Moses’ and Aaron’s perspectives on the difference between the special sacrifices of the day and those that would be offered up on a regular basis reflect their emphases in our relationship with G‑d. Moses was devoted to transmitting G‑d’s Torah to the people, whereas Aaron was devoted to elevating the people to the Torah.
The Torah is unchanging truth, whereas human beings are constantly changing. Moses saw the Torah’s truth as being uniformly applicable in all situations, whereas Aaron realized that each situation must be assessed in order to know how to apply the Torah’s unchanging truth effectively. Aaron saw that a one-time sacrifice is different than one that would be offered up regularly, that G‑d’s truth can be reflected differently in different contexts.
In our own lives, we must meld Moses’ and Aaron’s perspectives. For ourselves, we must be like Moses, devoted to the Torah’s absolute and unchanging truth. When interacting with others, we, like Aaron, must take into account their moods and inclinations, drawing them closer to the Torah through forgiving love.1
Today we come to a crossroads, some of us will have to go to the highlands and others to the lowlands. Some will proudly say that they are Highlanders and others will also proudly say, I am a Lowlander.
But what about those of us who are neither leaders nor priests. What about the sacrifices - prayers, which are given from time to time, of those who go to the leader or the priest only when they need it. I believe that even if we are not leaders or priests our prayers reach the "eternal light" burning before the ark.
I wonder what impact it would have on Aaron to know of a prayer that although it is addressed, to the eternal light that burns before the ark, it would be given to him to know it.