A Thought on Parshas Shemini
A Thought on Parshas Shemini
"...va'yidom Aharon..."
"...and Aharon was silent..." (10:3)
A tragedy just occurred in a sacred place during an act of piety intended to be sacred as well. Two sons of Aharon, our kohen gadol, burned to death in a sudden conflagration.
And Aharon was silent.
Many views have been offered by the commentaries in defining this term "va'yidom" and in attempting to add insight as to the nature of this reaction to traumatic loss.
The Rambam (Pirush Mishnayos Avos 3:3) understands that to be dom (as in our verse's verb va'yidom which means "and he was dom") means "to speak very quietly, barely uttering a sound." He compares this to the term in Melachim I 19:12 kol d'moma daka which means the sound of stillness. It represents the silent expression which is hard for others to detect.
Thus, according to the Rambam, Aharon could not respond to Moshe because he was at that moment deeply engrossed in communicating his reaction to HaShem. He was "silent", but only to the degree that no living soul could hear his heartfelt private supplication.
The Rosh understands that the state of being dom is to have burst out in loud crying followed by a lull of silence. He compares this to the term in Aicha 2:18 al tidom bas einaich - do not let your eye remain silent. According to the Rosh, Aharon had shed tears but was now crying the voiceless dry sob of silence.
Both of these great rishonim offer that Aharon did not remain unmoved in the face of this horrible loss. He did not stay quiet, he was not stoic, his emotions were not numbed nor was he unresponsive. Rather, the Rambam stresses that he was moved deeply, and then channeled his feelings into an intense meditative prayer which could only be heard by HaShem. After all, it is only His listening that can make a real difference to us during those moments of profound change.
The Rosh also stresses that Aharon did not remain unmoved or unresponsive. Rather, he believes that Aharon made a deep and audible tearful cry until his eyes grew dry and his voice empty. First came the reaction and then came the void within, which might potentiate later acceptance. But even Aharon entered that still void within, which is also a quality of responding to dreadful loss r'l.
It is not our place to pin interpretations onto the holy words of Torah, nor to reduce the lofty images of our mighty patriarchs into superficial terms. In this study of the Rambam and the Rosh, we must keep in mind that these are great rishonim who are deriving for us the pshat - the true meaning of the Torah's words - in helping us define the range of experience which our leaders model for us. The still appearance of silence may be a profound expression of internal intensity. Each of us must wonder about what we are meant to do when we retreat into that internal place. It can be an avoidance and a denial, or it can be a utilization of our deeper self.
The Rambam describes Aharon's appearance of silent stillness as his next step into deep spiritual avoda, which was a private experience. The Rosh describes Aharon's appearance of silent stillness as a deepening of his own awareness of his sadness. This too needed to be a private experience.
Wishing you a contemplative and self-aware Shabbos. D Fox
"...va'yidom Aharon..."
"...and Aharon was silent..." (10:3)
A tragedy just occurred in a sacred place during an act of piety intended to be sacred as well. Two sons of Aharon, our kohen gadol, burned to death in a sudden conflagration.
And Aharon was silent.
Many views have been offered by the commentaries in defining this term "va'yidom" and in attempting to add insight as to the nature of this reaction to traumatic loss.
The Rambam (Pirush Mishnayos Avos 3:3) understands that to be dom (as in our verse's verb va'yidom which means "and he was dom") means "to speak very quietly, barely uttering a sound." He compares this to the term in Melachim I 19:12 kol d'moma daka which means the sound of stillness. It represents the silent expression which is hard for others to detect.
Thus, according to the Rambam, Aharon could not respond to Moshe because he was at that moment deeply engrossed in communicating his reaction to HaShem. He was "silent", but only to the degree that no living soul could hear his heartfelt private supplication.
The Rosh understands that the state of being dom is to have burst out in loud crying followed by a lull of silence. He compares this to the term in Aicha 2:18 al tidom bas einaich - do not let your eye remain silent. According to the Rosh, Aharon had shed tears but was now crying the voiceless dry sob of silence.
Both of these great rishonim offer that Aharon did not remain unmoved in the face of this horrible loss. He did not stay quiet, he was not stoic, his emotions were not numbed nor was he unresponsive. Rather, the Rambam stresses that he was moved deeply, and then channeled his feelings into an intense meditative prayer which could only be heard by HaShem. After all, it is only His listening that can make a real difference to us during those moments of profound change.
The Rosh also stresses that Aharon did not remain unmoved or unresponsive. Rather, he believes that Aharon made a deep and audible tearful cry until his eyes grew dry and his voice empty. First came the reaction and then came the void within, which might potentiate later acceptance. But even Aharon entered that still void within, which is also a quality of responding to dreadful loss r'l.
It is not our place to pin interpretations onto the holy words of Torah, nor to reduce the lofty images of our mighty patriarchs into superficial terms. In this study of the Rambam and the Rosh, we must keep in mind that these are great rishonim who are deriving for us the pshat - the true meaning of the Torah's words - in helping us define the range of experience which our leaders model for us. The still appearance of silence may be a profound expression of internal intensity. Each of us must wonder about what we are meant to do when we retreat into that internal place. It can be an avoidance and a denial, or it can be a utilization of our deeper self.
The Rambam describes Aharon's appearance of silent stillness as his next step into deep spiritual avoda, which was a private experience. The Rosh describes Aharon's appearance of silent stillness as a deepening of his own awareness of his sadness. This too needed to be a private experience.
Wishing you a contemplative and self-aware Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 6:33 PM
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