Miller's Musings Parshas Matos-Masei: The Beginning of the End

בס''ד

           

If there is something that there is only one instance of in the Torah, then you can be sure that there is a specific message being given over by that unique occurrence.  The fact therefore that the only time a date is recorded of someone’s death in the Torah is with Aharon, obligates us to try and fathom what the significance is of this break from the norm?  Why would only this date of a person’s passing, the first of the month of Ov, be documented in the Torah as the solitary case of this kind?

The death of a righteous individual is most keenly felt in the void that they leave, in particular in terms of the unique qualities that they personally exhibited.  With Aharon’s decease, the lack of his unparalleled pursuit of peace and goodwill left behind a tremendous vacuum, greater than any other.  The freedom from strife and conflict that Aharon created in the world was something that, when absent, led to bitterness, dissension and discord, where there had been none before.  This, suggests Reb Shimshon Pinkus zt’l, connects perfectly with the beginning of the month of Ov, a time of mourning for our Temple’s demise, when we must diminish rejoicing.  The first of Ov, the day the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh truly began due to the lack of harmony amongst the Jewish people, is the day in which Aharon and all he stood for was removed from us.   The root cause of the loss we should so keenly feel at this time, is the loss of what epitomised Aharon, the love for every Jew.  And so the Torah emphasises that this is where all this pain and suffering originates, from the absence of peace that is inherent to this day.

Chazal tell us that we must be students of Aharon, lovers of peace and pursuers of peace.  But are we that?  Do we become excited by the fact that everyone is getting along well, or are we suddenly awakened when we hear about an argument or fight?  Are we people who remain inactive and silent when there is tranquillity, but are quick to become involved and vocal once a dispute begins?  If we were to see a child wanting to start a fire for the thrill of a fire engine’s arrival, would we not reprimand him for seeking pleasure in the most dangerous of ways!   Yet we delight when we hear of resentment and rifts between our brethren.  This is what Aharon tried to teach and how we must train ourselves; to love the ‘boredom’ of peace and detest the ‘exhilaration’ of an argument.  If we begin to see hatred and disharmony as something detestable and abhorrent and we can start to seek peace like it is the greatest treasure we could possess, then we will be moving one step closer to bringing the ultimate peace that will last for all eternity.

*May the peacefulness of Shabbos guide us towards everlasting peace*

                                                                                                                    

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם

 

לרפואה שלימה:  שרה יעל בת ברכה אסתר