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  • Why the community of ancient Jerusalem was destroyed?

    The 9th of Av is the most horrible and darkest day in Jewish history. Thousands of Roman troops came to the walls of Jerusalem and on 9th of Av, Jerusalem was on fire. Why? What did the Jews in the community do, so this happened to the nation?

    The Talmud, Gittin 55–56 says, that Second Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of an argument of two people - Kamtza & Bar Kamtza. The story goes like this, there are was a man who made a party and he asked his servant to go and invite his friend Kamtza. The servant went, but instead of going to Kamtza, by mistake he invited his enemy Bar Kamtza. Already on the party, as the host was going from table to table, he noticed his enemy sitting and having a good time with the rest of the people. The host came over and asked him: What are you doing here? Bar Kamtza answered politely and said, that he was invited by his servant. That's when the host realized that his servant made a mistake, and called the wrong guy. Furiously, he asked the guy to leave the party, but Bar Kamtza offered to pay for his meal and asked him not to make a scene and humiliate him in front of everyone. But the host refused and asked him again to leave. Bar Kamtza offered to pay for half of the cost of the party and then for the whole party, but the host refused and threw him out from the party.

    The Talmud says, that people present at the party, especially the Torah sages, sat quietly and didn't get involved. The Talmud rebukes this behavior and says at the end, that this incident was the reason for the destruction of the Second Temple.

    Any argument is accompanied by gossip and spreading of rumors.

    The same thing happened many times in our history, and every time the reaction from Hashem was very severe. 

    - Yosef was saying about his brothers to his father, and for that they hated him. Because of this, the brothers sold Yosef, and later the whole family emigrated to Egypt. (Bereshit Chapter 37, and Bereshit Rabah 84:7)

    - Moshe was puzzled at why the Jewish people had such a hard life being slaves in Egypt. But when he found out that amongst them were people that spread rumors, he understood why this was their fate. (Shemot and Rashi 2:14)

    - When the spies came back and slandered the Eretz Yisrael, those that believed paid with their life - all the adults died and were buried in the desert. (Parashat Shelach)

    - Doeg, the Head of Sanhedrin, was solely responsible for the killing of the City of Kohanim. (Shmuel 22:9)

    - The armies of Shaul HaMelech were losing battles with Philistines because people were spreading rumors about (already anointed and future) King David. (Midrash Shocher Tov 7:8)

    There are lots of other stories where people slandered and all of them have one thing in common - all these events break one commandment: The Commandment of Lashon Hara - which means to say something bad, even though this is true. (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Hachaim 156:10)

    - It is forbidden to repeat something about someone, even though this may not be negative, this is called Rechilut. (Vayikra 19:16, Mishneh Torah, Chilchot Deot Chapter 7)

    - It is forbidden to listen when someone says something negative about someone. The person should admonish the speaker, and if this is not possible, he needs to remove himself from his presence. (Chafetz Chaim 6:2, based on Talmud Ketubot 5A and many other sources)

    - And even if the person heard something negative about someone, he is not allowed to believe it, on the contrary, he needs to give him a benefit of the doubt and justify his actions, and always judge a person for good. (Talmud Pesachim 118A, also in the commentaries of Rashbam in Perek HaMekabel)

    In the Book of Shemot, Parashat Vayera 18:1 - 18:33 talks about Avraham Avinu right after he made a brit, the three angels came to him. One of the angels said that he came to destroy the cities of Soddom and Gomorrah. When Avraham Avinu heard that, he started praying to Hashem and asked Him if there are fifty righteous people that live there - for their sake not to destroy the cities. Hashem told him, there are not. Then he asked him to save the cities for forty five and again He said they are not there. Then he asked for thirty, and twenty and still he got a negative answer. Then once again he approached Hashem in prayer and asked to save the cities for ten righteous people and still, Hashem said even ten don't exist in those cities. Rashi says, that lawyer - Avraham Avinu fell silent, and Hashem left his presence since there are were not even ten tzaddikim in order to save the cities in their merit.

    In the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, there are were no ten members of the community that have thought well of Bar Kamtza, and who were willing to get up and publicly defend him and stop the host of the party. People have been gossiping about Bar Kamtza, and others believed and have been spreading it further, this was an epidemic in the society that had laws against this kind of behavior. People were so sure that Bar Kamtza was the guilty party, that they have assumed the roles of the observers at the party. They were judging Bar Kamtza unfavorably since they already had an opinion of him, which was under an influence of all the gossiping and rumors going around before this incident at the party. And with all of this - laws of lashon hara and other laws were broken, which led to the destruction of the Second Temple, loss of millions of lives and an exile till our time.

