בס”ד
DON’T BE SILENT, PRAISE!
Parashat Shemini This week’s Torah reading talks, among other themes, about the death of two of the sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, in the middle of serving G-d. The Torah relates the attitude of Aharon and, when compared to that of King David we can learn a deep lesson.
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Not so many events happen in this particular portion, but one very significant moment is the death of Nadav and Avihu. Nadav and Avihu were two of the sons of Aaron—the great priest and the brother of Moses.
They were in the middle of the inauguration of the Tabernacle and were serving G-d. They brought a strange or unauthorized fire before G-d—something very spiritual—and in the midst of all this, they passed away. So, in a sense, it happened right in the middle of a celebration.
Now, when the Torah talks about this event, it shows us the attitude Aaron had when he saw that his children—again, very great spiritual people—passed away in the middle of serving G-d.
Before we explain what the Torah actually says, it’s helpful to understand that there are three general attitudes a person can have when facing problems or challenges in life. We will learn from Aaron one of those attitudes, and from King David—the best possible attitude.
Attitude #1: Complaint
This is when a person refuses to accept what is happening. They might say:
“I deserve better. Why is this happening to me? What does G-d want from me?”
It doesn’t matter whether the person is good or bad—this attitude is about complaining. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t like this,” and so on. This attitude is, of course, not ideal. G-d knows exactly what He’s doing with His world. Do you really think you know better than G-d?
Attitude #2: Silence and Acceptance
This is Aaron’s response. The Torah says in Hebrew:
“Vayidom Aharon”— “And Aaron was silent.”
That means he accepted G-d’s judgment. He didn’t understand it, he didn’t like it, but he didn’t complain. He just remained silent.
This silence was actually rewarded. After the passing of his sons, G-d spoke directly to Aaron—something that rarely happened—and gave him specific laws through him.
Attitude #3: Praise
This is the attitude of King David, and it’s even greater than silent acceptance. We see this in two Psalms: Psalm 30 and Psalm 101.
Psalm 30
This psalm was written when King David wanted to inaugurate a new place of worship—his own house, since the Temple had not yet been built.
At the end of the psalm, he says:
“Hear me, L-rd, and have mercy on me. Help me.”
Then he says that G-d transformed his mourning into joy, and adds:
“In order that my whole being should sing to You, and I will not be silent.”
Notice that: “I will not be silent”—the opposite of Aaron’s silence. David says that even in hard times, he wants his entire being to sing and express joy before G-d.
Psalm 101
David goes even further. This psalm begins:
“A psalm by David. I will sing of kindness and justice.”
In Hebrew: “Chesed u’mishpat ashirah.”
That means: whether G-d shows me kindness (chesed) or justice (mishpat)—whether times are good or hard—I will still sing to You, G-d.
So, David teaches us: not only should we not be silent—we should actively praise G-d for everything that happens in our lives, both the obviously good and the seemingly difficult.
To summarize:
- Attitude 1: Complain and resist.
- Attitude 2: Accept silently, like Aaron.
- Attitude 3: Go beyond acceptance—praise G-d in all circumstances, like King David.
Talk from Rabbi Tuvia Serber
The above is a representation of the spoken text converted to written text.
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