Shmuel Beis Perek 8

In Perek 8 the Radak cites Chazal, who explain that Tzadok and Achimelech were not really Kohanim as the pasuk (8:17) implies, but rather, Talmidei Chachamim. If so, why does the pasuk call them Kohanim? ‘To tell us that just as a Kohen gets gifts first, so does a Talmid Chacham.’

Rashi (Bamidbar 20:1) asks why the death of Miriam is put next to the parah adumah, and answers that it reveals a connection between the two: ‘just as sacrifices atone, so too does the death of a righteous person atone for those alive.’ The Kli Yakar points out three other places in which similar ideas can be found: first, the juxtaposition of Aharon’s sons’ deaths with the Yom Kippur service at the start of Achrei Mos; second, the death of Aharon in Chukas next to a description of the Kohen Gadol’s special clothes (20:28); clothes which also had an atoning feature; last, the repetition of Ahar’s death in Chumash D’varim is put next to the breaking of the luchos, which Chazal interprets to mean ‘the death of tzadikim is as hard to handle as the breaking of the luchos.’[0] Why does the Torah repeat the same idea four times?

The Kli Yakar answers that these four mentions correspond to four different benefits a righteous person has on the world. Parnasah is the first; as the Gemara[1] says, ‘the entire world is fed due to [the merit of] my son’. This corresponds to the drying up of Miriam’s well after her death. Next is the fact that we get a degree of atonement when a tzadik leaves this world, [2] which is hinted at by the juxtaposition of the deaths of Aharon’s sons with the Yom Kippur atonement service. Thirdly, a tzadik’s merit serves as a shield to save the people of the generation from trouble. This is shown by the death of Aharon being placed next to the clothes of the Kohen Gadol - the Kohen Gadol davens for people to be saved from tragedy. Thus, the Gemara[3] says that a Kohen Gadol can be faulted for any (unintentional) murder that takes place, for ‘he should have prayed to Hashem (beforehand) to elicit Divine mercy’. And fourthly, the most visible benefit is that a tzadik sets an example for us to follow Hashem’s path. Thus, the Gemara reports [4] ‘when a tzadik dies, he is lost to his generation’ - the generation no longer has the guidance they once enjoyed. This benefit corresponds to Aharon’s death being put next to the breaking of the luchos - the luchos embodied the Divine revelation at Sinai, which showed the correct path.

A tzadik is not a tzadik for merely his own benefit; a central part of his life is to help others. As Rav Tzvi Kushelevski said, ‘we do not believe in tzadikim in fur,’ and explained that when the room is cold, there are two options; put on a fur coat or light a fire. The difference is that lighting a fire makes everyone warm. We do not go for a ‘tzadik in fur’, a tzadik who is only interested in his own growth and does not confer benefit on anyone else, but rather for tzadikim whose merits and actions uplift the whole nation.

When Rav Aryeh Levin visited Jewish prisoners he was asked by many Muslim prisoners to visit them too. They explained that although they had a Muslim Mufti to visit them, he ‘thinks he is above all of us…he does not talk to us warmly at all. Rabbi Levin, on the other hand, treats all the prisoners kindly’[5] This is the difference between fur and fire.

The Rambam writes[6] that it is a mitzvah ‘to honour those who learn/teach Torah, and those who know Torah.’ Thus, gaining an appreciation of what a tzadik gives to the world will help us develop a more profound understanding of the mitzvah we have to honour such people. Indeed, the Gemara[6b] says that a heretic is one who says ‘what do the Rabbis do for us?’. There is another important idea here. Judaism is not a spectator sport; Rav Berkowitz succinctly states, our role is not merely to ‘kiss the hands of the tzadik’, but to learn from them in order to further our own spiritual journey.

[0] Rashi D’varim 10:7 [1] Gemarra Brachos 17b [2] Gemarra Mo’ed Kattan 28a [3] Gemarra Makkos 11a [4] Gemarra Megillah 15a (four lines from the bottom of the page) [5] From ‘A Tzadik in our Time’ - a biography of Rav Aryeh Levin; a real must-read! [6] Rambam, very beginning of hilchos Talmud Torah