The passage opens with a quote from the Book of Job: “Does the eagle ascend at your directive?” (Job 39:27). Rabbi Yudan of Gaul uses this verse to ask a powerful question about Aaron, the High Priest. Did Aaron command God's presence to rest upon the Ark? Did he have the power to remove it? In other words, did Aaron control the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence?
Of course not. The Holy One, blessed be He, is in charge. As the text clarifies, God essentially asks Job (or Aaron, in some versions), "Did I rest My Divine Presence upon the Ark by your word? Or did I remove it by your word?" The answer, clearly, is no. God’s presence isn’t subject to human command.
The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) continues, drawing a parallel between the eagle's dwelling and the Temples in Jerusalem. "On a rock it dwells" (Job 39:28) is likened to the First Temple, a single, solid foundation. "And stays the night" suggests a temporary lodging. The Second Temple, described as being "on the crag of the rock and the stronghold," represents many lodgings, implying a longer, perhaps less stable, existence. Rabbi David Luria explains that a stronghold implies more permanence than a simple rock, reflecting the Second Temple's longer duration. We even learn that when the Ark was removed, the foundation stone remained (Yoma 54b) – a symbol of enduring faith.
Why "rock?" Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta tells us it's because the world was founded upon it. “From Zion, from the perfection of beauty” (Psalms 50:2), from it, the beauty of the earth was formed. The Temple, the Mikdash, is at the very center of creation.
The text then shifts to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. What did the High Priest pray for when he emerged from the Kodesh HaKodashim, the Holy of Holies? He prayed for a year of rain, heat, and dew – a year of goodwill, blessing, inexpensiveness, plenty, and commerce. He prayed that the people of Israel would not need one another, nor exert authority over each other. He even asked that God not listen to the prayers of wayfarers who might not want rain! The High Priest’s prayer was a plea for balance, for the needs of the community to outweigh individual desires.
“From there it searches for food” (Job 39:29) – the High Priest hoped his prayers in the Holy of Holies would bring sustenance for the entire year. And "Its eyes look afar" – he would observe the smoke rising from the altar, discerning from its direction whether each region would be blessed with abundance. If the smoke rose straight to the heavens, the entire world would be satiated.
But even with such power and responsibility, tragedy can strike. “Its fledglings swallow blood” (Job 39:30). After all the greatness that Aaron merited, the fact that God rested His Presence on the Ark through him, and that his descendants would perform the service in the Holy of Holies, bringing sustenance to the people, Aaron saw his sons, Nadav and Avihu, die in the Tabernacle (Leviticus 10:3). And he was silent.
“Where the slain are, there it is” (Job 39:30) – even in the face of death, the Divine Presence remains. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Berekhya explain that when the command was given to "Approach, carry your brethren from before the Sanctuary" (Leviticus 10:4), it didn't say "from before the Ark," but "from before the Sanctuary." It’s as if God is saying, "Move this corpse from before this mourner. How long must this mourner suffer?"
This passage from Vayikra Rabbah is a powerful reminder of the complexities of faith. It shows us that even those closest to the Divine, like Aaron, are not immune to tragedy. It emphasizes the importance of community, of praying for the well-being of others. And it reminds us that even in the face of suffering, the Divine Presence endures. Perhaps the true power isn't in controlling the Divine, but in finding the Divine even in the most difficult moments. What do you think?
Rabbi Yudan of Gaul began: “Does the eagle ascend at your directive?” (Job 39:27). The Holy One blessed be He said to Aaron: ‘Did I rest My Divine Presence upon the Ark by the word of your mouth, or did I remove My Divine Presence from upon the Ark by the word of your mouth?’17The verse the midrash is commenting upon is one in which God speaks to Job, and therefore some emend the text such that it reads: The Holy One blessed be He said to Job: Did I rest My Divine Presence upon the Ark by the word of your mouth, or did I remove My Divine Presence from upon the Ark by the word of your mouth, as I did by the word of the mouth of Aaron? (see Etz Yosef). “[On a rock it dwells and stays the night, on the crag of the rock and the stronghold” (Job 39:28).] “On a rock it dwells” – the first Temple; “and stays the night” – one lodging. The second Temple is “on the crag of the rock and the stronghold,” – many lodgings,18Just as one would lodge more permanently in a stronghold than on a rock, the second Temple lasted longer than the first (Rabbi David Luria). as we learned there: When the Ark was removed, the foundation stone was there.19Thus, the word rock alludes to the Temple. Why was it called that? Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta said: It is because from it, the world was founded. That is what is written: “From Zion, from the perfection of beauty” (Psalms 50:2).20The Talmud (Yoma 54b), in citing this verse, adds: From it was formed the beauty of the earth. What was the prayer of the High Priest on Yom Kippur when he emerged from the Inner Sanctum?21After emerging from the Holy of Holies, while still in the Sanctuary, the High Priest would say a prayer on behalf of the entire nation (Mishna Yoma 5:1). He said: ‘May it be Your will that this year will be rainy, hot, and dewy. A year of goodwill, a year of blessing, a year of inexpensiveness, a year of plenty, a year of commerce, and may Your people Israel not need one another. May Israel not exert authority upon one another. Do not turn to the prayers of the wayfarers.’22Travelers would not want rain to fall while they were traveling. However, if God were to grant the requests of each traveler in this regard, rain would never fall, which would have terrible consequences for all. The Rabbis of Caesarea said, regarding our brethren in Caesarea: ‘May they not exert authority.’ The Rabbis of the south said, regarding our brethren in the Sharon region: ‘May their houses not become their graves.’ “From there it searches for food” (Job 39:29); from there he would search for food to take for all the days of the year.23The High Priest would hope that through his prayer in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, there would be plentiful sustenance for the entire year. “Its eyes look afar” (Job 39:29); from the beginning of the year, he would know what would be at its end. How so? When he would look and see the smoke of the arrangement ascending to the south, he would know that the south would be satiated; ascending to the west, he would know that the west would be satiated; ascending to the east, he would know that the east would be satiated; and the same is true of them all. If it ascended to the center of the heavens, he would know that the entire world would be satiated. After all this praise, “its fledglings swallow blood” (Job 39:30) – he saw his fledglings wallowing on the ground and was silent.24After all the greatness Aaron merited; the fact that God rested His Presence on the Ark through him, and the fact that his descendants would perform the service in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur and thereby bring sustenance to the entire people, Aaron saw his sons, Nadav and Avihu, die in the Tabernacle, and he was silent (see Leviticus 10:3). “Where the slain are” (Job 39:30), Nadav and Avihu; “there it is” (Job 39:30), the Divine Presence. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: “Approach, carry your brethren from before the Sanctuary” (Leviticus 10:4); it does not say: “From before the Ark,” but rather “from before the Sanctuary,” like a person who says to another: ‘Move this corpse from before this mourner, how long must this mourner suffer?’ That is what is written: “After the death of the two sons of Aaron.”
