Shnayim Yomi - Chukat - Balak - Shlishi - #3 - Rabbi Leiby Burnham - Don't Die, Lie

Welcome to the Schneiderman Yomi. We are making our way through the double portions of and Balak and in the third Aliya we see the story of the passing of Aaron HaCohen who was who passed away at Har HaHar, a special mountain. I actually had merited to see where he was buried. It's right across from Petra. So anybody goes to Petra, there's just a very short distance away is Har HaHar and you could see that Arabs today still honor that place and they call it Jabal Haroun which means like the the resting place of Aaron. Now, the way the Torah describes it, it tells you that Moshe Rabbeinu was commanded to take Aaron up to the top of the mountain and you should take off his clothing and put them on Aaron his son. And then Aaron yesafe umeshama. Aaron will be gathered in and he will die there. The strange wording is that it says umeshama, he will die there. Where where else would you think he would die? I mean you're bringing him up to the mountain and you're burying him there and you're giving his clothing to his son. So what does that mean umeshama? He will die there. So the Malachim Omer says a fascinating idea. He says that we have a tradition that if someone dies but leaves over a child who's as great as them, we don't call it dying because they're continuing on through their child. We're calling it shachav. They they they lie down, right? By David HaMelech for example, it says that David lied down with his ancestors. It doesn't say he died because he left behind a son who would carry on his legacy. However, if a person has no child who will carry on their legacy, at least some level of their greatness dies forever there. And therefore they would say you would describe death for that person. Now Aaron HaCohen did leave over a child who was going to fulfill his legacy, his son Elazar, who was going to take on the mantle of the Kohana Gadola of the high priesthood. So why would it be why would he be called dying? The answer is though a Cohen Gadol is only called a Cohen Gadol once he starts to do the Avoda. Avoda so mechon so the Avoda is what makes you into the Cohen Gadol. So he wouldn't yet be the as great as Aaron, only a little bit later. So the Torah is telling you umeshama, he's going to die there but only there for a few moments. Later, he'll go back and revert to becoming a shokhev, a person who just lies because he leaves behind someone to carry on his legacy. Thank you.