Beit Midrash

  • Torah Portion and Tanach
  • Chukat
To dedicate this lesson

Where Is Ahron Buried?

undefined

Rabbi Stewart Weiss

Tammuz 7 5781
While the burial place of Moshe is unknown, presumably to prevent it from becoming a shrine & Moshe worshipped, our Sedra clearly tells us where Ahron Kohen Gadol is buried. After the incident at Meriva & the striking of the rock, Moshe, Ahron & Ahron’s son Elazar ascend Mt. Hor, on the edge of Edom. Moshe takes off Ahron’s special clothes & gives them to Elazar. Ahron lays down, closes his eyes & dies (this called n’shikat ha-mavet, a peaceful "kiss" of death; Moshe will request this type of death later). Some suggest Ahron’s real sin, preventing him, too, from entering Eretz Yisrael, was his participation in the making of the Egel HaZahav. Ahron is buried at the summit of the mount, identified as near Petra in Jordan & known in Arabic as Jabal Harun, the Mt. of Ahron. In parshat Ekev, Ahron’s burial place is called Mosera, identified as el-Tayibeh, also near Petra. A mosque was built at the site in the 14th century, & Islam considers it a holy place & bans Jewish prayer there.
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il