English translation — אחרי א

1.

Among the special matters that one finds regarding the story of "the death of the two sons of Aaron"¹,

is that in the Written Torah itself the <b>lesson</b> from it for practice is explicit.

— In general it is indeed known,

that every matter in the Torah contains within itself a <b>lesson</b> in the conduct of man; and this is the meaning of the word "Torah" —

(language)

teaching².

But regarding many stories and matters of the Written Torah, one must come to the Oral Torah in order to know in what the lesson of that story consists,

verse or word;

But not so in our matter,

it stands &lt;b&gt;in the Chumash itself,&lt;/b&gt;

that as a result of "the death of Aaron's two sons" came two

(instructions)

&lt;b&gt;commandments:&lt;/b&gt;

a)

"Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, etc., when you come to the Tent of Meeting, etc."&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;,

as &lt;b&gt;Rashi &lt;/b&gt;brings in his commentary on the Torah&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt;

(from which it is proven that this is the &lt;b&gt;plain meaning &lt;/b&gt;of the verse),

that the warning was said

(immediately&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;)

after the death of Nadav and Avihu because "drunken with wine they entered the Sanctuary".

b)

The command at the beginning of our parshah⁶

— "And the L-rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they approached etc. Speak to Aaron your brother, that he not come at all times into the Holy etc.",

as <b>Rashi</b>⁷

<b> </b>explains the connection of this verse "after the death etc. when they approached etc." to the command "that he not come at all times into the Holy etc.",

that this is like a doctor who warns a patient by telling him "that you not die as so-and-so died"; and so too in our matter: the punishment of the sons of Aaron was because of the sin of "when they approached before the L-rd and they died"

(they entered the Holy in a manner "which He had not commanded them"⁸),

therefore they told Aaron — "after the death etc. that he not come,

that he not die as his sons died"⁹.

One must however understand,

what one finds a difference between the two commands:

The first commandment — "wine and intoxicating drink do not drink" — stands immediately

(in Parshat Shemini)

following the story of the death of Aaron's sons

(and moreover: the Torah interrupts because of this &lt;b&gt;interrupts &lt;/b&gt;in the midst of the commandments to Aaron and his sons

(regarding the eighth day of the consecration&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;)

in order to say the commandment)

But not so the commandment "after the death etc. and he shall not come at all times into the sanctuary etc.",

the Torah says only in our parshah,

and earlier it interrupts&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

and a great interruption of

(approximately)

two and a half sedras: earlier&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;

come the detailed laws of "the law of the beast and the bird and every living soul etc."&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;,

and afterwards — the detailed laws of impurity of the sedras Tazria and Metzora,

and only afterwards&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;

— "And He spoke etc. after the death etc. and he shall not come etc."&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;?

2.

That which Parshat Acharei Mot

(in general)

comes only after "the law of the beast and the bird etc."

(which is in Parshat Shemini)

and the laws of impurity

(from Parshat Tazria and Metzora)

— one can explain simply — that this is in order from above downward — in continuation of Parshat Shemini:

The general content of the first part of Parshat Acharei is — the order of the service of Yom &lt;b&gt;Kippur,&lt;/b&gt;

whose subject is as its name — &lt;b&gt;atonement,&lt;/b&gt;

"For on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you from all your sins etc."&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;,

"And this shall be etc. to atone for the children of Israel from all their sins once a year"&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore the Torah precedes "the law of the beast and the bird etc." and the laws of impurity of Parshat Tazria and Metzora before Parshat Acharei:

In the sedras <b>until </b>Parshat Shemini,

it speaks

(mainly)

about matters that are related to holiness: first the commandments of how to build the Mishkan,

making the priestly garments etc.; and afterwards — the section of offerings

(which one offers in the Mishkan and Temple)

and the order of the days of inauguration,

and their conclusion and seal — the eighth day of the inauguration,

Afterwards come the laws in connection with matters of the world,

in which there is a mixture of good and evil,

and one must arrive at "Torah Ohr" which opens up the &lt;b&gt;"to separate &lt;/b&gt;between the impure and between the pure etc."&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

— it illuminates the path of man and protects him from the undesirable things in the world.

— With this one will also understand the precise language of Chazal&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

(regarding the laws of parshas Tazria and Metzora)

"Just as the formation of man after all beast, animal and fowl in the act of Creation, so too his &lt;b&gt;Torah &lt;/b&gt;was expounded after the Torah of beast, animal and fowl" — at first glance:

How is it fitting to say,

that only in Parshat Tazria and Metzora is expounded <b>"Torato"</b>

(of a person)?

