Parshat Maasei: Aaron's Temple

Parshat “Maasei” opens up with a detailed description of the route that the Jewish nation traveled from the moment we left Egypt up until the moment we were on the brink of entering the land of Israel. In just 49 verses, the Torah lists all the various locations we journeyed through during the 40 years we spent in the desert.

Because the Torah is portraying a simple list (with a few small tangents), it would seem appropriate to write this list in one single paragraph. (*See footnote*) Indeed, the Torah starts off this way; the first 39 verses are written one after the other, without any spacing whatsoever. At this point in the narrative a paragraph break appears, and then verses 40-49 continue on without any breaks between them as well. This seems strange, for verses 40-49 are merely a continuation of the list of the journeys that was described in verses 1-39! Why the sudden break!?

To find the answer, we must analyze the verses that come right before the paragraph break. Verse 37 lists the nation’s encampment in “…Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom”. The Torah then goes on to briefly describe what occurred at that encampment:

“Then Aaron the Kohen went up to Mount Hor by the word of Hashem (God) and died there, in the fortieth year after the Children of Israel went forth from the land of Egypt, in the fifth month on the first of the month. Aaron was 123 years at his death on Mount Hor” [Numbers: 33: 38-39]

The death of Aaron delivered a severe blow to the nation. Aaron, who was described as one who “loved peace and pursued peace” [Ethics of our fathers: 1: 12], was not only a role model for the entire nation; he shared a deep and personal relationship with each and every individual of the Children of Israel. The sages inform us that the Jewish nation mourned over Aaron’s death to a larger extent than Moshe’s death. Moshe, despite the fact that he was the greatest leader in our history, was on an extremely lofty spiritual plateau that caused him to be somewhat disconnected from the people. Aaron, on the other hand, was more affiliated with each and every Jew and created peace and love between the members of the nation. Without Aaron, everything was different. After his death, a great void was created in each and every Jewish heart; the nation’s morale was shook. Every step they took felt different; every journey they embarked upon felt different as well. Therefore, the journeys in verses 40-49 were indeed separate from the journeys in verses 1-39; they were the journeys without our beloved Aaron. (*See 2nd footnote*)

The impact of Aaron’s death is not only expressed by the paragraph break, but by the style of the verse (describing his death) itself! Throughout all the journeys listed, there is not one encampment that includes the date on which it occurred. It is only at Mount Hor, upon Aaron’s death that we are told it was “…in the fortieth year after the Children of Israel went forth from the land of Egypt, in the fifth month on the first of the month”. The fact that the verse contains the exact date (day, month, and year) is meant to impress upon us the importance of this occurrence. Is there anything we can learn from the date of Aaron’s death?

“The fifth month” is the month of “Av”; the month in which we are told to “decrease in happiness” upon its arrival. “Av” is known as the month of tragedy for it was during this month that our nation suffered a great amount of trials and tribulations. Perhaps the most tragic and devastating event of “Av” is the destruction of both our temples, which occurred on the 9th of the month. According to the code of Jewish law, during the first 9 days of the month we are meant to conduct ourselves in a behavior of grievance and mourning, much similar to the mourning one experiences over the loss of a close relative. Is there a reason why, according to Jewish practice, the mourning over the death of a loved one parallels the mourning over the temple’s destruction?

When the Jewish nation was commanded to build the tabernacle, God told Moshe: “They shall make a sanctuary for Me and I shall dwell in them” (Exodus: 25: 8) The well-known question on this verse is why didn’t God say “I shall dwell in it”!? From this verse, our Rabbis teach us that every Jew has the capacity (and is meant) to act as a temple in which God may dwell. This is attained not only by observing God’s commandments and carrying out acts of kindness, but by attaching spiritual significance to every single mundane act we perform in our everyday lives. By binding our physical actions with spirituality we are achieving the purpose of the Temple, which acts as the prime conduit in which the physicality of this world becomes united with the spirituality of Heaven. It is in the temple that Heaven and Earth, so to speak, meet.

The mourning we express over the destruction of the Temple is a mourning over the loss of our link between Heaven and Earth. We cry over the enormous chasm that now exists between God and us due to this separation of the physical and spiritual. So too, when a Jewish person passes away one is meant to experience sadness, not only because of the tremendous loss that has been created in ones heart, but also over the loss of this physical-spiritual link between the body and soul of the deceased. This is one of the reasons why mourners are comforted with the phrase “May God comfort you among the rest of the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem (referring to the Temple)”; the death of a Jew is likened to the destruction of the Temple.

Because every Jew is on a different spiritual plane, which is dependant on his level of observance, every Jew has a different level of integration between his body and soul. Some Jews have a very weak relationship between their body and soul, while others have a very strong connection. Consequently, it can be said that the death of someone who is on a higher spiritual plane is more tragic than that of someone on a lower plane. Because the more righteous individual attained a closer connection between the physical and spiritual, his death signifies the loss of that stronger link between body and soul, and ultimately between Heaven and Earth.

There are those who can reach such a high spiritual level that their body becomes a direct and unobstructed channel between Heaven and Earth. Their very existence becomes a means for us to connect to God here on Earth. It is regarding this kind of individual that the sages say “The death of the righteous is tantamount to the burning of God’s house (the Temple)” (Tractate Rosh Hashannah, 18b). Aaron was such an individual. Aaron had undoubtedly attained a spiritual level where his body and soul were completely intwined with one another. Upon his death, the mourning that the Jewish people took upon themselves was as great as the (future) mourning over the destruction of the Temple. Consequently, the 9-day period in the month of "Av" begins with and culminates in two different, yet similar, types of tragedies: The death of Aaron and the destruction of the Temple, which run parallel to one another. (*see 3rd footnote*)

With the month of "Av" coming up really soon, we should take some time to reflect upon this principle. May we be blessed to seek out and find the righteous individuals in our lives who will serve as our channels to Heaven, and who will help us understand the significance of our Temple which we long for so very much; may it be rebuilt speedily in our days.

Good Shabbos,

NZL


*Throughout the Torah, there are two types of paragraph breaks: a closed break and an open break. A closed break is when a spacing appears after a verse, but the next verse continues on that same line. An open break is when the spacing extends all the way to the end of the line, and the next verse therefore continues on the next line. The paragraph break in our discussion is a closed break.

**It was not only the attitude of the Jewish nation that was changed throughout this second stage of their journey, but the very journey itself changed. Our Rabbis inform us that throughout our 40 years in the desert, we would be surrounded by a Heavenly cloud during our travels. Our Rabbis have taught us that these surrounding clouds were given to the nation only by the merit of Aaron. Upon Aaron's passing, the clouds no longer accompanied the Jewish people during their travels, therefore the very journey itself was entirely different now without the protection of the Heavenly clouds.

***Nowadays we do not practice any mourning on the 1st of "Av". The most probable reason is because so many righteous individuals die, as expected, and there would be too many days for fasting that we can handle. However, Aaron's death in particular fits into this time frame because Aaron was the first high priest; he himself inaugurated the Tabernacle. All the service that was performed in the Temple until its destruction stemmed from Aaron. Therefore, his death fits very well on the 1st of "Av".