On the first of the month of Av, Aharon ascended Mount Hor and died there.

Throughout history the month of Av has been fraught with much tragedy.

Clearly the very first calamity that took place on this month historically, Aharon’s demise, must be instructive for future generations in some way, and not just coincidental.

Although the Torah reported earlier in the portion of Chukas the actual event of his death, the Torah repeats it again in the context of the recording of all the journeys they experienced in the course of their forty years in the desert. It is first here that the Torah states the exact day of his demise, not noting the date when it happened. We have a tradition that embedded within these journeys lay the entire history of the Jewish exile and all its travails.

So what is it about Aharon’s death, in a month that portended so much suffering for our people, that is relevant to us?

In life there are moments when the world as we know it suddenly slips out from beneath our feet. Times when the bubble of our ‘reality’ bursts. We label these events - trauma.

It may be a natural catastrophe, a war, a pandemic, or the death of someone who is our ‘entire life’. The post trauma is a most dangerous time.

Our instinct to preserve our ‘equilibrium’, our notion of how we expect life to be lived, often prods from us a response of denial when confronted with grief - “it simply cannot be”, we blurt out reflexively. We call this ‘denial’.

As we continue to process the new reality we descend into anger, mindlessly seeking to blame others for the tragedy. In exasperation we often lash out out even at G-d. “How can You do this to me!”

The more we realize these events are out of our control we become despondent, fleeing from the situation in a feeble attempt to escape the pain, or despair completely by giving up and falling into a depressive state.

Until we achieve an ‘acceptance’ of the new reality, and that we are capable of existing despite our loss, we are susceptible to sinking even further into the abyss.

There are several Midrashim that depict the reactions of the people as they observed Aharon’s children accompanying Moshe down from the mountain without Aharon, being told Aharon departed from this world.

They initially uttered that it is simply impossible, that Aharon who single-handedly defeated the Satan himself through the agency of the Ketores, Incense, when stifling the plague that broke out subsequent to the rebellion of Korach and his cohorts, was vulnerable to the effects of death.

G-d miraculously revealed to them an image of Aharon on his deathbed, convincing them to accept it as reality.

The Midrash goes on to describe how in their angry frustration, they foolishly accused both, Moshe, of jealously doing his brother in, and Elazar, with dispatching his father to inherit his position.

When they realized how nonsensical that claim was, they fled the tragic scene to escape, backtracking eight full encampments, wallowing in their depression over the loss of their beloved Aharon.

The heroic members of the tribe of Levi chased after them and struggled with them until they were brought back to their senses and accepted the new reality.

This processing of the traumas of our difficult history, has repeated itself time and again, leaving in its wake the tragic consequences of our reactions.

The entire Book of Bamidbar contains within it the full gamut of the highs and lows of our people.

At the end of each Chumash, the wise men of the Masoretic tradition, observe the number of; pesukim, verses within each book; parshiyos; sedarim; paragraphs, both pesuchos and setumos.  

The amount of verses is 1,288, indicated in the word אפרח, with the letter א, representing its expressed form אַלֶף, which also means one thousand, with פרח, numerically 288.

This reference of blossoming corresponds to the verse which is exactly midpoint of this number of verses: והיה האיש אשר אבחר בו מטהו יפרח (במדבר יז כ), It shall be that the man whom I shall choose - his staff will blossom... This is the verse that describes Aharon’s staff blossoming as evidence of his worthy standing.

The number of portions in Bamidbar are 10, the numerical equivalent of the word בדד, alone, which is found in the verse ד' בדד ינחנו (דברים לב יב), The Lord guided them alone..., the verse that asserts we are never ‘alone’, for He guides us always.

There are 32 sedarim (a mode of dividing the portions utilized in ancient times), which equals לב, heart, intimating the verse in Tehillim, לב טהור ברא לי אלקים (נא יב), A heart that is pure create for me, O G-d... , where King David appeals to G-d to accept his failings and repentance, restoring his heart anew.

Finally, there are a total of 158 paragraphs, numerically equivalent to the sentiment אני חלקך ונחלתך (במדבר יח כ), I am your share and your heritage..., where G-d tells Aharon that although he and his progeny are not allotted a share of land in the holy land, they received something much greater - He is their ‘share’.

Aharon HaKohen faced many traumas in his life: the misguided effort to quell the people when Moshe delayed coming down from the mountain, that resulted in his creating the Golden Calf and resulted with death of Chur, his nephew, by the hands of an angry mob; the tragic loss of his two righteous sons, Nadav and Avihu; the debacle at the Waters of Strife, when as a result of Moshe hitting the rock they were both restricted from entering the land.

Yet, he never faltered.

He sensed that he was ‘chosen’ by Hashem for a mission, and would never let any event, no matter how harrowing, cause him to lose his equilibrium. He could never lapse into a mode of denial.

Nor could anger ever enter his soul. Anger stems from a sense of abandonment from those we rely on. But one who lives with a sense of His presence even in isolation, is invulnerable to the eruptions of anger towards others.

Depression can only enter a heart that is empty of a passion to serve G-d. Aharon maintained a constant thirst for closeness that fueled his every action in his quest for greater connection.

One who senses that G-d is his share, can never be deceived from accepting the reality of whatever situation, no matter the difficulty.

Each one of us faces challenges in life. Especially in the times we are living through now, our sense of equilibrium has been rocked like never in our lives. The uncertainty of our future in terms of our health and our political stance in a country and world going awry, certainly tests our relationship with the One who never allows us to be and feel alone.

It is the bond of community, in the spirit of Aharon, that fortifies us to keep on track and never veer.

May our magnificent Kehilla continue to be blessed with good health, prosperity, and sincere friendship, and may we collectively always sense the Almighty’s loving guided hand!

באהבה,

צבי יהודה טייכמאן