribes will bring only one offering, but you alone will perform the dedication before the veil, which is <i>without the curtain of testimony in the Tent of Meeting, for Aaron and his sons shall set it in order</i> (Exod. 27:21). Scripture states in reference to the above verse: <i>Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble</i> (Ps. 10:17). Therefore, though the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: <i>Thou shalt command</i>, it is written later that <i>Aaron and his sons shall set it in order</i>. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Command the children of Israel to bring the oil so that Aaron may light it before Me.