Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: The Danger of Accusing Scholars of Ulterior Motives
Gemara: What is an example of one who speaks negatively about a talmid chacham (Torah scholar) after his death? It is as is found in a mishna: He [Akavya ben Mehalalel] said: The special sota waters are not administered to a convert or a freed slave. The Rabbis said that they are administered. They brought a proof from the story whereby a freed maid servant from Karakamit had sota waters administered to her by Shmaya and Avtalyon. Akavya answered: doogma they gave her to drink. They placed a ban on him, and he died with the ban upon him.
Ein Ayah: Rashi explains that doogma means that they gave her to drink because they were similar to her (they were from the families of converts).
The idea of speaking negatively about deceased talmidei chachamim refers to cases where someone assumes a suspicion that certain rulings of rabbis were motivated not by the depth of their understanding of the Torah’s laws or the true traditions they received but by personal interests, Heaven forbid. Actually, even if the critics were right, we would still be obligated to follow their rulings, for the Torah was not given to angels. Once someone is a decisor of Torah and his words were accepted by the rabbinical courts of the time, the Torah law to not stray from the words of the Rabbis applies. It is not for us to decide whether their intentions were pure from the outset regarding the case and whether the ruling was purely to get to the truth, which is certainly the case, or whether there was a matter of interest that sways the intellect. In any case, once the halacha is set, it becomes an entire element of Torah and woe unto us if we destroy it and weaken the hands of those who hold the tree of life [that the Torah is]. Rather we must fulfill with love and with holy trepidation all the words of the Rabbis and the fine inferences that the scholars make.
However, in the area of general morals, this bad [critical approach toward the Rabbis] makes many breaches by removing the foundation of the element of respect and honor for great people according to their holy and exalted value. This is along the situation that the prophet bemoans: “the youngster will be insolent to the elder” (Yeshaya 3:5).
Any society in which this phenomenon exists stands to be ruined even in the short term. This is certainly the case for the “vineyard of the house of Israel,” which is totally “planted” and reliant upon the foundations of Torah and wisdom, and the spirit of Hashem is forever its strength. The only source from which one can draw knowledge and fear of G-d is the wellspring of wisdom that comes from the scholars, who explained the Torah in a literal and in an expansive manner to set the path of life base on wisdom and fear of Hashem. Thus, one who attributes their words to personal inclinations or self-interest weakens the recognition of the lofty value and honor that should be attributed to the Rabbis and their rulings and sayings. Doing so will bring on an immediate moral loss and a weakening in practice and action over time as well.
This is why the gemara explains the foundation of speaking negatively about a deceased scholar by giving the case of accusing Shmaya and Avtalyon of giving a woman sota water to drink because she was similar to them. This would be an example of mixing in concern for their own dignity [by not distinguishing between their lineage and that of standard Jews] into their Torah rulings.
How out of hand is our generation in this regard of accusing the Rabbis of ulterior motives! May Hashem purify our wayward impulses and see to it that Hashem sees to our salvation, so that we will recognize the greatness of the fathers of our national goals, as the pasuk says: “Eating too much honey is not good, but the more one uncovers the honor [of the wise] is honorable” (Mishlei 25:27).
Three "Beliefs"
Nasi HaYeshiva, Kerem B'Yavneh
At the beginning of his mission to Bnei Yisrael, Moshe argues: "But they will not believe me." (Shemot 4:1) Hashem responds: "My children are believers, sons of believers," as it says: "The people believed, and they heard that Hashem had remembered Bnei Yisrael and that He saw their affliction, and they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves." (Shemot 4:31) Am Yisrael's faith repeats itself on the shores of the Red Sea: "They believed in Hashem and in Moshe, His servant." Their belief appears again a third time at the time of Matan Torah: "Behold! I come to you in thickness of the cloud so that the people will hear as I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever." (Shemot 19:9)
Why was there a need for belief at Mt. Sinai after the Torah already states that Bnei Yisrael believed in Egypt and at the Red Sea? The Rambam (Hil. Yesodei HaTorah 8:1) writes that the initial belief was not absolute because it was based only on the miracles that occurred in Egypt and at the Red Sea:
Someone who believes because of miracles, there is doubt in his heart ... When did they believe in Him? At the Revelation at Sinai, where our own eyes saw, and our own ears heard ...From where do we know that the Revelation at Sinai is the only proof that [Moshe's] prophecy is true, that it holds no doubt? Because it says: "Behold! I come to you in the thickness of the cloud, so that the people will hear as I speak to you, and they will also believe in you forever." This implies that before this they did not believe in him with a trust that could last forever, but a trust that leaves room for consideration and thought.
