This week’s Miller’s Musings is sponsored
in memory of ליבא בריינא בת יחיאל
בס''ד
As we continue through Parsha after Parsha of the creation and then usage of the Mishkon, one thing that has become patently clear is Aharon’s adherence to all he is instructed. Again and again we are told that Aharon did “as Moshe had commanded” and this Parsha is replete with more examples of the same. Rashi has previously told us that this was actually a praise for the Kohen Godol that he did not deviate in any way. But is this really much acclaim for someone who we know was in some ways equal to his brother Moshe, perhaps the greatest human being that ever lived! Would he ever even have considered doing otherwise?
Anyone who believes that Aharon, and indeed Moshe, were always destined to be the supremely righteous individuals they became, is very much mistaken. Yes, he may have had all the raw materials to achieve the levels he attained, but it was his own self-development and efforts that brought him to the heights that he reached. Once he became the person we know him to be, it is true that he left behind much of the normal inclinations that a regular person would have. These no longer affected him. But he could have remained a ‘normal’ person with ‘normal’ desires, as could have any Tzaddik, were it not for the fact that the life choices he made elevated him beyond that realm of ‘normality’. The praise for Aharon, says Reb Moshe Rosenstein zt’l, was that he had made himself a person for whom there was no possibility in his mind to veer from his directives. As logic would dictate, this reward is even beyond those who overcome, yet never grow to abandon, the regular desires of the masses. An accomplishment such as this was worthy of true praise and tremendous reward.
Achieving one’s purpose in life is predicated on an awareness of the nature of this world and its function. We are here to work and grow and develop and constantly change into a person better than the one we were before. What may appear an exhaustive, never-ending exercise, is actually what gives life meaning and, when done correctly, allows for a metamorphosis of character when we consistently triumph over our baser instincts. The fear may be that once we have reached new levels, there could be a slight feeling of regret because we no longer have to confront the trials we once faced and are therefore to an extent lacking in reward due to our new stage of development. But according to what we have learnt here, this is not the case. Our reward for being at a level where we no longer even have to engage in our former battles of the soul, far outweighs the reward for those who succeed while still fighting them. Our role is to keep moving step by step, rung by rung, becoming new people each time we do, leaving our old selves behind.
*May Shabbos inspire us to become better versions of ourselves*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
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