Dear Friends,
In our Torah reading two weeks ago, we read about the unexpected and tragic death of Aaron’s two sons. They were about to be installed as new high priests. While performing a ritual in front of the entire Israelite community, something went awry, and they were killed. The community was traumatized and devastated. In the first of the two portions that we read this Shabbat,
Acharei Mot
, meaning after death, we begin to discuss how the community could heal, and begin to rebuild in the wake of something so devastating and tragic.
The Rabbis were somewhat troubled by Aaron, their father’s response to the tragedy. The text says “
VaYidom Aharon
” that Aaron was silent. Commentators suggest that possibly he was embarrassed about why and how they died, but I would like to suggest a different interpretation. I do not think that Aaron’s silence had anything to do with how he felt about his sons, or their deaths, but rather because he had no idea how to respond. In the wake of dealing with something so devastating, it is hard to know how to respond and move forward.
In some respects, as a country, as a community, and as individuals, we find ourselves in a somewhat similar predicament. As of now, more than 100,000 people have been killed by the CoronaVirus. Families and communities have been devastated. Lives have been turned upside down. Silence and inaction seem insufficient. We need to figure out how to rebuild and move forward.
I think a helpful suggestion is hinted at in the second of the two Torah portions that we read this week, Kedoshim, meaning holiness.
Acherei Mot Kedoshim
: after death, comes holiness. The way we heal from tragedy, is to bring holiness into the world.
As we struggle with how to emerge from the havoc that the CoronaVirus has wreaked on our society, that is my charge to you this Shabbat. We could be like Aaron and shut ourselves down in despair and sit in silence. Or, we could bring more holiness into the world; by going grocery shopping for someone in need, by making phone calls to family and community members to offer support and let them know we are thinking about them, or by waving at a stranger as they walk by from a socially acceptable distance. The possibilities are endless. If we continue to be a source of holiness for others, we will be able to move forward and rebuild our world. It will be a stronger, more connected, and more compassionate world, than ever before.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh Dorsch
