Rabbi Howard Morrison

This coming Monday, a pivotal date will place in Canada, as elections will be held to appoint new federal national leaders of our country from Prime-Minister to Members of Parliament. We will wish all the newly elected leaders well.

Good and bad lessons of leadership can be derived from today's Parsha. First, the Kohanim are celebrated as part of an eight-day inauguration ceremony. Aaron and his four sons will officiate the Temple ritual. At first glance, the Priestly leadership goes well as God accepts the sacrifices which have been brought to the altar.

Soon after, however, we learn of terrible leadership. Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron's sons, bring a strange offering which God had not commanded them. We know something bizarre has happened as the Cantillation marks on the words, "which had God had not commanded them," appear ever so rarely in all of Torah.

Other than stating that they brought a strange offering, commentators are forced to conjecture at the wrong doing: Were Nadav and Avihu drunk? Were they envious of the leadership positions held by Moses and Aaron? Did they refuse to consult with others, figuring that they knew everything? Did they not respect the rules and boundaries of the Tabernacle? And this list of guesswork goes on.

We can understand this conjecture as it applies to other contexts of leadership as well: Autocrats refusing to consult with others; inappropriate personal behavior; respect versus disrespect for the rule of law, and so forth.

After the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, Moses tries to comfort his brother Aaron who remains silent. Was the attempt to comfort too soon, as burial had not yet taken place? In subsequent Talmudic literature, one is taught not to comfort another during their time of rage and before the funeral. One does not comfort mourners today until after the burial. Only then do Shiva and Nichum Aveilim, comforting mourners, take place.

Was Moses trying to explain that leaders are held to higher standards, sometimes inexplicable? Thus, Nadav and Avihu died on the spot because of some kind of inexplicable standard?! Perhaps Aaron's silence is not due only to a parent's grief, but also a silent resignation to the plight often held by those in leadership positions. In a later Biblical scenario, Moses himself will be held to a higher standard when he will not be allowed to enter the Promised land and will die before accomplishing everything he had worked for, all because he struck a rock instead of speaking to it????!!!!

Leadership has its rewards, but it also has its responsibilities, risks, and perils. 

I pray that a Rabbi, a prospective new Cantor, volunteer synagogue leaders all accept their leadership roles with modesty, respect for others, and altruistic goals and objectives. 

May this be the case for all those who will have won leadership elections along our great country of Canada.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison