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The Short Vort- -“The unbelievable becomes the possible” (6/16/10)
The Short Vort
Good Morning!
Today is Wednesday the 4th of Tammuz 5770 and June 16, 2010
The unbelievable becomes the possible
As we discuss the teaching of Chazal how we should always be ‘judging each other on the side of merit’, we usually focus on how incorrect our seeminginly obvious first observation may be.
Meaning, we focus on the fact that although this person has arrived late to shul, -and he obviously seems to be a person who does not care about coming on time- he may in truth have a very good reason as to why he is arriving late. After all, his wife may have just given birth to a baby girl.
Why is there a car tire in a shiur room? Obviously, this yeshiva has no concern for proper cleanliness in the class room. Who could have imagined it is a prop the Rebbe is utilizing to help the boys understand the shiur?
These are the majority of cases of when we should remember the teaching of Chazal that what seems obviously to be wrong, may in reality be fine and good.
However, there is a second type of ‘judging’ as well. That is when we imagine the unimaginable; when we are ready to accuse the innocent of the most unbelievable of crimes.
Often we fail to realize just how creative and imaginative our minds can be in assuming the worst of even the best of us.
What am I referencing?
In this week’s Parsha, Parshas Chukkas we read the following passuk:
The whole congregation saw that Aaron had expired, and the entire house of Israel wept for Aaron for thirty days. (Bamidbar 20:29)
The Netziv asks why does the Torah have to tell us that the people saw that Aharon had ‘expired’ and what is the meaning of this term for death ‘expired’ (gava in Hebrew) as opposed to the more commonly used ‘died’ (meis in Hebrew)?
We read at the end of Chapter 20:
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, saying…
Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and ascend Mount Hor...
Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
They ascended Mount Hor in the presence of the entire congregation. Moses then stripped Aaron of his garments and dressed Eleazar his son in them, and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain.
[Then] Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain.
The Netziv answers (unbelievably) that when the people saw that Moshe, Aharon and Aharon’s son Eleazar went up the mountain, and later only Moshe and Eleazar returned, a rumor began to circulate among the people that (believe it or not) Aharon had not died of natural causes!
The people could not believe that Aharon, who was in the best of health as he ascended the mountain, could just simple have died! It must be that foul play was involved! If not, how else could Aharon have simply ‘died’?
For this reason, states the Netziv, Hashem had to ‘show’ the people that Aharon had not ‘died’ (meis), which implies a death which could include many reasons; but, rather, Aharon had ‘expired’ (gava in Hebrew) which implies a death of natural causes –and excludes the possibility of foul play- in order to dispel the cruel rumor which was circulating among the people.
If the Netziv had not said this, I (and all of us) certainly could not have said it; however, he does indeed say it! Hashem had to ‘show’ the people that Aharon has dies of natural causes- if He had not done this- the people were ready to accuse Moshe of the crime of fratricide!!!!
Friends, if the Jewish people who knew Moshe and knew his piety could nevertheless, fall to the level of accusing him of foul play in the death of his only brother, what are we to say when our minds play games with us?
What are we to say when we are ‘sure’ this and that has occurred, no matter how incredulous it may be?
Often the mind convinces us that that which is indeed unbelievable, has indeed occurred!
Be careful to ascertain the truth about what you think you saw before telling others; you never know just how far from the truth you may be.