By Rabbi Berach Steinfeld
In Devarim 31:9 we see that Moshe wrote the Torah and gave it to the Kohanim the sons of Levi. The Gemara in Gittin 71b says that the following things are done to keep the peace. A Kohen gets the first aliya and we learn it from the above passuk. Since the Torah specified the Kohanim the sons of Levi. We know that the Kohanim were descendants of Levi. It comes to teach us that the Kohanim get the first Aliyah and then comes the Levi.
The Chasam Sofer asks why do we need the passuk the fact is that we do it to keep the peace so what is the need for the above passuk? The Chassam Sofer says that it is true that we do it for the peace but we would not know if the Kohen comes first or last so we bring the passuk to show first comes the Kohen then the Levi.
The Chasam Sofer elaborates that we find two contradictory terms. On one end the Gemarain Zvachim 89a says that the holier something is the earlier it comes. On the other end we find that there is a concept that the holier something is the later it comes as we say “Maalin Bakodesh VeLo Moridin.” This concept is found in Menachos 99a.
The Shaagas Aryeh 28 asks on the psak of Shulchan Aruch that we put on Taalis before Tefillin because we go up in Kedusha and tefillin is holier than a tallis. The problem is that we find that “kol Hamekudash Kodem.” Some want to differentiate that mekudash is kodem only when the action done is holier in the example of sprinkling the “dam” of achatas that is mechapercomes before the sprinkling of “dam” of olahwhich is not mechaper. In contrast when it comes to a person putting on taalisand tefillin the action of putting on is the same it is just that the object oftefillin is holier than taalisbut the activity is the same.
The Mishna Berurah 25 in Biur Halacha quotes the Gra that the maalin Bakodesh is going on the person who is going up a madreiga after putting ontaalis he rises a madreiga to tefillin. By putting on tallis he covers himself with a mitzvah but when he puts on tefillin he becomes mekushar to Hashem.
The tirutz could be as follows. When there are two things in front of us to be done like an Olah and a Chatos then the holier one is done first. But in the event, they are not here then it is preferred to do the less holy first to get the holier afterwards!
This would fit with the psak of the Chasam Sofer that one puts on taalis first only if the tefillin is not out in front of him but in the event one has them both out one would need to put on tefillin first.
Therefore, in the case of calling up a person for an Aliyah where all parties are there one might think that we should call up the Yisroel first and the Kohen last that is why the passuk is brought down that first comes the Kohen then the Levi.
May we go from Kedusha to kedusha!
{Matzav.com}