The Maharal, on the other hand, writes (Gevurot Hashem ch. 47) that these events are not different levels of belief; they are three foundations of belief:
1. The belief in Providence, as opposed to the denial that argues: "High above all nations is Hashem, above the heavens is His glory" (Tehillim 113:4), that Hashem does not know and is not interested in what occurs on the earth below.
2. The belief in Hashem's existence, that not only does he exist, but also that he is the Creator and Omnipotent, and that there is no existence without Him. He is not dependent on anything, whereas everything else cannot exist on it's own and is dependent upon Him.
3. The belief in G-d's connection with man, that He spoke to him and gave him the Torah.
In Egypt Bnei Yisrael believed in Providence after they realized that Hashem saw their misery and remembered them. At the Red Sea they believed in Hashem's existence after He changed the sea to land, and they realized that the entire existence is dependent upon Him, and that He changes creation as he wishes. Rachav said: "For we have heard how Hashem dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds ... For Hashem, your G-d, He is G-d in the heavens above and in the earth below." (Yehoshua 2:10-11) During Matan Torah they saw the voices and believed in prophecy and Matan Torah, as they said: "This day we saw that Hashem will speak to a person and he can live." (Devarim 5:21)
This is symbolized by the holidays, the three regalim (lit., feet). They are called regalim because "They are the feet of the religion, upon which the religion stands." Pesach indicates Hashem's ultimate existence and His ability to change the laws of nature. Shavuot corresponds, obviously, to the belief in Matan Torah. Succot, meanwhile, teaches about Divine Providence, as a reminder that Bnei Yisrael dwelled under the clouds of glory while Hashem guarded over them.
According to Sefer Ha'ikarim, Judaism is built on these three foundations, as opposed to the Rambam who mentions thirteen principles. Sefer Ha'ikarim writes:
What seems to me the correct path in counting the principles, which are the roots and foundations of the Divine Torah, is that the crucial and encompassing principles to the divine faith are three, and they are: Hashem's existence, Providence regarding reward and punishment, and that the Torah is from Heaven. These three are fathers to all the other principles of the Divine teachings.
Rav Kook on Parashat Shemot: Moshe's Love for Am Yisrael
When his initial efforts to free the Jewish slaves only resulted in Paroh issuing even harsher decrees, Moshe complained bitterly to God:
“God, why do You mistreat Your people? Why did You send me? From when I came to Paroh to speak in Your name, he made things even worse for these people. You have not rescued Your people!” (Shemot 5:22-23)
The Midrash says that the Middat haDin, sought to punish Moshe for his harsh words. But God saw that Moshe only spoke for the sake of the Jewish people, and he was not punished (Shemot Rabbah 5:27).
What exactly was Moshe's’ sin that he deserved to be punished? And what did God ’see’ that determined Moshe was not in the wrong?
The Sick Friend
Rav Kook explained the incident with the following parable:
Once there were two good friends, but one friend was seriously ill. His doctor determined that he could only save his life by performing a very painful operation.
During surgery, the doctor did not hold it against the patient when he moaned and wept. The poor man was in great pain, and his response was to be expected.
