After we have understood that accepting the chukim is the will of the Boreh Olam, Hakadosh Baruch Hu says: “I do not want Aharon the Kohen to perform the Parah Aduma!” Why is that? The Be’er Yosef says, based on what has been explained, it is also possible to give a reason why it was not performed by Aharon but by Elazar, the deputy. The Gemara (Gittin 60a) says: Eight Parshiot were stated on the day the Mishkan was erected, including that of the Parah Aduma. That day “took ten crowns,” and “all the people saw and shouted for joy” due to the great elation that Hakadosh Baruch Hu atoned for the sin of the Golden Calf. But in that moment of joy and gladness, a terrible and shocking tragedy befell Aharon – his two beloved sons, holy and great men, were burned and died before Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Chazal sought to find some sin or transgression in their hands that caused their death, but no overt or known sin was found. When Moshe consoled Aharon, he said to him: הוּא אֲשׁ ֶר דִּ בֶּר ה' לֵאמֹר בִּקְרֹבַי אֶקָּדֵשׁ – This is what G-d spoke, saying, “Through those near to Me, I will be sanctified.” Moshe said to Aharon, “Aharon, my brother, at Sinai it was told to me that I am destined to sanctify this house with a great person. I thought the house would be sanctified through me or through you. Now it turns out that your sons were greater than you and me, for through them the house was sanctified.” Aharon, the righteous, accepted the judgment and did not question the attributes of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Aharon was silent and received a reward for his silence. This means not only that he refrained from speaking with his mouth and lips but also that in his heart and thoughts, he was silent and did not question at all the extremely severe attribute of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s judgment.
Therefore, when they were commanded on that day regarding the Parah Aduma, which is a chok and which one is not permitted to question (despite its seeming perplexity in purifying the impure and defiling the pure), it is meant to accustom a person not to question even the statute of the conduct by which Hakadosh Baruch Hu runs His world. For this reason, the Torah excluded Aharon from engaging with this Parah Aduma, teaching us that Aharon had already reached the pinnacle of this attribute in its utmost possible perfection; he did not need this lesson from the chok of the Parah Aduma and its actions. Thus, it was given only to Elazar, the deputy, to be performed by him. However, for future generations, it would also be performed by the Kohen Gadol, because, unlike Aharon, they still need to learn this attribute from the statute.
