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Torah From Zion
Honor for One's Rebbe
November 12th , 2024 / 11th of Cheshvan 5785
Moshe Rabbeinu's anger
As was said in the previous chapter, Moshe became angry and asked how righteous soldiers could have left the daughters of Midian alive. Hadn’t they played the most sinister role in this war, leading Jews to sin?
After he scolds them, he gives them clear orders: “Kill every male among the young children, and every woman fit to know a man by lying with a male you shall kill. But all the young children among the women who have not known lying with a male, you may keep alive for yourselves.”
Moshe went on to teach the laws of tumas begadim [impurity of garments]. He didn’t forget everything, but for the dinim [judgments/laws] of tumas keilim [impurity of vessels], Moshe’s memory failed him, and it was Elazar who taught: “This is the decree of the Torah, which Hashem commanded Moshe: Only the gold and the silver, the copper, the iron and the tin and the lead — everything that comes into the fire — you shall pass through the fire and it will be purified, etc.”
The Sages explain (Pesachim 66b) that since Moshe got angry, Elazar taught this law. This was a daring move on Elazar’s part, because with this he was violating the law of teaching a halacha in the presence of one’s rebbe. Moshe was Elazar’s rebbe, but due to his anger, Moshe had forgotten — at least momentarily — a halacha which was critical for these returning soldiers to known. Therefore, Elazar stepped forward and taught them. However, as he was doing this, Elazar made sure to display the greatest possbile honor for Moshe, beginniing with the words: “This is the decree of the Torah, which Hashem commanded Moshe…”
Elazar was a great talmid [student] of Moshe, and yet precisely because of his greatness, his decision at this moment was deemed a sin that incurred a severe punishment.
Elazar was appointed to guide Yehoshua in his future conquest of Eretz Yisrael in any question of leadership that would arise. Just to understand how great Elazar was, let’s see what the Sages say about Yehoshua [Joshua], the man who would be turning to Elazar for counsel.
When Moshe Rabbeinu appointed Yehoshua as his successor, Hashem said of Yehoshua that he was “a man in whom there is spirit” (Bamidbar / Numbers 27:15). Yehoshua had patience for each and every person and could understand him, know what was hidden deep in his psyche, what were his emotional needs, and how to unite people — a very hard job! It states that Moshe gave him semicha [ordination]. Rashi adds that Moshe did so “generously, more than he was commanded, because Hashem told him, ‘and you shall lean your hand upon him,’ and Moshe leaned both of his hands, and made him into a vessel that overflowed generously with wisdom.” Moshe also told Yehoshua [Joshua], “you will be the leader and the people will be dependent on you, that you fight for them as I fought with Sichon and Og, and you will lead them in your merit, as you will need special merits at times when the Bnei Yisrael err and sin, just as I did at the sin of the Golden Calf. I prayed to Hashem and begged for His mercy and used my merits in order to save Klal Yisrael, and so too at the Sin of the Spies, I asked that in my merit He have mercy on them. You too shall use your merits and your power of Torah on behalf of the entire nations.”
And yet, even with the exceptional wisdom Yehoshua had acquired from Moshe, Hashem commanded Moshe to bring Yehoshua before Elazar Hakohen [the Priest], and tell him: “Despite your greatness, there is someone still greater than you — Elazar. Any question you have in leading the nation, either in peace or war, he will inquire for you from the Urim V’Tumim [Lights and Completions] to determine Hashem’s will.
Pesichta Zuta (21) states that “Yehoshua was to stand before Elazar Hakohen. Hakadosh Baruch Hu [the Holy One, Blessed is He] granted Elazar such greatness that even a king would stand before him.”
Despite Yehoshua’s awesome madreiga [level], Elazar Hakohen was to guide him. This is because the divine wisdom of Hashem cannot be subservient to the rule of a human being — even a king as wise as Shlomo [Solomon]. Therefore, the ultimate authority must reside with the kohen and not the king. (This explains the halacha that when a king dies, the kohen gadol is exempt from attending his funeral. Torah is the ultimate authority, not the king, and the Kohen Gadol [High Priest] is the one who represents daas Torah [Torah Knowledge], via the Urim V’Tumim.)
Elazar's punishment was mida kneged mida
Elazar’s punishment is revealed in Sefer Yehoshua [The Book of Joshua]. Only once in Yehoshua’s years as ruler did he ever consult with Elazar Hakohen, concerning the division of Erets Yisrael [the Land of Israel] among the shevatim [tribes]. Elazar’s great gift was put to use only once.
Why?
This was Elazar’s punishment for having taught a halacha before his rebbe (Eiruvin 63a), when Moshe forgot the halacha of tumas keilim in anger over the soldiers. Even though Elazar said this halacha in the name of Moshe, and gave him the proper honor and respect; nevertheless, since he taught this in Moshe’s presence, he was punished that Yehoshua had no need for Elazar’s authority.
Elazar’s sin, like Moshe’s, was something so microscopic that for us it would have been undetectable. Imagine the scene — Jewish soldiers are returning from battle with keilim that they took as spoils, and they don’t know the purification process that these keilim must undergo. If neither Moshe nor Elazaar would speak up, there was every chance that these men would use the keilim in a state of tuma. This would be another sin for them, on top of their not having killed the Midianite women. This would distance them even further from Hashem, as they would be clinging to the tuma of the heathens. Elazar thought to himself. perhaps this is an instance of “in a place where there is chillul Hashem [desecration of the Name], one does not give honor to his rebbe.” This halacha must be taught at once, irrespective of Moshe’s honor. Moreover, Elazar might have reasoned that Hashem was giving him an opportunity to reveal some of his own greatness. Perhaps this was similar to the case of Pinchas, who saw that the halacha of “one who engages in intercourse with an Aramis [heathen], the zealous strike him” was forgotten by Moshe Rabbeinu. At that time, Pinchas did what needed to be done and was rewarded for it. If so, Elazar could have reasoned: Perhaps now as well, Hashem is giving me the chance to express myself and bring this halacha into the world. This may be my golden opportunity.
