Aharon HaKohen was able to stop a mighty plague that caused many to perish, by offering ketores. Why was this so? What unique merit did the ketores have that it could stop such a dangerous plague?
Rav Moshe Feinstein offers a beautiful explanation. Chazal teach that the ketores had the ability to atone for the grave sin of lashon hara. This primarily consisted of sweet spelling spices, yet it contained one foul spelling spice, the helbonah. This comes to remind those who speak lashon hara not to focus on the bad in people. Everyone has so much inherent good. After all, they are created in the image of Hashem and possess a neshmah that has been hewn out of the kiseh Hakavod. Not to mention the unique qualities that each Jew possesses. So, the fact the ketores has a foul-smelling spice, yet has so many pleasant fragrances that the helbonah can’t even be detected, is a model for those who speak lashon hara. They need to look at the bigger picture, focusing on all the special qualities each person has. This is why Aharon HaKohen was able to stop this deathly plague by offering ketores. Korach’s rebellion originated from badmouthing Moshe. Ketores was the perfect atonement for this grave sin. (Kol Ram)
We can also apply this idea to other aspects of our lives. We might encounter a difficulty, yet when we decide to ‘zoom out’ and focus on the bigger picture we will realize how many blessings are in our lives. With just a bit of reflection, we will see how Hashem is constantly showering us with so many berachos, and is always at our side. Focusing on the good helps bring us even more blessing; as we see in the following story, told by Rav Golumbeck.
An avreich who had been learning in Kollel for the past twenty years, was running quite low on money. His bank account was almost empty and he owed someone $1000 dollars to be paid that day. ‘How can I pay this back’, he wondered. ‘Wait a second’, he said to himself, ‘Surely, I should be focusing on all my blessings, except for this hardship. After all, I have been privileged to learn in full time Kollel for 20 years and have really enjoyed the learning and accomplished so much. I never lacked anything during this time and even when things were tight, we always had enough for what we needed and have been fortunate to raise a beautiful family. He continued to focus on all his blessings and suddenly his phone rang. It was a close friend of his who said how much he appreciated their friendship and wanted to give him a gift of $1000! (A Life of Bitachon)
Written by Daniel Shasha to recive our weekly neswletter with more inspring Divrai Torah please contact us at livingppreciation@gmail.com