‫פרשת שמיני‬ :‫ויקצף על אלעזר ועל איתמר בני אהרן הנותרים לאמר‬-‫ והנה שרף‬,‫ואת שעיר החטאת דרש דרש משה‬ )‫? (פרק י' טז‬...‫מדוע לא אכלתם את החטאת במקום הקדש כי קדש קדשים היא‬ Moshe inquired insistently about the he-goat of the sin-offering, for behold, it had been burned!-and he was wrathful with Elazar and Ithamar, Aharon's remaining sons, saying: Why did you not eat the sin-offering in a holy place, for it is most holy...? In the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, the Parsha presents us with a dramatic encounter between Moshe and Aharon which I have always found to be extremely perplexing. To begin, background information is necessary and it is especially important to review the details of what took place on this most important and momentous day-the eighth and final day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, which also was the first day of the month of Nissan. Many ‫ קרבנות‬were presented, including ‫קדשי דורות‬, offerings that would typically be brought on that day (as well as in the future) and ‫קדשי שעה‬, sacrifices that were brought exclusively for that occasion and would never again be repeated. Aharon and his sons were in a state of ‫אנינות‬, the immediate period following the death of one of the seven close relatives, which would normally prohibit Elazar and Ithamar from participating in the service and eating from these ‫קרבנות‬. However, so as not to mar the excitement of the ‫הקמת המשכן‬, Moshe tells them, ...‫קחו את המנחה הנותרת מאשי ה' ואכלוה‬.../...take the meal-offering that is left from the fire-offerings of Hashem and eat it...- informing them directly that this ‫ קדשי שעה‬should be eaten. The crucial issue was how the ‫קרבן שעיר של ראש חודש‬, which is ‫קדשי דורות‬, should be dealt with. Moshe expected the Kohanim to treat it as the other two ‫שעירים‬, which were ‫קדשי‬ ‫ שעה‬brought separately by the nasi, Nachshon ben Aminadav and the community, in honor of the inauguration, and therefore should also be eaten. When Moshe realizes that the ‫שעיר של‬ ‫ ראש חודש‬was burnt, he is extremely upset with Elazar and Ithamar but eventually concedes to their father's defense, that they in fact acted properly by not eating the ‫קדשי דורות‬. The parsha concludes with ‫וישמע משה וייטב בעיניו‬/Moshe heard and he approved. And as Rashi adds, "He (Moshe) admitted (the justice of Aharon's argument), and was not ashamed to say: 'I had not heard this.' " What transpired? The Meshech Chochma offers us an approach based heavily on a careful analysis of the ‫גמרא‬ .‫זבחים קא‬, which is the main source for understanding these pasukim. His goal is to "minimize the error of our master prophet, the most chosen among individuals," Moshe Rabbeinu. He begins by telling us that Moshe never heard a direct edict from HKBH that the laws of ‫אנינות‬ should be suspended for the ‫ ;הקמת המשכן‬rather he surmised it from an earlier statement from Hashem, which he uses to console Aharon after the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. Back in ‫שמות כט' מג‬, Hashem tells Moshe: ‫ונעדתי שמה לבני ישראל ונקדש בכבדי‬/It is there that I will meet with the Children of Israel, and it (the Mishkan) shall be sanctified with My glory." Rashi explains: "Do not read '‫בכבדי‬/with My glory but rather ‫במכובדי‬/with my honored ones'-Moshe said to Aharon, 'My brother Aharon, I had known that the Mishkan would be sanctified with those singled out as special by HKBH, and I thought (this meant) either through me or you; now I see that they are greater than I or you.'" So that Moshe understood beforehand that at some point the Mishkan would be associated with a devastating tragedy in their immediate family. The fact that Hashem chose to enact this ‫ גזירה‬on the Mishkan's opening day, so that the Kohanim would become ‫ אוננים‬and yet Moshe tells them to eat from the ‫קרבן מנחה‬, " ‫כי כן‬ ‫צויתי‬/...for so I have been commanded", Moshe believed that Hashem wanted a "business as usual approach" to this historic day. Aharon replied that the command was only regarding the ‫ קרבן מנחה‬and the other ‫קדשי שעה‬, but not with regards to the ‫ קדשי דורות‬i.e. the ‫שעיר של‬ ‫ ראש חודש‬should not be eaten. In fact, Aharon explains to Moshe, this is based on a ‫קל וחומר‬: With regards to ‫מעשר שני‬, a lower level ‫קדושה‬, the Torah tells us in ‫דברים כו' יד‬, ‫לא אכלתי באני‬ ‫ממנו‬/I have not eaten of it in my intense state of mourning...prohibiting the ‫ אונן‬from eating it, ‫קרבנות‬, which are on a much higher level of ‫קדושה‬, would certainly be forbidden to the ‫!אונן‬ ‫וישמע משה וייטב בעיניו‬-according to Rav Meir Simcha, what Moshe heard from Aharon was especially pleasing to him, for Moshe was the first one to initiate the usage of a ‫ קל וחומר‬to infer a ruling. Based on the edict given to all of ‫ כלל ישראל‬at ‫מתן תורה‬, that husbands and wives should separate from each other in preparation for their (single and relatively brief) encounter with HKBH, Moshe separated from his own wife on a permanent basis-and we know that HKBH agreed with this conclusion. The Meshech Chochma associates Moshe's special appreciation of Aharon's approach with the ‫'מצודות דוד‬s interpretation of the well known pasuk in ‫משלי כגי טו‬, ‫ישמח לבי גם אני‬,‫ אם חכם לבך‬,‫בני‬/My son, if your heart has grown wise, my heart too will rejoice i.e. when your heart has grown by hearkening to my words, my heart will rejoice, because the wisdom came to you through me. Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, in his sefer ‫בקראי שמו‬, offers an important insight and learns a valuable life lesson from this “disagreement” between Moshe and Aharon. Moshe felt that since all ‫קרבנות‬, whether ‫ קדשי שעה‬or ‫קדשי דורות‬, carried the same degree of ‫ קדושה‬and yet he was told to tell the Kohanim to eat from the ‫מנחה‬, for that day, HKBH was suspending the rules of ‫“ אנינות‬across the board”. Aharon believed that in situations where there is no general directive given, in formulating a final Halacha, one should introduce the idea of '‫הטבת ה‬, attempting to determine what “would please Hashem”. Aharon felt that although permission to eat the ‫ מנחה‬was clearly given, and by extension, the other ‫קדשי שעה‬, it would not please Hashem (as he says '‫ )הייטב בעיני ה‬to eat the ‫ קדשי דורות‬as an ‫אונן‬, for after all, Hashem had already told them that ‫ קדשים‬should be eaten in a state of ‫שמחה‬. Based on this reasoning, Aharon’s concluded that they should not eat from the ‫קדשי דורות‬. ‫וישמע משה וייטב בעיניו‬Moshe agreed that there are times when an ambiguous rule can be bent in order to accomplish '‫הטבת ה‬. If this daunting task is applicable to the realm of Halacha, how much more so should we make use of it in our day to day lives! ‫לזכר נשמת אבי מורי ר' ישראל מנחם בן שלום ז"ל‬