Written by: Rabbi Mordechai Raizman
All in a Day’s Work
In this week’s Torah portion it discusses the service of Aharon, the Kohen Gadol. Every day he had the responsibility of lighting the Menorah. The Torah states, “Vayaas kayn Aharon… – Aharon did as the way he was commanded by G-d to do through Moshe.” Rashi comments that this verse praises Aharon for not changing anything in the way he performed the service.
Two questions naturally follow. First, if Aharon did what he was told to do, why is that so worthy of a special mention of praise? Second, why would we think that Aharon would do something different than he was commanded to by G-d?
There is one basic ingredient in life for success in one’s spiritual growth. That ingredient is consistency. The Torah is stressing that Aharon was consistent in the way he performed the service every day. His enthusiasm, his passion, his concentration never became stale. He was not changing anything in the way he performed his mitzvah of lighting the Menorah. He did it with the same fervor and intensity as he did in day one. That is worthy of praise.
As we approach the summer months, one can easily fall into a more relaxed mode. However, we need to be aware of being consistent in our behavior. Our actions should be done with the same passion and fervor all year round. The season of the year should not matter.