But when his healthy friend also wailed and cried out — the doctor ordered him to quiet down. The doctor interpreted his cries as a lack of faith in his medical skill, and even questioning the need for the painful procedure.
Feeling Their Pain
The Jewish slaves, Rav Kook explained, were like the ill patient. Divine providence decreed that the Jewish people needed to undergo Paroh’s harsh decrees in order to be redeemed, like a painful operation necessary to save the patient’s life. When the Jews cried out under the oppression and persecution of Egypt, that was understandable.
But Moshe — why was he complaining? Did he not have faith in God’s ability to redeem Am Yisrael? The Middat HaDin objected to Moshe’s complaints; this lack of faith should be rebuked and punished.
But the One who “searches the heart and examines the mind” saw into the depths of Moshe’s heart. Moshe was like a dear friend who cannot help but share in his friend’s pain. When the doctor operated on his friend, he felt as if the knife was slicing his own flesh.
“ Moshe is speaking for the Jewish people,” God pronounced. He did not deserve to be punished. The “faithful shepherd” cried out spontaneously, in his great love for his people.
This is the model for a true leader. The people are not a stepping stone to attain high office. They are the goal of public service.
As chief rabbi, Rav Kook was keenly aware of his duty to serve the people. Often he would sign his letters, עבד לעם קדוש — “servant to a holy nation.”
(Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe’iyah, pp. 233-234 by Rav Chanan Morrison)
The Divine Hand
The Torah leaves us basically unprepared for its description of the events that are recorded for us in this week’s parsha. When we last left the family of Israel at the conclusion of last week’s parsha of Vayechi, the Jews found themselves comfortable, affluent, protected and settled well in the land of Goshen.
The Torah does not describe to us the process by which this situation so radically changed into becoming a slave state for the Jews. It only tells us of a new king who didn’t know Yosef and, for reasons not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, became a hater and persecutor of the Jews.
The Torah seems to indicate that this is almost a natural state of affairs – to be expected. The Egyptian exile begins on a high note, deteriorates into abject sorrow and attempted genocide and ends with miraculous redemption. The Torah does not dwell upon any motives for the occurrence of this pattern of events. What did the Jews do wrong? Why was the Pharaoh such a hater? What were the economic or social factors of the time that allowed for such a dramatic worsening of the Jewish position in Egypt?
The Torah addresses none of these issues. It is almost as if the Torah wishes us to understand that these things happen blindly in human history. And, particularly in Jewish history, that the attempts of historians and sociologists to explain these irrational events and behavior patterns are really useless.
As has been often pointed out, all subsequent Jewish exiles – Babylonia, Spain, France, Germany, Eastern Europe, the Moslem Middle East – all seem to eerily conform to this original Egyptian template. As usual the Torah leaves us with more questions than it provides answers for. In effect, that is why the Torah is called the book of human life.
We are also unprepared to recognize the savior of Israel in the person of Moses. We are told how he was miraculously saved from the crocodiles of the Nile by the daughter of the Pharaoh and raised in the royal court. He sympathizes with the brutalized Jewish slaves, defends them, and is forced to flee from Egypt.
We hear nothing regarding Moses for the next sixty years until he reemerges as a shepherd in Midian, married to the daughter of Yitro, the local religious chief who, at this time, is still a pagan. Hardly the resume’ that one would expect for the leader of Israel, the greatest of all prophets and the teacher of all human kind.
Where did his holiness and greatness stem from, how was it developed, who were his mentors and what were his experiences over those long decades of separation from his people? The Torah gives us no clue or answer to these questions. It effectively points out that greatness oftentimes comes from unexpected sources and from people and leaders who operate outside of the usual establishment circles.
All of life is a mystery and certainly the Jewish story remains in its base an inexplicable one. This sets the stage for everything else that will now follow in the Torah. It is why the Jewish people, when accepting the Torah pledge to God that "we will do and then perhaps try to understand," if we wish to understand first we will never come to do. The Divine hand guides us but it is never subject to our rational thoughts and explanations.
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