The Daily Chizuk – Why couldn't Elijah the Prophet be like Moses our Teacher?

Monday, 12th of Iyar, 5784

So now we are speaking about Nadav and Avihu. What is the meaning of the sons of Aaron saying: "When will these two elders die?" (Sanhedrin 52a).

They said, we are already tired of these elders, we have no strength—every day they only speak words of Torah. We have no strength for these elders, when will they die?

How can this be explained?

Eleazar and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu ascend, ascend, ascend Mount Sinai, ascending to the heavens.

Moses waits 6 days on the mountain until a Bas Kol (Heavenly Voice) goes out and says to him, "Ascend to G-d"; on the seventh day, Hashem (G-d) calls to him. That is to say, he waited for 6 days, and on the seventh day, a Bas Kol went out.

"And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount" (Exodus 24:15), "And the cloud covered him six days" (ibid 16) — for six days Moses waits on the mountain. Moses does not reach the peak, he does not reach the top of the mountain, he has not yet entered the Nikras HaTzur (cleft of the rock), into the seventh heaven; he was in the seventh heaven.

Moses stands on the mountain for 6 days inside the fog without eating, without drinking, without sleeping — Elijah the Prophet says, "I also did not eat, I also did not sleep."

Hashem answers Elijah: You could have gone without eating for a billion days, but you cannot be Moses. You can refrain from eating, from sleeping, but I am not impressed by your fasts; Moses is something else, Moses turned into Ayin (total self-nullification).

Moses became Ayin.