Aaron in Jewish Mythology

203 myths · Page 1 of 7

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Parshat Tzav 6 min

Twelve Logs of Anointing Oil That Never Ran Out

Moses made twelve logs of sacred oil in the wilderness. It anointed priests, vessels, and kings for centuries and never diminished by a drop.

Anointing OilMosesAaronTempleMessiahMiraclesTzavMishkanOilPriesthoodAnointingYalkut ShimoniExodusTerumahKi TisaTabernacleTemple VesselsIncenseHolinessCommandments
Parshat Tzav 6 min

Aaron Saw the Calf on the Altar and Could Not Move

Every time Aaron approached the altar as high priest, the shape of the Golden Calf appeared at its corner. Moses had to talk him through it each time.

PriesthoodMosesAaronGolden CalfTargumSacrificeTzavTabernacle
Parshat Tzav 5 min

The High Priest's Breastplate Answered Questions With Light

David asked if Saul would keep hunting him. The high priest looked down. Three letters on the stones caught fire and spelled the chase.

BreastplateUrim And ThummimAaronPriesthoodGemstonesTempleTzavTargum Pseudo JonathanDanOholiabTabernacleTribesBezalel
Parshat Tzav 6 min

Moses Came to Persuade Aaron to Wear the High Priest's Robes

Moses crossed the camp to tell his brother Aaron he would wear the High Priest's robes, and Aaron, who shunned distinctions, wept and said no.

AaronMosesPriesthoodTabernacleHumilityMiraclesTempleSacrificeEthicsSifraLeviticusBlessingMishkanConsecration
Pesach 5 min

Moses Argued Five Times Before God Lost Patience

At the burning bush he said he was the wrong man, that nobody would believe him, that his tongue was slow. The fifth excuse cost him the high priesthood.

PesachMosesBurning BushExodusAaronReluctance
Parshat Shemini 6 min

Aaron's Sons Died on the Best Day of His Life

This was the best day of Elisheba's life. Her husband was high priest, her sons served beside him. Two were dead before the morning's service was over.

PriesthoodTribesNadavAvihuAaronTabernacleStrange FireShemini
Parshat Shemini 5 min

The Day Fire Fell From Heaven on the Eighth Day

For seven days Moses put the Tent up and took it down. On the eighth, Aaron froze, because the calf was waiting at the altar's corner.

TabernacleAaronPriesthoodSheminiTorahSifraLeviticusAltarSacrificeFireTemple
Parshat Shemini 5 min

Aaron's Silence After the Fire Took His Sons

The flame did not burn cloth or blacken skin. It went in through the nostrils and took the soul, leaving two bodies dressed for service, garments whole.

PriesthoodDeathAaronNadavAvihuGriefSheminiSilenceSifraLeviticusMosesMishkanSacrificeNadabAbihuFireAtonement
Myth 7 min

The Priests Who Stepped Into the Jordan at Flood Stage

The priests carry the Ark to the flooded Jordan and stop at the edge. The river will not part until their feet touch the water first.

TorahWildernessMidrashCovenantPriesthoodTempleMidrash RabbahKehatAaronYoash
Myth 6 min

The Verse Where Aaron Comes Before Moses

Thirty verses put Moses first and Aaron second. Then one verse flips the order, and the reversal decides who outranks whom.

MosesAaronPriesthoodProphecyMekhiltaRabbinic
Parshat Beshalach 6 min

Three Men Climb the Hill While Israel Fights Amalek Below

Moses, Aaron, and Hur climb a hill above the battle with Amalek, and the names they carry up are not the living but the dead.

MosesAaronAmalekPatriarchsMatriarchsBalaamExodusTorahExilePrayerMekhiltaSinai
Parshat Tetzaveh 6 min

Moses Felt the Anointing Oil Run Down His Own Beard

Moses tipped the holy oil over Aaron's head and felt it slide onto his own beard. One wet drop nearly broke him with fear.

AaronMosesBrotherhoodPriesthoodMidrashExodusTorahHumilityDivine Presence
Parshat Korach 5 min

Korah Told a Parable About a Widow to Turn Israel Against Moses

Korah did not start his rebellion with a speech. He started it with a story about a poor widow that made every listener hate Moses on the spot.

KorahMosesAaronRebellionWildernessNumbersMidrash
Parshat Vayishlach 6 min

The One Staff Passed From Jacob to the Messiah

Jacob crossed the Jordan holding one staff. Centuries later that same wood was in Moses's hand, then Aaron's. The Messiah will hold it last.

