Tammuz 2, 5776/July 8, 2016
It is fitting that Torah's description of the death of Aharon the High Priest appears in the same parasha that opens with the statute of the red heifer whose ashes are imbued with the power to remove from man the impurity of death. For if there was ever a death that bespoke purity and transcendence, it is the death of Aharon on Mount Hor before the entire nation, as put forth in this week's Torah reading of Chukat.
When G-d created Adam, "male and female He created them," (Genesis 1:27) one half perfectly complementing and completing the other and together capable of fulfilling the commandment to "Be fruitful and multiply," (ibid 1:28) and fill the earth with sons and daughters, brothers and sisters. But G-d didn't create the perfect brother. For this we needed to wait for Aharon. When we first meet Aharon he is described by G-d to Mosheas the brother who "when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart." (Exodus 4:14) This beautiful description of what a brother is meant to be reveals the key to why Aharonwas chosen to be the Kohen Gadol. It is the job of the Kohen Gadol to be the loving brother to all of Israel. If it was Moshe's role to convey G-d's will to the children of Israel, it was Aharon's role as Kohen Gadol to represent and guide the will of his brothers and sisters before G-d in the Holy Temple.
To fully represent the people Aharon had to love the people, and this, as we know, was his forte. The love that the people had for Aharon was immortalized in these words from this week's reading: "The whole congregation saw that Aharon had expired, and the entire house of Israel wept for Aharon for thirty days." (Numbers 20:29) When Moshedies at the conclusion of Deuteronomy we are told that Israel also wept for him for thirty days, but we are not told that the "entire house of Israel" wept for him. The entire house of Israel wept for Aharon because he had personally touched the entire house of Israel. Aharon was known as a pursuer of peace, as a mediator between quarreling neighbors and as an arbitrator in domestic strife, successfully restoring harmony and loving relationships between husband and wife. For Aharon this was not 'extracurricular' activity, but an integral part of his role as Kohen Gadol. How can the Kohen Gadolrepresent the will of the people before G-d in the Holy Temple if the people are divided in strife?
Being brought to a mountaintop to breath his last breath before the nation encamped below is just one more expression of Aharon's complete and intimate bond with his people. The stripping off of Aharon's High Priest's garments and placing them upon his son Elazar just before he died is a breathtakingly poignant expression of the transfer and continuation of the role of Kohen Gadol from one generation to the next. The original Hebrew of Numbers 20:26 literally states, "strip Aharon and his garments," teaching us that it wasn't just the priestly garments which needed to be passed along in order to ensure the role of High Priest for the following generation, but equally essential was the need to extract from Aharon that holy spark within him which made him the loving brother, always rejoicing in his heart in the presence of all his brothers and sisters, the house of Israel.
Perhaps this can shed light on why G-d determined that now was the time that "Aharon shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not come to the Land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you defied My word at the waters of dispute [Mei Merivah]." (ibid 20:24) The failure to sanctify G-d's name at Merivah was essentiallyMoshe's error, so why does G-d hold Aharon equally responsible? And wasn't Aharon'srole in the debacle of the golden calf much more reprehensible? Yet Aharon seemed to have escaped any direct punishment for his involvement. The answer to these questions is again found in the very nature of Aharon as a loving brother, pursuer of peace and domestic harmony. In Moshe's absence, Aharon was trying to negotiate the panic and resulting susceptibility of the people to idolatrous influence by directing their hearts back toward G-d , building an altar and proclaiming, "Tomorrow shall be a festival to HaShem." (Exodus 32:5) Aharon erred with the people but he did not separate himself or place above the people. It was his shared culpability in the sin of the golden calf which empowered him with the ability to later stand before G-d in the Holy of Holies and ask for G-d's forgiveness on behalf of the people. His shared involvement in the golden calf was ultimately a blessing.
But at Merivah, when an angry Moshe cried, "Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water for you from this rock?" (Numbers 20:10) Aharon, perhaps caught between his love for his brother Moshe and his love for his brothers and sisters, the nation of Israel, kept silent and did not seek to assuage Moshe's anger and deflect his indictment of his people as "rebels," a very harsh and far reaching accusation. This, G-d determined, marked the end of Aharon's role as Kohen Gadol, and the need to transfer both his outer priestly garments and the inner essence of his soul, imbued with love for his brothers, with love for mankind, to his son Elazar.
Baseless hatred, we are told, strife and division within the body of Israel, was the cause of the destruction of the Holy Temple. The reestablishment of the priesthood and the rekindling of the 'Aharonic' heart, the heart of the Kohen Gadol which, when he sees his brothers, "will rejoice in his heart," is an essential element in the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and the renewal of the Divine service. May we all "be among the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them close to Torah." (Ethics of the Fathers, 1:12)
-The Temple Institute
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