Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you. (Shemos 4:14)

Rashi: וראך ושמח בלבו AND WHEN HE SEES YOU, HE WILL BE GLAD IN HIS HEART — not as you believe, that he will be angry with you because you have attained a high position. In consequence of this, Aaron was privileged to wear the ornament of the breastplate which was placed over his heart.

Chazal tell us that Aharon was gladdened that his brother would take on the position of the ruler of Klal Yisrael and he was truly happy for him. Because of this, Aharon merited to be the bearer of the choshen on his breast which was the embodiment of the achdus of klal Yisrael. At a simple glance, one would assume that Aharon merited this privilege because he had a good heart. However, it actually may be the other way around.

In the secular world there is a famous philosophical question: Which came first: the chicken or the egg? That is really a great question if you have no idea how the world was created. However, we Jews are blessed with the holy Torah, in which it tells us that Hashem created the chickens; it does not say that eggs were created at all! So, we know chickens came first!

But in other situations, it may be unclear what is the cause and what is the effect. The Alter of Slobodka merited to be the “father” of many yeshivos, as his students became the heads of yeshivas throughout Europe. Whenever a new yeshiva was started, and there was a need for good students to make up a new “core”, he would send his best students to this new place of Torah. This same character trait was found in Reb Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, as he too sent his best students to help start other yeshivos.

In a certain sense, this is the character trait of Aharon, who was always happy for others, and willing to renounce his own position if it would yield a positive result for the community. Great people understood that opening a new yeshiva is similar to opening a new branch in a large corporation: Send out the best workers to get this branch open and running properly. There is no “mine” or “yours”, rather just Hakados Baruch Hu’s.

The Kolbo writes that Achashverosh wanted to ascend the throne of King Shlomo. This magical-mechanical throne had different kinds of creatures that would help Shlomo ascend to his chair at the top. In fact, the King Pharaoh Necho was crippled while trying to ascend Shlomo’s throne, as it did not belong to him. Achashverosh realized the foolishness in trying to actually ascend and instead he made a replica. Yet, while all three kings somewhat managed (in one way or another) to sit on this throne, only King Shlomo was adored by his subjects, for he treated his people fairly. Pharaoh Nacho, Achashverosh and similar kings who looked to wallow in self-glory did not endear themselves to their subjects in any sense of the word.

The Yaaros Devash tells us that the throne of King Shlomo had the ability to disseminate justice from Heaven upon the Earth. Obviously, those who were unworthy were unable to ascend the throne and apply that energy. It seems obvious to me that the urim v’tumim and the choshen needed to be hosted in a place which infused with selflessness, as they were to be used to facilitate Israel’s needs. Being that this is so, I think that the choshen and urim v’tumim “wanted” the honor of being on Aharon’s breast, just as much as Aharon was honored when he could help out a fellow Jew.

This quality in Aharon is what made him such a charismatic person, and everyone wanted to be his friend. When he saw people arguing, he genuinely felt bad for them. He befriended each side in turn and told them that the other side would like to make peace, in the end bringing more shalom into the world. In fact, Chazal say that when Aharon died, there were tens of thousands of children who were named “Aharon” after him, and they all wept bitterly, for they were born from a union that was fostered by Aharon’s ability to create peace in the home.

May we all merit that when faced with opportunity of helping others, by smoothing over an issue, we do not consider it merely our duty but rather our honor.