When was this Parshah said to Moshe?
Rashi and Targum Yonasan: It was said on the twenty-third of Adar, seven days before the Mishkan was finally erected on the first of Nisan, since 'there is no chronological order in the Torah'. 1
Ramban #1 and Moshav Zekenim: After Moshe erected the Mishkan for the first time (on the twenty-third of Adar), Hashem taught him all the Parshiyos of Korbanos - from the beginning of Vayikra until here; 2 following which He commanded him to gather Aharon and his sons, and taught him what he should do to sanctify them in order to serve Hashem, and to gather the people so that they know that Hashem had chosen Aharon and his descendents.
Ramban #2: Hashem taught the Parshiyos of Korbanos up to here before the episode of the Golden Calf. 3
Since the Parshiyos of Vayikra up to here were said only later.
Since the Korbanos of the Milu'im included Chata'os, Olos and Shelamim (Ramban).
Refer to Sh'mos 31:18:1:1** & 35:1:1:1*. It therefore transpires that all the Parshiyos are written in chronological order, with the exception of the final paragraph in Pikudei, which refers to the eighth day of the Milu'im. Refer to Sh'mos, 40:34:1:1*.
What are the connotations of "Kach es Aharon"?
Rashi: It means persuade 1 him with words.
Targum Yonasan: It means bring him close - seeing as, due to his participation in the Golden Calf, he had been distanced from the Avodah. 2 (Hashem had accepted Moshe's Tefilah for Yisrael. But until now, he did not know that his Tefilah for Aharon had also been accepted - Moshav Zekenim)..
Rosh: Aharon was already commanded in Tetzaveh, seven days before erecting the Mishkan. Now on the first day of the Milu'im, Hashem is instructing Moshe to tell him again, in order to infuse him with zeal. 3
Moshav Zekenim: To ensure that he has no other intention. (Normally, Onkelos transates 'Kichah' of people as 'Devar' (See Rashi Bereishis, 43:15), but here he translates it as 'Karev'. Rashi therefore explains that here too it means to persuade. - PF)
See Rashi, 9:7.
Rosh: Later, Aharon will be told "Kach [es ha'Machtah]" (Bamidbar 17:11) for his grandeur (to stop the plague after Korach's rebellion).
To which set of Korbanos is the Torah referring?
Rashi: It refers to the Korbanos listed in Sh'mos 29:1-2, and is repeated here when the time had come to bring them. 1
Oznayim la'Torah: Which explains why all the item mentioned contain the prefix 'Hey' ? "ha'Begadim" ... "Shemen ha'MIshchah" ... "Par ha'Chatas".
Why does a Chatas always precede the Olah that is brought together with it?
Seforno: Because there is no point in bringing a gift to Hashem before one's sin has been atoned. 1
As the Pasuk indicates in Tehilim, 40:7 (Seforno). See also Rashi, Bamidbar, 15:24.
Why did Aharon's Chatas consist of a bull (and not the more common goat like that of a Yisrael)?
Seforno: Because it is the Chatas that the Kohen Gadol brings when he sins 1 (see 3:4).
Seforno: And the reason that its blood is not sprinkled inside the Heichal, like the Kohen Gadol's Chatas is because Aharon's sin (his participation in the Golden Calf) was not as grave as the sin described in Vayikra. (Hashem wanted to kill all Aharon's sons for his sin (Devarim 9:20)! Perhaps the Kohen Gadol's Chatas is more severe, because it is l'Ashmas ha'Am (due to their sin, like the Seforno explained above (4:3). - PF)
