18 Jun PARASHAT BEHAALOTECHA: RECTIFICATION IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE

Parashat Behaalotecha
begins with what
appear as three
unrelated topics, but
which in truth share an

important common theme.
The first topic is the command to Aharon
regarding the daily kindling of the
Menorah. Rashi explains that Aharon
regretted having not participated in the
special gifts and sacrifices brought by the
leaders of the other tribes to celebrate the
inauguration of the Mishkan. G-d told
Moshe to reassure Aharon that although
he did not bring these gifts and offerings,
he has the greater privilege of kindling the
Menorah.
The second subject discussed in this
Parasha is the process of the Leviyim’s
consecration. The firstborn, who were
spared from the plague that G-d delivered
in Egypt upon the Egyptian firstborns,
were to serve as the attendants in the
Mishkan, but they forfeited this privilege
as a result of the sin of the golden calf.
They were substituted by the Leviyim, who
did not worship the golden calf along with
the rest of the nation. The Leviyim were

now formally consecrated, offering special
sacrifices to atone on behalf of Beneh
Yisrael for the sin of the golden calf.
The Torah then tells that when the time
came for the offering of the Korban
Pesach, there were some members of the
nation who could not offer the sacrifice due
to their status of impurity, as they had come
in contact with a human corpse. They were
given the opportunity to offer the Korban
Pesach the next month, on the 14th of Iyar,
a day known as “Pesach Sheni” (“The
Second Pesach”), when those who could
not offer the sacrifice on Pesach were able
to make up the missed offering.
These three subjects share the common
theme of rectification, receiving a second
chance. Aharon regretted not having
brought special gifts and sacrifices during
the Mishkan’s inauguration like the other
tribal leaders, and he was assured that his
daily kindling of the Menorah was an even
greater privilege. The nation committed
a grievous sin by worshipping the golden
calf, but even that failure was rectified,
through the service of the Leviyim. Finally,
those who were unable to bring the Korban
Pesach were granted a second chance, and

were invited to bring the
sacrifice the next month.
These three sections
prepare us for what we
read later in the Parasha
– the distressing stories
about Beneh Yisrael’s
complaints as they traveled
through the wilderness.
When we read these
stories, we can become
very discouraged, and feel
as though our ancestors
lost everything, that they
had fallen to the point from which they
could not recover. The first sections of this
Parasha remind us that this isn’t true, that
rectification is always possible. As Rav
Nahman of Breslav (1772-1810) famously
taught, “If you believe that you can ruin,
then believe that you can repair.”
I have sat many times with people who
shared with me their angst and remorse
over terrible mistakes that they made, and
they doubted whether they should even
bother continue observing the Misvot
after what they’ve done. This is a familiar
tool of the Yeser Ha’ra (evil inclination)

– to thrust a person into depression as he
thinks about his mistakes, so that he will
decide to just give up. This is a very clever
technique, as the person feels that giving
up is the “righteous” thing to do, that he is
supposed to beat himself up over his sins
to the point where he falls into despair.
We must remember that Hashem always
invites us to rectify our mistakes, to repair
the harm, to move forward and to advance.
We should never feel it’s too late; no matter
what mistakes we have made in the past,
we are always given the opportunity to
correct them and earn Hashem’s love and
grace.