From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 4:38 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Matos - Massei, 5764


   


                                         Something's in the Air

           By Rabbi Joshua (atmospherically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


In parshas Masei, we learn of the apportionment of cities to the tribe of Levi, and the designation of some of them as cities of refuge. The function of these cities was to provide a refuge to those people who murdered a human being inadvertently, so that the avenger of the murdered person would not kill him. There were to be, in all, six cities of refuge, three on the western bank of the Jordan, and three on the eastern bank. The midrash notes that, according to the halacha, none of the cities could serve as cities of refuge until after all six were designated, and Moshe knew that he would never live to see the designation of the three on the western side. Still, out of his great desire to do whatever he could in connection with a mitzvah, he designated the three on the eastern side before his death, as we learn in parshas Vaeschanan.

One of the peculiar laws of the cities of refuge is that the inadvertent murderer must stay there until the death of the kohein godol - the high priest - who was serving that function at the time he committed the murder (Bamidbar 35:25). What connection did the kohein godol have with the inadvertent murderer? One of the Talmudic explanations mentioned by Rashi is that the kohein godol should have prayed that such a misfortune should not occur in his generation. The fact that the murder did occur is an indication that he did not pray properly, and, thus, he was, in a certain sense, responsible for the unfortunate death that occurred. Rabbi Mordechai Rogov, in his Ateres Mordechai, writes that we see from this explanation of the Talmud the awesome responsibility placed on the kohein godol to pray in a proper way, and, by extension, the responsibility placed on all of us, each on our own level, to pray that improper events should not occur.

A further comment of the Talmud, not mentioned by Rashi in his Torah commentary, sheds even further light on the responsibility of the kohanim, in general, and, by extension, the rest of the nation, as well. The Talmud says that the mothers of the kohanim would provide the refugee murderers with food and clothing so that they would not pray for their sons to die. The Talmud deduces that the implication is, that if these people would indeed, pray for the kohanim to die, they would be open to an early demise. Why, asks the Talmud, should this be so? Here, again, the rabbis answer, that the kohanim should have prayed for mercy for their generation, and they didn't. The Talmud further says that if the kohein godol died in the midst of the deliberation of the beis din over the inadvertent murderer's case, and another kohein godol is appointed, and subsequently the beis din decides that the defendant must go into exile to a city of refuge, then he returns after the death of the newly appointed kohein godol. Even though this new kohein godol was not even in that office when the murder was committed, still, say the rabbis, he has some hand in what happened, because he should have prayed that the case be decided in the defendant's favor. This answer of the gemara is difficult to understand, because it does not seem to relate to anything that happened while the new kohein godol was actually in office, and, therefore, the kohein godol should not be penalized for something that happened before he was placed in that position.

Rabbi Boruch Sorotzkin, in his HaBinah VeHaBeracha, explains that the failure of the kohein godol to pray for a resolution of the deliberation in the defendant's favor bespeaks a lack of proper love on his part. When a person's close friend or relative is very ill, even if all others have given up hope for his recovery, his love for the sick person will move him to pray for him against all odds for his recovery. So, too, had the kohein godol had the proper love for a fellow Jew, he would have prayed against all hope that the person would not be convicted. The fact that he did not pray in such a way shows that he is lacking the proper kind of love that is necessary for a someone to be a kohein godol, and, therefore, this carries on to his current position, as well. Rabbi Sorotzkin, as Rabbi Rogov, goes on to discuss the implications of these Talmudic passages in regard to the power of prayer. In regard to this last case, Rabbi Sorotzkin discusses how love for our fellow Jew should be a motivating factor in prayer, because we cannot fathom the power that our prayers actually have. I believe, however, that there are further implications in these passages, that have special meaning for us, in our circumstances today.


As we noted at the beginning of our message, there were an equal number of cities of refuge on each side of the Jordah River. The rabbis were troubled by this, because nine and one half tribes lived on the western side of the Jordan, and only two and a half tribes lived on the eastern side. Why, then, should each side require three cities? The rabbis answered that there was an abundance of murderers in Gilead, which was on the eastern side of the Jordan, and, therefore, greater access to cities of refuge was needed there. The Maharal of Prague was troubled by this answer, because according to one opinion in the Talmud, the cities of refuge were never used, at any stage of the process of adjudication and punishment, for any cases of murder besides those done inadvertently. However, the abundance of murderers in Gilead were deliberate murderers, to whom the cities of refuge had no relevance. Why, then, was there such a disproportionate amount of such cities on the eastern side of the Jordan? The Maharal answers that because there were so many deliberate murders in that area, life became cheap, and inadvertent murders increased, as well (for more on this, see Netvort to parshas Shoftim, 5758, available at Torahheights.com).

I believe that the comment of the Maharal provides us with a key to better understand the Talmudic passages we cited above, in connection with the kohein godol's role in the occurrence of inadvertent murders during his time in that position. The Maharal teaches us that when life is held sacred, mistakes that result in inadvertent murder do not take place. In other words, the atmosphere prevalent in a given society has an important effect on the actions of its citizens. If we carry this notion a bit further, we can understand that it is the spiritual leaders of society who must inculcate a sense of the sanctity of life within their followers. When the nation came to Holy Temple on Yom Kippur, they saw the kohein godol in his majesty, going into the holiest place in the world to pray for the welfare of the people. That image, if projected properly, should have had a profound effect on the nation's comportment during the entire year. Moreover, the kohein godol, as the heir of Aharon, who was the man of peace and the prime example of love for one's fellow Jew, needed to project that desire for peace and that sense of love in a way that impacted on the nation, to the extent that the atmosphere inherent in society would not permit any cheapening of human life. The fact that an inadvertent murder did take place reflects on the atmosphere in society as a whole, and bespeaks a failure of its spiritual leadership. On a wider level, as Rabbi Rogov and Rabbi Sorotzkin pointed out in their approaches, this has implications for all of us, as well. As a people charged to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, we all need to project a sense of value for each individual, and a sense of spirituality in our lives, to the extent that the atmosphere of our society is not one of violence, of the cheapening of human life, but of its importance and sacredness. When the atmosphere among us is not of that nature, we need to ask ourselves, as my teacher R. Aharon Soloveichik once said in a different context, can we really say, 'our hands did not spill this blood?'   



Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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