Parashat Shemini (5760)

With God’s help, on the eve of the holy Sabbath, Parashat Shemini, 5760

‘Through those near to Me I shall be sanctified’

In our portion, the Torah tells of the death of Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, who offered strange fire

before the Lord. There are many views among the commentators as to what exactly their sin was, and I do not wish to enter here

into that point. After their death, Moses says to Aaron the priest, his brother: “This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

‘Through those near to Me I shall be sanctified, and before all the people I shall be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:3), and immediately afterward: “And Aaron was silent” (ibid.). Rashi on Leviticus 10:3

explains Moses’ words: “Moses said to Aaron, ‘Aaron my brother, I knew that the Sanctuary would be sanctified

through those close to the Omnipresent, and I thought it would be either through me or through you. Now I see that they are greater than I

and than you.’” Aaron heard this and was silent. He understood what such an event had to teach him, as well as

each one of us.

There is a phenomenon in the world by which God is sanctified through those near to Him. Beyond the actual sin of Aaron’s sons, they were chosen

by God to sanctify His name through their death. Their death was meant to serve as a lesson for the people of Israel. Rashi

later writes: “When God executes judgment upon the righteous, He is feared, exalted, and praised…”

Parashat Acharei Mot begins with God’s speaking to Moses: “After the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they drew near before

the Lord and died” (Leviticus 16:1). We can see that they were apparently very close (too close?) to the Lord, and therefore

they died. When closeness to God is great, the attribute of justice begins to rule, and the standards become

what they should have been from the outset throughout the whole world. The Sages say at the beginning of Parashat

Bereshit that God wished to create the world with the attribute of justice, and when He saw that the world could not endure

in that way, He then joined to it the attribute of mercy. Even after this concession, for the righteous the attribute

that rules is the attribute of justice, in accordance with the ideal situation that should have prevailed. Indeed, in such a state it is very

difficult to endure in the world, and therefore “God is exacting with the righteous to a hair’s breadth.”

The standard by which the righteous are judged is stricter than that applied to the wicked. The righteous suffer, and at times are even taken from the world,

even for minor sins, as it is said in the Song of Songs: “My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices…

to gather lilies” (Song of Songs 6:2). Rashi, whom we cited above, explains that their death was intended to illustrate to those who remain in the world

God’s judgment, and their duty in His world. The death of the righteous comes to atone, but this happens

only if we indeed draw from it the proper lessons.

One must know that there is a price to God’s waiving the governance of the world through the attribute of justice. God conceals Himself

in the world that He created, and the reward and punishment for commandments and transgressions are not always clear. Sometimes it seems

as though the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer, because this is a world distant from God, and it is in such a world that it has been decreed upon us

to live. In a world as it should have been from the outset, the situation should have been completely clear:

for every sin a person would pay immediately, and for every commandment he would be rewarded immediately. In such a world

God’s rule would be open and clear to all. However, for that very same reason, in such a perfected

world it would have been very difficult for us to live and meet the standards.

The death of those who are close to God, especially when it occurs before their time, is meant to remind us,

who live in a world of divine hiddenness, of the state as it should have been from the outset. In the end

each one of us is destined to stand before God with all his deeds, and there the reckoning will be made as

it ought to be made. It is important that we learn this lesson and keep it before our eyes always.

Very often, after a person dies, we all discover all his good deeds and the points of light

in his character, in the spirit of “After death, speak of the holy ones” — a play on the Torah portions Acharei Mot, Kedoshim, and Emor. Many find fault with the practice of praising

the dead, arguing that if, when he was alive, we did not see in him all these aspects, apparently

there is some exaggeration here. It is true that there is something distasteful in excessive praise of a person who has left us,

but it seems to me that the more important lesson is the opposite: one should try to discern all these points

even while the person is still alive, and not wait for his death.

After a person dies, it very often becomes clear that in many respects he was among those close to

God, among those through whom He is sanctified. Even Moses and Aaron had to go through the death of Nadav

and Avihu in order to notice their closeness to the Lord. If we succeed in learning from the light that exists in every person while he is

still alive, perhaps there will be no need for God to be sanctified through those near to Him. If we draw the lesson already during the life of

that person, we will not need his death in order to compel us to do so.

Precisely after all these remarks, it is important to add the following. One should know that death is not

a total endpoint, as it appears at a superficial glance. The author of the book Gesher HaChayim, in the third part

of the book, elaborates in explaining that this is the point of departure for the next stage in a person’s history. After

he is taken to his eternal home, a new life begins for him. If so, it is clear that the righteous person does not

suffer from having been close to God; on the contrary. It is precisely we, who remained without him,

who suffer from his absence.

“The Lord is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him

in truth” (Psalms 145:17–18).

May these words be for the elevation of the soul of R. Amikam son of R. Alter Yaakov, of blessed memory.

Have a peaceful Sabbath

This may be deposited for respectful disposal in any synagogue or Torah academy. Comments and responses are welcome.

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