Recently someone told me a story about myself, when I was a little boy of 6 years old! My parents OBM lived selfless lives, and although they were both involved in chinuch all year round, many a summer holidays were devoted to leading a variety camps for children all ages. Always full of energy and youthful, one time my father OBM was acting in a play. In this particular scene he was ‘captured’ and being taken away by the soldiers, when all of a sudden a little voice was heard crying out from the audience ‘that’s my daddy, leave him alone, he is a Tzaddik’.
Children have this innocence about them, they often feel that their Daddy or Mummy is the strongest, the cleverest, or the most able in any area [‘my daddy is stronger than your daddy’], their parents are their Heroes. My parents had obviously successfully inculcated me with the definition of a true hero, a righteous person, as I recognised my father z’’l as a Tzaddik.
This story jogged another memory out of my brain/freezer. This was more hero stuff. I was a little boy, enjoying the Shabbos morning walk home with my father when suddenly we came across an awful sight. Something unbelievable was taking place; there were two yidden still with their talleisim on, in a violent argument. I don’t remember if they were actually punching each other or nearly so, but they were pretty close to it. Daddy z’’l went across the road to break up the fight!
I do remember thinking then, what would be if one of them is meshuge enough to hurt my daddy? It definitely taught me a very powerful lesson then, which has remained with me till this day.
But this week I re-examined this incident and it got me thinking. At that horrific moment when משה רבינו and אהרן were faced with their jealous cousin קרח, who accused them of nepotism, we are told that משה ‘fell on his face. Since we are clearly told that ויקהלו על משה ועל אהרן - they were demonstrating against משה and אהרן, why did [2]only משה ‘fall on his face’? Where was אהרן, how does he suddenly become disassociated from the scene? The רמב''ן[3] is bothered about this, and tells us something awesome,
There is reason for אהרן’s passiveness. In his giant humility, אהרן truly believed that his cousin was more worthy than he was, for the position of כהן גדול. But the King, was divinely ordained, and it was his opinion which counted.עכת''ד הרמב''ן לפי הבנתי הדלה
ut wait a minute, sure it’s great to be humble, but is now the time, [4]isn’t this false place humility. Put yourself in משה’s shocking position for a moment, he’s standing next to his brother who is known as the אוהב שלום ורודף שלום, everybody loves אהרן. Wouldn’t the best thing have been at this moment for אהרן to confront קרח, and get involved to use his שלום trump card, that he was famous for?
So I thought, that perhaps this could have been because of the famous words of the [5]רא''ש , basically ‘Mind your own business’, Don’t get involved if the argument has nothing to do with you, because in the end they will make up, and you will be left the angry one.
But surely that statement can’t be understood simply like that, we know לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל-דַּם רֵעֶךָ.
Three proofs to my argument. The תורה makes a point of telling us, that the very first time that משה came out of פרעה’s palace as an adult, [1]he saw the מצרי giving a yid a walloping and משה got involved good and proper. The next day he went out and [2] saw 2 yidden having a go at each other, he didn’t put his jacket down and take out his sandwiches to watch the [6]knockout fight. That terrible pair, reported him to the authorities, but that still didn’t stop the עניו מכל אדם from getting involved yet again, and coming to the rescue of [3] the בנות יתרו, from the bullying shepherds at the well. Three incidents, three identical responses. What happened to ‘Don’t get involved!’?
Remember those hot days in the playground, two guys at each other necks rolling around in the dirt, a group of youngsters surrounding them ‘ooh ooh ooh’ goading them on, that can’t be correct, just to stand by idly and do nothing..
Perhaps herein lies the [7]answer. It’s our minds that have to lead our impulses, not the other way round. The first question which I need to ask myself before charging in chanting ‘break it up’ on coming face to face with two people having a standoff is, A. Would they want to resolve it in a different way, do they want my help? [As in stepping into the ring at Wembley, to keep combatants apart??!!]. B. Will my actions achieve anything, or will it be adding fuel to the fire – make thing things worse.
Obviously if two persons come over to you, and say ‘Listen we can’t seem to sort this out ourselves, we want your assistance’. It would be wrong to say ‘don’t get involved, the חסד now is to help them, they are asking for your help.
Obviously if somebody is clearly a victim at the end of a stick – incident one with משה, sure then לא תעמוד על דם ריעך, do whatever you can. The small kid in the playground being kicked around and bullied – wants anybody’s help.
משה hadn’t met these two villains before, he didn’t step into the foray and try to separate them, he faced the tormentor and asked him רשע למה תכה ריעך ?, he couldn’t fathom for a moment that individuals belonging to this tormented people could actually be having a blood fight, a boxing match ? Unfortunately he very quickly learned that there are exceptions to every rule.
But when it was clear again with the בנות יתרו that they were victims, they don’t want to fight, they want your help to be saved, then משה does not back off. Rather וַיָּקָם מֹשֶׁה וַיּוֹשִׁעָן .
אהרן הכהן – the quintessential supreme Peace Maker with an over powering love for everyone and surely for his [8]brother, was faced with an aching dilemma. On the one hand מחלוקת was anathema to him, and ‘It’s my holy brother’. The gut reaction, the passion was surely telling him to rush in and help. But on the other hand, will it help or will it only add fuel to the fire?
אהרן הכהן was teaching us [9]here that even the with most noble intentions of making peace, and saving someone from acute pain, at times the correct action is standing apart, because sadly any other way will only turn the argument into a greater conflagration.
This was the incredible נסיון which אהרן הכהן the most loving person was faced with, and only he as the רמב'ן above tells us בְּמוּסְרוֹ ובקדושתו , made the decision here that the surest quickest way to שלום will be by being silent on this occasion.
May we be zoiche speedily in our days to witness to the fulfilment of עושה שלום ברומיו הוא יעשה שלום עלינו ועל כל ישראל ואמרו אמן.
[1] פרשת קדושים
[2] וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל-מֹשֶׁה וְעַל-אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵהֶם רַב-לָכֶם כִּי כָל-הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים וּבְתוֹכָם ד' וּמַדּוּעַ תִּתְנַשְּׂאוּ עַל-קְהַל ד': וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה וַיִּפֹּל עַל-פָּנָיו:
[3] רמב''ן. וַיִּפֹּל עַל פָּנָיו:. ולא ויפלו, כי אהרן בְּמוּסְרוֹ ובקדושתו לא עָנָה דבר בכל המחלוקת הַזוּ, וַיְהִי כְּמַחֲרִישׁ וּכְּמוֹדֶה שֶּמַעֲלֲת קרח גדולה מִמַעֲלָתוֹ, אבל הוא עושה כִּדְבַר משה, ומקיים גזירת מלך.
[4] “If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity” [Albert Einstein]
[5] אורחות חיים להרא''ש אות סד. אל תתעבר על ריב לא לך, כי לסוף הם ישלימו ביניהם, ואתה תשאר בכעס. [משלי פרק כו יז מַחֲזִיק בְּאָזְנֵי-כָלֶב עֹבֵר מִתְעַבֵּר עַל-רִיב לֹּא-לוֹ:]
[6] להבדיל בין הטמא והטהור- 80,000 fans were the sell-out crowd that packed Wembley stadium a few weeks ago, some paying £1500 per seat, to watch a real British bashing boxing match!
[7] ועיין ספר 'שָֹם דֶרֶך' מהגאון ר' שמחה זיסל ברוידא זצ''ל ראש ישיבת חברון
[8] וְרָאֲךָ וְשָֹמַח בְּלִבּוֹ
[9] הצדיקים לבם ברשותם – עיין מדרש בראשית פרק סז סימן יד
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