Thursday, 30 May 2024

When Aaron didn't intervene

An Avot mishnah for Shabbat: Perek 5 (parashat Bechukotai)

Continuing our series of erev Shabbat posts on the perek of the week, we now turn to Perek 5.

We all know how long an argument can last—particularly when both sides are determined to have the last word.  Our rabbis of old knew a lot about arguing too, since their quest for truth and their unquenchable desire to discover the fullest and deepest meanings of the Torah often involved lengthy verbal conflict.  A mishnah in Avot (5:20) deals with this very topic:

כָּל מַחֲלֽוֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַֽיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם, וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַֽיִם, אֵין סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. אֵיזוֹ הִיא מַחֲלֽוֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַֽיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֽוֹקֶת הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַֽיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֽוֹקֶת קֹֽרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ

Any dispute that is for the sake of Heaven will ultimately endure; one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not ultimately endure. Which dispute is for the sake of Heaven? The dispute between Hillel and Shammai. Which dispute is not for the sake of Heaven? The dispute of Korach and all his company.

Taken literally, this mishnah can be read in one of two ways. First, we can learn from the examples it gives. Hillel and Shammai disputed points of Jewish law in order to serve God better by doing exactly want He wants: their arguments are closely studied even today, two thousand years later, by students of the Talmud all over the world. Korach’s dispute with Moses and Aaron, in contrast, was a power struggle disguised as a Torah dispute: it had no merit then and is now only viewed as a historical curiosity.

A second, more cynical meaning is that a dispute in which the disputants cling to the belief that they are arguing God’s cause is one that will last forever because they will never agree to resolve it. As Rabbi Israel Salanter is quoted as saying:

“In any controversy, people may come to some mutual understanding and solve the matter. However, when the participants mistakenly convince themselves that they are fighting God’s battle, then instead of coming to a common understanding through give and take they will insist that they are absolutely right, that they are upholding God’s view. In such a case they will never yield. As a result, the controversy will endure and continue on and on” (from Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Sage Advice).

The upshot of this teaching is that, however important it is to work out what a Torah verse means, or how a particular law applies, there is a higher value: the value of peace, which is achieved when any disagreement is resolved. Respect for this higher value may mean seeking a compromise that finds some merit in both sides of an argument, for example by agreeing that each of two opposing views applies to a different set of facts.

The need to respect the higher value of peace may be even greater than that. The Torah itself hints at this (Shemot 32). When confronted with demands from the Children of Israel that he make them a god to replace Moses and lead them on their journey to the Promised Land, Aaron could have chosen to argue with them that this demand was illegal, unfounded and in any event unnecessary. But realising the gravity of the situation Aaron—the very epitome of peace—did not even seek to reason with them and talk them out of it. He knew that any argument with the masses would not be a dispute for the sake of Heaven: he was facing a cry for leadership from people raised in a land of idolatry and who were expressing an irresistible  urge to return to their former habits and practice.

If you enjoyed this post or found it useful, please feel welcome to share it with others. Thank you.

Check out comments and discussions on this post on Facebook here,