The Torah section in Achrei Mos dealing with the laws of the Yom Kippur Service in the Bais Hamikdash concludes with the words “This shall be to you an eternal decree to bring atonement upon Children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And (Aharon) did as Hashem commanded Moshe.” [Vayikra 16:34]
“And (Aharon) did all that Hashem had spoken to Moshe”. Rashi, quoting the Toras Kohanim, states: This indicates the praise of Aharon. When Aharon wore the special garments of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, he did it strictly for the sake of Heaven. There was not an iota of personal pride or haughtiness.
Consider that once a year, one man out of the entire nation was privileged to wear these special garments. That could potentially go to a person’s head and affect him. But the pasuk testifies that this was not the case with Aharon. He was not thinking of personal pride, but did it strictly to fulfill the decree of the King.
Rav Simcha Zissel Brody asks the following question: The Talmud in Brochos speaks of Rabbi Channina ben Dosa, whose intent in prayer was so focused that he did not even notice when an arod (a serpent-like animal with a very painful bite) bit him while he was davening – so intense was his kavana. Rav Simcha Zissel asks: Why would it enter our mind to think that Aharon the High Priest would have less kavana than Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa? Why then is the Toras Kohanim afraid his mind might wander and have thoughts of personal pride that he is wearing the “white garments” designated only for the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur? Of course, his laser-like concentration would not allow him to deviate for one moment from his kavanah!
Rav Simcha Zissel Brody answers that it is easier not to be affected by physical pain than it is to be not affected by such things as pride and haughtiness. One can overcome the physical. It is difficult but it is doable. However, for people not to be affected by matters such as honor, jealousy, pride, and all of these very human character traits is not as easy a matter. Therefore, Chazal need to tell us that Aaron would not have been affected by a bee bite, a snake bite, or the bite of any other animal, but even when it came to honor, which could have affected him, he also was not affected in the slightest and did the entire service strictly for the sake of Heaven.
Rav Simcha Zissel relates this comment to another amazing Medrash which he cites. The Medrash in Bereishis Rabbah states that during the Akeida Satan came to Yitzchak and told him that all of his most prized gifts and possessions that his mother Sarah had lovingly given him throughout the years would now fall to his half-brother and nemesis, Yishmael. “Does that not bother you?” Satan teasingly asked. “How can you go through with this, Yitzchak? You are going to lose all those presents your mother gave you!”
The Medrash goes on to record Yitzchak’s response to this taunt. Why, the Medrash asks, does Yitzchak say “My father, my father” two times? It is so that at least on some minuscule level, his father would have mercy on him and not go through with the Akeida. In other words, the Medrash implies that Satan’s teasing of Yitzchak may have at least a partial impact on him!
Should Yitzchak not be above such matters? The answer is that as great as Yitzchak was, he was human, and human beings are affected by these things. They are affected by honor, by lust, by pride, by jealousy, and by all types of human emotions that are impossible to totally suppress. We can overcome physical things, but when we start talking about a person’s psyche, then even the greatest of people have to deal with human frailties.
