Rashi explains that Aharon received a reward for his silence while accepting Hashem’s judgment. He merited that the divine word regarding the prohibition of drinking intoxicants prior to performing the priestly service was addressed especially to him. The selection of this particular edict seems peculiar. Obviously, it conveys a definite message to be applied to our daily life. The Ateres Mordechai suggests that the prohibition regarding abstinence from wine and spirits may be analogously applied to another form of intoxication – namely, life’s occurrences. Various life contents such as wealth and poverty, health and sickness, success and failure, can create extremes within an individual. These situations can either inspire or dishearten, stimulate or impair one’s ability to think in a rational way. Man is obligated to withstand the trials of these situations, resolute in his faith in Hashem.
In Aharon’s poignant silence, his acceptance of the tragic fate of his two sons on the happiest day of their lives, he exemplified trust in Hashem. Drinking this “cup of sorrow,” he became neither intoxicated nor provoked to protest. He did not lose his sense of direction; his beliefs were not altered. In recognition of his exemplary attitude in such extreme circumstances, Hashem addressed this specific decree especially to Aharon.
