In order to permanently quash the Israelite complaints about the selection of Aaron for the priesthood, Moses took twelve staffs, one staff for each tribe, and placed them before God. Only from Aaron’s staff, the staff of the tribe of Levi, almond leaves blossomed. The Sages provide details of the process and the attendant miracles.

Rabbi Hanina said: Moses took a beam and sawed it into twelve boards. He told the princes: Each of you take one staff. They took the staffs and wrote the names of the tribes, each one the name of his tribe. Aaron wrote his name at the top of his staff and the name Levi below it, and he placed a ring between his name and the name Levi. Moses took Aaron’s staff and placed it among the staffs. He tied them together and sealed them, and placed them in the inner sanctum, as it is stated: “Moses placed the staffs [hamatot] before the Lord” (Numbers 17:22). The term hamatot is written [without the letter vav, indicating the singular]. This teaches that all the staffs were as one staff. In the morning, Moses entered the Tent of Meeting in front of all the Israelites, and he saw that Aaron’s staff had blossomed. But it did not blossom in its entirety; rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, performed a miracle within a miracle: The place where Aaron’s name was written blossomed and bore fruit, and the place where the name Levi was written was dry…. What is the meaning of what the verse states concerning Aaron’s staff: “And has sprouted a bud [(Yelamdenu [Mann], Yalkut Talmud Torah, Korah)