Parashat Chukat 5785

by Rabbi Margie Cella

This is the first week that I will be connecting my drash to our new Torah Fund theme, Oseh Shalom. As we continue to pray for peace for our beloved Eretz Israel, we will also examine the various ways in which this theme connects to our religious lives.

In Parashat Chukat we read of two deaths: Miriam, then later Aaron. The biblical accounts of these passings are very different.

In verse 20:1 we read: “The Israelites, even the whole congregation, (ּכׇּל־הָ֨עֵדָ֤ה) arrived at the wilderness of Zin . . . Miriam died there and was buried there.” One-half of a verse is allotted for the loss of Miriam.

Later, in verses 20:22–29 (8 verses), we read of the death of Aaron. God instructs Moses to bring Aaron and his son Eleazer up onto Mt. Hor, where Aaron will die, out of the sight of the nation. Before he passes, Moses transfers all the garments of the high priest to Eleazer, designating him as the new Kohen Gadol. It is only when Moses returns with Eleazer alone, that the people understand that Aaron has died.

We are told that Aaron died “al pi Hashem”, “at the mouth of God.” This has been interpreted to mean that Aaron died through a divine kiss. This is a stark contrast with the description of Miriam’s death.

The “whole congregation” (kol ha-edah) of Israel arrived just prior to Miriam’s death. The same phrase is used three times in the accounting of Aaron’s death: the whole congregation gathered at Mt. Hor, witnessed the three men going up to the mountain, and witnessed the two men returning. It was only Miriam whose death the nation actually witnessed, and whose burial the nation participated in.

It is Miriam’s burial that we emulate today. We all participate in the mitzvah of burying the dead, in a final act of chesed for the deceased, assuring a peaceful transition for the deceased from this world to the next. Oseh shalom. May You, God, bring peace to the souls of those who have departed.