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Why did "all the house of Israel" mourn Aharon while only "Bnei Yisrael" mourned Moshe? Aharon's unique peace-making method empowered people by showing that conflicts stem from internal struggles, not others' actions against them. This created functional families rather than just individuals, transforming the nation's very structure from three million people into 600,000 family units.
The shiur begins with a fascinating question from the Moreh Nevuchim: why does the Torah (תורה) state that "all the house of Israel" (kol beit Yisrael) mourned Aharon for thirty days, while for Moshe it only mentions that "Bnei Yisrael" mourned? Rashi (רש"י) explains that both men and women mourned Aharon because he pursued peace (rodef shalom), while Moshe dealt primarily with men. But this raises a deeper question - didn't Moshe also benefit everyone through the manna and leading them out of Egypt? The Rav presents a profound insight into Aharon's methodology of peace-making. When two people fought, Aharon would approach each party individually, telling them that the other person was deeply ashamed and wanted to reconcile but didn't know how. While this appears to involve deception, the Rav explains that Aharon was actually delivering a fundamental psychological truth: most interpersonal conflicts stem not from the other person's actions, but from our own internal struggles and feelings of inadequacy.
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Are chukim divine decrees requiring blind obedience, or something else entirely? The shiur reveals that 'chok' derives from 'cheik' (embrace), not authoritarian control - chukim represent mitzvos where God says 'trust Me, this benefits you' based on our relationship. This transforms how we understand both divine service and chinuch from power dynamics to expressions of love and trust.
