We read in this week’s parsha after Korach’s rebellion:
“And on the following day, Moses came to the Tent of Testimony, and behold, Aaron's staff for the house of Levi had blossomed! It gave forth blossoms, sprouted buds, and produced ripe almonds. Moses took out all the staffs from before the Lord, to the children of Israel; each man saw and took his staff.”
What was the meaning of this strange miracle? G-d could have chosen many ways to demonstrate the authenticity of Aaron’s position.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, whose yahrtzeit is approaching, had a fascinating insight regarding this question.
To Expel or Not to Expel
Rabbi Berel Baumgarten (d. 1978) was a Jewish educator in an Orthodox religious yeshiva in Brooklyn, NY, before relocating to Buenos Aires. He once wrote a letter to the Rebbe asking for advice. Each Shabbos afternoon, when he would meet up with his students for a study session, one student would walk into the room smelling of cigarette smoke. Clearly, he was smoking on the Shabbos. “His influence may cause his religious classmates to also cease keeping the Shabbos,” Rabbi Baumgarten was concerned. “Must I expel him from the school, even without clear evidence that he is violating the Shabbos?”
The Rebbe’s answer was no more than a scholarly reference: “See Avos Derabi Noson Chapter 12.” That’s it.
Rabbi Baumgarten was curious to understand the Rebbe’s response. He was looking for practical advice, and the Rebbe was sending him to an ancient text, a Talmudic tractate, an addendum to the Ethics of the Fathers.
He opened Avos Derabi Noson to that particular chapter and found a story about Aaron, our very own High Priest of Israel. Aaron, the Sages relate, brought back many Jews from a life of sin to a life of purity. He was the first one in Jewish history to make “baalei teshuvah,” to inspire Jews to re-embrace their heritage, faith, and inner spiritual mission. But unlike today, during Aaron’s time, to be a sinner, you had to be a real no-goodnik. The Jews of his generation had seen G-d in His full glory, and to nevertheless rebel against the Torah way of life was a sign of true betrayal and carelessness.
How, then, did Aaron do it? He would greet each person warmly. Even a grand sinner would be greeted by Aaron with tremendous grace and love. Aaron would embrace these so-called “Jewish sinners” with endless warmth and respect. The following day, when this person would crave to sin, he would ask himself, “How will I be able to look Aaron in the eye after I commit such a serious sin? I am too ashamed. He holds me in such high moral esteem. How can I deceive him and let him down?” And this person would abstain from immoral behavior.
He Gave Them Dignity
Aaron never gave up on the dried out sticks. He never looked at someone and said, “This person is a lost cause; he is completely cut off from any possibility of growth. He is dry, brittle, and lifeless.” For Aaron, even dry sticks would blossom and produce fruit.
This is the story related in Avos Derabi Noson. This was the story the Lubavitcher Rebbe wanted Rabbi Berel Baumgarten to study and internalize. “Should I expel the child from school?” was his question. “He is, Jewishly speaking, one dried out and tough stick!”
The response of an Aaron is this: Love him even more. Embrace him with every fiber of your being, open your heart to him, cherish him, and shower him with warmth and affection. Appreciate him, respect him, and let him feel that you really care for him. See in him that which he may not be able to see in himself at the moment. View him as a great human being, and you know what? He will become just that.
RABBI YY JACOBSON
MONDAY & THURSDAY Chassidus Shiur 7:45 AM(18 Main) TUESDAY Womens Shiur 9:30 AM (84 Viola Rd)
SHABBOS Friday Night – before Barchu (20 Upstairs)) Morning 8:40 AM (20 Upstairs) | After Davening 12:00 PM (20 Upstairs)
PLEASE NOTE: Rabbi Jacobson’s Shabbos morning shiur will now begin at 8:40 AM, followed by the Minyan at 10:00 AM.
