Shemeni
Leviticus v. 9:23 – 10:3
28 Nisan 5781
9
23 Aaron lifted his hands toward the
people and blessed them; and he
stepped down after offering the sin
offering, the burnt offering, and the
offering of well-being.
24 Moses and Aaron then went inside the
Tent of Meeting. When they came out,
they blessed the people; and the
Presence of ‫ הָ֖ יוה ְי‬appeared to all the
people.
25 Fire came forth from before ‫ הָ֖ יוה ְי‬and
consumed the burnt offering and the
fat parts on the altar. And all the
people saw, and shouted, and fell on
their faces.
10
1 Now Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu
each took his fire pan, put fire in it,
and laid incense on it; and they offered
before ‫ הָ֖ יוה ְי‬alien fire, which He had not
enjoined upon them.
2 And fire came forth from before ‫הָ֖ יוה ְי‬
and consumed them; thus they died at
the instance of ‫הָ֖ יוה ְי‬.
3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is
what ‫ הָ֖ יוה ְי‬meant when He said:
Through those near to Me I show
Myself holy, And gain glory before
all the people.” And Aaron was
silent.
9
‫וַיִּ שָָּׂ֨ א אַ ה ֲֹ֧רן אֶ ת־ידו [י ָ ָָ֛דיו] אֶ ל־הָ עָ ָ֖ם‬
‫ַוַַֽֽיְ בָ ְרכֵ ֵ֑ם ַו ֵֵּ֗י ֶרד מֵ ע ֲֹ֧שת ַ ַֽהחַ ָטָ֛את וְ הָ עלָ ָ֖ה‬
‫וְ הַ ְשל ִּ ַָֽמים׃‬
‫ל־אהֶ ל מֹו ֵֵ֔עד וַיֵ ֹ֣צְ ֵ֔אּו‬
ֹ֣ ֶ‫ַוי ָָּׂ֨בא מ ֶ ֶׁ֤שה וְ אַ הֲרן֙ א‬
‫ַוַַֽֽיְ בָ רֲ כָ֖ ּו אֶ ת־הָ ָעֵ֑ם ַוי ָ ֵָ֥רא כְ בֹוד־יְ הוָ ָ֖ה אֶ ל־‬
‫כָל־הָ ָ ַֽעם׃‬
ַ‫ו ֵ ֶַׁ֤תצֵ א אֵ ש֙ ִּמלִּ פְ נֵ ֹ֣י יְ ה ֵ֔ ָוה ו ַ֙תא ַכ ֙ל עַ ל־הַ ִּמז ֵ֔ ְֵבח‬
֙‫אֶ ת־הָ עלָ ָ֖ה וְ אֶ ת־הַ ֲחל ִּ ֵָ֑בים וַיַ ֶׁ֤ ְַֽרא כָל־הָ עָ ם‬
‫ֵיהם׃‬
ַֽ ֶ ‫ַוי ֵָ֔רּנּו ַוַַֽֽיִּ פְ לָ֖ ּו ַעל־פְ נ‬
10
‫יהּוא ִּ ֹ֣איש‬
֜ ִּ‫ַֽי־אַ הֲרן נ ָּׂ֨ ָָדב וַאֲ ב‬
ַ֠ ‫וַיִּ קְ ֹ֣חּו בְ ֵנ‬
ָ‫מַ חְ תָ ֵּ֗תֹו וַיִּ ְתנֶׁ֤ ּו בָ הֵ ן֙ ֵ֔ ֵאש ַוי ִּ ָָ֥שימּו עָ לֶ ָ֖יה‬
‫קְ ֵ֑ט ֶרת ַויַקְ ִּ ֜רבּו לִּ פְ נֵ ֶׁ֤י יְ הוָה֙ ֵ ֹ֣אש ז ָ ֵָ֔רה ֲא ֶ ֹ֧שר‬
‫ֹ֦לא צִּ ּוָ ָ֖ה א ָ ַֽתם׃‬
‫אֹותם‬
ֵ֑ ָ ‫ו ֵ ַָ֥תצֵ א ֵ ָ֛אש ִּמלִּ פְ נֵ ָ֥י יְ הוָ ָ֖ה ו ַֹ֣תאכַל‬
‫הוַֽה׃‬
ָ ְ‫ַויָמָ֖תּו לִּ פְ נֵ ָ֥י י‬
‫ר־ד ָּׂ֨ ֶבר‬
ִּ ֶ‫ו ַָּׂ֨יאמֶ ר משֶ֜ ה ֶ ַֽאל־אַ ה ֲֵּ֗רן הּו ֩א ֲאש‬
‫יְ הוָ ֶׁ֤ה ׀ לֵאמר֙ בִּ קְ ר ַבֹ֣י אֶ קָ ֵ֔ ֵדש וְ עַל־פְ נֵ ָ֥י כָל־‬
‫הָ עָ ָ֖ם אֶ כ ֵָבֵ֑ד וַיִּ ָ֖דם אַ ה ֲַֽרן׃‬
1. Another approach …focuses on the nature of these sons' deaths rather than on the fact of
their deaths. The Torah writes … that due to their love for G'd these people came too near
the celestial source of light which has a deadly effect on man. This is the mystical
dimension of what is commonly known as "death by Divine kiss," the kind of death
experienced by both Aaron and Moses eventually. The deaths of Nadav and Avihu were
similar to the death of all other completely righteous men. The only difference was that
in the case of the deaths of people such as Moses and Aaron G'd's "kiss of death"
approaches them, whereas in this case Nadav and Avihu approached "the kiss of
death."
