Your Unique Role as a Disciple of Aharon:
As I explained in
Part One, this
two-part letter is
dedicated to the
memory of Rabbi
Gavriel Beer, my
first rebbe.
Dear Friends,
In the previous
letter, we began to
discuss the
following teaching
from the Mishnah
which refers to the
unifying role of
Aharon HaKohen:
“Hillel says: Be
among the disciples
of Aharon, loving
shalom and pursuing
shalom, loving
people, and bringing
them closer to the
Torah.” (Mishnah
Nezikin, Pirkei Avos
1:12)
The commentary,
Midrash Shmuel,
points out that the
Mishnah does not
enjoin us to be
“like” Aharon;
instead, it states
that we should
become the
“disciples” of
Aharon. The reason
why the Mishnah does
not tell us to be
“like” Aharon,
explains Midrash
Shmuel, is because
it would be
impossible for us to
be on the same level
of Aharon. All the
Mishnah asks of us
is that we become
the “disciples” of
Aharon; i.e., that
we learn from
Aharon’s ways and
follow them to the
best of our own
abilities. (Cited in
the ArtScroll
“Pirkei Avos” –
Mishnah Series)
I discovered a
similar insight in a
teaching of Rav
Aharon Kotler, a
leading sage of the
20th century who
founded the famous
Lakewood Yeshiva in
the United States
after World War Two.
His disciple, Rav
Yitzchok Deroshowitz,
asked him to explain
the following
statement of the
Rambam (Maimonides)
regarding “Moshe
Rebbeinu” – Moses,
our Teacher:
“Each and every
human being is fit
to be a tzaddik
like Moshe Rebbeinu”
(Mishneh Torah,
Hilchos Teshuvah
5:2)
Rav Aharon Kotler
explained that this
does not mean that
we can become a
tzaddik –
righteous person –
on the same level as
Moshe Rebbeinu;
moreover, we cannot
even become a
tzaddik on the
same level as Rav
Chaim Volozhiner,
the most
distinguished
disciple of the
Vilna Gaon, a
leading and famous
sage of the 18th
century. Rav Aharon
Kotler then gave the
following
explanation of the
Rambam’s statement:
Just as Moshe
Rebbeinu totally
used his abilities
for the good, so
too, each of us can
totally use our own
abilities for the
good.
(Cited in “The
Legacy of Manran Rav
Aharon Kotler” by
Rabbi Yitzchok
Dershowitz –
Feldheim
Publications)
Each of us can
totally use our own
abilities for the
good. This insight
can guide us as we
share stories about
the great men and
women of Old
Jerusalem. We should
not feel overwhelmed
by their great
spiritual level;
instead, we are to
learn from their
ways and strive to
emulate their
example to the best
of our “own”
abilities. Through
serving with our own
abilities, we can
also fulfill the
unique mission that
each of us has on
this earth.
We therefore need to
be aware that each
human being has a
unique and
significant role in
the creation, as the
Talmud states: “Each
human being is
obligated to say,
‘For my sake, the
world was created’ ”
(Mishnah Sanhedrin
4:5). In the
following related
teaching, Reb Zusia
of Annapoli, a
leading Chassidic
sage of the 18th
century, explains
that each person has
a unique mission and
is therefore given
talents and
attributes for the
sake of this
mission:
“Each person is sent
down to this world
in order to fulfill
a specific Divine
task, to carry out
on earth a lofty,
heavenly purpose.
This is the mission
of human beings on
earth; moreover, for
as many people as
Hashem sends down to
earth, He has just
as many different
tasks and purposes.
The work of one
person is totally
independent of the
task of any other
person, and each one
must carry through
and complete his
given purpose.
Therefore, Hashem
endows each person
with unique talents
and attributes
necessary for him to
fulfill his task.
These talents cry
out within each
person, demanding to
be expressed and to
fulfill the mission
for which they were
sent to this world.”
(Cited in Hamodia,
Cheshvan 10, 5759)
The following is
another related
teaching from Reb
Zusia:
Before he passed
away, Reb Zusia
spoke to his
disciples, and he
said that if Hashem
will ask him why he
was not like Moshe,
he will tell Hashem
that He didn’t give
him the very great
potential that He
gave to Moshe. But
if Hashem asks him –
“Zusia, why weren’t
you like Zusia?” –
he will then have
reason to worry.
I will conclude this
letter with a
related teaching of
Rav Yisrael Salanter,
a leading 19th
century sage who was
the founder of the
Mussar movement:
Rav Naftali
Amsterdam was a
noted disciple of
Rav Yisrael Salanter.
Rav Naftali once
expressed to Rav
Yisrael his concern
that he, the
disciple, did not
have the following
gifts: the “head” of
a certain sage
famous for his
genius, the “heart”
of another sage
famous for his fiery
emotional devotion,
and the wonderful
“character traits”
of Rav Yisrael, his
own rebbe. Rav
Yisroel responded,
“Naftali, serve
Hashem with “your”
head, with “your”
heart, and with
“your” character
traits!”
May Hashem help us
to become the
disciples of Aharon
with “our” heads,
with “our” hearts,
and with “our”
character
traits!
