People will most likely be influenced by you, if they know that you love them.
In Parshat Chukat, we’re told about the sad passing of Aharon, the High Priest, and the reaction of the people to his passing was quite extraordinary.
The Torah tells us ‘ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל’ – the entire Jewish nation wept for him for thirty days.
When Aharon’s brother Moshe, the leader of the nation, passed away, as is described in the last chapter of the Torah, again we are told there that the nation wept for him for thirty days.
However, we are not told ‘כל בית ישראל’, the entire Jewish nation.
Why this difference?
The Sifri explains Moshe’s role was to be the national authority.
Rav Yisroel Salanter used to say, “If I am a Rabbi and everybody loves me, I am not a Rabbi, and if I am a Rabbi and nobody loves me, I am not a mensch.”
You cannot be an authority and carry out leadership with conviction, if you are trying to please everybody all the time.
Some decisions will be unpopular because you have to do what is right. And that was why the grief for Moshe was not as intense as it might have been.
Aharon’s role however was very different.
He was the high Priest. He was the spiritual role model. He reached out to people with compassion and with love.
In Pirkei Avot, Hillel tells us ‘הוי מתלמידיו של אהרון’, all of us should be like the disciples of Aharon: ‘אוהב שלום ורודף שלום’ – like Aharon we need to love peace and pursue it. ‘אוהב את הבריות ומקרבן לתורה’ – and like Aharon we should love everybody and bring them close to Torah.
Notice, the two are connected, because you only stand a good chance of bringing people close to Torah, if they know that you love them.
If you want to enhance the lives of others, if you want them to improve their ways, if you want to inspire, guide and influence them, they need to know that you’re doing it because you’re interested in them – because you love them.
From Aharon we learn that if I would like to influence and inspire you, then you need to know that I want you to be the best you that you can possibly be and not because I want you to be just like me.
So as we care for every person, let’s join together to pray with all our hearts for all those who need a recovery from sickness, for the release of the hostages, as well as praying for our soldiers and healthcare professionals, and Chevra Kadisha members worldwide, and for those who need healing, shidduchim, children and parnassah and may we be blessed to have the most awesome, gorgeous, beautiful, peaceful, healthy, amazing, relaxed, spiritual, sweet, and happy Shabbat.
NUMBER OF MITZVOT: 3
MITZVOT ASEH: 3
MITZVOT LO TAASEH: 0
NUMBER OF PESUKIM: 87
NUMBER OF WORDS: 1245
NUMBER OF LETTERS: 4670
HAFTORA: Shoftim 11:1 - 33
This week in Israel, we study Chapter 5 of Pirkei Avot.
