Parshat Behaaloscha 5782
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the beginning of this week’s parsha the mitzvah of lighting the Menorah. After the command is given, the pasuk states (Chapter 8, Pasuk 3), ויעש כן אהרן; Aharon did as he was commanded. Rashi comments on the words, להגיד שבחו של אהרן שלא שינה. According to Rashi, the Torah is praising Aharon by emphasizing the fact that in performing the mitzvah, he didn’t change from the original command.
Why does Aharon need to be praised for following the word of Gd?
As we have mentioned in the past, the job of man is to be constantly growing and moving forward in life through the performance of mitzvos. The classic illustration of this point is the beginning of the parsha we read a few weeks ago, אם בחקותי תלכו. Man must be constantly progressing to new levels with each mitzvah he performs. Man is a מהלך, striving to ultimately reach perfection. This is in contradistinction to angels who are described as standing still, in the sense that they are already in their required state, and don’t need to move forward in carrying out their tasks. The classic illustration of this is the pasuk in sefer Yeshayahu (Chapter 6, Pasuk 2), שרפים עומדים ממעל לו. The angels are described as standing in one place.
The Sfas Emes teaches that when Rashi uses the words להגיד שבחו של אהרן שלא שינה he is not teaching us that Aharon obeyed Hashem’s command. Rather, these words of Rashi are teaching us that in effect, Aharon was like a מלאך; he was like an angel. He didn’t veer from the command because he was standing still like an angel and just as angels always carry out their task precisely, so did he. He was on such a high level that he had already reached his level of perfection. He never changed and did everything the same way because he was like one of the עומדים and not one of the מהלכים.
How was Aharon able to accomplish this?
The Gemara in Yoma 53A notes that all of Clal Yisrael had their role in the Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash. כוהנים בעבודתם, לוים בדוכנם, וישראל במעמדם. The Kohanim did the actual Avodah, the Levi’im stood on their platform and sang, and the regular Yisrael would be in the עזרה acting as the owners for the daily, public sacrifices. The Sfas Emes describes these three groups in their tasks as focusing on three different aspects of serving Hashem; מחשבה, דיבור ומעשה. The job of the Yisrael was one of thought, but without practical application, the Levi was speech, or more accurately, song, while the Kohen was action. And his action wasn’t empty of thought, but certainly very much based on thought, as his thought could determine the validity of a sacrifice. The job of the Kohen, then, was clearly the most significant of all those involved in the service of the Beis Hamikdash.
The Ramban teaches a different explanation than Rashi on the words ויעש כן אהרן. He explains that even though the lighting of the Menorah didn’t have to be done by the Kohen Hagadol (it could even be lit by a non-Kohen; it’s just not practical as he can’t enter the Heichal), Aharon was careful to make sure he lit the Menorah every day. He understood there was great significance to its lighting, and he wanted the mitzvah for himself.
The Mishnah in Tamid (Chapter 3, Mishnah 9) teaches that there were three steps in the front of the Menorah which the Kohen stood upon in order to light the Menorah. The Sfas Emes teaches that these steps, מעלות, express the notion of Aharon, through his Avodah and specifically through the lighting of the Menorah, rising up to the level of an angel. The Torah uses an interesting word for the beginning and the name of our parsha, Beha’aloscha; surely a term indicating the lighting of the Menorah would be more appropriate.
The Torah is teaching us and hinting that the word Beha’alosha doesn’t only relate to the lights of the Menorah; it relates to Aharon as well. You are raising yourself up through its lighting. You have reached your level of perfection in this world like an angel. You are no longer a מהלך; you have become an עומד. And you have accomplished this through your Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash, and particularly from the Menorah, by standing high on its steps and lighting its light. Your combination of מחשבה, of understanding the significance of the Avodah, and your מעשה, your consistency and insistence in raising the lights of the Menorah, have allowed you to reach the level of being among the עומדים. And this understanding connects the words of the Ramban with those of Rashi, להגיד שבחו של אהרן שלא שינה.
Good Shabbos
Print this article
