Home2Torah Gazing at God while Eating and Drinking Rabbi Poston Achrei Mos

So, good evening everybody. We are dealing with parshat achrei mos, which you'll find in Leviticus chapter 16. God spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons when they approached before Hashem and they died. And Hashem said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron your brother. He will not come in at all times into the sanctuary within the curtain in front of the cover that is upon the ark so that he should not die, for in a cloud will I appear upon the ark cover." So, one of the famous Rashi's, one that he quotes a midrash, let's say you had a doctor who came and told you, "Don't eat such and such." So, how serious you're going to take it? But if the a second doctor came and said, "Don't eat such and such and don't do such and such, or you're going to die." So, how are you going to take it? You're going to really observe that, right? So, in Rashi on this verse in Leviticus 16:2, "And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons." What does this teach us? What it specifies after the death of Aaron's sons. Rabbi Eliezer ben Azariah illustrated the answer with a parable of a patient whom a physician came to visit. The physician said, "Do not eat cold foods. Do not lie down in cold and damp place." Then another physician visited him and advised him, "Do not eat cold foods or lie down in a cold damp place, so that you will not die the way that so-and-so died." The one that warned the patient, okay, this one warned the patient more effectively than the former. Therefore, scripture says, "After the death of Aaron's two sons." Which means God effectively said to Aaron, "Do not enter the holy, mean the holy of holies, in a prohibited manner, so that you will not die as your sons died." Now, that's very interesting. So, if we look in the Hebrew, we're going to see that it's very awkward. This this sentence is not structured, this whole paragraph is not structured so well, because it starts off by saying that Hashem spoke to Moses after the death of the two children of Aaron in their coming close before God and they died. And then it tells us what God said to Moses to say to Aaron. First of all, we know that Aaron's two sons already died. We know the whole story. So, what new information is being conveyed? Okay, so that's what we're going to investigate. So, the clear car, we're going to have to go to my page. So, the clear car starts off by showing us like this. He's bothered. The first thing he's bothered is that first statement. Where is it going? Where is it leading to? Dibbur ure shown lehaknoso. We like I said, we already have that information. And there's no real command in that first statement. The command comes in the second statement. And yet Rashi is using this verse to tell us this is all like informing us. Well, we'll see what that means. So, there's no real command and there's no new information. So, what does Rashi mean in that verse? Cuz he's quoting that verse to come to some kind of a a azhara, a warning. So, he doesn't really clear car doesn't really feel satisfied from Rashi's answer. He doesn't feel that it resolves the issue. Because again, he mentions the first verse, there's no command there. So, he wants to focus on those four words. The four words say, b'karvat b'karvatam lifnei Hashem vayamutu. In their coming close before God and they died. This is going to be the answer. This is going to be the answer to the world's problems and our own issues. So, he claims the verse is not really talking to us, but that God is speaking to Moses these four words. And that is the text of the first statement. It's like there's a narrator of what's really going and then there's like the actual storyline. Okay? But if God is actually speaking these words to Moses, and we also know that the Torah is not in order. Okay, we discussed this before. So, we're going to really make a lot of heads and tails. We're going to learn some really deep things. So, I I beg you to hang in there. God wanted to inform Moses from the aspect of some sin is the reason they died. He wanted God actually wanted to inform uh Aaron what exactly was the sin so that it could be prevented. All right? So, that either Aaron doesn't get killed next time he goes in, but that there was a reason for their death of the two children of Aaron. That's also why it uses a language of dibbur. We mentioned before that you can you'll see it many times. Vayedaber Adonai el Moshe lemor. The word dibbur is harsh language, and the truth is that's also the difference between the Torahship of peh and the Torahship of tav. The written Torah is harsh and unchangeable. It's solid and cannot be changed. It's harsh. It's coming directly from Hashem. Whereas lemor, God said to Moses saying that Moshe say over, that's the oral Torah. He should say over in a soft way. The rabbis are always it's about a romance. It's about a love for God. So, in even in this own introduction, the first statement uses the dibbur. I'll read it again in Hebrew. Vayedaber Adonai el Moshe achrei Moshe