English translation — ברכה

Regarding the difference between the “weeping” of Jews over Moshe Rabbeinu and the weeping over Aharon HaKohen after their passing — by Aharon it says¹

“And they wept etc. <b>all the house</b> of Israel,”

and by Moshe it says²

“And <b>the children</b> of Israel wept” — there are two interpretations³

A.

a)

At the time⁴

Aharon passed away,

“because of the weeping of <b>Moshe</b>

(over Aharon)

they all wept for his honor and awe”⁵,

unlike after the death of Moshe that “not⁵

was there a great one like Moshe who wept, they did not weep except the men”⁶.

b)

By Moshe⁷

only the "males" wept⁸,

but by Aharon "who was pursuing

peace and giving peace between a man and his fellow and between a husband and his wife, it is said 'all the house of Israel, males and females'"⁹.

According to the first explanation, it comes out,

that the emphasis of "and they wept &lt;b&gt;the children of &lt;/b&gt;Israel"

(only men)

- not "all the house of Israel" as by Aaron - brings out the unique quality of Moses,

that there was no one as great as him who

(his weeping)

would cause "and they wept etc. all the house of Israel";

However, according to the second explanation,

on the contrary,

the same emphasis

("and they wept &lt;b&gt;the children of &lt;/b&gt;Israel [for] Moses" - the men and not the women)

brings out that by Moses the matter of bringing peace was not in the ultimate perfection as by Aaron.

It is perplexing: it is understood,

that there where it speaks about the death of Moses,

it is fitting to tell his <b>virtues</b>¹⁰

; and as one indeed sees here in the verses themselves¹¹

: "And Moses etc. his eye was not dim etc. and no prophet arose etc. like all the signs etc. and all

the mighty hand etc." - so how does the emphasis fit here,

that by Moses there was <b>not</b> the completeness of the virtue of bringing peace as by Aaron?

2.

The wonder becomes even greater when paying attention to the wording in Rashi's commentary:

Rashi says "Bnei Yisrael — the males,

but regarding Aharon, because he pursued peace and made peace between a man and his fellow and between a husband and his wife, it says 'all the house of Israel, males and females.'"

And seemingly: if Rashi is only out to explain why by Aharon it says "all of the house of Israel",

and by Moshe — "the children of Israel",

Rashi would have needed to <b>begin</b> the matter¹²

(the children of Israel,

the males)

and by Aharon it is said all of the house of Israel males and females

(and afterwards say the reason)

because he was a pursuer of peace etc.'

From the fact that Rashi begins with the matter of the bringing of peace of Aharon — and moreover with a lengthiness

(and especially since Rashi already said this <b>earlier</b>¹³

at the passing of Aharon)

— it is implied,

that Rashi is out

(not only to explain the reason and necessity that "and they wept <b>the children of</b> Israel"

(from our verse)

means "the males",

but also)

to bring out the virtue of

Aaron relative to Moses

(in the matter of bringing peace).

It is perplexing that here,

at the matter of the passing of <b>Moses</b>,

one should entirely bring out and elaborate on the <b>opposite</b> of the virtue of <b>Moses</b>

(relative to Aaron).

And one cannot answer that on the contrary: from the side of the advantage and greatness of the quality of Moshe Rabbeinu in general,

the Torah must protect,

that regarding <b>the </b>matter

(love of Israel and bringing peace)

one must not be satisfied with a conduct as it was by Moshe,

rather one must learn from the conduct of Aharon -

Because,

at first glance,

is not <b>here </b>the place for this.

Thus it is understood,

that when one learns the matter of the passing of Moses,

it is relevant to know the difference between Moses and Aaron,

including the virtue of Aaron relative to Moses;

And therefore the verse <b>here</b> emphasizes "and <b>the children</b> of Israel wept for Moses",

and Rashi explains

(reveals),

that with this the verse intends to indicate the virtue of Aaron

(relative to Moses),

that with him there was "pursuer of peace and giver of peace between a man and his fellow and between a husband and his wife".

3.

One will understand this by first [introducing] the reason that regarding Moses one does not find in Chazal about his conduct in bringing peace between a man and his fellow and between a husband and his wife as one finds regarding Aaron.

