16 April 2011 | 12 Nisan 5771 | Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Wasn’t it heartbreaking to watch the meltdown of Rory Mcllroy last Sunday at the Master’s Golf Tournament? He led the tournament for more than 60 holes and… poof… it all went up in smoke!  I saw an interview with Rory almost immediately after he completed his play on Sunday. This 21 year old young man was gracious, but it was also clear that he appeared a bit dazed by the way his triumphant- turned-disastrous-day had unfolded. I’m a fan of “Mike and Mike in the Morning” on ESPN and try to catch at least a bit of it each day. On Monday, Mike Greenberg interviewed a veteran golfer and broadcaster, Andy North, and asked what he would have said to Rory after he completed his round on Sunday. Andy said something like, “Sometimes there’s just nothing you can say.  You just have to be there for the person and respond to what he chooses to share with you. It’s not always so wise to speak.”  True wisdom on the golf course…

I thought of Rory Mcllroy’s golf debacle at the Master’s and Andy North’s response to Mike Greenberg’s question as I pondered the opening of our parasha this week:

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Lord. The Lord said to Moses:  Tell your brother Aaron… (Lv. 16:1 – 2)

Why was it important that the Torah take note that God spoke to Moses following the sudden and largely inexplicable deaths of Nadav and Avihu? Hadn’t God already spoken to Moses following this unexpected event? After all, two parshiyot, Tazria and Metzora, intervene between Shemini, when the deaths occurred, and our parasha today! What is going on here such that it was important to note Nadav and Avihu’s deaths? I think that Andy North’s comments following Rory Mcllroy’s debacle at the Masters last weekend provides us with an insight.

In both parshiyot Tazria and Metzora, God indeed speaks to Aaron. But I imagine that God is speaking to a dazed man, a man still reeling after the sudden and inexplicable deaths of two of his sons.  Aaron is hearing what God says to him and goes through the motions of compliance. But his efforts are not yet full-hearted.  It is just too soon…too soon for God to speak in any meaningful way to the High Priest.  

Finally, in our parasha this week, with the passage of time and, hopefully, some healing actions on Aaron’s part, God is able to speak to Aaron and be heard by him. But note that the communication is still not what it once was. God speaks to Aaron via Moses. That is why the Torah takes note of Nadav and Avihu’s deaths in the opening of the parasha…as if to say, “Now, with the shock past and the pain diminishing, for the very first time, God speaks to Aaron (via Moses) in a way that Aaron is able to hear and to which he can respond with a fuller, if not fully healed, heart.”

In retrospect, in light of Andy North’s comments about anyone who might experience a shock like Rory Mcllroy did this past Sunday, it was just too early for God to speak to Aaron. How could Aaron really listen? How could he respond…especially to the One who was responsible for the deaths of his sons?

“Sometimes there’s just nothing you can say. You just have to be there for the person and respond to what he chooses to share with you. It’s not always so wise to speak.” Oh yes, Andy North shares wisdom with us…if only we can really hear it.

Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful Pesach!