Parshat Sh'mini
The children of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, enter the Mishkan in the Holy of Holies and offer an unauthorized sacrifice. For it they are punished with immediate death. In 10:3 Moshe says to Aharon, "That is what Hashem said By My close ones I shall be sanctified".
What a wicked person gets punished, people are understanding. They say he deserved it anyway. When a tzaddik gets punished it usually raises questions of faith. Why do bad things happen to good people, and the like.
These guys had heavy duty vitamin P (Protexia). There wer eonly 5 kohanim at the time, and they were two of them. They were the sons of Aharon. the nephews of Moshe. These are two people who are among an elite group and people hand-selected by God to lead the Jewish Nation.
With all that going for them, you would think they would be given a little leeway. Okay, so they did something wrong. We can let it slide. Nobody even knew they did anything wrong anyway - they did it in the Holy of Holies where nobody could see or know. Hashem could easily have slapped them on the wrist and said I will let it go this time just don't do it again.
But no. In My close ones I will be sanctified. When Hashem takes their lives, especially these people, as punishment for their actions, it makes the kiddush Hashem even greater. People see that the rules apply to everybody equally. There is no preferential treatment.
Moshe, Aharon, and families have to perform equally as, or even better than, everybody else. בקרבי אקדש.
Showing posts with label shmini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shmini. Show all posts
Thursday, April 12, 2007
even Aharon was not above suspicion
Parshat Sh'mini
In 9:1, the first passuk of the parsha, the Torah tells us, "And it was on the eighth day Moshe called to Aharon and his sons and to the elders of Israel."
Rashi tells us that he did so in order to make sure everybody knew that Aharon entered the Mishkan and served as Kohen by the order of Hashem and not on his own decision.
I find it amazing that after all that has happened until now and after the constant testimony by Hashem in the Torah that Moshe and Aharon performed specifically according to the directives from Hashem, he is still under suspicion. there still needs to be outside confirmation that Aharon is acting faithfully and not on his own initiative.
What does he need to do already for people to trust him and not think he is pulling a fast one?
The lesson, I think, is that nobody is above suspicion. Everybody must behave in a way that raises them above any possible suspicion. Nobody should assume they have people's trust and if they do something, even if it looks questionable they will still have people's unwavering trust and support.
People are naturally skeptical about others, especially about leaders. Leaders must be careful to act in ways that keep them above suspicion. Aharon and Moshe were careful to do so.
In 9:1, the first passuk of the parsha, the Torah tells us, "And it was on the eighth day Moshe called to Aharon and his sons and to the elders of Israel."
Rashi tells us that he did so in order to make sure everybody knew that Aharon entered the Mishkan and served as Kohen by the order of Hashem and not on his own decision.
I find it amazing that after all that has happened until now and after the constant testimony by Hashem in the Torah that Moshe and Aharon performed specifically according to the directives from Hashem, he is still under suspicion. there still needs to be outside confirmation that Aharon is acting faithfully and not on his own initiative.
What does he need to do already for people to trust him and not think he is pulling a fast one?
The lesson, I think, is that nobody is above suspicion. Everybody must behave in a way that raises them above any possible suspicion. Nobody should assume they have people's trust and if they do something, even if it looks questionable they will still have people's unwavering trust and support.
People are naturally skeptical about others, especially about leaders. Leaders must be careful to act in ways that keep them above suspicion. Aharon and Moshe were careful to do so.
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