Parshas Tetzaveh

Liyluy Nishmas Elchonon Tzvi ben R' Yisroel Menachem, R' Baruch Moshe Aryeh ben R' Zev Yehuda, Zev Yehuda ben R' Shmuel Mordechai, Avraham ben R' Yitzchak Zev, R' Dovid Meer ben Harav Shmuel....

In perek chaf tes posuk alef the Torah begins discussing the procedure that was to be done in order to make Aharon and his sons into Kohanim.  "V'zeh hadavar asher ta'aseh lahem likadeish osam l'chahein li likach par echad ben bakar v'eilim shnayim t'mimim."  "This is the matter that you shall do for them to sanctify them to be Kohanim to me: take one young bull and two rams unblemished."

In the Medrash Rabah in Kedoshim it says, "You, Hashem were Gozer both the commandment to Klal Yisroel of Kedoshim ti'hiyu and this ritual to make the Kohanim kadosh.  Master of the world you request that Klal Yisroel should be holy, remove death from this world!  As it says in Chavakuk, Chavakuk asked Hashem that Klal Yisroel should not die.  Hashem answered that those are the rules.

It seems that Chavakuk's question was how could Klal Yisroel in general, and more specifically the sons of Aharon die?  They are holy and it doesn't seem right for something holy should die and be lost from the world!  Hashem responded that they need to die because it was already gozer on man to die by the chet of Adam Harishon.

The Rosh Yeshiva ztl explains that we can see from here the tremendous holiness of Klal Yisroel.  The power of this holiness Chavakuk "taaynad" and Hashem even agreed was strong enough to save Klal Yisroel from death had it not already been previously decreed.  Furthermore Chavakuk was around in the time of the churban bayis rishon, a time when Klal Yisroel was sinning and was deserving of golus.  With all that however, they were considered holy enough that Hashem agreed that they really are not deserving of death, just because they themselves were holy even though they were acting inappropriately.

We can learn from here the tremendous kedusha that each and every one of us has.  We are deserving of eternal life just for being who we are.  Imagine our level of greatness when we are actually trying to grow and follow in the ways of Hashem.. Good Shabbos