There are indeed a <b>multitude</b> of instructions and laws related to the conduct of man which were said <b>earlier</b> and in particular: the Aseret HaDibrot,

the sedra whose name is Parshat <b>Mishpatim</b> and more.

But the explanation in this is: the details <b></b>

(its meaning)

and the novelty of the <b>Torah</b>

(instruction)²⁰

consists²¹

in <b>"to distinguish between the unclean and between the clean etc."</b>; and therefore the <b>meaning</b> of <b>"Torato" of a person —</b> the instructions of the Torah

(not in relation to the conduct of man in general,

but —)

in relation to the matters of <b>impurity</b>²²

<b> </b>which are born from <b>the body of man himself</b><span><span><span><span></span></span></span></span>

(a woman after childbirth,

leprosy,

a zav etc.),

which the Torah instructs,

shows and teaches the person how should be the "distinguishing" regarding the matters which are within him himself — <b>in his formation.</b>

And from this reason comes the section about the service of Yom Kippur only after "Torah of beast, bird, and fowl" and "his Torah" of man — because the task of Yom Kippur primarily pertains only after the laws:

After the Torah tells the instructions to a Jew when he has to deal with matters of the world,

for which he must guard himself from the undesirable things

("to distinguish between the impure and between the pure")

— warns the Torah,

that just as it is possible that a Jew should, heaven forbid, fail and there should cling to him from the undesirable things of the world,

he should not despair, heaven forbid,

because there is the "once a year",

which "shall atone for you to purify you".

3.

But this is not a sufficient explanation for why the Torah waits with the command "And he shall not come at all times into the Sanctuary" until Parshat Acharei Mot — because although the matter of Yom Kippur is connected to "the law of beast, bird, and fowl" and "his law" of man — nevertheless the command of "And he shall not come at all times into the Sanctuary"

("that he die not, as his sons died")

is a matter that one would seemingly have needed to warn about <b>immediately</b> after "that his sons died".

Even if one learns that the command "And he shall not come etc." was indeed said "after their death <b>immediately"</b>²³

<b> </b>and it was only written in the Torah here

(not in order²⁴)

— and there is no earlier and later in the Torah²⁵,

But based on the known fact that every <b>detail</b> in the Torah is precise²⁶,

it is plausible to say,

that the reason the Torah places the command "And he shall not come, etc." only here,

it is

(that the entry "into the Holy" may not be "at any time",

but only on Yom Kippur²⁷)

— and the subject of <b>Yom Kippur</b> must stand in <b>that</b> place in the Torah

(as above),

but]

Also from the aspect of the command "And let not come etc." &lt;b&gt;itself&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the necessity in the warning "And let not come at all times into the holy place"

(contrary to the conduct of the two sons of Aaron)

becomes primarily after the sections of "The law of beast, animal and bird" and "his law" of a person&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;.

D.

And one can say the explanation in this:

It is known,

that the sin of the two sons of Aaron was not, G‑d forbid, a sin in the simple sense³⁰,

but

(as the Or HaChayim³¹

explains at length)

their "sin" consisted in this,

that they allowed their great attachment to the Almighty to bring them to actual self-nullification — "when they approached before the L‑rd

(until then)

and they died."

And this was <b>by them </b>considered a sin³²,

because although a Jew must have a desire that his service should be in a manner until he attains divestment from materiality³³

(to divest himself from materiality),

nevertheless together with this it is demanded of him,

that at the time when he is at the level of self-nullification,

"running",

he should arouse in himself the "return" — not to leave the world,

but to return to do his service which is the service of the soul in the body — <span><span><span>in this world,</span></span></span>

as the Sages said³⁴

"against your will you live",

and to carry out the supernal intention of "a dwelling place in the lower realms"³⁵,

to make of the world itself a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He.

