Hava Dov Rossiter [March 26, 2022] Sh’mini

Shabbat Shalom! In my Torah portion, Sh’mini, Aaron, and his four sons finish a party in celebration of becoming priests. Then two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offer an “alien fire” to God. God punishes them by killing them immediately. Some rabbis think they were killed because they were still drunk when they made the offering. Aaron does not mourn in fear that God will kill him too. Then God tells Moses and Aaron the kosher laws, which animals are pure and which are not. 

While studying my Torah portion a part that stood out to me was that Aaron was silent when his sons were killed. I wondered whether he should have said something even though he was scared. Rabbis think Aaron was silent because Moses told him not to argue with God. After all, if he did, perhaps everyone would be consumed by flames. Earlier in the Torah, there was the threat of being consumed by flames when Aaron was complicit in building the golden calf.

There are different interpretations about why Aaron was silent. Some scholars say he was silent in protest of God killing his sons. Others say he was silent out of fear. It’s not always easy to tell why someone is being silent (after all there are no thought bubbles in the Torah!). 

Silence as Protest

Silence can mean different things in different situations. Sometimes we are silent in protest. For example, after George Floyd was killed by a police officer, protesters staged silent lie-ins, laying on the ground for 8 minutes, 46 seconds. This is powerful because normally we would do a lot in 8 minutes, we would say and do things. So you realize how long eight minutes is when you are silent. It takes discipline for a large group of people to be silent but when a large group is silent it makes the point even stronger.  

Another example is the protest by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two black athletes during the 1968 Olympics. When they were getting their medals they bowed their heads and silently raised their fists to protest how black people were being treated. This example is a different way of using silence. With the platform of the Olympics where the whole world is watching the most powerful thing, they could do was a silent gesture. 

Silence as Healing

Sometimes silence can be healing. One example of that is hiking and being in nature. It can be very peaceful and calming to not say a word and just enjoy nature. You can hear and see things you might not see if you were talking and distracted. Oftentimes we are too caught up talking on our phones rushing from one place to the next, we forget to be silent for a few moments to look around us. 

Silence as Fear

Sometimes we are silent because we are afraid. For example, there have been times in class when I have been afraid to raise my hand because I was scared I was going to get the answer wrong. I am afraid of getting an answer wrong because I don’t want to look dumb. Another example of where I feel afraid to speak up is someone says a mean comment and everyone else goes along with it. I am scared if I say something people will say, “it’s just a joke.”

Even in these situations when you are scared it is important to speak up. Your ideas and opinions matter and you might think of something other people didn’t. It is also important to speak up for ourselves and others even if it does not always feel easy. 

Other times silence can leave space for others. Sometimes, during family meals, it feels hard to get a word in. This makes me feel upset and like what I have to say is not as important. That is why I think it is important to be silent and ask others for their opinions during conversations. Silence can often leave space for others’ creative ideas.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can learn from this week’s Torah portion that sometimes it’s important to be silent, and other times it is important to speak up even if it is hard. I think Aaron should have spoken up because it was not right that God killed his sons. I think Aaron was silent out of fear but this should have not stopped him from standing up for what he thought was right.