It is understood and simple that this is not because regarding Moses there was, heaven forbid, a lack in love of Israel,

And on the contrary: Moses our teacher was a lover of Israel¹⁴,

he was

The faithful shepherd of all and every Jew who provided them with their needs:

Both their spiritual needs - he

(himself)

taught Torah with "all the people"¹⁵,

and not only the <b>laws</b> of the Torah

(which Jews must know,

to know the deed which they shall do and those which they shall not do),

but also pilpul of Torah which "was not given ...

except to Moses and his seed",

he "conducted with <b>generous eye</b> and gave it to Israel"¹⁶

And also all their material needs,

beginning from the manna which was in the merit of Moses,

and until that also the

(other)

needs which were in the merit of Aaron and Miriam,

after their passing

(when the well ceased and the clouds of glory ceased)

- returned in the merit of Moses¹⁷,

But the simple explanation of this is,

that from the aspect of his essence and his mission, there was required of Moses a different manner of conduct in love of Israel

(and bringing peace)

than the conduct of Aaron.

4.

The explanation in this:

About the manner of bringing peace of Aharon,

relate Chazal¹⁸,

that in order to make peace between a man and his fellow etc. he would "change" from the truth,

which is,

of course,

a permitted thing

(and desirable)

according to Torah,

as the saying of Chazal¹⁹

"It is permitted for a person to change in a matter of peace";

By Moshe Rabbeinu however,

since that &lt;b&gt;his attribute&lt;/b&gt; is the attribute of &lt;b&gt;truth&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;,

therefore,

by him there could not be &lt;b&gt;the&lt;/b&gt; manner of bringing peace&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;.

And even though that the concept of "it is permitted etc. to alter for the sake of peace" is,

as above,

a directive of the Torah,

which is the Torah of &lt;b&gt;truth&lt;/b&gt;

precisely the language of Chazal "It is permitted ..

&lt;b&gt;to change&lt;/b&gt;" - that this is only a matter of "change",

but not a falsehood, G-d forbid

(the opposite of the Torah of truth)],

But such a manner of conduct is indeed connected with a "concealment" of the attribute of truth,

and therefore this is not fitting for the mission of the one whose attribute

(and level)

the unique one is the attribute of truth&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;.

&lt;b&gt;The &lt;/b&gt;manner of conduct pertains to Aharon,

whose attribute is the attribute of kindness&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;.

- When Moshe learns Torah with Jews,

he transmits to them all the topics of Torah,

also the teaching of "permitted ..

to deviate for the sake of peace"; but when it comes to his own conduct,

which is connected with &lt;b&gt;his &lt;/b&gt;level and

(therefore -)

mission in this world&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

is by him not applicable this manner -

And perhaps one may add another matter: it is not applicable to lower oneself also to such who are in a lowly state,

until that the &lt;b&gt;only &lt;/b&gt;way to make peace between them is by &lt;b&gt;changing &lt;/b&gt;from &lt;b&gt;the truth&lt;/b&gt;.

5.

Since both modes of conduct are according to Torah - it is understood,

that there is in this what is not in this:

The advantage of the conduct of Moshe is,

that in it there is no inclination of the attribute of truth; on the other hand,

there is an advantage in the conduct of Aharon,

that specifically through it one reaches until the lowest "tachton"

(for whom one must be "different").

And with this is also explained the reason why specifically at the passing of Moshe the greatness of Aharon is emphasized:

During the days of the life of Moshe,

when he was occupied with carrying out &lt;b&gt;his &lt;/b&gt;mission in this world,

he was entirely engrossed in &lt;b&gt;his &lt;/b&gt;mode of service,

and his mission in the world is to "do" &lt;b&gt;everything &lt;/b&gt;in the manner of the attribute of &lt;b&gt;truth&lt;/b&gt;;

But when the time came of "And Moses went up etc. to Mount Nebo"

—he had already completed his mission down here,

and was about to ascend upwards—then for him was the time to hear the virtue in the conduct of Aaron,

which brings peace to every Jew.

— On the explanation in the well-known discourse

of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai close to his death: I do not know by which

(path)

they lead me.

Is known the difficulty: How does it come,

that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai,

who was from the great ones of the Tannaim—and as our Sages are in several places

extol in the greatness of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai,

and he was certainly exceedingly careful in turning from evil and doing good—should have by him a doubt whether he goes to the Garden of Eden or to Gehinnom?

Stands up the explanation²⁹

: although he was certain,

that regarding his revealed powers his service was in the ultimate perfection,

he was however doubtful whether he had also accomplished what he needs to accomplish regarding his <b>essence</b> of the soul

(above revelation).

It remains however not understood: if by him there was a doubt about the state of his essence of his soul — whether it is found in a state of holiness or heaven forbid the opposite —

Why did he become distressed about this only close to his death,

and not earlier,

during the course of his entire life?

