Torah is even greater than the Priesthood and than the Kingship, for the Kingship is acquired with 30 advantageous things, the Priesthood with 24, and the Torah is acquired with 48 things” (Avos 6:5/6). The simple equation seems to be that since it takes more “things” to acquire Torah, it must be greater than the other two. And this is how most understand it. However, the 30 things associated with the Kingship — which most explain to be referring to what Sh’muel warned the nation they were taking upon themselves by asking for a king (Sh’muel I 8:11-17), such as his being able to confiscate their property and draft their sons for his needs, as well as the 24 things associated with Priesthood — which most explain to be referring to the “Mat’nos K’hunah,” the “gifts” given to Kohanim for performing the Priestly service (such as certain cuts of meat from some offerings), are not prerequisites for getting those positions, but automatically come along with it. The “48 things the Torah is acquired with,” on the other hand, must have already been accomplished before the Torah can be acquired. How can it be said that the Torah being greater than the Priesthood and than the Kingship is evident from how many things it takes to acquire each of them if the “advantages” of the Priesthood and the Kingship come with the position, while the Torah is not acquired until after these 48 things have already been accomplished?
Tiferes Yisroel, who alludes to this question when discussing the change in wording from “advantages” to “things,” explains the comparison to be between the advantages one who has acquired any of these things has over those who haven’t acquired it, not between how these things are acquired. It is therefore irrelevant that for the Priesthood and the Kingship these advantages automatically come with the position whereas for the Torah they are a prerequisite for acquiring it, as the bottom line is that one who has acquired Torah has more advantages than the other two. However, the wording of “is acquired with” is used for both the Kingship and the Torah (and, by extension, the Priesthood, even if those words aren’t repeated there, at least not in our editions), indicating that that the focal point is the process of the acquisition, not just the status after it has been acquired. [It should be noted, though, that R’ Moshe Almosnino (Pirkay Moshe) says the most correct version of this teaching does not have the word “acquired with” (when referring to the Kingship or the Priesthood). Nevertheless, Tiferes Yisroel does not reference any other version, so is likely explaining the words as they appear in our editions.]
It can be suggested that the words “is acquired with” do not have to refer to the process of acquisition; it could refer to what is required for the position to be “acquired.” Since a king cannot really be a king if he can’t fully rule over his people, these “advantages” are necessary for a king to “acquire” the position. Although it would be a bit more difficult to fit this in with the “K’hunah” if the 24 “advantages” are the “Mat’nos K’hunah” (see below for another possibility), if being supported by the rest of the nation (so that they can focus on their spiritual growth), and/or the interaction with the nation that giving the “gifts” brings about, and/or the necessity to be on a higher spiritual plane in order to partake of the “gifts” are required for the position to have meaning, it can also be said that these “advantages” are comparable to those needed to “acquire” the position of being king and becoming a “Ben Torah.” (This suggestion came about through an email conversation with Rabbi Micha Berger, and is based on what I initially thought he was trying to say.)
Bais Avos (written by the Vilna Gaon’s son, R’ Sh’lomo Zalman) and L’zeicher L’Yisroel (R’ Yechiel Michel of Minsk) suggest that the difference between automatically being part of the position or having to be accomplished in order for the status to be attained (implied by calling what applies to the Kingship and the Priesthood “advantages” and what applies to the Torah “things”) makes the case for the Torah being greater even stronger. After all, the need to have to accomplish something before being worthy of a title make that title more prominent than one that is attained without having to accomplish anything first. [Bais Avos compares it to having to pay someone to marry a daughter versus receiving a dowry to agree to allow someone to marry her; if we have to work hard in order to acquire Torah, it must be that much more valuable than something that has to have benefits included before anyone would accept such a position.] Although conceptually this is true, it makes the number of “advantages” each has secondary, if not irrelevant. After all, according to this line of thinking, having more benefits come along with a position indicates that the position is (otherwise) less desirable! Instead of highlighting the numbers, what should have been highlighted was which has prerequisites and which has incentives!
Several commentators (e.g. Rivash and Ra’avan) have a different list of the “advantages” of the Priesthood. Some have to do with behavior and character (such as being “holy” and “pure”), some have to do with having additional requirements (such as taking a haircut at least once a month and whom they can marry), and others are things unique to their position (such as wearing the Priestly Garments). Even though whether or not one is a Kohain is dependent on paternal lineage, being a Kohain who qualifies for the Priestly Service requires maintaining the code of conduct (etc.) mandated by the Torah. It would be difficult to say that every “Kohain” has all the advantages of being a Kohain, as there is a higher standard necessary to be a Kohain in good standing. This is true of the “Mat’nos K’hunah” as well, since we can choose which Kohain to give some of the gifts to (such as T’rumah) and which, of those whose turn it is to serve in the Temple, we give our offerings to be brought. Therefore, to a certain extent, a Kohain must “earn” his advantages as well. It’s not enough to have a father who is/was a Kohain; by living up to the higher standards of the Priesthood, individual Kohanim can enjoy the benefits of being one, as after gaining the respect of non-Kohanim, the “Mat’nos K’hunah” will be given to them rather than to other Kohanim. In this respect, the “advantages” of Priesthood can be compared to the “advantages” of one who has acquired Torah, as after earning their status they benefit from the “advantages.”
“The heart of a king is in G-d’s hand” (Mishlay 21:1) because the “decisions” a king makes affect so many people. In order to prevent so many from being improperly impacted, G-d often gets involved by influencing the king’s decision. Who becomes king, which has a greater impact than any single decision made by a king, is also “in G-d’s hand.” [In ancient times, rulers made themselves out to be “divine” based on G-d (or whichever deity they worshipped and attributed things to) having chosen them to be king.] While one of the factors as to who becomes king, especially over G-d’s chosen people, is certainly based on how it will impact others, because of the extreme personal advantages of being the king, whomever will benefit from those advantages must be worthy of getting them. This is true for two reasons. For one thing, a person who will abuse the position and take advantage of others will not be given such a position (unless those others do not deserve to be protected from such abuse). Secondly, unless the prospective king is deserving of the benefits of royalty, G-d would not let him receive them. Therefore, every benefit a king gets must be deserved by the individual who is to become king.
If an individual must deserve the benefit he will get when he becomes king before attaining such a position, it can be said that he “acquires” the position through his (previous) behavior. And if each of the 30 “advantages” of being king has a corresponding positive trait or action that caused him to deserve that particular “advantage,” then there were 30 “advantageous things,” referring to the 30 corresponding causes, through with the Kingship was acquired. From this perspective, the number of “advantageous things” needed to acquire Kingship (and Priesthood) can be contrasted with the number needed to acquire Torah. And since the Torah needs 48, not just 24 or 30, it must be greater than those other two.
