In Jewish tradition, this tension between joy and sorrow, celebration and mourning, is a constant theme. And it's beautifully, if somberly, explored in Vayikra Rabbah, specifically in chapter 20.
This passage opens with a seemingly simple verse from (Leviticus 16:1): "After the death of the two sons of Aaron..." But as is often the case in Jewish thought, a single verse can open a door to a vast landscape of ideas. Here, it's an exploration of why rejoicing can feel…complicated.
Rabbi Levi starts us off with a quote from Psalms: "I said to the revelers [laholelim]: Do not revel" (Psalms 75:5). The word laholelim itself is fascinating. Rabbi Levi interprets it as referring to those who are "confused," their hearts filled with wicked thoughts. He even calls them "woe-generators," suggesting that their negativity brings suffering to the world. Harsh. The idea is that the wicked shouldn't be rejoicing when the righteous themselves haven't fully experienced joy in this world. Reish Lakish, quoting Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya, takes us back to Adam, the first human. Imagine this: according to this tradition, the heel of Adam's foot outshone the sun! And his face? Even more radiant. Yet, he sinned almost immediately after his creation. So, if even Adam, with all his glory, couldn't sustain pure joy, what right do we have to revel?
Rabbi Levi, in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, paints a picture of God creating thirteen canopies for Adam in the Garden of Eden, each made of precious stones. (Ezekiel 28:13) lists these stones: ruby, topaz, quartz, and so on. Some say there were eleven canopies, others ten. The disagreement, the text explains, lies in how they interpret the phrase "every precious stone was your canopy." Does "every" imply three additional canopies, or just one? Or none? It's a beautiful, intricate detail that shows how deeply the Rabbis delved into the text.
But even with all this splendor, Adam was reminded: "You are dust, and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:19). Mortality casts a shadow, doesn't it?
The text then turns to Abraham. He waited until he was one hundred years old for a son, Isaac. And what happened? God commanded him to sacrifice that very son! The story in (Genesis 22:2) is heart-wrenching: "Take now your son…and offer him up there for a burnt offering…"
Imagine Abraham's three-day journey to Mount Moriah. He asks Isaac if he sees the cloud fixed on the mountaintop. Isaac does. But Ishmael and Eliezer don't. Abraham then says to them, since they and the donkey don't see it, they should stay behind. The text pointedly calls them "peoples comparable to the donkey" [am hadomim laḥamor].
Abraham builds the altar, arranges the wood, and prepares to slaughter his son. Only an angel's intervention stops him. The story goes that Isaac returned to his mother, Sarah, who cried out six times upon hearing what almost happened. These cries, the text says, correspond to six blasts of the shofar, the ram's horn, blown on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year).
After the averted sacrifice, Abraham worried that some flaw in Isaac had made the offering unacceptable. A Divine voice reassured him: "Go, eat your bread with joy" (Ecclesiastes 9:7). Even Abraham, the patriarch, faced immense trials that tempered his joy.
The text emphasizes that "Israel will rejoice in its Maker" (Psalms 149:2), suggesting that true, unadulterated joy is something for the future. Similarly, God "will rejoice in His works" (Psalms 104:31) in the future, in the actions of the righteous.
Finally, we meet Elisheva bat Aminadav, who experienced a moment of unparalleled joy when she saw five crowns attained by her relatives: her brother-in-law, Moses, was king; her brother, Nahshon, a prince; her husband, Aaron, the High Priest; her two sons, Nadav and Avihu, deputy priests; and her grandson Pinḥas was anointed for war. But then, her sons entered the sanctuary and were consumed by fire. Her joy turned to profound mourning. Hence, "After the death of the two sons of Aaron."
So, what does this all mean? Is joy forbidden? Of course not. But this passage reminds us that joy exists within a complex tapestry of life, intertwined with sorrow, responsibility, and awareness of our own limitations. It suggests that true joy isn't about ignoring the pain and suffering in the world, but about finding moments of light within it, knowing that even those moments are precious and fleeting. Perhaps, by acknowledging the potential for sorrow, we can appreciate joy even more deeply.