u'vnei Aharon b'korvatam lifnei Hashem. Vayamutu. That's the whole verse. It's a harshness about it. Whereas the second statement is vayomer Hashem el Moshe. That God said to Moses. So, the second statement is is is softer. Okay. So, he says that the first statement is middas hadin. Middas hadin means a harsh judgmental statement. But only in the second statement, right, you can draw forth this information that he's warning Aaron that he shouldn't get burnt by the coals. And only then he says vayomer, uh which is a a a soft language. Now, the to the real essence, the clarification of this idea is that the children of Aaron were actually fit to have been punished for something they had done earlier. So, this day when they died was the eighth day of the inauguration, which was the first day of Nissan. But 6 months prior, you notice on the source sheets, it's in Exodus 24:11. What does it say over there? Vayechezu es Elohim, that they gazed upon Hashem. In the Hebrew, I mean the actually the whole verse I brought down on the sheet. But anyway, I'll just he only quotes part of it. They gazed upon Hashem and they ate and they drank. So, going to the whole verse, "Is it upon the nobles of the children of Israel he did not lay his hand, and they perceived God and they ate and drank." So, who are these nobles? And what does it mean to to hold your hand back? If you don't lay your hand, I'm sure anybody with kids say, I don't know. You can just take your shoe off and show the shoe and they get the picture, right? But if you once you raise your hand to right, to So, you you don't lay your hand on him means you wanted to, but you refrained from it, right? So, the verse says they they gazed upon God. Right? But God held himself back. So, Rashi says, "Who are the nobles?" These are Nadav and Avihu. These are the the sons of of of Aaron. He didn't his lay his hand. This indicates they deserved that the hand be laid upon them. And this is the more important part, and they perceived God. They gazed at him with levity while they were eating. Remember, if you go back to that verse which I just mentioned is Exodus 24:11, we're talking about the revelation. At the revelation of Mount Sinai, they gazed at him, capital H I M, with levity. They were eating and drinking. So, is the interpretation of the midrash. Akiva doesn't render it ya'asiley, okay, the great ones. But we're talking about Nadav and Avihu were deserving of death, and God did not want to mix up this great day we call Mount Sinai, the revelation, with sadness. It's a great day of joy, the Simchat Torah, with sadness. He held off. He God is merciful and sometimes is very patient. Okay? He allows us that chance to do chuva, to repent. He That's what he wants. He wants the relationship. So, he gives us time. Sometimes we don't take advantage of the opportunities that he gives us, but he waited and he waited till this moment when it was more fitting for this. Okay. So, what does it say? He says that the children of Aaron, they were actually fitting to have God's hand against them at that time in Exodus 24:11, because they gazed and they looked at the divine presence with a haughty heart, a gas a lave gas a haughty heart heart because they're eating drinking. It's not a time for eating and drinking and having a I mean, whether we like it or not, this is what God He's saying, I held myself back, but they were perceiving me while eating and drinking. So, God waited for them. And in order not to make a mixture la arvev Simchas Torah to mix up sadness during the time of the revelation. So, parallel to this, he comes and he commands Aaron in order not You shouldn't just come into the hekdesh into the holy at any time when and any day on any day where there's going to be eating and drinking. In other words, we're going to look at the verse again and we're going to see it now with clear eyes. The The warning to Aaron is he should not come into the holy of holies, the Kohanim any day where you eat and drink. The only day that we don't eat and drink according to the Torah is Yom Kippur. It's a day that we um uh afflict our souls. How do you afflict your soul? We have five ways of afflicting the body. There's the The soul is housed in the body. But it's very difficult to afflict your soul. But Hazal, the rabbis, teach us that on Yom Kippur we refrain from these five things which affect our soul. That's eating and drinking, sexual relations, showering, wearing shoes and leather shoes. Because what does it create? It creates the hakna'ah, a submissibility, a being humble. When we refrain, I don't know how you feel on a fast day, but you ain't at your best and you certainly don't have any too much haughtiness going about because you're at the mercy of nature. And so, you are more submissive to Hashem. That's why God brings out this whole introduction to Moses and he first brings out the idea that the the very reason that the children of Aaron were killed and as in the first statement. In order to tell him in the second statement the actual command that what's the command? Lo yavoh al yavoh b'chol eit el hakodesh. The