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Parashat Vaera

Moshe and Aaron. Each one with a different leadership. Of Moshe, it is written in Devarim 34, about his death that "Bnei Israel wept", while about the death of Aaron it is written that "ALL Bnei Israel wept for 30 days." According to Rabbi Nathan's Avot, an agadic midrash, this difference tells us what the arrival of each one of the people was: Moshe was a faithful follower of absolute justice, while Aaron did not reprimand the people or the people. He was a Rodef Shalom (persecutor of peace) and he sought Shlom Bait, peace in the home, in the town, being a conciliator in each of his interventions. Even the midrash tells that he was a brilliant marriage counselor and that it is due to him that hundreds of descendants of couples had been born who, without his intervention, would not have succeeded.


The midrash even tells us a peculiarity: "How many thousands there are in Israel who are called Aharon!" (Avot of Rabbi Nathan 12). That is, there were sages of the Talmud named Aaron, but there was no Moshe, denoting an attachment to the first and a distance from the second.


In fact, referring to the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon) it is said that "from Moshe to Moshe, there was no like Moshe." From Moshe Rabbeinu, to the Rambam... it is not only a praise, but in truth there were no outstanding sages who chose the name of Moshe. Perhaps out of respect for our first Navi, or perhaps because in that severe attitude of Moshe, he gained distance from the people.


Even so, we have already seen that of the pairs of brothers of Bereshit, there was not one that coexisted in peace and harmony: clearly it did not happen between Cain and Abel; Ishmael and Yitzchak had a murky relationship; It was only during their reunion, after 20 years of separation, that Esav was able to embrace his brother Jacob, not to mention the relationship between Joseph and his brothers...

The Aaron-Moshe duo is the first that works, complementing each other in their functions and in their shortcomings. Not only in alleviating the difficulty of the speech of the leader par excellence of our people, but in the daily function of approaching or maintaining distance with the people, as necessary.


The Midrash Tanchuma further sweetens this relationship by telling us that at the time Moshe took the leadership and Aaron the priesthood, far from being jealous or betrayed in some way, each rejoiced at the greatness acquired by the other.

We are facing one of the crucial moments in the confrontation with Pharaoh in Egypt, the plagues. And at the beginning of the parashah is the promise or commitment of the Creator to his people: "I am the Eternal; and I will bring you out of the forced labor of Egypt, and I will save you from her service, and I will redeem you with my arm. stretched out and with judgments and great punishments. And I will take you for my people, and I will be God to you "(Shemot 6: 6-7).


It is essential that in moments of crisis, or decision-making or confrontations, there is unity, respect and joy for the achievements of those who surround us and love us. That there is collaboration and commitment, but above all, that there is THE possibility par excellence of enjoying what is built and projected together as Psalm 133 says precisely about Aaron and Moshe: “Hineh ma tov umanayim shevet achim gam yachad”.


Gustavo Geier

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