Another matter, “after the death [of the two sons of Aaron]” (Leviticus 16:1). Rabbi Levi began: “I said to the revelers [laholelim]: Do not revel” (Psalms 75:5); laholelim, to the confused,4The word laholelim is being interpreted to mean mixed up, as in the verse “mixed [mahul] in water” (Isaiah 1:22) (Etz Yosef). those whose hearts are filled with wicked thoughts. Rabbi Levi would call them woe-generators, because they bring woe to the world. “And to the wicked, do not raise your horn” (Psalms 75:5). The Holy One blessed be He said to the wicked: ‘The righteous did not rejoice in My world, and you seek to rejoice?’ Reish Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya: The ball of the heel of Adam the first man would outshine the sun, all the more so the radiance of his face.5Nonetheless, despite his greatness, Adam did not rejoice, as he sinned almost immediately after his creation. Similarly, no man should rejoice (Maharzu, based on Tanḥuma, Aḥarei, 2). Do not wonder, as the way of the world is that if a person crafts bowls, one for himself and one for a member of his household, whose does he craft more beautifully? Is it not his? So too, Adam the first man was created for the service of the Holy One blessed be He, and the sun was created for the service of the creations. Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina: The Holy One blessed be He tied thirteen canopies for him in the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your canopy: ruby, topaz and clear quartz, beryl, onyx and chalcedony, sapphire, carbuncle, emerald and gold; the craftsmanship of your settings and your sockets was in you, on the day of your creation they were prepared” (Ezekiel 28:13). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said there were eleven [canopies] and the Rabbis said there were ten. But they do not disagree.6They do not disagree about the fact that the number of canopies is derived from the aforementioned verse in Ezekiel. The one who considers them thirteen considers “every precious stone was your canopy” as three.7He understands that the words every, precious, and stone allude to an additional three canopies, in addition to the ten types of precious stone listed explicitly in the verse, which each refer to a canopy crafted from that stone. Alternatively, he understands that the term “every” itself indicates three (see Maharzu). The one who considers them eleven considers it as one.8The phrase “every precious stone was your canopy” alludes to one additional canopy. The one who considers them ten does not consider it as one. After all this praise, “for you are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19).9Despite the great glory accorded Adam, God informs him that he is created from dust and will die and return to dust. [God said to the wicked:] ‘Abraham did not rejoice in My world and you seek to rejoice?’ A son was born to him at the age of one hundred, and ultimately, the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Take now your son…[and offer him up there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains that I will tell you]” (Genesis 22:2). Abraham went on a three-day journey. After three days, he saw a cloud fixed on the mountaintop. He said to [Isaac]: ‘My son, do you see what I see?’ [Isaac] said to him: ‘Yes.’ ‘What do you see?’ He said to him: ‘I see a cloud fixed on the mountaintop.’ He said to Ishmael and to Eliezer: ‘Do you see anything?’ They said to him: ‘No.’ He said to them: ‘Since you do not see anything, and this donkey does not see, “stay here with the donkey [im haḥamor]”’ (Genesis 22:5), [indicating they were] peoples comparable to the donkey [am hadomim laḥamor]. He took Isaac his son, took him up mountains and took him down hills. He took him up on one of the mountains, built an altar, arranged the wood, set the arrangement, and took the knife to slaughter him. Had it not been that an angel called him from the heavens, he would have already been slaughtered. Know that it is so, as Isaac returned to his mother and she said to him: ‘Where have you been, my son?’ He said to her: ‘My father took me, took me up mountains, took me down hills…’ She said: ‘Woe unto the son of that woman full of grief, had it not been for the angel you would have already been slaughtered.’ He said to her: ‘Yes.’ At that moment she cried out six cries, corresponding to six shofar blasts.10By Torah law, the mitzva of shofar on Rosh Hashana requires three broken blasts (terua), each preceded and followed by a straight blast (tekia), for a total of nine blasts. The six straight blasts required correspond to Sarah’s six cries (Etz Yosef). They say that she did not complete them before she died. That is what is written: “Abraham came to lament Sarah and to weep over her” (Genesis 23:2). From where did he come? He came from Mount Moriah. Abraham had been ruminating in his heart, saying that perhaps, God forbid, some disqualification was found in [Isaac] and [therefore] his offering was not accepted. A Divine voice emerged and said to him: “Go, eat your bread with joy” (Ecclesiastes 9:7). ‘Israel did not rejoice in My world.’ It does not say “Israel rejoiced in its Maker,” but rather: “Israel will rejoice in its Maker” (Psalms 149:2). They are destined to rejoice in the deeds of the Holy One blessed be He in the future. As it were, the Holy One blessed be He did not rejoice in His world. It does not say: “The Lord rejoiced in His works,” but rather: “will rejoice” (Psalms 104:31). The Holy One blessed be He is destined to rejoice in the actions of the righteous in the future. Elisheva bat Aminadav did not rejoice in the world when she saw five crowns [attained by her relatives] on one day. Her brother-in-law11Moses. was king, her brother,12Naḥshon. a prince, her husband,13Aaron. High Priest, her two sons,14Nadav and Avihu. the two deputy priests, her grandson Pinḥas anointed for war. When her sons entered to sacrifice and were burned, her joy was transformed into mourning. That is what is written: “After the death of the two sons of Aaron.”
