“…and He said, “There is your brother Aaron the Levite. He, I know, speaks readily. Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you.” (Shemos 4:14)

Rashi: “and he will be happy to see you Not as you believe…”

The Medrash tells us that the verse in Tehillim (133:1), “הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֭וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד” (How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together) refers to Moshe and Aharon. The Medrash lists a host of brothers who experienced difficulties getting along: Kayin and Hevel; the children of Noach; Yitzchak and Yishmael; Yaakov and Esav; Yosef and his brothers. But the Medrash concludes the list and then lists Moshe and Ahron. These initial brothers had difficulty getting along, whereas Moshe and Aharon were gladdened by each other’s success and were not self-absorbed at all. The Medrash tells us even more: Moshe for seven days protested being chosen to be the one to take Klal Yisrael out of Egypt because he knew that his brother Aharon was presently the leader. How would the older brother feel if the younger brother took over his position and brought it to even greater heights? Moshe felt that he must resist taking this job for it might hurt his brother.

The Alter of Slobodka comments, “Moshe Rabbeinu understood the implications. Klal Yisrael was in exile and was suffering. They would continue to have untold pressures, hurt and sorrow every moment they remained in exile. Moshe, who is called ‘The trustworthy shepherd’, would be allowing his flock to continue to suffer (a problem of bein adam lechaveiro – between Moshe and his fellow Jew) so that his brother Aharon should not be hurt. Moshe’s protests due to his concern about his brother would also cause the receiving of the Torah to be delayed (a problem bein adam Lamakom – between Moshe and Hashem). Let us stop and analyze: If Aharon would feel bad, would that make Moshe’s action wrong? Hashem himself said that Moshe should take on the leadership. Yet, Moshe felt it was still important to protect his brother’s feelings, even though there were no grounds for Aharon to feel slighted since Moshe was doing Hashem’s Will!

I believe this is a wake-up call for us to stop and think of the many possible circumstances in which we may cause someone pain. People justify their actions with, “I am allowed to do this, so why do I have to worry about the fact that it will make someone else feel bad?” Is this the Torah’s perspective?

I would like to share with you a story that happened with a member of our shul many years ago. This man worked in an office, and it became apparent that his division was going to be disbanded. He approached me with the following quandary: “If I look out for myself and find myself a new job, it seems clear to me that the whole division will immediately collapse, and many fine Jews will lose their livelihood. However, if I wait around for the axe to fall, I may be out of a job for a long time. What is my obligation?” Before I was even able to formulate an answer (which is irrelevant to this discussion), he called me back and said he decided to stick it out for the sake of the others in the department. Whether he was obligated to or not, he did not want to be the cause of others to lose their livelihood. We must be concerned about other people’s hurt.

Indeed, this is a mida which is important for us to remember. Not only does the letter and spirit of the law matter, but sometimes there are even higher levels to reach. We need to ask ourselves sometimes, “What would Hashem be happy with us doing?” Obviously, when a person has others’ best interests in mind, we can say about him, ‘Sheves Achim gam yachad.’”

Chazal tell us that when he heard about Moshe’s role, not only did Aharon not feel bad, but on the contrary, he was happy for his brother. He had no need to suppress negative feelings because he had none! This is a true model of a person who can be “oheiv shalom” and “rodef shalom” – who both loves and pursues peace. Such selflessness should be part of our goal throughout our lifetimes.