There are two

(opposite)

causes³⁶

that bring a Jew to stand in a movement of "ratzo"

(without a "shov")

— to divest oneself <b>entirely</b> from physicality:

a)

Upon hearing the wonder of G‑dliness and — in the language of the Ohr HaChayim³⁷

<span><span><span><span>— the "pleasantness, sweetness ..</span></span></span></span>

sweetness" of being attached to the Supreme One,

he does everything possible to attain the attachment,

by throwing himself with all his might into "in their drawing near before Hashem" until in a manner of "and they died"

(so that it lifts him out entirely from the physicality of the world)

— longing of the soul.

b)

From the second extreme — he feels the lowliness of this world,

and this brings him to flee with all his might from occupying himself with physical matters

(which can distance him from the world of holiness),

until that the "fleeing" causes that he should "strip off" &lt;b&gt;completely&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

&lt;b&gt; &lt;/b&gt;from the physicality of the world,

ratzo without a shov.

5.

In general,

these two manners mentioned above are connected with the two types among Jews — dwellers of tents and businessmen:

By a dweller of the tent,

who occupies himself entirely with Torah study and does not engage in matters of livelihood etc.,

one need not guard

(so much)

against the "fleeing" from the lowliness of this world — he is, after all, initially in the world of Torah.

By him one must primarily guard that he not make a calculation³⁹

that the matter of "ratzo" is required from the aspect of Torah to the utmost extreme: since Torah is higher than the world,

one cannot attain the true essence of Torah unless he lifts himself up completely above.

And therefore he must stand in a movement of "ratzo" to the utmost — divesting himself of the body and ascending above

(spiritually)

to the utmost,

through which he will attain the truth of Torah.

He is warned,

that on the contrary: in order to reach the truth of the Torah, the study of Torah must be specifically in a manner of "return",

soul in body specifically

(from his natural soul)

grasps the matter,

until that the Torah becomes <b>"arranged</b>⁴¹

<b> in the 248 limbs"</b> of him]

Because Torah <b>is not </b>in heaven,

and on the contrary,

Torah was given specifically below⁴²,

until that the "supernal ones" ask about the ruling of the earthly court⁴³

— because Torah is found below specifically.

And this is not only regarding a ruling of the revealed Torah — which one understands simply that its main subject is specifically down here

(Because in the higher worlds, the study of matters of this world is not applicable&lt;sup&gt;44&lt;/sup&gt;)

And consequently, one must,

as it were,

come specifically down here to know the halachah;

But even regarding the secrets of the Torah&lt;sup&gt;45&lt;/sup&gt;,

which are also studied in the heavenly academy,

And on the contrary — ostensibly in a higher manner than they are studied down here — the "higher ones" come to hear how they are studied here &lt;b&gt;down below.&lt;/b&gt;

obviously from this explanation in Likkutei Torah⁴⁶

on the Sages' statement⁴⁷

"they were disputing in the heavenly academy ..

a doubt: the Holy One, blessed be He, says pure and all the heavenly academy say impure and they say who will prove ..

Rabbah bar Nachmani" — so the dispute was

(primarily)

in a matter of <b>secrets </b>of the Torah,

and nevertheless "who will prove ..

Rabbah bar Nachmani",

because also the decision in matters of secrets of the Torah was given over to a Jew as he finds himself here below,

soul in body⁴⁸.

by businessmen however one must warn the other extreme: as he finds himself in the world,

is it right that he should come with a claim — how will he be able to withstand all these trials of the world?

And consequently he is liable to come to the conclusion that there must be "ratzo" to the utmost,

that he should entirely abandon the involvement in worldly matters — they warn him,

that the ultimate intention is "shov",

to make for Him a dwelling place in the lower realms⁴⁹.

And since the Almighty demands it from a Jew,

and "I do not ask..

except according to their power"⁵⁰

it is certain that He gives him beforehand the necessary strengths to withstand all trials.

6.

And this is the difference between the two commandments that came as a result of the death of the two sons of Aharon:

The first command is the instruction from the death of the two sons of Aharon to the dwellers of the tent.

What this is the command⁵¹

"Wine and strong drink — wine in his drunkenness — do not drink",

which applies specifically to kohanim

(which is derived from the verses)

is connected with kehunah — because regarding kohanim it says⁵³

"They shall teach Your judgments to Yaakov etc."]

Because the concept of kohanim is — that they need to be separated from worldly matters

("they were separated from the ways of the world"⁵⁴)

and devote themselves entirely to the service of the Temple.

And accordingly there is the level of "kehunah" by every Jew

(also by a Yisrael)

— as the Rambam rules⁵⁵,

that <b>everyone</b> whose "spirit is generous ..

to separate to stand before Hashem to serve Him ..

and removes from his neck the yoke of the many calculations ..

he is sanctified <b>holy of holies</b>⁵⁶ ..

and he merits in this world enough for his needs as He granted to the kohanim and leviim."

