Moshe has successfully led the
Israelites out of Egypt, split the Red Sea, brought the nation to Sinai, and
delivered the Tablets of the Covenant and the Torah to them. He has overseen the construction of the
Tabernacle and appointed Aharon at the helm of the priestly family.
Just when things are starting to
settle down, suddenly Moshe wakes up one day to find a revolt brewing in the
camp. His cousin, Korach, has gathered
together 250 men. They’re surrounding
Moshe’s tent and demanding to know what gives him the right to appoint his
brother to the priesthood. After all,
aren’t all the Israelites members of a holy nation?
Now, Moshe and Aharon knew full
well that Hashem had commanded Aharon’s appointment. But if all these people were so angry, maybe
they had acted inappropriately, in some way.
They fall on their faces and take a few moments to contemplate the
matter. What role had they played to
precipitate the current dispute?
פָּשַׁט הֶעָנִי אֶת
יָדוֹ לִפְנִים, וְנָטַל בַּעַל הַבַּיִת מִתּוֹכָהּ, אוֹ שֶׁנָּתַן לְתוֹכָהּ
וְהוֹצִיא — שְׁנֵיהֶם פְּטוּרִין.
Mishnah: If the poor person extended his hand inside the house and
either the householder took an object from his hand and placed it in the
private domain or the householder placed an object into the hand of the poor
person, and the poor person pulled his hand out of the house, both parties
are exempt.
תַּנְיָא רַבִּי אוֹמֵר:
״מֵעַם הָאָרֶץ בַּעֲשׂוֹתָהּ״, הָעוֹשֶׂה אֶת כּוּלָּהּ, וְלֹא הָעוֹשֶׂה אֶת
מִקְצָתָהּ. יָחִיד וְעָשָׂה אוֹתָהּ — חַיָּיב, שְׁנַיִם וְעָשׂוּ אוֹתָהּ —
פְּטוּרִין.
Gemara: Rebbe said: It is
written, “And if one soul sins unwittingly from the people of the land when he
does it, one of the laws of God that should not be done and he is responsible”.
One who does all of it, and not one who does part of it. Therefore, an
individual, who performed an action in its entirety, is liable. However, two
people, who performed an action together, are exempt.
מִי אִיכָּא בְּכוּלֵּי
שַׁבָּת ״פָּטוּר וּמוּתָּר״?! וְהָאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: כֹּל פְּטוּרֵי דְשַׁבָּת פָּטוּר
אֲבָל אָסוּר
Shmuel says: All exempt rulings
of Shabbat mean that whilst one is exempt (from liability and
punishment), the action is nonetheless prohibited.
Strictly speaking, if two people
break Shabbos together, they will not be liable to prosecution, because neither
of them committed a complete prohibition on their own. Had the contribution of either been absent,
nothing would have happened. A simple
example of such behaviour is two people carrying a bed through the public
domain on Shabbos. Each person on their
own would be unable to do the melacha (forbidden activity). Therefore, neither of them are liable. Nevertheless, says Shmuel, even when an act is
not prosecutable, it doesn’t make it permissible. It is patur aval assur – you are
exempt from liability, but it is still forbidden to do.
The Kabbalists explain that even in
a case where you are not liable to formal punishment at the hands of the earthly
court, any form of spiritual misbehaviour requires a tikkun
(soul-repair). Acting contrary to the
Divine will requires teshuvah, to make amends and repair the tear in the
spiritual rope that binds your soul with its heavenly source. You’ve acted inappropriately and, on a spiritual
level, you need to mend the breach.
Our relationship with Heaven
mirrors our relationships here on Earth.
When two people are engaged in joint improper behaviour, each one
perceives that they are not liable. If
you can’t carry the bed alone, then how can you be held liable for transporting
the bed? Likewise, if you’re involved in
a dispute with another person – joint improper behaviour – it’s easy to dismiss
your personal liability, because it’s their fault, not yours, right?
Indeed, had each individual been acting
in a vacuum without the participation of the other person, they might have done
nothing wrong. But put both pieces
together, and we have a situation of conflict.
From your perspective, you did nothing wrong. If they can’t handle your personality, that’s
their problem, not yours! And if you did
nothing wrong, why should you worry about what they think or say? How can you be liable for their thoughts and
actions?!
Nevertheless, Shmuel clarifies that
there’s a difference between liability and responsibility. You might not be liable, but that doesn’t
mean you’re not responsible. You can’t
have a conflict with yourself. In most
instances, in a situation of discord between two people, each one has
contributed to the disagreement. Even if
one party started the dispute, the other party might have exacerbated it, even
unwittingly.
Even if we believe we’ve done
nothing wrong, we are required to engage in whatever efforts we can to mend the
relationship. That might mean bringing
in a third party to sit at the table. It
might mean apologizing for your actions, even if you felt that your behaviour
was justified. In fact, our Sages insist
that one make three separate attempts to appease another individual who feels
slighted by our actions.
It’s not easy to repair the breach
in a relationship. Sometimes you’re convinced that it’s completely the other
person’s fault. They’re acting
completely unreasonably, and there’s nothing you did to contribute to the
discord. The challenge is to look deep
into one’s soul and ask oneself, ‘What might I have done, even unwittingly, to precipitate
this person’s upset? Has there been any contributory negligence whatsoever on my
part?’
That’s what bothered Moshe and
Aharon. If Korach had so many people
standing by his side, maybe they weren’t entirely blameless. And so they took a time-out to introspect. Now, as it turned out, no matter how deep
within their souls they searched, they found they had done nothing wrong. Hashem reassured them that they were entirely
blameless and that the rebellion was completely on account of Korach’s jealousy. To demonstrate their innocence, a miracle
occurred – the ground opened up and swallowed them alive.
Those occasions do happen. You might have peered deep within your soul
and found no wrongdoing. In addition,
you’ve made every effort to seek to repair the breach with the other party. If,
after three endeavours, they’re still refusing to make peace, our Sages teach
that, at that point, you are absolved from all responsibility. Continue to ‘kill them with kindness’ and
hope and pray that one day they’ll search within their souls and seek to make
peace with you and themselves.
When an individual is engaged in
misbehaviour, the liability for the act is clearly defined. When multiple parties are involved, things
become more ambiguous. May you always be
the first to take responsibility and seek to resolve and repair any ruptured
situations!
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