Rosh Chodesh Av, the Yahrzeit of Aaron Kohen Gadol

 

“Aharon was 123 years old when he died at Mount Hor” (Numbers 33:39) Tammuz 29, 5785/July 25, 2025 "Aharon the kohen ascended Mount Hor at HaShem’s bidding and died there, on the first day of the fifth month in the 40th year of the children of Israel’s exodus from Egypt.  Aharon was 123 years old when he died at Mount Hor." (Numbers 33:38-39) We have already learned of Aharon's death, which was related in the immediate aftermath of the incident at Mei Merivah which involved Moshe striking the rock and angering HaShem. (ibid 20:23-29) The Torah mentions Aharon's demise a second time almost as an aside, in the course of listing the forty two locations at which Israel encamped throughout her forty year journey in the wilderness.  But the Torah does reveal something previously unnoted: the precise date of Aharon's death, "the first day of the fifth month," which is Rosh Chodesh Av, which happens to be this very Shabbat. And as it is our custom to gather each year on the day of their passing and remember those who went before us, it befits us to take a moment to pay tribute to Aharon, Kohen Gadol, brother of Moshe and Miriam, husband of Elisheva, father of four sons, Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar, and grandfather of Pinchas.  Aharon is the only figure in the entire Tanach (Hebrew Scripture) whose precise date of death is recorded, and that alone is a sign of his uniqueness in the annals of Israel. We are first introduced to Aharon when he is mentioned by name by none other than HaShem, who, irritated at Moshe for his reluctance in accepting the role of liberator of Israel, tells him, "Is there not Aharon your brother, the Levite? I know that he will surely speak, and behold, he is coming forth toward you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart."  Have we previously read of such a thing? In the entire book of Genesis has a brother approached a brother without a feeling of jealousy or fear or anger or regret? No! Aharon's joy at seeing his brother and his utter lack of envy that his younger sibling merited G-d's attention is something utterly new. Soon after HaShem instructed Aharon to "'Go toward Moshe, to the desert.' So he went and met him on the mount of HaShem, and he kissed him." (4:27)  Now we are meeting Aharon for the first time and his very first gesture is to kiss his brother Moshe. Aharon enters our world with a kiss, and as Midrash tells us concerning his departure from our world, related above in this week's Torah reading Matot-Masei, Aharon leaves this world with a kiss: "Aharon the kohen ascended Mount Hor at HaShem’s bidding" - at HaShem's bidding, literally, in Hebrew, al pi HaShem - by the mouth of HaShem, which our sages understand, by a Divine kiss. When Aharon stood atop Mount Hor, as we read back in parashat Chukat, he was accompanied by his brother Moshe and his son Elazar, surrounded in his final moments by family. He merited seeing his son inherit his role as Kohen Gadol and died knowing that he had succeeded in raising his children well. We remember the untimely deaths of Aharon's eldest, Nadav and Avihu, but we also recall that their transgression was one motivated by a love of HaShem and a passion to participate in the service of the Tabernacle. Unlike Aharon, Moshe did not merit greatness from his sons. Moshe's two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, disappear from our story soon after they are mentioned. Moshe was a "man of G-d," (Psalms 90:1) and not a family man or a man of the people. We have witnessed Moshe's frustration with Israel, his occasional anger and disappointment. Moshe was distant from the people, and following the sin of the golden calf, he even physically distanced himself from the people. Moshe was undeniably the faithful servant of HaShem, "throughout My household. With him I speak mouth to mouth," (ibid 12:7-8) but Aharon was a man of the people.  When Aharon dies, we are told that "The whole congregation saw that Aharon had expired, and the entire house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days." (ibid 20:29) Our sages stress that all of Israel, both men and women, mourned bitterly for Aharon. Aharon was a peacemaker. He was known to intervene between disputing neighbors and make peace between them. Likewise Aharon also acted as a marriage counselor, making peace between distressed husbands and wives. He was beloved by all, and of Aharon the great Torah sage Hillel said, "Be of the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving the creatures and bringing them closer to Torah." (Pirkei Avot 1:12)  One might question Aharon's participation in the sin of the golden calf. Surely his involvement in that grievous sin should have disqualified him from assuming the role of Kohen Gadol! Being a man of the people had its price! And it was Moshe who, ascending high up to Mount Sinai, beseeched HaShem for forty days to forgive the sinning Israelites, which G-d did.  But can one truly ask forgiveness for a transgression committed by someone other than himself? Only Aharon, an accomplice to the transgression was able to stand before HaShem, not atop Mount Sinai, and not just once, but amidst his people, and before HaShem in the Tabernacle, and ask on Yom Kippur, year after year, for forgiveness for  himself, his household and for Israel. Aharon was a brother, not only to Moshe but to all Israel. As Kohen Gadol he bore upon his heart the stones and names of all the children of Israel whenever he went before HaShem. What better tribute to Aharon that his children, to this very day, stand before the congregation each morning and bless their brethren with the threefold blessing of HaShem, Birkat Kohanim, which they preface first with a blessing to HaShem "sanctifying us with Aharon's sanctity and commanding us to bless His nation Israel with love."  Aharon entered our world with a kiss and exited our world with a kiss. May his love for his people inspire and live with us forever.