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Mishpatim "You shall not curse a leader among your people." (22:27) "You shall not hate your brother in your heart" (Vayikra 19:17) "You shall love your fellow as yourself" (19:18) If we must love everyone, certainly we may not hate anyone in our hearts, observes Rav Aharon ("Reb Archik") Bakst HY"D. And, if we may not hate anyone, certainly we may not curse another! Why then are all three of these commandments necessary? He explains as follows: The Torah is realistic, and gives us only mitzvot that are possible to keep. Yes, we are commanded to love every person, but that is truly practical only regarding people we don't know well (therefore we don't know their faults). The Torah knows that the people closest to us (our "brothers") inevitably get on our nerves. Thus, at a minimum, the Torah expects us not to hate them. What of the leader/rabbi? If he is doing his job and rebuking us sternly for our wrongdoing, we inevitably will hate him. However, the Torah demands, "Don't curse him." (Lev Aharon, Intro. p. 23) After the majority you should be inclined" (23:2). A non-observant Jew once asked a Rabbi, "If the majority of Jews today have a more modern interpretation of the Torah, excluding even Divine revelation, then how can we be observant? Since the Torah itself tells us to follow the majority, should not even the Orthodox be required to follow the majority of modern interpretations?" The Rabbi responded that only those who believe in the Torah and follow its rules have a "vote" in teaching the Torah to our generation. In addition, only when something is in doubt, and there are two possibilities do we rely on the majority. However, when we are certain of something, we do not bend the Torah to the demands of the masses. (Based on the Chasam Sofer) Keep far away from falsehood (Exodus 23:7) A liar is more despicable than either a robber or a thief: The robber steals only at night, for he worries about being discovered. The thief steals by night and by day, but only from individuals, as he is afraid to confront a larger group. The liar, however, lies by night and by day, and spreads his falsehoods and gossip about everyone. (The Magid of Kelem) "If you encounter an ox of your enemy or his donkey wandering, return it to him repeatedly." (23:4) We live in an era when it's hard to find a real atheist. Once, there was a young Jew from the shtetl (village) who had set his heart on being an apikorus (atheist). He travelled to the city of Odessa in the hope of meeting Yosel the apikorus - a famous atheist. He soon found himself standing before the door of the famous man. Wafting through the door came the familiar lilting tune of someone learning gemara. He knocked on the door, and the tune abruptly stopped. "Come in!" called a voice. He gingerly pushed the door open, and there, seated in front of him, was an old Jew with a long flowing white beard and peyos. "Excuse me for disturbing you. I'm looking for Yosel the apikorus." The old Jew paused, looked at him, and said "You've found him. I am Yosel the apikorus." "But...but..." he spluttered, "But, but the beard, the peyos. The gemara!" Yosel replied to him "I'm Yosel the apikorus, not Yosel the ignoramus." Nowadays it's difficult to find an authentic card-carrying atheist. They're an endangered species, because most of us don't really know what it is that we don't believe in. Our doubts are not based on knowledge; rather we have become strangers in a strange land, unlettered in our own heritage. Mohammed called us "The People of The Book." The problem is that most of us can't read The Book anymore, let alone understand it. We are like sheep who have strayed so far from home that we have forgotten that a home even exists. In our times, when so many of us are like sheep lost in a spiritual wilderness, when we have no idea how to get back home, or even that there is a home, it is a tremendous mitzva for those who can be shepherds to guide the lost and the benighted on the path that leads home to the light of Jewish self-awareness. |