And &lt;b&gt;these &lt;/b&gt;type of Jews one warns — "wine and intoxicating drink do not drink": "wine" indicates the secrets of the Torah,

wine enters, secret emerges&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;,

and "drinking wine"

(for wine has a taste)

means,

that one has a &lt;b&gt;taste &lt;/b&gt;in understanding the secrets of the Torah; and upon this comes the command: "wine and intoxicating drink — wine through &lt;b&gt;its intoxication — do not drink",&lt;/b&gt;

that the matter of "wine" — the taste and immersion in the secrets of the Torah — must not bring to a state of "intoxication",

&lt;b&gt;nullification &lt;/b&gt;

(of the intellect and)

the existence of the person,

ratzo without a shuv&lt;sup&gt;58&lt;/sup&gt;.

The conduct of Nadav and Avihu was — "intoxicated with wine they entered the Sanctuary": by them there was the attachment in "wine" — secrets of the Torah — in a manner that effected — nullification of existence,

consumption of the soul literally

(in their offering before the L-rd and they died).

And therefore,

is immediately after the death of Aaron's two sons came the warning to the Jews who are in the category of "kohanim"

(in the example of Aaron's two sons)

: "Wine and intoxicating drink — wine through &lt;b&gt;its intoxication — &lt;/b&gt;do not drink".

Because also "wine",

secrets of Torah,

one gave down here below,

specifically to souls in bodies,

as above.

7.

Afterwards comes the warning for most of Israel&lt;sup&gt;59&lt;/sup&gt;,

who occupy themselves with "the ways of the world" — that "And he shall not come at all times into the holy place".

Although the command <b>literally</b> was said only to Aaron — but the <b>content</b> of the matter pertains to all of Israel.

Just as the general service of Yom Kippur which is performed by the High Priest,

is a matter that pertains to the entirety of Israel

that in his entering "into the Holy",

he "takes" with him the entire entirety of Israel "into the Holy"],

And on the contrary: the main matter of Yom Kippur <b>literally — </b>atonement "from all their sins" — is more relevant to the Jews who are at the lowest levels —

Thus similarly regarding the warning "And he shall not come at all times into the Holy",

that its content pertains to every Jew:

When the time of Yom Kippur arrives,

when a Jew remembers all those undesirable matters that have attached themselves to him during the year,

because of which he must come to Yom Kippur which purifies him,

and lifts him up "to the holy",

this can arouse in him a desire of "he shall come at all times to the holy" — to completely renounce worldly matters and be at all times in "holy".

Which this one must guard against even after one knows the directive "do not drink wine or strong drink".

Because that which one warns a dweller of the tent "do not drink wine or strong drink",

that he must stand in a movement of "return",

is understandable,

since even in this "return" of a dweller of the tent there is no concern of descent etc. — even as he stands in "return" he has to do only with Torah,

and therefore he may not remain only in the "run",

"when they approach before the Lord they will die";

But when it speaks about businessmen,

who have trials etc. and there is more concern that they should, heaven forbid, fail,

it could be a reason that for them it is better that there should be the "when they approach before Hashem",

"he shall come at all times into the Holy"!

— On this is the special lesson from the death of the two sons of Aaron in Parsha Acharei,

that also by businessmen there must not be the "when they approach — they shall die",

"he shall not come at all times into the Holy".

Even though they claim that since they find themselves in the world, how will he be able to withstand the trials?

On this one says,

that precisely this lesson

(that there must be "return")

to businessmen,

comes only in Parsha Acharei,

after "the law of an animal etc." and "his law" of a man:

"Torah of an animal etc." is the instruction and empowerment from Torah to a Jew that he should be able to refine the world

(as above sec. 2),

both the "to separate" in matters external to him and the "to separate" regarding the person himself; and since it comes after Torah,

that Torah gives the power to refine the world,

one has the power to withstand the trials and one has nothing to fear from the world,

and on the contrary — he makes the world a dwelling place for the Blessed One.

and in an instant they give him the matter of Yom Kippur which brings about the elevation of repentance,

which "in the place where penitents stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand"⁶²],

And consequently he goes surely on his way to carry out the purpose of creation,

to make for Him, blessed be He, a dwelling place in the lower realms.

(From the talk of Shabbat Parshat Acharei-Kedoshim 5728)