Parshat Shemini - Leviticus 9:1

Parshat Shemini
Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47

Following a seven day consecration period, Aaron and his sons were invested as kohanim. Moses called Aaron and sons, along with the Elders of Israel, to appear before the people and assume their duties. Korbonos were made and Aaron blessed the people by raising his hands. Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadav and Abihu, offered unconsecrated incense on the altar and were instantly killed. God instructs Aaron on the proper attitude one should have when entering the Holy of Holies. This command is followed by the enumeration of the laws of kashrus and their relationship with the mitzvos of purity and holiness.

The parsha begins with the word vayehi, which means “and it came to pass”. In the Midrash, the sages interpret opening words such as this as an indication of something bad about to happen. They present several examples but the most notable is the Megillas Esther (which begins with the word vayehi). Indeed, it does not take long before tragedy strikes on Aaron’s big day. Soon after being installed as the Kohen Gadol, two of his sons are killed by not following proper procedures. Aaron’s reaction to this stunning event provides us with some key insight into not only Aaron’s personality, but his total devotion to God.

Aaron and sons had been consecrated over a seven day period. On the eighth day, Aaron was to assume an awesome responsibility. Some sages link the eighth day investment with the eighth day bris milah. What must Aaron have been thinking about? The Torah states that Moses had to invite Aaron to join him: “Draw near…”, Moses says. Rashi interprets this to mean that Aaron was hesitant to proceed due to his extreme humility. He must also have been extremely nervous!

The liturgy from the Yom Kippur machzor, gives us some insight into the responsibility assumed by the High Priest. In the afternoon service, we read a summary of the service of the Kohen Gadol. He was to enter the Holy of Holies and pray for atonement for himself, his family, and the entire Nation. If he failed, he would not emerge alive. The machzor version is taken from the Talmud, tractate Yoma:

“To make atonement for Israel in the days of the Temple, the High Priest commenced a seven day period of consecration before entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. The elders that sat at the gate, gathered around him and duly impressed upon him the sacredness of his trust. The eyes of all Israel were turned upon him. The High Priest read aloud the Law and realized fully the need of his own personal uprightness. He dared not pray for the forgiveness of others if he himself were not wholly pure…”

Consider also the magnificent Hineni pray chanted by the Chazon:

“Behold, in deep humility I stand and plead before thee, God on high; Great Lord who art enthroned above all praise; O hearken and give heed unto my prayer, though unworthy of my sacred task…"

Aaron was chosen for this task because he was, in the words of the sages, a rodef shalom, a pursuer of peace. This means that he did not just try to help everyone get along. It means that he went out of his way to make peace between people. During the Shacharis service we pray: “May God make us like Aaron, a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace”; “Ohev shalom v’rodef shalom”. Being a pursuer of peace is different than being a mere follower. The former is active while the latter is passive.

The story is told of a Rav who had to mediate an argument between two congregants concerning a cemetery plot. It seems that they had both purchased plots in the same area and were arguing over the beautiful spot. After listening to both claims, the Rav stroked his beard long and hard as if deep in thought. Finally he reached his decision. He said, “Both of you have valid claims. Therefore, I say that the nicer spot shall go to the one of you who dies first.” There was a long silence as the two men thought about what the Rav had just said. After a time, realizing that neither of them wanted to die first, the two men no longer argued about the burial plot (realizing how silly it was).

Now, after all of this stress, and the joy of being placed in a position to serve God, Aaron’s two eldest son’s are killed. The Torah uses the phrase “strange fire” or “eish zara”. Moses speaks with Aaron who must have been in a state of shock. The Torah then states that: “v’yidom Aharon”, which can be translated as “And Aaron remained silent.” It seems that Aaron did not wail or cry at the sight, but merely stood still and suffered in silence. Why did Aaron do this?

Rashi writes that Aaron was rewarded for his silence because it testifies to his acceptance of the Divine Will. His reward was that the next mitzvah would be spoken directly to him by God (something which did not usually occur). The Targum Onkelos, the official Aramaic translation of the Torah, uses the word sheteik which means, “to become quiet”. Thus it is possible, as the Ramban writes in his commentary on this passage, that Aaron was grieving (i.e. crying) but was soothed by God’s words.