pasuk says, they should not come Now, think about it. It should not come at all times. This is going to be really deep we're going to go into. This is metaphysics at its best. Don't come at all times. That really in Hebrew, don't come at any time. So, what does it mean? We already know that there's one day he should come. So, what do you mean don't come at all times? Kol zman, kol eit. So, we're going to learn like this. That that is the statement really of Okay. The Nusach Divrei Rishon that God This is the first statement that God is saying to Moses after the death of the two children. So, what is his statement? What was the statement in the first? In their coming close before Hashem. In their actual coming close before Hashem. And in this skip to the next paragraph, I'm going to just go into I I might have to just get to the nitty-gritty. Um Basically, it's like this. It says in the coming close before Hashem because they were too close before Hashem. They were close too close to God. That's when someone is really close to God, God brings out the microscope. I mean, the blemishes are you know, you don't need the microscope. They're right in front of you. So, when it and when a person is really very high, holy, extremely close to God, then God is even more judgmental on that person and the slightest infractions could be he's going to be held accountable even for shgi'ot ketanot, even for the slightest infractions. And it says in Psalms 50 verse 3, you'll see at the bottom of page two. Our God shall come and not be silent. Fire shall devour before him. And around him, meaning within his closest proximity, it storms furiously. So, the closer you are, the more action that you're going to find in life. Uh that's mildly putting it. So, anyone who's closest to the king, ki kol hakarev hakarev yoter lamelech, so then you need to be more careful with the honor of the king. The closer you are to the king, the more careful you have to be with the honor of the king. And that's what it says um in chapter 10 verse 3, Leviticus chapter 10 verse 3. A fire went forth before from before the Lord and consumed them. This is about the death of those two children and they died before the Lord. Then what did Moses say to Aaron? This is what the Lord spoke. This is God's words. I, God, will be sanctified through those near to me. Right? And before all the people, I will be glorified and Aaron was silent. Aaron was consoled that his children were on a very high level, but even the slightest infraction will um will cause the the demise. You guys with me so far? So, there's um chapter 10 verse 3. We just read that. Daber Hu Asher Daber Asher B'Krovai Ekadesh in the Hebrew. Those who are close to me, I will be sanctified. So, if you thought you could possibly say like this, that there is no um that the Torah is in order. If you thought the Torah was in order, then a lot of things are not going to make sense. But basically, what the clear card is telling us is that this chapter 16 was actually already told before chapter 10 and the reason is because how can they be held responsible if they didn't know? They had to have been told this. At least the first verse or the second any You cannot be held responsible punished for something you did not know. Something you could figure out, yes. So, he basically wants to say that this portion was actually said to Moses before Moses said it to Aaron, which the verse is which right? Which Hashem spoke saying, those who are close to me, I will be sanctified. Az karov v'nishmat, then it makes sense that he said this regarding Let me just read it in Hebrew. That Az karov v'nishmat avraham avraham avraham Nusach Arba Tabela regarding those four words in their coming close before Hashem they died. Okay. Now, Rashi mentions that this is a um that the second verse is more power I'm sorry, that the second doctor was more powerful more effective than the first doctor. Correct? So, what does that mean when Rashi said that? Zeh zeh hu yoter min harishon. Perhaps this is the intent. So, as we pointed out, if you go to Exodus 19:22, and also the priests who go near to the Lord shall prepare themselves. There has to be a preparation, lest the Lord wreck destruction upon them. The Hebrew pen yifrotz bahem. So, look at Rashi on that verse. So, also the priests, also the firstborn who perform the divine service, who go near the Lord to offer up the sacrifices, they too shall not rely on their importance to ascend the mountain. They should prepare themselves. They should be ready to stand on their position. And here's the important lest the Lord wreck destruction upon them. The word yifrotz is an expression of a breach. Interesting, we're talking about fences, right? That means he will kill them and thus make a breach in them, you know, interrupt their completeness. So, we see that there's this not just a command, but to for the Kohanim to be extremely careful. However, it isn't There's no mention of a punishment over there. It just uses the word yifros, some kind of a breach. Therefore, there's a a need to warn them a second time by