In this week’s Parshah, the Torah tells us about the “Big Three”—the trio of leaders who led the Jewish Nation from Egypt into the desert. At the very start of the Parshah, we learn about the passing of Moses’s big sister Miriam. Right after informing us of her passing, the Torah tells us, “And there was no water for the congregation” and Rashi comments: “What happened that there was suddenly no water? From here we learn that they had the well of water all 40 years of desert travel in the merit of Miriam.” 

At the end of that same chapter, we learn about the passing of Aharon Hakohein. The Torah informs us that “the entire congregation saw that Aharon has passed away, and the entire House of Israel wept for Aharon for thirty days.” Right after his passing, the Torah tells us, “And the Canaanites heard… and fought with Israel.” On that, Rashi comments: What did the Canaanites hear? “They heard that Aharon had died and that the Clouds of Glory had departed,” and so they thought that they now had permission to do battle against Israel. So the Clouds of Glory that protected the Jews in the desert were in Aaron’s honour.

Moses passed away at the end of the Torah and the entrance of the Jewish people into the Holy Land. With his passing the manna stopped.

When we read the different accounts, we see a strange anomaly. With Miriam’s passing, we are not told by the Torah of any mourners. Contrast this to the passing of Aharon, the Torah tells us, “And the whole House of Israel wept for Aharon,” “the menfolk and the womenfolk.”
With Moses’s passing the Torah tells us, “and the Children of Israel wept for Moses,” on which Rashi notes that from the fact that it does not say, “the whole House of Israel” but only “the Children of Israel,” we deduce that only the menfolk wept for his passing.
 
Moses, the ultimate leader, who took us out of slavery and provided us with manna in the desert and was not mourned by most of the nation? Miram, who provided the Jewish people with the most important need: water and we find no mention of even a single individual mourning over Miriam at all, yet with Aharon, the entire Nation of Israel, wept for his passing!

The Chabad Lubavitch video house Jewish Educational Media has put together a special project in which they interview people who merited meeting the Rebbe. They’ve interviewed over 1,500 people to date on their personal experiences with the Rebbe. What’s interesting is that when you listen to these testimonies, you notice that the interviewees don’t remember everything that the Rebbe said to them at their meetings. What they do remember clearly is the smile that the Rebbe gave them. But more than that, what people truly remember and repeat and recount to everyone is the good feeling the Rebbe gave them when they were in his presence. They felt that someone truly cared about them—that someone truly loved them with all his heart.

And that was the defining uniqueness of Aharon Hakohein. As Rashi says in our Parshah: Why did the entire House of Israel mourn his passing? “Because Aharon pursued peace and implemented love between disputing parties and between husbands and wives.” Aharon Hakohein’s entire mission was to draw everyone close. As Ethics of the Father’s recount about Aharon, “Love peace and pursue peace, love the creations and bring them close to Torah.”

This teaches us something very interesting about human nature. We can give a person food and water to save his very life - but it’s still no guarantee that the person will remember you. But a person to whom you give a smile, or a good feeling will always remember you and your smile forever.

Last night we celebrated the Impact Care Awards Dinner for teenagers who have been volunteering with communal organisations this year. It is the very embodiment of what the Chassidic movement and Chabad Lubavitch stand for – following in the legacy of Aharon Hakohein to provide care for our community – and it was amazing to see another generation of teenagers rising to this challenge. Please G-d they will be an inspiration for all of us!