In the Spotlight

The more spiritual we become the more light we generate. However, the increased spirituality also sheds more light on our imperfections. Higher spirituality is also a higher challenge.

Hesitation

In this week’s Parsha we read of how after seven days of initiation, the Sanctuary in the desert was finally ready for its inaugural service. For seven days Moses acted as the High Priest, but on the eighth day, the responsibility of leading the services in the Sanctuary was given over to Aaron, Moses’ brother.

The transference of this responsibility did not go so smoothly. Aaron was hesitant to accept the responsibility. Moses thus said to him:

“Approach the Altar and atone for yourself and for the community.”

Rashi explains that Moses’ prodding of Aaron was prompted by the fact that:

“Aaron was embarrassed and was afraid to approach. Moses therefore said to him, ‘Why are you embarrassed? You for chosen for this!’”

Why was Aaron so reluctant to assume the High Priesthood? And if he was hesitant, why did he go along with the initiation process for the preceding seven days? He should have demurred then and not have waited for the final moment when he had to go “on stage,” so to speak.

Why was Aaron Chosen?

Commentators explain that Aaron’s hesitancy was motivated by his humility. And this is what Moses meant when he said “You were chosen for this,” you were chosen because of “this,” i.e., because of your humility.

Other commentators explain that Aaron’s hesitancy was motivated by the memory of his involvement in the construction of the Golden Calf. As he approached the Altar, the Midrash states, it resembled the Golden Calf. This vision caused him to feel embarrassment and instilled within him a sense of unworthiness.

Moses’ response to this fear was that, on the contrary, a person who never forgets his moral lapses is precisely the type of person G-d had in mind for the role of the High Priesthood.

However, the question still remains. Why did he not experience this feeling of humility and embarrassment when he was being initiated for the preceding seven days? Did he forget that he had a role in the construction of the Golden Calf? And if this role was unintentional, as commentators point out, why then did he feel guilty now?

A Chassidic teaching can be helpful in shedding light on what prompted Aaron’s reticence on the eighth day and not earlier.

Higher Consciousness

When a person is exposed to a higher level of G-dly consciousness, it heightens the realization of one’s own insignificance and the concomitant need to become a better person Similarly, when a person reaches a higher level of spirituality, the imperfections and sins for which they have already atoned surface again and challenge the person to atone once more.

The effects of reaching a higher level is that we are then moved to revisit the past and discover the need to make amends once more for the imperfections of the past. Even if we already made amends for the past, the new awareness makes us realize that we need to deal with and remove a more subtle level of imperfection that we have not yet realized. In the long run, this helps us grow even more.

More Light, More Dirt, More Perfection

To better understand this process, we can use the analogy of light. When we have limited illumination we might only be aware of some glaring dirt on our garment and then proceed to remove it. There might still be some dirt left that is imperceptible to us now. When we shine a brighter light on ourselves, we will recognize that there are some traces of dirt that we have not yet removed.

During the seven days of initiation, Aaron had not experienced the same intensity of G- dly light as he did on the eighth day. As was pointed out in the preceding essay, the number eight represents the transcendent aspects of G-d. When Aaron began to experience a new and unparalleled Divine revelation, represented by the number eight, his sense of unworthiness was highlighted and made more pronounced. Simultaneously, he also began to revisit his role in the construction of the Golden Calf, compelling him to dig deeper into his soul to eradicate subtler levels of imperfection that he had not been aware of until now.

Now that Aaron had made this new assessment about himself, he was now fully qualified to serve as High Priest, because as long as he had not had the intense light of the “eighth day” shine upon him, he could not fully rid himself of the imperfections that were left lingering from the Golden Calf.

Exponential Growth in the Messianic Age

What happened to Aaron is a portent of the experience of the Messianic Age, which is also identified with the number eight. Moshiach is identified in the Talmud as a member of an exclusive “club” of “eight princes.” Another example of the role of the number eight in the future is that the harp that will be used in the future Holy Temple will consist of eight strands as compared to the seven strands of past Temples.

How does the number eight—that characterizes the Messianic Age—relate to our lives? How will it affect us? What difference does it make if the harp has seven strands or eight?

In the mystical sense we can understand that the number eight that will be revealed in the Messianic Age represents a more intense generation of G-dly light. The world will be deluged with more positive and holy energy. He question, however, is how does that translate into our lives as human beings?

Revealing and Removing the Hidden Evil

One of the greatest obstacles to growth in the present period of Galus/exile—dominated as it is by the number seven that signifies the natural order—is that we are incapable of seeing all of our imperfections. As a result, we are also obviously prevented from dealing with them. They remain buried in our subconscious and serve to stifle our growth. And while the light of Torah and Mitzvot can assist us in exposing and healing our revealed faults—as well as some faults that lie directly beneath the surface—the light we generate does not have sufficient “voltage” to discover, expose, irradiate and eradicate certain embedded and encapsulated forms of impurity.

Just as in the physical realm there are ultraviolet rays that are imperceptible to the eye, so too in the spiritual realms there are dimensions of our personalities where evil might lurk and wreak havoc on us that we cannot see. No matter how much we can grow by constantly challenging ourselves to go higher, the growth we experience is incremental with diminishing returns. There are certain imperfections that we simply cannot see and that preclude us from removing them and that therefore are impediments to real growth.

In the Messianic Age, however, we will experience unparalleled levels of G-dly light that light will help us expose the most insidious and subtle forms of negativity that held us back in the past.

Once we are aware of the existence of these previously hidden forms of impurity, the new light will also serve a second function: It will enable us to get rid of these subtle imperfections that we still have, thereby enabling us to serve G-d in a new way. This new energy will empower us to bring atonement to ourselves and the entire world around us.

We, like Aaron, will thus be purged of all that tainted us in the past and will be worthy to serve in the Temple. Indeed, there is even a basis in Torah sources for the suggestion that we will all be qualified to enter into the innermost precincts of the Temple—its Holy of Holies—a privilege accorded exclusively to the High Priest in the past!

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shemini by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.