Therefore, even though his sons were consumed by fire, by making a fateful error in procedure and judgment, this did not mean that they were unworthy as individuals. The Ramban’s analysis is based on the interpretation of a similar word to yidom which is hidom. Hidom can mean “to silence” but another similar word, hid-meyah, means “to shed tears”. Thus, according to the Ramban, Aaron did mourn for his sons, but was calmed by the soothing words of God and Moses.

The Talmud interprets this episode as relating to casting a legal decision in the presence of one’s master (in this case Moses). This seems to be a high price to pay for a lesson to Aaron and his remaining sons. Even Moses is punished by not being allowed to enter the Promised Land for seemingly minor infractions. The sages write that the more righteous a person is, the more exacting is the punishment because the standards are more strict. In a sense, the cliché might be: “Ignorance of the Law is no excuse.” They, of all people, should have known better.

The command given to Aaron immediately following this episode begins with the prohibition of entering the Tabernacle in a drunken state. We can only speculate if Aaron’s sons were drunk at the time of their offense since the Torah is silent on this issue. Its connection to the previous events (the sages state that there is no necessary chronological order in the Torah) might seem to indicate this.

What about Aaron’s reward for his silence? Sometimes, we learn, the best thing to say in a situation is nothing. The sages commend Aaron for “holding his peace”. That is, for accepting the Will of God. The mourners kaddish we recite is a sanctification of God and says nothing about death. “Yisgadal v’yisgadash sh’mai rabbah”; “Magnified and Sanctified is His great Name…”

We recite this prayer (in Aramaic) to praise God even in our time of sorrow. The sages write: “silence is a fence around the Torah.” The great sage Shammai, said: “Say little and do much.” The sages also write: “A fool speaks his mind, while a wise man minds what he speaks.”

We should all try to emulate some of Aaron’s characteristics. Be a pursuer of peace and good deeds. Don’t wait around to be asked. Be like Abraham who was a rodef who ran to do mitzvos. As President John F. Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” We can substitute the word “synagogue” or “community” for the word “country” and it will mean exactly what the Torah is teaching us in this parsha.

