Parshas Beha’alosecha – a thought on the first Rashi

“And God said to Moshe, saying: Speak to Aharon and say to him: When you light the lamps toward the face of the Menorah, the seven lamps shall cast their light.”

~ BaMidbar 8:1-2

When you light. Why is the section about the Menorah adjacent to the section about the leaders (of the tribes, who each presented identical gifts at the dedication of the Mishkan)? Because when Aharon saw the leaders’ dedication offerings, he felt faint since he did not join them in the dedication, neither he nor his tribe. The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to him: “By your life, your’s is greater than theirs! For you will light and clean the lamps.”

~ Rashi on BaMidbar 8:2.

We are aware of some of Aharon’s more pronounced failings, such as listening to his sister Miriam speak critically of Moshe and yielding to the people’s desires at Sinai and building a golden calf. What does Rashi’s comment add here?

Rashi’s comment reveals to us that though God selected Aharon for leadership, Aharon was not immune to the all-too-human tendency to compare his circumstances with those of others and to feel anxious if he sensed that he’d been short-changed. How do we reconcile this attribution to Aharon with the verse in Pirke Avot (4:1): Who is rich? He who is happy with his lot (in life), which implies that jealousy or comparing yourself with others is inappropriate behavior?

It may be that Rashi was showing us that Aharon, one of our greatest leaders, also suffered, at times, from conflicted feelings – something to which we can all relate. This is a reminder that Aharon was not perfect but faced challenges similar to our own.

One thing that is distinctive in this case about Aharon, in Rashi’s account (based on Midrash Tanhuma, by the way), is that while Aharon may have grappled with conflicted feelings, he apparently did not voice them aloud or act on them in any way – even as he witnessed the princes bringing their gifts for twelve days. Aharon’s restraint of his emotions, and patience in seeing what God had planned next, is a powerful example for us to consider.