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There is a proverb that people say: “After a person dies ( ), he
is considered holy ( ).” This implies that after a person dies, he We mention the death of Aharon’s sons on Yom Kippur in order to arouse
achieves completion and cannot sin anymore. It says, “Do not believe in the Attribute of Mercy upon us. We hope to be found innocent and thereby
yourself until the day you die.” This world is a world of constant battle merit a favorable judgment. Furthermore, tzaddikim after death are
with the Yetzer Hara in order to guard one’s purity. When a person considered living. To the same degree that they became sanctified during
succeeds in defeating his Yetzer Hara, he acquires a greater level of purity. their life, they are sanctified in their death, and their memory is
In this way, he can eventually reach the fiftieth level of kedushah upon perpetuated.
arriving at the World of Truth.
Aharon’s sons were condemned to death because they sought to achieve
It is customary to teach young children the parshiyot of Vayikra in order a lofty level before they were adequately prepared for it. Clearly, they had
to train them to act with self-sacrifice. Just as it is easy to acquire the trait pure intentions and acted for the sake of Heaven. However, they should
of self-sacrifice when trained in it from youth, so too, it is easy to lose this have advanced gradually, step by step, and not sought to proceed to the
attribute. Therefore, one must constantly strive to renew his dedication to highest levels in one giant leap.
Avodat Hashem.
It says, “And Aharon fell silent.” How was he capable of accepting the
The last letters of the words (after death) have the same
gematria as the word (holy). This indicates that a person who decree calmly without protesting? Aharon realized that his sons were
sanctifies himself during his life will ultimately also die sanctified and entrusted to him only as a security. Therefore, when they were taken from
thus achieve perfection. him, he did not complain. In the same way, Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi
Meir Ba’al Haness justified the decree when their sons perished, accepting
A person merits holiness by making split second decisions, when he it with love.
decides to abandon evil and go on the right path. As an example, we are
taught the story of Rut, who cleaved to her mother-in-law and gained Aharon’s sons absorbed the lesson of their father that everything
eternal life. In contrast, Orpah attained only momentary pleasure by ultimately belongs to Hashem. Therefore, they were inspired to sacrifice
choosing to return to her father’s house. their lives for Hashem’s sake. Hashem blamed them for doing so, since it
says in the Torah, “And live by them.” This implies that a person should
Similarly, we learn about Rachav, who merited marrying Yehoshua bin live with inspiration through keeping the mitzvot of the Torah. It is only
Nun, and ultimately having Yirmeyahu descend from her. This is because in specific situations that a person is obligated to relinquish his life in
in a fateful moment she chose to dedicate her life to eternal truths instead sanctification of Hashem.
of momentary pleasures.
The death of a tzaddik atones for the sins of the generation. This is
because people are shocked and awakened to do teshuvah. As a result,
they merit atonement for their sins. Thus, the tzaddik’s death is the means # 26347-EYAL-6
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