בס''ד
Minor
technical hitches are part and parcel of any great endeavour. But when the whole nation is waiting for the Presence
of Hashem to manifest itself in the Mishkan, it would surely be a cause of
tremendous discomfort. So when all the
necessary actions have been performed and Hashem still delays His appearance in
the Mishkon, Aharon begins to fear that there is something preventing this
occurrence, that something being himself.
But how does Aharon know that his involvement in the sin of the golden
calf is the impediment to G-d’s descent rather than anyone else amongst the
Jewish people? In fact why does he not
conclude that it is the entire nation’s terrible error of judgement that has
caused the obstruction, rather than the noble, albeit to some extent faulty,
intentions of one man?
In
former times, when the Jewish people faced some tragedy, or when dangers such
as famine, befell them, the communities would assemble within their town to plead
with Hashem for forgiveness and by doing so evoke shame for the sins that had
led to the catastrophe. Yet in reality why would it be that any individual
would look to themselves as the cause of the misfortune? Could it not be that each one would point to
everyone else, laying the blame at their door?
The answer to both our questions, as elucidated by R’ Yerucham Leibovitz
zt’l, is that a person’s first reaction, where some guilt must be established,
should always be to look at oneself.
Yes, it is true that there may be others that may be logically
responsible, but our own function in this situation is to consider where we
could have been at fault and what we can do about it.
When
things go awry and everyone is searching for someone to ascribe blame to, it is
only natural that we immediately look everywhere else but at ourselves. This
however is not the way it should be. If
there is some culpability that needs to be apportioned to someone, it must
begin with introspection rather than a scrutiny of others. This is of course contrary to our instinctive
urge to deflect any criticism away from us, maintaining the positive image to
ourselves and to those we seek approval from. Nonetheless, a person of truth, secure in
their own self-worth and interested in real growth, rather than spurious
aggrandisement, will know that the place to begin is always within.
*May the purity of Shabbos encourage
meaningful self-reflection*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
לרפואה שלימה: שרה יעל בת
ברכה אסתר
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