A thought on Parshios Matos- Masei
"...va'yeishev bah ad meis HaKohen HaGadol..."
"...and he shall remain there until the High Priest dies..." (35:25)
There are many aphorisms and sayings which Chazal have given over to us. Some of the most popularly cited ones are nowhere to be found in Chazal! Over the years, I have made note of this and occasionally will point out that some of our most treasured adages cannot be traced to any Tanna or Amora in the Talmudim or the Midrashim.
The Torah tells us that when a person runs to exile in the Cities of Refuge, he must stay put until the ranking Kohen Gadol dies. Until then, he needs protection from a goel ha'dam, any relative who may seek to avenge the killing of his kin by the one in protective custody there.
There are some classic interpretations as to the significance of the High Priest's passing as a "green light" to emerge from that custody. Rabbeinu Bachya, though, offers an alternate explanation.
We can relate to the feelings of the goel ha'dam who is in pain and rage following the careless act of the accidental killer. A preventable trauma has taken a life and the aggrieved kin seethe and suffer without respite, without comfort. When the cherished Kohen Gadol passes away, the entire nation is awestruck. There is collective mourning, societal sadness, and the Jewish world recoils from their sudden loss.
It may happen at that time, reasons Rabbeinu Bachya, that the goel ha'dam pauses, his anger and obsessing lifting, shifting to internalize the broader impact of the public tragedy. At that moment, accommodating the new reality as the nation deals with its loss, may help that relative alter perspective. He may actually find some comfort, ironically, as he joins the entire Jewish people in the experience of suffering.
This thought is articulated further by the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim (3:40): "this is a natural human dynamic. Anyone who has cause to suffer, when trouble occurs to someone beyond himself, whether a similar problem or a greater one, he will experience some comfort over his own distress."
I think that with this interpretation, we can now find support for one of those familiar "non-Chazals." People often say "tzaras rabbim chatzi nechama" - the distress of the group serves as "half" a consolation. As insightful an idea as this is, it does not surface anywhere in the Torah Sh'b'al Peh. However, both the Rambam and Rabbeinu Bachya introduce the concept (and the actual word) nechama in their explanation of how the death of the Kohen Gadol helps console and comfort the agitation of the goel ha'dam. I think that this indeed illustrates that insightful bit of folk wisdom which we know as tzaras rabbim chatzi nechama.
May we know of no distress or sorrow at a personal or public level. Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...and he shall remain there until the High Priest dies..." (35:25)
There are many aphorisms and sayings which Chazal have given over to us. Some of the most popularly cited ones are nowhere to be found in Chazal! Over the years, I have made note of this and occasionally will point out that some of our most treasured adages cannot be traced to any Tanna or Amora in the Talmudim or the Midrashim.
The Torah tells us that when a person runs to exile in the Cities of Refuge, he must stay put until the ranking Kohen Gadol dies. Until then, he needs protection from a goel ha'dam, any relative who may seek to avenge the killing of his kin by the one in protective custody there.
There are some classic interpretations as to the significance of the High Priest's passing as a "green light" to emerge from that custody. Rabbeinu Bachya, though, offers an alternate explanation.
We can relate to the feelings of the goel ha'dam who is in pain and rage following the careless act of the accidental killer. A preventable trauma has taken a life and the aggrieved kin seethe and suffer without respite, without comfort. When the cherished Kohen Gadol passes away, the entire nation is awestruck. There is collective mourning, societal sadness, and the Jewish world recoils from their sudden loss.
It may happen at that time, reasons Rabbeinu Bachya, that the goel ha'dam pauses, his anger and obsessing lifting, shifting to internalize the broader impact of the public tragedy. At that moment, accommodating the new reality as the nation deals with its loss, may help that relative alter perspective. He may actually find some comfort, ironically, as he joins the entire Jewish people in the experience of suffering.
This thought is articulated further by the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim (3:40): "this is a natural human dynamic. Anyone who has cause to suffer, when trouble occurs to someone beyond himself, whether a similar problem or a greater one, he will experience some comfort over his own distress."
I think that with this interpretation, we can now find support for one of those familiar "non-Chazals." People often say "tzaras rabbim chatzi nechama" - the distress of the group serves as "half" a consolation. As insightful an idea as this is, it does not surface anywhere in the Torah Sh'b'al Peh. However, both the Rambam and Rabbeinu Bachya introduce the concept (and the actual word) nechama in their explanation of how the death of the Kohen Gadol helps console and comfort the agitation of the goel ha'dam. I think that this indeed illustrates that insightful bit of folk wisdom which we know as tzaras rabbim chatzi nechama.
May we know of no distress or sorrow at a personal or public level. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 11:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home