(Or HaChaim on Leviticus 16:1)
2. ‫ אל תקרי בכבודי‬.)‫ היכן דבר ונועדתי שמה לבני ישראל ונקדש בכבודי (שמות כט מג‬:'‫הוא אשר דבר וגו‬
‫ אמר לו משה לאהרן אהרן אחי יודע הייתי שיתקדש הבית במיודעיו של מקום והייתי סבור או‬.‫אלא במכובדי‬
:‫ עכשיו רואה אני שהם גדולים ממני וממך‬,‫בי או בך‬
THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SPOKE: “Through those near to Me I show Myself holy,
And gain glory before all the people.” Where had He spoken this? In the statement
(Exodus 29:43), “And there I will be met by the children of Israel and it (the Tabernacle)
shall be sanctified by My glory (‫[ הדובכב‬bikhvodi]).” Read not here ‫בִ כָ֖ בְדִ ה‬, [bikhvodi]
“by My Glory” but ‫כ ָ֖דכֻכה דִ ה‬,
ִ [bimekhubadai] “through My honored ones” (Zevachim
115b). [So that the Exodus verse would read, “And there I will be met by the children of
Israel and it (the Tabernacle) shall be sanctified through My honored ones”.] Moses
here said to Aaron: “My brother, Aaron! I knew that this House was to be sanctified by
those who are beloved of the Omnipresent God and I thought it would be either through
me or through thee; now I see that these (thy sons who have died) are greater than me and
than thee!”
(Leviticus Rabbah 12 2).
Did the Mishkan necessitate human sacrifice?
What makes God holy? Isn’t God holy all by God’s self?
‫ִו ִ ִּיְ ו‬
‫ִּה דִ ו‬
“damam”: cease
Part of Speech: Verb
Definition: to be or grow dumb, silent or still
Exodus 15:16
HEB: ‫עִדע ן ההבבָּ כ ה֣ ָ֖מ ִדי ָָ֖֖ךְעֹורְ ִכ ָ֖ דיִּ ב‬
NAS: of Your arm they are motionless as stone;
Leviticus 10:3
HEB: ‫בִ י הֹוךי כא ֹּ֖ו ֣ מיְ ו יה העְו בָּ ן עהבד‬
NAS: So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
Psalm 4:4
HEB: ‫ָּ ה׃בהיא וָ֖ ֹ֣יִ ְי ִד ָ֖ ן ִָ֖ב ִָּכו ִ העבע‬
NAS: upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
"VaYidom Aharon"; a literal translation might be, "Aaron was stilled".
THE MEANING OF SILENCE
1. In youth, one learns to talk; in maturity, one learns to be silent. This is man’s problem:
that he learns to talk before he learns to be silent.
(Rabbi Nachman of Breslov)
2. ...Shimon his son said; All my life I have been raised among scholars and I never found
anything as good for the body as silence...
(Pirkei Avot 1:16)
3. ‫ ָ֖׃ הה ִך ִכה ֹוע ִ הבה ב‬,‫ ְָ֖ דה ִךהו‬.‫ ָ֖׃ הה הב ָּ ך‬,‫ דִ ע ִִָ֖ךְג‬.‫ְִָךי‬
‫ ָ֖׃ הה ב ה‬,‫ דה ׃י ָּךג‬.‫ דִ ָ֖ךתִ הבִ הכ בָ֖ ע ָָּ֖ךוהי‬, ‫ ְִִָ֖ וָ֖ ִ רֶׁג ך יב‬,‫בְדע ך‬
‫ ָ֖ ִגה ה י‬,‫ ָ֖׃ הה בִִה כָ֖ דה י‬.‫בִקָ֖ ִךה ֶׁג‬:
Rabbi Akiva said: Merriment and frivolity accustom one to sexual licentiousness;
Tradition is a fence to the Torah; Tithes a fence to wealth, Vows a fence to abstinence; A
fence to wisdom is silence.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 3:13
4. The world was created by speech, therefore there must be a level higher than speech, a
level which preceded speech, a level not limited by speech - rather something loftier,
holier and purer. That level is - silence.
Rav Nachman
5. The Zohar teaches that silence builds the Beit Hamikdash. What is the power of silence?
The Baal Shem Tov is quoted as teaching that when one is silent he can then cling to the
world of thought which is (real) wisdom.
6. The Niggun (tune) of the Tzaddik - which is an aspect of Moshe, raises the souls from
heresy... and know that every type of wisdom in the world has a unique song, a unique
tune… Moshe, by his own description, was not a great orator. He is on the level of "nonspeech," the level of niggun - a tune devoid of words. This is the highest level, as it
connects to the world of pure thought.
