Getting Mad and Making Mistakes

During the dedication of the mishkan, two of Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, die. As a result, Aharon and his two remaining sons, Elazar and Itamar, became mourners. The laws of mourning for the Kohanim serving in the mishkan are complicated. Kohanim are allowed to eat from some sacrifices, even while they are mourners; while other sacrifices are off limits. Elazar and Itamar partook of sacrifices that were offered in celebration of the dedication of the mishkan. However, they did not partake of the Rosh Chodesh offering. (It was the first day of Nissan.) The pasuk (Vayikra 10:16) states that Moshe got angry at his nephews for not eating from the Rosh Chodesh offering. However, Moshe was wrong; not only for getting angry, but he was also wrong about the Halacha. As Aharon explained, Elazar and Itamar were correct to not eat from the Rosh Chodesh sacrifice in their status of mourners. After hearing Aharon’s explanation, Moshe changed his mind and approved of their decision (10:20).

The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 13) explains that this is one of three episodes in the Torah where Moshe got angry. The other two are: at Mei Meriva, before Moshe hit the rock and after the war with Midyan when the soldiers allowed some Midianite women to survive against Moshe’s orders. In all three cases Moshe’s anger is accompanied by a mistake he makes related to the correct Halacha in that moment. The Sifra notes that sometimes a person gets angry because he made a mistake, and sometimes a person’s anger is what causes them to err. In the examples cited by the Midrash, at Mei Meriva and by Midyan it was Moshe’s anger that caused him to subsequently make a mistake. In our case in Parshat Shemini, it was Moshe’s mistake that led him to get angry.

The Talmud in Pesachim (66b) writes that when a person gets angry, his wisdom is suspended. Angry people often do not act in a logical or reasonable fashion. To err is human. To feel angry at times is also very difficult to avoid. The Midrash is teaching us to be aware of the relationship between our anger and our mistakes- and to prepare to avoid those pitfalls. Sometimes we make a mistake, and instead of learning from the mistake we may get embarrassed, nervous, upset and ultimately angry. In the aftermath of a mistake we should remind ourselves that everyone makes mistakes and what’s most important is that we learn from our mistakes and rectify them when possible. At other times something gets us angry. When we are angry we should try to put the situation into proper perspective as a way to ameliorate our anger. We should try to implement techniques that allow us to calm down so that we don’t do anything hasty in our anger.

Responding appropriately to our anger and to our mistakes is a big challenge. Even Moshe Rabbeinu was not perfect on these challenges. What’s most important is to be aware of the challenge and be prepared to respond to our anger and to our mistakes in as positive and constructive fashion as possible.