“...and your brothers, the entire House of Israel, will cry for the (tragedy of the) consuming fire...” (10:6)
After Nadav and Avihu’s deaths, Aharon’s cousins, Mishael and Eltzaphan, who were Levi’im, removed the bodies. The Ramban explains that although it is only a Kohein Gadol who may not contaminate himself for a relative, and as such, Elazar and Isamar, brothers of the deceased, who were ordinary kohanim, should have been permitted to remove the bodies, in honor of the inauguration of the Tabernacle, even ordinary kohanim were required to remain pure. Similarly, the Torah instructs Elazar and Isamar to curtail the normal expressions of mourning, such as rending their clothes and not cutting their hair, in honor of the day. The verse concludes, “Ve’achaichem kol Beis Yisroel yivku es hasreifa” – “And your brothers, the entire House of Israel, will cry for the (tragedy of the) consuming fire.”
Would not the appropriate expression have been “ve’achaihem” – “and their brothers,” describing the House of Israel as the brothers of the deceased? Why is the House of Israel described as the kin of the living brothers in reference to the mourning and not as the kin of the deceased?
Rashi’s comment on the verse offers the insight necessary to answer the question. Rashi teaches that from this verse, we see that the suffering of a scholar, i.e., Aharon and his sons, should be shared by all. Generally, when a person dies, the community feels a loss and grieves because of their affinity for the deceased. Rashi explains that the verse is teaching us that the source of our sadness and sympathy should stem primarily from our affinity for the living family members and our sensitivity to the loss that they feel. Therefore, the Torah records that the House of Israel, who are brothers of the living relatives, not brothers of the deceased, will mourn them.
RABBI YOCHANAN ZWEIG
RABBI YITZCHAK ADLERSTEIN