saying, "You don't want to die like the way your sons died." In other words, to Aaron, "You don't want to die like the way your sons died." And it says, "You shouldn't come come in at any time, but call ace." Remember we said you shouldn't come in at all times? Yeah, we did. So, we knew we do know that he could come in only on Yom Kippur, right? So, the language of call ace, all times, is obviously not particular. It's not That's not really what it means. Because what it would mean if you said anytime he shouldn't come, but we do know there are times that he does come. So, the truth is like this. Don't think it's like this. Behold, he shouldn't come in I'm sorry. He should not come in except for one day of the year. That is true. So, I'm going to say that the reason that it's forbidden for him to come in there is going to really be dependent on the sin of the people. In other words, the Cohen Gadol is coming in to that one place at one time because he's carrying on his shoulder, so to speak, he's carrying the atonement for the people. And it was their sin, the people's sin, which caused the separation between God and the people. And this ruination is what prevented the Cohen from coming in. So, it's only the sin. So, it's the guilt of the people that's that's hanging on to the Cohen Gadol. So, when it says over here in in Exodus one, where is 21? 28:1. So, if you go to page seven, it's Exodus 28:1. You shall bring near to yourself your brother Aaron and his sons with him from among the children of Israel to serve me as Cohen. And the list, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Um the first part, you shall bring close to you Aaron, your brother, from amongst the children of Israel. Which teaches us what? That shalom zachor pre vazoo, that the closeness did not come except on account of the children of Israel. The coming close is on account because he's carrying the sins, he's carrying because of the people's sins. And when Israel does not merit, right? If Israel's not worthy, also the Cohen who's hanging on him all those sins, so he's not going to merit to see the divine presence. Not every Cohen made it out alive. Many went in and never fulfilled the mission he was supposed to do. But anyway, they're not allowed to go in except one day. What day is that? Yom Kippur. It's the day of atonement. That's when all Israel is compared to the heavenly angels. We received the Torah. That was the real receiving of the Torah, not on Shavuot. That's when we accepted the Torah. But the actual receiving of the Torah happened on Yom Kippur. And this day called Yom Kippur is above time. Remember it says, "Don't go in there anytime?" Right. Don't go in there when time exists. You can only go in there when time does not exist. And the day that time does not exist is Yom Kippur. Listen to this. That's when you are like angels. That it's above time and time has no authority over that day. Similarly, this such a holy day, al kein domim yon kodoshim, k'ilu ein makhloket b'zman. It's as if time does not exist on that day. That all the days of the year are included in time. Um but this day is is outside of time. And that is hinted by the very language of the Satan. The Satan, the Satan. So, he rules the earth. But he rules time. Does he not? Except one day he doesn't. The gematria of the Satan is 364. So, he goes like this. The gematria of the Satan is 364. Shin, 300. Um haSatan. Shin is 300, nun is nine. Um nun is is 50. And the hey, haSatan, and that's five. So, you It all adds up to 364. And how many days of the year are there? 365. So, the Satan rules 364 days of the year. But the 365th day, there's one day he doesn't. So, that every day of the year the Satan and the yetzer hara, that's the inclination that we have within us, he rules over creation. And all of them, all 364 days, they're all You say kulam bikhlal ha'et. They're all included in time except for one day. The one day that the Satan does not rule over. Therefore, it's not included in the time of what we call the days of the year. But rather it stands on itself and is separate from all the other days of the year. V'al yavo bikhlal ha'et. So, when the Torah says, "Do not come bikhlal ha'et, at all times. Don't come at any time. Don't come bikhlal ha'et." It hints that you should not come at all on any day that's included in time. So, the 364 days, you shall not come in. Ki im b'yom she'einam bikhlal ha'et. Only day you come in is the day that is not included in time. Which is the day of forgiveness. And another term for forgiveness, b'yom mekhila u'slikha. That Israel's compared to the heavenly angels, they don't fall under time. They're not included in the days of the year. And the Satan is um v'khati Moshe Rabbeinu, that this the Satan tries to cause us to sin in the 364 days of the year. That's why al kein ein din shluchim shel Yisrael ela b'yom Rosh Hashanah. That's why um there's no law, there's no din of sending of Israel into that to the the the face of the screen. It's only going to be on Yom Kippur. Okay. So, I'll leave it at that. I'll leave it at that and we'll continue to um