Moses inquired insistently about the he-goat of the sin offering, for behold, it had been burned. And he was angry with Elazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, saying: “Why did you not eat the sin offering in a holy place, for it is most holy; and He gave it to you to gain forgiveness for the sin of the assembly and to atone for them before God? Behold, its blood was not brought into the Sanctuary within; you should have eaten it in the Holy as I had commanded!” Aaron spoke to Moses: “Was it they who this day offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before God? Now that such things befell me – were I to eat this day’s sin offering, would God approve?” Moses heard and he approved. (Leviticus 10:16 – 20)
Nadav and Avihu’s deaths occurred in the midst of the Tabernacle’s consecration, so Aaron thought that perhaps he should not eat all the sacrifices he had been commanded to. Indeed, perhaps, as mourners, he and his remaining sons were forbidden to do so. This possibility notwithstanding, Moses had received no such instructions from God so he rebukes Aaron and his sons. However, he humbly accepts Aaron’s argument when he provides it.
There is an exceedingly subtle but beautiful lesson about when to speak and when to remain silent that can be learned from the way Aaron forcefully but respectfully spoke to Moses and how “Moses heard and he approved.” The lesson is especially powerful since this dialogue reverses the roles Moses and Aaron just played immediately after Nadav and Avihu’s deaths, when Moses spoke authoritatively and Aaron acquiesced silently: “Moses said to Aaron: ‘Of this did God speak, saying: “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people”‘; and Aaron was silent” (Leviticus10:3). This rapid role reversal evokes Solomon’s famous words in Ecclesiastes (3:1):”To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.” One of the fourteen pairs of “times” listed in the following verses is “a time to keep silent and a time to speak.” Only a truly wise person knows when to speak and when to remain silent.
The two incidents just referred to also illustrate the tremendous respect Moses and Aaron had for each other. Each brother could speak freely and even forcefully to the other when need be, yet at the same time each brother knew how to humbly accept the truth from the other, when he was right.
