How would you feel if your grandson won a gold medal in Olympics? Would you want to be at that medal ceremony when millions of people see him in his glory?

Now imagine how Aharon would have felt to see his grandson, Pinchas, receive one of the greatest gifts ever given to a person. At the end of last week’s parsha, Pinchas stops a very terrible plague by killing Zimri and Kozbi (two people involved in a terrible sin). In this week’s parsha, we learn of his reward: he becomes of Cohain and is given the Bris Shalom (covenant of peace). What a great moment it must have been! But one person was missing – Aharon. I am not sure exactly when this event happened, but we know that it was after Aharon died (which was the 1st of Av – a summer month) and the beginning of Parshas Devarim (which was the 1st of Shevat – a winter month). Therefore, there was no more than six months between Aharon dying and Pinchas performing this act (it was probably less than six months). Why couldn’t Hashem keep Aharon alive for a few more months so he could see this event? Why did he have to make him pass away so quickly and miss this joyous occasion?

I think we can learn the answer from Star Wars. Why did Obi Wan Kenobi have to die in Episode Four (which was really the first episode that was released in 1977)? [side note: as always, the book is much better than the movie. I never recommend watching movies.] Obi Wan could have sliced Darth Vader to pieces if he wanted to. Furthermore, according to the book, it seems like Obi Wan gave up during his final fight with Vader. Why did he have to die?

The answer is because as long as Obi Wan was alive, Luke Skywalker could not rise to power. After Obi Wan passed away, the only Jedi Warrior that remained who could beat the Dark Side was Skywalker. The only reason why was able to rise to power was because Obi Wan was dead.

The same thing is with our parsha: Aharon needed to die before this event took place. If Aharon was still alive, Pinchas would have never been given the chance to perform this act. This is because Aharon was the ultimate pursuer of peace and he would have performed the act before Pinchas. Aharon needed to die so Pinchas could rise to the occasion. Therefore, it was really a chesed (kindness) from Hashem that Aharon was no longer alive when this event took place.

To end, let’s take the Star Wars idea one step farther. As mentioned, Obi Wan could have killed Darth Vader, but it is good that he did not. Obi Wan realized that although he could kill Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker could do something better. Skywalker was able to get Darth Vader to do tshuvah (repentance). At the end of Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader removes his evil mask and repents from his evilness. It was only because Skywalker had the relationship with Darth Vader that he was able to get him to repent. And what was the key to getting Darth Vader to repent? Skywalker constantly said to Vader, “I see the good in you.” This is the way to get someone to repent: speaking positively to them. And the key to speaking positively is to look at situations positively. We need to constantly search for ways to see things positively. Even when an event looks like it was unfair (like Aharon dying a few months before his grandson gets the greatest reward ever), we need to search farther and find the good in the event.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
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