And even as he was entertaining all these seemingly sound justifications for expressing himself at this time, Elazar did not forget Moshe’s honor. When he decided to go ahead and teach the halacha, he made sure to stress that this is what Hashem had taught Moshe.
In short, Elazar held that this was an emergency. The halacha had to be taught at once, and he did all he could to deflect honor from himself back to Moshe. Why was he punished?
Two perspectives on Elazar's punishment
Let’s take a step back in trying to understand what happened here. Everyone has middos (character traits), but in lashon kodesh [the holy language], the word midda comes from the verb medida, meaning to measure. Whatever happens to a person, he is expected to “measure” or weigh what is good about it and what is bad about it, and to act only after ascertaining an accurate picture of reality according to the Torah. In Elazar’s case, he had a doubt — should he remain silent, since he was in his rebbe’s presence? Or, should he teach the halacha, for the immediate benefit of the tzibbur [public]?
Elazar decided on the latter, and for one of two potential reasons.
1 – Aside from the mitzvah of giving honor to one’s rebbe, there is a general requirement not to be a baal gaava [a prideful person]. Gaava means vanity, haughtiness, and/or a sense of superiority. The ban on teaching halachos before one’s rebbe is part of an overall injunction to keep far away from gaava. Teaching before one’s rebbe causes the honor one feels for his rebbe to diminish.
If Elazar’s putting himself in Moshe’s place stemmed from a slight trace of gaava, then it is clear why mida kneged mida [measure for measure], when the time came for him to assume the role of moreh horaah [one qualified to make halachic decisions] to Yehoshua [Joshua], Yehoshua never needed him.
This, unlike Pinchas [Phinehas], who before killing Zimri, went to his rebbe, Moshe, and asked him: Did you not teach us that “one who engages in intercourse with an Aramis [a pagan], the zealous strike him?”
Moshe replied: “The one who reads the letter should be the one who delivers it.” Meaning, you, Pinchas, should be the one to carry out this mitzvah. Pinchas was in effect acting on Moshe’s behalf. His was not a case of “teaching over a halacha in the presence of his rebbe.”
2 – Elazar made a slight error in his assessment of the situation. When Hashem places you in a situation that seems like an emergency and demands immediate action, you must pause for a moment and ask yourself: Who put me into this emergency?
Hashem! Let’s weigh this matter correctly and see what should be done, how it should be done, at what time and in what way?
I feel that in light of certain circumstances I simply must do something — does that give me the right to kill somebody in the process? Do the ends justify the means? If they do not, then one must forego the end result, because the means of action must be weighed properly.
A man has to weigh his actions, because we are not the baal habayis [lit. master of the house] over our actions — Hashem is. He is the one who put us into this situation, and with this in mind we must consider what is the right thing to do? How should it be done? Am I the right person to do it?
Many times, these thoughts alone are enough to prevent a person from acting, and sometimes non-action is an error, so one must be a lamdan [scholar] in reaching a decision. It is clear that Elazar weighed his actions, and was therefore very careful to give as much honor as he could to Moshe. Still, this was deemed a sin, either because 1) it stemmed from gaava, putting himself in the place where his rebbe should be, or 2) he didn’t weigh the situation properly. The Maharsha says that, in fact, Elazar could have waited for Moshe’s anger to subside and then Moshe would have recalled the halacha, only Elazar reasoned that this halacha had to be taught at once, with no delays whatsoever.
Elazar's punishment - lack of siyata deShemaya
That’s why Elazar’s punishment was that he never had the chance to make use of the awesome gift Hashem gave him of instructing the leader of Yisrael. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu himself, before his death, brought Yehoshua before Elazar and told him that Elazar would be the one to whom he should turn in questions of the dvar Hashem [word of HaShem], Elazar’s punishment changed this. Imagine Elazar toils day and night to know all of the halachos in order to instruct, and makes sure that he is always in a state of tahara [purity] so that at any moment, he can consult the Urim VTumim, and yet that moment never materialized.
Many people study Torah and know a great deal, but they are never given a chance to put their learning into action. On the other hand, we can find plenty of people who learned a little bit, and then found themselves in situations where they did put their learning into practice. Even though they did not learn the entire Shas, it just so happened that the pertinent halacha in a given case was davka [specifically] the one that they knew well and could implement on the spot.
The difference between these two people is Siyatta deShemaya. Hashem enabled one of them to put his learning into practice, whereas the other one, who may know a great deal more, did not have that merit.
Elazar did not have this merit, because Hashem is particular with his tzaddikim to a hairsbreadth, and the greater a person is, the greater is his accountability before Hashem.
Actualization requires merits
This chiddush [revelation] applies in all spheres. Sometimes, a person has “all it takes.” He has the brains, the money, the time and knowledge – the only thing he’s missing is the merit to be able to put what he has into action.
Also, we must weigh out our actions, irrespective of the pressure we’re under. We must think things through with yishuv hadaas [a settled mind], to do what Hashem expects of us.
Excerpted with permission from Imrei Mordechai, Vol. 2, A Collection of Inspirational Insights from the “Mussar Shmoozes” of HaGaon Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein Ztzvk”l, The Imrei Mordechai Institute, Diaspora Yeshiva Toras Yisrael, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Kislev 5779.
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