פרשת שמיני
'וידם אהרן ויקרא י', ג
And Aharon fell silent.
When אהרן was informed about the passing of his sons’ נדב ואביהו, the Torah tells us וידם אהרן, and אהרן fell silent.
The חפץ חיים wonders why the Torah does not use the conventional way of expressing this sentiment – ויחרש אהרן and אהרן fell silence.
Answers the חפץ חיים, that when one is silenced, ויחרש – one can see by his facial expressions what his mood and spirit is. We can see if he is happy or sad, satisfied or angry. But when one is דומם, he becomes like an inanimate object where no emotions are revealed.
אהרן’s lofty level at this moment, at the tragic loss of his two sons was one where you could not see emotions at all. He accepted the judgement of Hashem without any signs of being unhappy with it. It is for this reason, says the חפץ חיים, that he merited for a portion of the Torah "שתו ן" to be said directly to him and exclusively to him.
As מחנכים we all have our own personal challenges in life. For some it might be פרנסה, while others its health related or a host of other issues. When we are זוכה to demonstrate the וידם as opposed to the ויחרש and we merit the strength not to show our private emotions to our students – we will surely merit ברכה as אהרן was זוכה to.
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.