(Liqutey Maharan Mahadura Kamma, section 64)
7.
As for one who sits and studies, Scripture accounts it unto him as if he fulfilled the whole
Torah, as it is said, (Echah Chapter 3:28) then one sits alone (and meditates) in stillness,
it is as he hath taken (the yoke of the Torah) upon himself."
(Avot 3:3)
8. “'and is silent (‘vayidom’): It is a term [related to the usage], kol demamah dakah (a
still-small voice). As the way of one who learns alone is to learn while whispering.
Bartenura on Pirkei Avot 3:2:4
9. ‫וָ֖ ה ע ההךִִ עה ִ הדד‬
ָּ‫כִ ִ ִ הֹוְה יִ רה ם ִדהִ ו וָ֖ ב י ִו ִ ִּי ו יִ רָּי ד‬
ָּ‫ִבע׃ ָּך יִ ה ה ך ִו ִעֹודיא ד יִ רָּ ד‬
‫גֶׁבְי ע ע ה‬
‫יבעיהב כָ֖ ה‬
ִּ ִ ‫בעבא עִ דעהִ םיִּ ו תְה ביה ָ֖ה ם הבהו ֹויב‬
ִּ ‫ה‬
‫ב ְהבְב ןָ֖ הִּ ְו ָה ִ הדהוא‬
And the sun stood still And the moon halted, While a nation wreaked judgment on its
foes —as is written in the Book of Jashar. Thus the sun halted in midheaven, and did not
press on to set, for a whole day;
Joshua 10:13
‫ ְדע ד וָ֖ בע הְְ בה דִ ך ִ ההךי ִָ ִִ ג יִ רה ב הָ֖ ֹֹּ֣֖ זָ א‬,‫ וָ֖ כהב ָָ֖֖דִ כ ָּ יֶׁב ְִּדע ו‬,‫ ְִּו ִדרְדִ ך ִ ההךי‬,‫ בָ֖ ִ ה ָּ בה דִ ך בִרָּ דָּ ְִּו‬, ָּ‫רָּ ד‬
ְ‫ ןָ֖ ד‬,‫ ְִּו בָ֖ ְכ יִ ָ֖דָה ְהי‬:‫ ֶׁ ָ֖ ְִֶׁׁ ָּ ב ִד ָ֖ הךב‬.‫ ָּ כָ֖ כהב עעג יִ הרֶׁכְ יֶׁב בְדע ך ִ ההךי‬,‫)שדובב ב הד ִׁ( ָ֖דיִ רעה‬: ‫ִבו ןי י‬
‫ וָ֖ כעכה י‬,ֶׁ‫בדךֶׁ בע בעהְֶׁ ִּי ל‬
ָ֖ (ָ֖ ָ֖‫)גיבהו ב‬: ‫'ִּי ו בִי‬.
Then [Yehoshua] spoke. He said a song [of praise to God]1According to Rashi,
Yehoshua sang a song of praise, and the word ‫ רֵּ בַ דְ י‬which is usually translated as spoke,
in this context is an expression of ‫ה ִׁריש‬.
ָ in place of the sun, for he had said “Let the sun
stop.” [meaning] that he silenced it from reciting its song. According to Rambam and
other commentaries, the sun, the moon and other heavenly spheres are living beings and
possess intelligence. They hear and speak, and thus they interpret these verses literally:
“The heavens recount the glory of the Almighty.” (Tehillim 19:2), and Praise Him, sun
and moon, praise Him, all the stars of light. (Tehillim 148:3). They actually verbalize the
praises of God in the same manner as do human beings and angels. During the time it
was silent it stood still without moving [on its Orbit,] for during every moment of its
orbital movement it recites a song of praise. Every moment of its orbit is a source of
praise to God who created it in such a miraculous manner. The plain meaning of the
verse is that the word ‫[ דְו‬DOM] - is an expression of waiting* as stated, “If they say to
us wait,”4I Shmuel 14:9. and similarly, “Wait for Adonoy,”5Tehillim 37:7.
Rashi on Joshua 10:13
* Perhaps instead of “waiting” we can contemplate the power of “yearning”.
Did silence elevate Aaron to a new spiritual stratum?
Do we hear the voice of the Divine when we are still… which we cannot hear when speaking?
Why does the ‘niggun’ … the wordless melody… take us to a spiritual place?
Extra Credit…
Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One,
Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God:
Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions?
God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and
Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these
crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to
the letters of the Torah.
Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return
behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and
did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah
knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his
students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them:
It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at
ease, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.
Moses returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master
of the Universe, You have a man as great as this and yet You still choose to give the Torah
through me. Why? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me. Moses said
before God: Master of the Universe, You have shown me Rabbi Akiva’s Torah, now show
me his reward. God said to him: Return to where you were. Moses went back and saw that
they were weighing Rabbi Akiva’s flesh in a butcher shop [bemakkulin], as Rabbi Akiva was
tortured to death by the Romans. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, this is
Torah and this is its reward? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me (by
virtue of silence, thoughts are elevated).
Menachot 29b