DIVREI TORAH ON PARSHAS SHOFTIM
The Medrash Rabo (5/5) asks: Mahu Shoftim V’shotrim, What’s the primary intent of instituting judges and their assistants? Omar Rabbi Eliezer, Im Na’ase Hadin L’mato Ein Hadin Na’ase L‘malo. V’im Lo Na’ase Hadin L’mato, Hadin Na’ase L’malo. Rabbi Eliezer says, if people accept their responsibility, and implement judgement in this world, Hashem won’t punish them for the sins they’ve done. However, if people don’t implement judgement, then Hashem will intercede and do judgement.
This message is a very important one, and even more important during the Elul/Yomim Noroim, period. The nature of people is to try to avoid issues that make them uncomfortable, hoping that the issues will “go away” by themselves.
This Medrash teaches us that the opposite is true. If people want to be able to move past their mistakes, they should confront them and not work around them. If they don’t, Hashem’s response will be more severe than any response of people. Hashem’s kindness gives people a chance to respond on their own.
For example, if one person mistreats another, and costs him/her money, repaying the money and apologizing, can create closure. Hashem would have assessed not only the action, but how much pain they received. Hashem’s punishment would most likely have been more severe.
To make the problem “go away”, people should challenge their initial reactions of, “I didn’t do anything wrong”, or, “What I did doesn’t matter because I do many good things”. Instead, to make the problem go away, people must acknowledge the problem, correct it, and commit to not repeating it. By taking control of their actions they can, to a degree, choose their own punishment.
This message is a very important one, and even more important during the Elul/Yomim Noroim, period. The nature of people is to try to avoid issues that make them uncomfortable, hoping that the issues will “go away” by themselves.
This Medrash teaches us that the opposite is true. If people want to be able to move past their mistakes, they should confront them and not work around them. If they don’t, Hashem’s response will be more severe than any response of people. Hashem’s kindness gives people a chance to respond on their own.
For example, if one person mistreats another, and costs him/her money, repaying the money and apologizing, can create closure. Hashem would have assessed not only the action, but how much pain they received. Hashem’s punishment would most likely have been more severe.
To make the problem “go away”, people should challenge their initial reactions of, “I didn’t do anything wrong”, or, “What I did doesn’t matter because I do many good things”. Instead, to make the problem go away, people must acknowledge the problem, correct it, and commit to not repeating it. By taking control of their actions they can, to a degree, choose their own punishment.
The author can be contacted at shmuelgluck@areivim.com
People are always uncomfortable in accepting blame. This is certainly true when they’re unsure of whether it was deserved. Was it their fault, or was it another person’s fault? Maybe it was no one’s fault. What about contributing blame? At what point should people decide whether they should accept the blame. Should it be when their contribution was 20%, 30%, or 51%?
People’s willingness to accept blame is less dependent on the percentage of their contribution as it’s on the quality of their personal character. Successful people focus on their contribution to a problem, even if it’s only negligible. Unsuccessful people focus on other people’s contributions, even when their own contribution is significant.
This is the message of the Egla Aru’fo, the calf, which is killed at the place of an unsolved murder. The calf is brought by Bais Din (court), who proclaim, Yodeinu Lo Shofchu Es Ha’dom Hazeh, our hands didn’t spill this blood. Rashi asks; Do we think that Bais Din are the murderers? He answers that, “Had they seen a traveler in need of food and didn’t provide it, and didn’t accompany him, they would have been a contributor to the murder.”
This attitude contrasts greatly from that of most people. A teenage boy once told me, “Of course, I hit him; he didn’t speak nicely to me”. In his mind, what the other person did, the insult, was the primary contributor. What he did, his hitting, was a minor contributor. Even when adults disagree with such an attitude, they still shirk off their responsibility for the problem, even when they’ve contributed enough to the problem that, without them, it never would have happened.
If people are willing to accept blame even when they’re only minor contributors to the problem, they should appreciate how often they affect others in, at least, a minor way. Since their moods will affect others, they become responsible to monitor their moods in order to help, and not hinder, others. People’s subtle decisions, personal schedules, and preferences, are other examples of how they may affect others. Be careful. Great people will accept responsibility for a problem, even when their contribution was only minor, such as with the Egla Arufa. The Chachomim acknowledged that by not offering a meal, and not accompanying a stranger, they contributed to his murder.
People’s willingness to accept blame is less dependent on the percentage of their contribution as it’s on the quality of their personal character. Successful people focus on their contribution to a problem, even if it’s only negligible. Unsuccessful people focus on other people’s contributions, even when their own contribution is significant.
This is the message of the Egla Aru’fo, the calf, which is killed at the place of an unsolved murder. The calf is brought by Bais Din (court), who proclaim, Yodeinu Lo Shofchu Es Ha’dom Hazeh, our hands didn’t spill this blood. Rashi asks; Do we think that Bais Din are the murderers? He answers that, “Had they seen a traveler in need of food and didn’t provide it, and didn’t accompany him, they would have been a contributor to the murder.”
This attitude contrasts greatly from that of most people. A teenage boy once told me, “Of course, I hit him; he didn’t speak nicely to me”. In his mind, what the other person did, the insult, was the primary contributor. What he did, his hitting, was a minor contributor. Even when adults disagree with such an attitude, they still shirk off their responsibility for the problem, even when they’ve contributed enough to the problem that, without them, it never would have happened.
If people are willing to accept blame even when they’re only minor contributors to the problem, they should appreciate how often they affect others in, at least, a minor way. Since their moods will affect others, they become responsible to monitor their moods in order to help, and not hinder, others. People’s subtle decisions, personal schedules, and preferences, are other examples of how they may affect others. Be careful. Great people will accept responsibility for a problem, even when their contribution was only minor, such as with the Egla Arufa. The Chachomim acknowledged that by not offering a meal, and not accompanying a stranger, they contributed to his murder.
The author can be contacted at shmuelgluck@areivim.com
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