Have a Good and
Sweet Shabbos,
Yosef Ben Shlomo
Hakohen (See below)
Related Teachings
and Comments:
1. As we discussed
in this series, we,
the People of the
Torah, were given
the Divine mission
to serve as a model
in Zion for all the
peoples of the
earth. In order to
fulfill this Divine
mission, however, we
ourselves need role
models. The Rambam
(Maimonides)
therefore writes:
“It is natural for a
human being’s
thoughts and actions
to be patterned
after those of his
friends and
neighbors and for
him to conduct
himself in the way
of his society. A
person must
therefore attach
himself to the
righteous and always
sit among the sages
so that he will
learn from their
ways.” (Mishneh
Torah, Hilchos De'os
6:1)
In his commentary on
Mishnah Pirkei Avos
(1:17), the Rambam
writes that one form
of beloved speech is
“to praise those who
are great and to
speak of their
positive attributes
so that their manner
of behavior will
find favor with
human beings, and
they will follow in
their ways.”
Our tradition
teaches that when we
attach ourselves to
sages and their
disciples who serve
as Torah role
models, we are
actually fulfilling
one of the 613
mitzvos of the
Torah. A source for
this mitzvah can be
found in the verse
where Moshe tells us
to “love Hashem,
your God, to walk in
all His ways and to
cleave to Him”
(Deuteronomy 11:22).
A midrashic
commentary on this
verse explains that
one of the ways to
cleave to Hashem is
to cleave to the
sages and their
disciples who serve
as living examples
of Torah (Sifri).
Through this
process, teaches the
Talmud, we cling to
the Shechinah – the
Divine Presence
(Kesuvos 111b).
The insights that we
discussed in the
above letter give us
the following
guideline regarding
the mitzvah to
cleave to the sages
and their disciples:
Our task is not
to become exactly
like these role
models; our task is
to be “inspired” by
their example, so
that we can fulfill
our own unique
mission.
2. One of the ways to have Torah role models is to read well-written biographies of great sages and tzadikim. I prefer those biographies which reveal some of the human struggles that they went through in order to achieve their level of righteousness and wisdom. The biography of Rav Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld – “Guardian of Jerusalem” – can serve as an example. The Creator endowed this sage with great talents and noble character traits; however, the book describes some of the difficult struggles he had in developing those talents and traits. Through reading the book, I will not become exactly like Rav Yosef Chaim, but the book is helping me to become Yosef!
This book also gives me a deeper understanding of the spiritual and universal role of the People of Israel in the Land of Israel. For further information, visit: http://www.artscroll.com/linker/hazon/ASIN/GUAH
3. According to our tradition, there is a spiritual decline in each new generation, for each new generation is further away from our collective experience of receiving the Torah at Sinai. This decline will cease, however, in the messianic age, when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem” (Isaiah 11:9). The tradition about the decline of the generations is cited in the following teaching of the Chazon Ish, a leading sage of the 20th century:
“The generations are continuously deteriorating, but one who is rich in knowledge of previous generations has an extra measure of holiness and wisdom.” (Chazon Ish, Bava Kamma 1:120)
The above teaching was cited in the Feldheim book, “In Their Shadow – The Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rav, and Rav Shach,” by Rav Shlomo Lorincz, a former member of Israel’s Knesset. For information, visit: www.feldheim.com
4. There is also a tradition that in some generations, Hashem may send a great Torah leader who is actually on the high level of Torah leaders from previous generations. For example, it was said that the Vilna Gaon, who lived in the 18th century, was on the level of the Rishonim – leading sages who lived in the period between the 11th and 15th centuries.
This tradition was cited by Rav Shmuel Greineman in the following excerpt from his eulogy for the Chazon Ish, who passed away in 1953, in the city of Bnei Brak – a city which is a major Torah center in the Land of Israel:
“Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin once said that his rebbi, the Vilna Gaon, was akin to the Rishonim who lived centuries earlier. Rav Elchonon Wasserman asked the Chofetz Chaim (his rebbe) to explain why Heaven decreed that such a soul such as the Gaon’s descend to a generation in which it did not belong. The Chofetz Chaim explained as follows: In every generation, the presence of Torah leaders serves to impede that generation’s spiritual decline. However, in certain generations, the risks of spiritual decadence are particularly great. Heaven may then deem it necessary to send to this world a soul that actually belongs to an earlier, more sublime period. Such a soul can single-handedly uplift an entire generation and raise its spiritual sights. Such a soul was that of the Vilna Gaon.
“Such was also the soul of the Chazon Ish. A soul that belonged centuries ago was sent to preserve Torah life in our time. He planted the seeds of Torah throughout the Holy Land, combated ignorance and secularism, illuminated the world with his Torah wisdom, and raised the sights of an entire generation.”
(The above excerpt was cited in the ArtScroll biography, “The Chazon Ish – The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Avraham Yeshayah Karelitz” by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman. For information, visit: www.artscroll.com )
5. I was informed by my good friend, Yitzchak Dorfman, that the full name of Reb Zusia of Anipoli was Reb Meshulam Zusia. He was the brother of another great Chassidic rebbe, Reb Elimelech of Lizhensk, the author of “Noam Elimelech.”