JacobAaronMosesJudahDavidGenesisYalkut Shimoni
Parshat Ki Tisa 6 min

God Held Up a Coin of Fire and Moses Asked Who Could Pay

Israel had already done the sums. Fifty shekels for a seducer, thirty for a goring ox, a hundred for slander. Not one of those, God said, is the price here.

MosesAtonementTempleCensusHalf ShekelCoin Of FireShekhinahPrayerSukkotSanctuaryTargum JonathanExodusMishkanAltarSacrificeAaronShechinah
Parshat Pinchas 6 min

Phinehas Stood at the Breach and the Dying Stopped

Moses was weeping at the tent door. A man walked a Midianite woman through the camp in full view. Twenty-four thousand were already dead.

PhinehasAaronPriesthoodBen SiraCovenant
Myth 5 min

Israel Attacked Aaron With Words About His Son's Wife

Aaron covered the Ark with his own hands before every march. Then Israel stopped the registration to ask, out loud, who his son had married.

PriesthoodTempleAaronPriestly BlessingTabernacleVerbal AbuseMidrashBamidbar
Parshat Korach 6 min

Korah Saw Samuel in His Bloodline and Reached for the Fire-Pan

Korah saw Samuel shining in his bloodline and read the vision as permission. He reached for the fire-pan, and the fire reached back.

KorahAaronDivine PunishmentProphecyRepentanceSinAuthority
Parshat Shemot 6 min

Jethro Brings Burnt Offerings and Aaron Eats Bread at the Feast

A Midianite priest laid whole beasts on the fire. Aaron sat with the elders, and Moses would not take a place at his own table.

JethroAaronMosesExodusCelebrationJoyMercyGinzbergNations
Myth 6 min

Jeremiah Held Up Aaron's Jar of Manna in the Streets of Jerusalem

The crowd told Jeremiah they had fields to plow and hungry children, so Torah would have to wait. He came back holding a jar of old manna.

JeremiahMannaTorahProphecyFaithMiraclesAaronArkMosesPriesthoodMekhiltaTabernacle
Parshat Pinchas 5 min

Phinehas Became Elijah and Kept Waiting for Israel

A genealogy hides the claim that Phinehas is Elijah. The priest who stopped a plague becomes the prophet who returns for Israel.

ElijahPhinehasMessiahProphecyPriestsKehathAmramMosesAaronPriesthood
Parshat Chukat 6 min

Israel Tried to Stone Moses for Coming Down Without Aaron

Only two men came back down the hill. The camp asked Moses where his brother was, listened to the answer, and then bent down for stones.

AaronMosesDeathPriestsWilderness
Parshat Behaalotecha 5 min

Aaron Was Not Left Out, He Was Set Apart

When every other tribal prince brought offerings at the Tabernacle, Aaron watched. God's answer to his despair changed what he thought his calling was.

AaronTemplePriestsMenorahLevi
Myth 5 min

Moses Defended the Torah Before the Angels, Then Taught It Four Times

The angels closed on Moses at the Throne. He asked if their fathers had been slaves in Egypt. They had no reply, so they loaded him with gifts.

MosesTorahSinaiAngelsAaronTeachingLegends Of The Jews
Myth 6 min

Israel Got Manna From Heaven and Complained Anyway

The bread came down with the dew in the exact right amount and rotted if anyone hoarded it. It bought them free mornings for forty years.

IsraelWildernessMannaExodusAaronCovenantEgyptPesachSederMaror
Parshat Shemini 6 min

Aaron Tended the Fire That Came Down and Never Left

On the eighth day of the Tabernacle's dedication, fire fell from heaven and did not go back. It consumed offerings and sons with equal precision.

FireTempleAaronTabernacleCohanimNadavAbihuPirkei Derabbi Eliezer
Myth 5 min

How Korach's Rebellion Forced God to Write a Deed

After the ground closed on Korach, God did not soothe Aaron with words. He had a deed written and sealed, so no later contest could reopen the field.

AaronKorachPriesthoodCovenantBamidbar Rabbah
Myth 6 min

Aaron Carried God's Holiness Between the Dead and the Living

The gold came off their ears into Aaron's hands. Years later he ran into a plague with a firepan, and the dying stopped at his feet.

AaronPriesthoodKorachHolinessAtonementPinchas
Myth 6 min

Aaron Walked Up Mount Hor to Meet His Death

Moses asked if Aaron would accept death in a hundred years. Aaron said the Judge is righteous. Then Moses told him the day was today.

AaronDeathAngelsExodusPriesthood
Myth 5 min

Aaron Was Told to Guard the Living Torah Moses Set Down

The letters fled the tablets when Moses came down and saw the calf, and the stone went heavy in his hands. Rise from your slumber, the Zohar calls to Aaron.

AaronMosesTorahKabbalahPriesthood