Chazal (Shemos Rabbah, Tetzaveh 37:4) teach that Moshe Rabbeinu was not overjoyed that Hashem endowed the Kehunah, priesthood, to Aharon and his descendants. It is not that Moshe begrudged Aharon. On the contrary, he was happy that his older brother was granted such an exalted mission. He just wanted to serve Hashem in every possible manner. Hashem assuaged Moshe’s feelings. He said, “I had the Torah, which I gave to you (to give to Klal Yisrael). If not for the Torah, I would have lost My world.” Hashem told Moshe that the Torah was His most precious possession, because of which He continues to maintain the world. While Aharon received Kehunah, Moshe was the recipient of the Torah, and Hashem appointed him to be the the medium for giving it to Klal Yisrael.
We find that when Hashem chose Moshe to lead the people out of Egypt and essentially become their leader, Aharon, his older brother, who had guided the people until this point, was delighted over his younger brother’s good fortune – even though it was at his expense. Why would Moshe be troubled over Aharon’s ascension to the spiritual helm as the Kohen Gadol and progenitor of Kehunah?
Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, explains that Moshe was certainly not troubled over Aharon’s appointment. What caused him anguish was the fact that he had not been assured that his sons would continue his legacy. Kehunah transfers from father to son simply because one who is the biological son of a Kohen is himself a Kohen. To achieve the Kesser Torah, Crown of Torah, one must be deserving of this accolade. It is not inherited. It is the result of toil, commitment and total devotion. Moshe’s pain was founded in his sons’ inability to assume the reins of leadership, to become the nation’s next Torah teachers, from him. This is why Kesser Torah supersedes all other crowns. What someone achieves on his own, through his extraordinary effort, has greater significance. Hashem intimated to Moshe that even though his sons would not follow in his footsteps, the position of Lawgiver, Rabban Shel Kol Yisrael, Toras Moshe, transcends all else.
