Parshas Shemini begins on the inauguration
day for the Mishkan. For the previous week, Moshe had put up and taken down the
Mishkan each day in order to show the Leviim how it was supposed to be done,
and had also brought all the korbanos, in order to show Aharon how they were
supposed to be done. For all intents and purposes, Moshe was the Kohen during
this week. Now, on the eighth day (“Shemini” in Hebrew), he was ready to
turn over the authority of the Kehunah to Aharon and his sons.
The parsha begins with Moshe gathering Aharon
and his sons’ to give them instructions on the korbanos that were to be brought
to consecrate the Mishkan. It was at this time that he appointed them as the
Kohanim. “וַֽיְהִי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י קָרָ֣א משֶׁ֔ה
לְאַֽהֲרֹ֖ן וּלְבָנָ֑יו וּלְזִקְנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל” “And it was on the eighth day, Moshe called to Aharon and
his children and to the Elders of Yisrael” (Vayikra 9:1). This must have
been extremely difficult for Moshe. The office of Kehunah is special; the Kohen
represents Bnei Yisrael to Hashem through the korbanos and the various jobs in
the Beis Hamikdash. No one else is authorized to do any of it. This opportunity
allows them to foster an extra special connection with Hashem. Combined with
the fact that Moshe had already been acting in this role for the past week, it
must have been hard for him to give over this special position just like that (even
though the job was Aharon’s by right).
The Ohr HaChaim explains
that when a person is forced to give over something special against his will,
he will do it with three particular conditions. First, he will try to delay the
transfer as long as possible. Secondly, when he begins to transfer authority,
he will do it in stages; no one wants to give up the perks of their position
all in one shot. Lastly, he won’t make a public display of it. He’ll pass it on
with little fanfare or attention. This pasuk shows us how Moshe went against
all three of these tendencies.
The pasuk says Moshe called
to Aharon “בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י”. Whenever the pasuk
uses this style of phrase to denote which day it is, it means that the
described event happened immediately upon the breaking of that day. This
disproves the first tendency; Moshe did not hesitate to transfer to Aharon the
authority of the Kehunah, giving it to him immediately on the morning of the
eighth day.
The pasuk then tells
us that Moshe called to Aharon’s sons at the same time he called to Aharon. While
Aharon was to be the Kohen Gadol with all the responsibilities that entailed,
his sons also became Kohanim, also with tremendous responsibilities. (Actually,
in terms of day-to-day responsibilities, they had more duties than the Kohen
Gadol.) Moshe didn’t have to make them Kohanim immediately; he could have
served under Aharon himself for a day or two, just to make sure Aharon was
completely up to speed on what he needed to do. Surely it would have been
easier for Moshe to transfer power in stages, first giving up being the Kohen Gadol
and after a few days giving up being a regular Kohen. But he didn’t do that; he
happily and immediately gave Aharon’s sons their rightful position as Kohanim,
serving under their father in the Mishkan.
Finally, the pasuk
tells us that Moshe called for the Elders to come and be present at this
ceremony as well. Moshe could have easily gone to Aharon and his sons and told
them, “From now on, you guys are the Kohanim. Let’s get started.” Instead, he
called the most respected and honored members of the nation and turned it into
a whole ceremony. He did this because he was so excited for his brother and his
nephews to have the opportunity to serve as Kohanim in the Mishkan that he wanted
to turn it into a celebration! So he called the most important people to be
present, automatically turning it into a prominent event. This goes against the
third natural tendency.
We have spoken numerous times about the
greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu and the impact he continues to have on us as a
nation. Perhaps the best lesson we can take from this story is that this story
could happen to us just as easily as it happened to Moshe. How will we act if
it does? The Torah gives us a clear picture of what Moshe did in this same
situation; it is our responsibility to take the lesson and turn it into a
reality.
Shabbat Shalom!
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