Now, we turn to Kabbalah to complete the picture. Abraham had two brothers: Nachor and Haran. The last three letters of Nachor (רֹחוָנ) spell Hur (רּחו). Haran’s name (ןָרָה) is the same as the last three letters of Aharon (ןֹרֲהַא), while his first letter, the alef, he received from Adam (םָדָא), which begins with an alef.
What was Haran’s story? When Abraham was thrown into the furnace by King Nimrod for having broken the idols in his father’s shop, Haran too was challenged. Does he believe in Abraham's mission to rid the world of idolatry and pursue one God, or will he succumb to Nimrod. Abraham miraculously survived. Watching this Haran said to himself, if Abraham comes out of the furnace, I will believe in His one God and I will join him. But, if he is killed, I will renounce Abraham’s faith. When Abraham emerged unscathed, Nimrod asked Haran who he was going to follow. Haran answered, “I am with Abraham,” thinking that he too would emerge alive. But, because he wasn't willing and ready to give up his life for his faith (he expected to be saved), he died in the furnace. His sin was that he did not have true self-sacrifice, like Abraham. When a person is truly ready to give up his life for his faith in one God, he must have no expectations. He must be fully willing to sacrifice himself. If he expects a miracle, no miracle comes. If he does not expect it, God will save him. Haran was on the verge of becoming a righteous convert and part of Abraham's people.
The Arizal teaches that Haran’s soul was given another chance to demonstrate self-sacrifice by being included in Aharon. Aharon should have been willing to give up his life, like Hur, to prevent the making of the Golden Calf. If he would have done that, he would have completely rectified Haran, which would mean that a tremendous percentage of mankind that stems from that soul root of Haran would have also been rectified, and all would have converted to Judaism. Aharon believed that it was enough that Hur, who also had a spark of Haran, had sacrificed himself.
Aharon’s behavior in this case represents a flaw in his crown since self-sacrifice originates in the soul’s super-rational level—the sefirah of crown. That is also why he made a mistake, because it is super-rational. At this level, a person is certainly susceptible to mistakes.
