במדבר, פרק ל״א, פסוק כ״א

Following the victory over Midian, a practical challenge arose: purifying the returning soldiers and the spoils they brought with them. At this crucial moment, a noticeable shift in leadership takes place. It is Eleazar the Priest, rather than Moses, who steps forward to instruct the people on the practical laws of purifying the captured utensils. The primary approach among commentators is that Moses had become angry with the people, causing his divine wisdom to temporarily depart, which led him to forget the specific laws regarding the purification of foreign utensils [רש״י, תורה תמימה, צאינה וראינה]. However, others explain that Moses had already taught the general principles of purity, and since the specific commandment of the Red Heifer was originally entrusted to Eleazar, it was only natural for him to explain its practical application [אבן עזרא, חזקוני]. Alternatively, Moses intentionally granted Eleazar the authority to teach in order to establish his leadership status, ensuring the people would respect and obey him in the future [מלבי״ם].

The timing of this revelation offers profound insight into the nature of the oral tradition. Moses had taught his students numerous laws that were only formally recorded in the Torah when a specific historical event, such as the war with Midian, demanded their immediate practical application [אם למקרא]. Yet, despite Eleazar acting out of sheer necessity to prevent the Israelites from eating from impure vessels [מלבי״ם], the very act of teaching a legal ruling in the presence of his master was considered a serious breach of protocol. Consequently, Eleazar was later punished for this flaw by losing his elevated status [תורה תמימה, חזקוני].

When delivering these laws, Eleazar specifically addresses the ordinary soldiers rather than the military commanders. This distinction is made because the officers primarily claimed valuable clothing for themselves, which did not require complex purification with fire or boiling water. The regular troops, on the other hand, had looted metal cooking utensils from the Midianite homes, and these items strictly required koshering [הטור הארוך, קיצור בעל הטורים]. Although he speaks to the soldiers returning from battle [ביאור שטיינזלץ], some interpret his words as establishing a permanent regulation for all future armies going out to war [העמק דבר], or even suggest that these instructions were initially given to the men before they ever left for the battlefield [רש ר הירש].

Eleazar frames his instructions as a definitive statute, a concept pointing directly to the Red Heifer rituals necessary to cleanse the soldiers from corpse impurity [ספורנו, חזקוני]. The use of the word statute highlights that this is a divine decree transcending ordinary human logic. In standard Jewish law, an old, absorbed taste in a cooking pot is considered detrimental to the food and therefore does not render the food prohibited. Here, however, God imposed a stricter standard, forbidding the use of these foreign vessels without proper boiling [נחל קדומים]. Furthermore, this strict obligation applied specifically to the spoils of Midian because the territory lay outside the designated borders of the land of Israel. In contrast, the spoils taken earlier from the kings Sihon and Og were permitted for immediate use without purification, as those lands were considered part of the Israelites' divine inheritance [צאינה וראינה].

Concluding his address, Eleazar makes a point to emphasize that these laws are exactly what God had commanded Moses. While it was widely known that the entire Torah was given through Moses, Eleazar deliberately attributes the instruction to his teacher to honor the principle of citing the original source [שפתי חכמים, מזרחי]. This gesture demonstrates profound humility, proving that Eleazar had no intention of usurping Moses' authority [גור אריה, העמק דבר]. Moreover, attributing the laws to Moses served to protect the great leader's honor. By presenting himself merely as a messenger transmitting the details of the law, Eleazar effectively shielded Moses from any shame associated with having temporarily forgotten the instructions [משכיל לדוד].