Skip To Main Content

5784 Parshat Shemini Dvar Torah by Rabbi Mendy Eisenberg

I get to learn most of Shemini every year with my eighth-grade Chumash talmidim, and I have felt really torn on choosing just one idea to discuss with them this year. Ultimately, I've decided that I'll answer a question that I ask my talmidim every year to answer on a test, but to which I have never actually shared my own response.

The parsha begins on the eighth day, following a seven-day period of inauguration for the Mishkan known as the Shiva Yimei Hamiluim. The eighth day, which was Rosh Chodesh Nisan, is the first official day of the Mishkan service. Prominent in the story of eighth day — or Day One on the job — is the unauthorized incense offering of Aharon's two older sons, Nadav and Avihu. As we know, this was followed by their subsequent deaths via a mystical fire that comes down from Hashem to consume them. Immediately after their deaths, Moshe says to Aharon that he now understands what Hashem meant when He said that He would “be sanctified by those closest to Him” (10:3). It's suggesting — according to Chaza”l — that Aharon's sons are the ones who are being referred to as “those closest to Hashem.” The Torah conveys that Aharon's response to his sons’ untimely demise is silence.

Rashi comments on his silence, explaining that it demonstrated acceptance of Hashem's divine plan, and that Aharon was appreciated for his acceptance. His reward was that Hashem's next commandment would be taught directly and exclusively to Aharon. Indeed, the most repeated pasuk in the Torah is וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה’ אֶל⁠־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר, “and Hashem spoke to Moshe to say:”, which pasuk usually comes up before teaching new laws. Sometimes, the pasuk includes Aharon — “and Hashem spoke to Moshe and to Aharon to say:” — while one time in the Torah does it say “and Moshe spoke to Hashem to say:”. But, in Parshat Shemini, we have the only time in the Torah that it says, “and Hashem spoke to Aharon to say:”. A question I always ask my eighth graders as a critical thinking question is, do you think that this is a good reward? Putting aside the question as to whether or not one should be rewarded for simply accepting reality, is it a good reward for accepting the deaths of one's own sons to have direct instruction from the One who killed them?

I've received various answers from my talmidim, spanning from “it's a good reward because speaking to Hashem is very special” to “while hearing directly from Hashem is an honor, nothing can make the pain of losing children okay.” Both of those answers — and a lot of what my students share — are very powerful, but I've never shared with them my thoughts on the matter. I don't think I can answer the question until I clarify the nature of Aharon's response: his silence was an active response, not a passive one. Aharon wasn't just silent because he had nothing to say. We know that his silence is considered his active response because the Torah goes out of its way to tell us that he was silent. After all, all the Torah would have needed to do to convey silence is not say, “And Aharon said….” Rather, Aharon’s silence was a choice, in order to demonstrate his acceptance of Hashem’s actions. Where does someone get that strength, to have their loved ones killed on what was supposed to be a day of celebration, and to respond with acceptance?

This strength is only possible when a person focuses on what is really important in life, and when they realize that we don’t always have to like the situation, but that whatever the situation is, it is from Hashem. If one focuses on this, then all they will truly want is to have more Hashem in their life, and to attain a greater clarity of what the true ratzon Hashem — will of Hashem — is. Therefore, if Hashem talks to that person directly, using them as the conduit of Hashem’s word, what could be a better reward? When my mother passed away last year on Thursday morning, and the burial was on Friday morning, I was not able to daven from the time of her passing until Mincha on Erev Shabbat. Then, as Shabbat came in, there was no one that I wanted to talk to more than Hashem. I just wanted to be held by Him, to be told that this was all part of His plan.

I want to repeat my rhetorical question from earlier: Where does someone get that strength, to have their loved ones killed on what was supposed to be a day of celebration, and to respond with acceptance? It’s certainly no easy task, but we see from our parsha that the reward for our acceptance of Hashem’s divine will, no matter how dark, is direct communication with Hashem. In these dark times, when many people might ask themselves this same question about Simchat Torah's simcha being interrupted by tragedy, may we merit to experience the reward of acceptance of Hashem's will, with Hashem clearly instructing us on how to move forward.

  • Dvar Torah
  • MS Dvar Torah