<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span style="font-size: 25px;" class="">9:1 "<i class="">Vay'hi bayom hashemini.</i>.." The Sages teach that the word "<i class="">vay'hi</i>" often indicates that trouble or grief is associated with the narrative (Megillah 10b). <br class="">What trouble or grief could there have been on that joyous first day of Nissan? It presages the tragic deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu. </span><div class=""><span style="font-size: 25px;" class="">Another explanation:<br class="">Even in the midst of our greatest rejoicing, a Jewish wedding, we pause for a moment to recall the destruction of the Temple and the fragility of life <br class="">through the breaking of the glass. Here, too, we have such a happy occasion, but the "<i class="">Vay'hi</i>" is to remind us of our fallibility and the frailty of life. <br class=""><br class="">There are many commentaries on Aaron’s response when told of his sons' deaths: <i class="">Vayidom Aharon</i>, “and Aaron was silent.” It is somewhat coincidental that <br class="">the third syllable of vayidom sounds a little like the English word “dumb.” One of the literal meanings of the word “dumb” is mute and unable to speak. It seems to me that<br class="">Aaron’s silence was his inability to speak due to shock. Many people would faint dead away if told of such news. So it really isn’t surprising that his reaction was<br class="">one of a deafening silence.</span><br class=""><span style="font-size: 20px;" class=""><i class=""> <br class="">When two egotists meet <br class="">"It's an I for an I"</i></span></div></body></html>