	Oceanside Jewish Center Weekly Parsha By Jonathan Wolf
	Parshat Shemini Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 Following a seven day consecration period, Aaron and his sons were invested as kohanim. Moses called Aaron and sons, along with the Elders of Israel, to appear before the people and assume their duties. Korbonos were made and Aaron blessed the people by raising his hands. Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadav and Abihu, offered unconsecrated incense on the altar and were instantly killed. God instructs Aaron on the proper attitude one should have when entering the Holy of Holies. This command is followed by the enumeration of the laws of kashrus and their relationship with the mitzvos of purity and holiness. The parsha begins with the word vayehi, which means “and it came to pass”. In the Midrash, the sages interpret opening words such as this as an indication of something bad about to happen. They present several examples but the most notable is the Megillas Esther (which begins with the word vayehi). Indeed, it does not take long before tragedy strikes on Aaron’s big day. Soon after being installed as the Kohen Gadol, two of his sons are killed by not following proper procedures. Aaron’s reaction to this stunning event provides us with some key insight into not only Aaron’s personality, but his total devotion to God. Aaron and sons had been consecrated over a seven day period. On the eighth day, Aaron was to assume an awesome responsibility. Some sages link the eighth day investment with the eighth day bris milah. What must Aaron have been thinking about? The Torah states that Moses had to invite Aaron to join him: “Draw near…”, Moses says. Rashi interprets this to mean that Aaron was hesitant to proceed due to his extreme humility. He must also have been extremely nervous! The liturgy from the Yom Kippur machzor, gives us some insight into the responsibility assumed by the High Priest. In the afternoon service, we read a summary of the service of the Kohen Gadol. He was to enter the Holy of Holies and pray for atonement for himself, his family, and the entire Nation. If he failed, he would not emerge alive. The machzor version is taken from the Talmud, tractate Yoma: “To make atonement for Israel in the days of the Temple, the High Priest commenced a seven day period of consecration before entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. The elders that sat at the gate, gathered around him and duly impressed upon him the sacredness of his trust. The eyes of all Israel were turned upon him. The High Priest read aloud the Law and realized fully the need of his own personal uprightness. He dared not pray for the forgiveness of others if he himself were not wholly pure…” Consider also the magnificent Hineni pray chanted by the Chazon: “Behold, in deep humility I stand and plead before thee, God on high; Great Lord who art enthroned above all praise; O hearken and give heed unto my prayer, though unworthy of my sacred task…" Aaron was chosen for this task because he was, in the words of the sages, a rodef shalom, a pursuer of peace. This means that he did not just try to help everyone get along. It means that he went out of his way to make peace between people. During the Shacharis service we pray: “May God make us like Aaron, a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace”; “Ohev shalom v’rodef shalom”. Being a pursuer of peace is different than being a mere follower. The former is active while the latter is passive. The story is told of a Rav who had to mediate an argument between two congregants concerning a cemetery plot. It seems that they had both purchased plots in the same area and were arguing over the beautiful spot. After listening to both claims, the Rav stroked his beard long and hard as if deep in thought. Finally he reached his decision. He said, “Both of you have valid claims. Therefore, I say that the nicer spot shall go to the one of you who dies first.” There was a long silence as the two men thought about what the Rav had just said. After a time, realizing that neither of them wanted to die first, the two men no longer argued about the burial plot (realizing how silly it was). Now, after all of this stress, and the joy of being placed in a position to serve God, Aaron’s two eldest son’s are killed. The Torah uses the phrase “strange fire” or “eish zara”. Moses speaks with Aaron who must have been in a state of shock. The Torah then states that: “v’yidom Aharon”, which can be translated as “And Aaron remained silent.” It seems that Aaron did not wail or cry at the sight, but merely stood still and suffered in silence. Why did Aaron do this? Rashi writes that Aaron was rewarded for his silence because it testifies to his acceptance of the Divine Will. His reward was that the next mitzvah would be spoken directly to him by God (something which did not usually occur). The Targum Onkelos, the official Aramaic translation of the Torah, uses the word sheteik which means, “to become quiet”. Thus it is possible, as the Ramban writes in his commentary on this passage, that Aaron was grieving (i.e. crying) but was soothed by God’s words. Therefore, even though his sons were consumed by fire, by making a fateful error in procedure and judgment, this did not mean that they were unworthy as individuals. The Ramban’s analysis is based on the interpretation of a similar word to yidom which is hidom. Hidom can mean “to silence” but another similar word, hid-meyah, means “to shed tears”. Thus, according to the Ramban, Aaron did mourn for his sons, but was calmed by the soothing words of God and Moses. The Talmud interprets this episode as relating to casting a legal decision in the presence of one’s master (in this case Moses). This seems to be a high price to pay for a lesson to Aaron and his remaining sons. Even Moses is punished by not being allowed to enter the Promised Land for seemingly minor infractions. The sages write that the more righteous a person is, the more exacting is the punishment because the standards are more strict. In a sense, the cliché might be: “Ignorance of the Law is no excuse.” They, of all people, should have known better. The command given to Aaron immediately following this episode begins with the prohibition of entering the Tabernacle in a drunken state. We can only speculate if Aaron’s sons were drunk at the time of their offense since the Torah is silent on this issue. Its connection to the previous events (the sages state that there is no necessary chronological order in the Torah) might seem to indicate this. What about Aaron’s reward for his silence? Sometimes, we learn, the best thing to say in a situation is nothing. The sages commend Aaron for “holding his peace”. That is, for accepting the Will of God. The mourners kaddish we recite is a sanctification of God and says nothing about death. “Yisgadal v’yisgadash sh’mai rabbah”; “Magnified and Sanctified is His great Name…” We recite this prayer (in Aramaic) to praise God even in our time of sorrow. The sages write: “silence is a fence around the Torah.” The great sage Shammai, said: “Say little and do much.” The sages also write: “A fool speaks his mind, while a wise man minds what he speaks.” We should all try to emulate some of Aaron’s characteristics. Be a pursuer of peace and good deeds. Don’t wait around to be asked. Be like Abraham who was a rodef who ran to do mitzvos. As President John F. Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” We can substitute the word “synagogue” or “community” for the word “country” and it will mean exactly what the Torah is teaching us in this parsha.