Shalom my friends, this is Simcha Hochbaum of Hebron, standing in my yeshiva, Yeshivat Reishit in Beit Shemesh. This week we commemorated Yom Hashoah, remembering the 6 million. Next week is Yom Hazikaron, remembering all the fallen soldiers and the victims of Arab terror.
There’s a siren that goes off every year. And all the nation stops whatever they’re doing, and stands in a moment of silence to remember and to hear their pain and to hear the cry of those 6 million tears of the orphans and the widows.
This Shabbat with the great, great joy of finishing the Mishkan, Aharon finishing his seven days of inauguration. The Shechinah comes down, a day in parallel, as great as the day of the creation of heaven on earth.
And yet, Aharon HaKohen is faced with a devastating loss. Both Nadav and Abihu were killed by bringing in the incense into the Holy of Holies. But unfortunately was the wrong place at the wrong time.
And yet Aharon HaKohen has so much of emunah and so much belief. However, God does is for the best of the best. The pasuk describes Aharon’s response as ‘Vayidom” – Aharon was silent.
Aharon had so much blood boiling “Vayidom” the lashon of “dam” that he accepted God’s decree and he accepted this harsh decree with silence and with belief that everything that God does is for the best.
And with that, Aharon continued to do the service of the Holy Temple bringing down God’s divine presence and continuing that Rosh Hodesh Nissan to serve God.
So too these days, as heavy as they are, as broken as we are we have to remember Aharon HaKohen’s emuna and faith and to stand in that silence, accepting God’s judgment, but to realize that from the ashes of the 6 million we came back to the Holy Land, and we were able to come back and build the earth of Eretz Israel and to build Eretz Yisrael to this beautiful, beautiful country we have today.
We should be privileged to come back, though no longer with ashes but this time Vehavieinu LeShalom, God should bring us in peace, ohalich etchem komemiyut, standing tall and upright, healthy in our body and soul, and we should be privileged to celebrate this year Israeli Independence Day with only simcha, with only joy.
Shabbat shalom.