One of the explanations regarding this³⁰

During all the days of his life, R. Yochanan ben Zakkai was entirely occupied and immersed in his mission in this world — the study of Torah for himself and with others etc. etc. — and he did not have any time to stop himself and think about his "levels,"

where <b>he</b> stands with his very soul;

Specifically close to his passing,

when he was at the point of <b>completing</b> his mission in this world,

he was able to contemplate what is happening with his very soul.

And this is the case in our matter: specifically close to his passing,

when Moses had already completed his mission in this world,

then it was for him the time to contemplate the distinctions of levels between his service and the service of Aaron,

and he then heard the virtue of Aaron.

And therefore it is also thus written in the Torah of Moses,

specifically in the verses about the death of Moses is brought out the virtue of the service of Aaron relative to the service of Moses.

6.

The explanation is, however, not entirely sufficient:

Since the attribute of Moshe is the attribute of truth,

there is in this no practical difference,

seemingly,

whether this is when he finds himself below

(and is occupied with his mission in this world),

or at the time when

He is holding at the ascent of his soul upward: in every place and place the essence of Moshe is the attribute of <b>truth</b>; why does one say,

that at the time of his passing, there is felt in him the truth of the level of the service of Aharon?

And one can say the explanation of this

(in the manner of Chassidus)

The concept of the passing of Moses does not mean

(only)

passing in a physical sense — that his soul was removed from his body — but it is

(also and primarily)

a passing and ascent &lt;b&gt;spiritual&lt;/b&gt;,

that his soul ascended to a much&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

a higher level,

than that which he attained during his lifetime in this world&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;.

And as is known the meaning

(explanation)&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

of the verse&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

"And Moses went up etc. to Mount Nebo" — "Nun bo": during his lifetime in this world Moses attained the forty-nine gates of understanding — on the day of his passing he merited and ascended to the fiftieth gate

(Nun bo).

And it can be said that this is also the inner explanation in the matter of "&lt;b&gt;And ascended &lt;/b&gt;Moshe etc.":

Moshe's essence is - &lt;b&gt;drawing down &lt;/b&gt;from above to below

(Bridegroom of the King&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;)

; for which he brought down Torah

Below — Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it etc.³⁵

But Aaron is "the groomsman of the Matronita"³⁴

— he kindles

(<b>and raises up</b>)

the lamps of the menorah — "<b>when you raise up</b> the lamps",

"until the flame rises by itself"³⁶,

which spiritually means³⁷,

that he lifts up the souls of Israel

(the lamp of God is the soul of man)

that they should stand in an ascent to their root and source.

And on the day of his passing, Moshe was elevated higher than his level,

through that which there was also opened in him the quality of

(Aharon -)

"<b>And he went up</b> G‑d" - elevation from below to above³⁸.

During the days of his life,

When the service of Moses was defined according to his measure and his level,

There shone for him all

(But only)

The forty-nine gates of understanding,

Which the number forty-nine indicates the limitation of the world

(Seven times seven — the seven days of building)³⁹

But when there opened up for him the matter of “<b>And he went up</b> etc.”,

Ascending and going out from his boundaries — that his service is not limited even by his nature in holiness

(The attribute of truth),

Only in the line of “drawing down from above to below”,

But

By him is also⁴⁰

was the "elevation from below to above" - is thereby connected that to him was given the Gate of Nun,

above limitation].

And based on this one will also understand regarding the matter of love of Israel and bringing peace:

Since on the day of his passing Moshe had the service of "&lt;b&gt;Vaya'al &lt;/b&gt;Moshe" - the level of Aharon - therefore he then heard the quality of bringing peace of Aharon

(which reached all Jews,

as above).

7.

And it can be said that from all this one sees another aspect in the greatness of the love of Israel of Moshe Rabbeinu:

In the verses that speak about his passing,

it says "from his own mouth"

(and with Ruach HaKodesh)⁴¹

and emphasizes the greatness of <b>Aaron</b>,

so that Jews should learn from this how broad and deep must be the matter of Ahavat Yisrael,

That despite the great elevation of his Ahavat Yisrael,

which certainly he ascended

(ascending in holiness)

during the days of his life from level to level in his Ahavat Yisrael

(just as he ascended in holiness in all matters of holiness)

Nevertheless, this is not sufficient,

and one must conduct oneself like &lt;b&gt;Aharon&lt;/b&gt; - "pursuer of peace and maker of peace between a man and his fellow and between a husband and his wife."

(From talks of Shabbat eve of Chol HaMoed Sukkot and Simchat Torah 5742)