Nothing Personal

By Rabbi Joshua (personally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

             At the beginning of the investiture service of Aharon as Kohein Gadol and his sons as ordinary kohanim, as recorded in parshas Tzav, Moshe gathers the people at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed) and tells them, “This is the thing that God commanded to be done” (Vayikra 8:5). Rashi explains that Moshe was telling them that the things they will see him do were commanded to him by God, and they should not say that he is acting for his own honor and for the honor of his brother. Rav Eliyahu Meir Bloch, zt”l, in his Peninei Da’as, points out that the Talmud (Horayos 12a) tells us that Moshe worried that he had used the anointing oil inappropriately since two drops of it remained in Aharon’s beard, which, he felt, may constitute a transgression of meilah. A heavenly voice then came out and cited a verse in Tehillim (133:9) comparing the purity of the annointment to the purity of Har Chermon (Mt. Hermon). Aharon, the Talmud continues, also feared that he had committed meilah, and therefore a second heavenly voice came out and cited another verse in the same chapter of Tehillim (133:1), proclaiming “How good and pleasant is the dwelling of brothers in unity,” indicating that neither brother had committed meilah. 

            Rav Bloch zt”l explains that the brothers were worried that their involvement in the investiture would lead them to derive some type of personal benefit from the proceedings. Even though they themselves knew that this was not the case, they feared that people might have that perception. Therefore, a heavenly voice proclaimed that they did act out of pure motivations. Rav Bloch zt”l goes on to say that anyone involved in holy work must take a lesson from Moshe and Aharon, and make absolutely certain that they are not working for their own personal benefit. 

            What is particularly striking about the Talmudic passage cited by Rav Bloch, zt”l, is that the verse proclaimed by the heavenly voice to reassure Aharon of his integrity deals with the importance of fraternal unity. I believe that the use of this verse reinforces the observation we made in our message for parshas Ki Sisa. We asked then why Aharon, at the incident of the eigel, did not simply tell the people that, in Moshe’s absence, he would now be their leader, and answered that once Aharon accepted, whole heartedly, Moshe’s replacement of him as the leader, the thought never occurred to him that he would reassume that position. Similarly, when Moshe conferred the office of Kohein Gadol on Aharon, he did so unconditionally, without hesitation, even though that position was originally meant to be his. The only thing Moshe and Aharon were concerned with was that perhaps people would think that the love each one had for his brother would lead people to think that they actually were honored by the other brother assuming the position each was giving up. Perhaps then this was alluded to by the heavenly voice when it citied the verse about brotherly unity to show that neither of them derived any personal benefit from the process, but were simply performing God’s will.

            Parshas Tzav is always read on Shabbos HaGadol, the Shabbos before Pesach, except in leap years. The end goal of the redemption from Egypt was the acceptance of the Torah by the nation at Mt. Sinai, as elaborated upon in the Sefer HaChinuch and many other sources. In order for the Jewish people to accept the Torah as a collective, they had to exhibit unity. Moshe and Aharon, by the unity they displayed in connection with the investiture service, served as models for the Jewish people in achieving this requisite state. Perhaps then, this is one of the messages to be derived from reading parshas Tzav on the Shabbos before Pesach. 

            The entire Netvort staff wishes a kosher and joyous Pesach to all Netvorters.