    We are in exile, which means this disease is still plaguing us. And if there's a person amongst us, about whom everyone is talking, and talking very badly, and people believe and spread rumors, and based on these rumors he is being judged and treated differently, while imposing on him more and more of the new labels and accusations - this is called Lashon Hara - talking badly, spreading of rumors and gossiping, which Torah calls in two words - Sinat Chinam or Baseless Hatred. 

    And if in that place you still have 50, 45, 30, 20 or 10 righteous people, that do not believe all that gossip - contrary to public pressure, then there's still hope that Hashem's fury can be turned away. We should always try to prevent the community from speaking and spreading rumors, using our influence and communal pressure, and squash this type of behavior right from the start. 

    And if not? And the rumors went far - then there's a job to do - he should be cleaning up - when he sees those that heard and those that might have heard, he needs to convince them that this is not true, and ask Hashem for mercy. (Sefer Chafetz Chaim). Otherwise as was said in the previous articles, our Small Batey Mikdashim - homes, synagogues, and social places are at stake.

    Our Chachamim taught, "Any generation in which the Temple is not built, it is as if it had been destroyed in their times" (Talmud Yerushalmi, Yoma 1A). Because that generation continues at the footsteps of the one that caused the destruction of the Temple. They are not trying to fix the mistakes of the past generations, but continue doing the same destructive sins in the eyes of Hashem and the nation.

    Our goal - is to build strong families and communities which have to live by Torah laws. Based on our life experience we need to help people, by giving them advice, guiding and encouraging all those that fell in life - and to do this not because we owe them or they owe us, but just like that, as the Gemara says: Loving and helping another Jew without any reason - Achavat Chinam - Baseless Love

    This action alone will grow, multiply and strengthen the Jewish Nation and our communities while doing an unforgettable act of bringing peace between people and families, for which Hashem Himself will repay. This action will be responsible for many that have left to return back to Hashem and to His Torah and mitzvot. And based on everything that is said above, we and our families will merit to see Moshiach, while doing our part to his speedy arrival to free us from this prolonged exile.

    Shmuel Katanov


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  • Upon whom shall we depend?

    "When murderers multiplied, the [ceremony of] breaking a heifer’s neck ceased. That was from the time of Eliezer ben Dinai, and he was also called Tehinah ben Perisha and he was afterwards renamed “son of the murderer”. When adulterers multiplied, the ceremony of the bitter waters ceased and it was Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai who discontinued it, as it is said, “I will not punish their daughters for fornicating, nor their daughters-in-law for committing adultery, for they themselves [turn aside with whores and sacrifice with prostitutes]” (Hosea 4:14). When Yose ben Yoezer of Zeredah and Yose ben Yohanan of Jerusalem died, the grape-clusters ceased, as it is said, “There is not a cluster [of grapes] to eat; not a ripe fig I could desire [The pious are vanished from the land, none upright are left among men" (Micah 7:1-2).

    "Yohanan the high priest brought to an end the confession made at the presentation of the tithe. He also discontinued the wakers and the knockers Up to his days the hammer used to strike in Jerusalem, And in his days there was no need to inquire about doubtfully tithed produce."

    "When the Sanhedrin ceased [to function], song ceased from the places of feasting, as it is said, “They drink their wine without song” (Isaiah 24:9).

    "When the former prophets died, the Urim and Thummim ceased. When Temple was destroyed, the shamir and nopheth zufim ceased. And people of faith ceased, as it says, “Help, O Lord, for the faithful are no more” (Psalms 12:2). Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel in the name of Rabbi Joshua: from the day the Temple was destroyed, there is no day without a curse, the dew has not descended for a blessing, and the flavor has departed from produce. Rabbi Yose says: the fatness was also removed from produce."

    "Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: [the cessation of observation of the] purity laws has removed taste and fragrance, [the cessation of observation of] the tithes has removed the fatness of grain. But the Sages say: licentiousness and sorcery destroyed everything."

    "When Rabbi Meir died, the composers of fables ceased. When Ben Azzai died, the diligent students [of Torah] ceased. When Ben Zoma died, the expounders ceased. When Rabbi Joshua died, goodness ceased from the world. When Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel died, locusts come and troubles multiplied. When Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah died, the sages ceased to be wealthy. When Rabbi Akiba died, the glory of the Torah ceased. When Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa died, men of wondrous deeds ceased. When Rabbi Yose Katnuta died, the pious men (hasidim) ceased and why was his name called Katnuta? Because he was the youngest of the pious men. When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai died, the splendor of wisdom ceased. When Rabban Gamaliel the elder died, the glory of the Torah ceased, and purity and separateness perished. When Rabbi Ishmael ben Fabi died, the splendor of the priesthood ceased. When Rabbi died, humility and fear of sin ceased."

    "Rabbi Phineas ben Yair says: when Temple was destroyed, scholars and freemen were ashamed and covered their head, men of wondrous deeds were disregarded, and violent men and big talkers grew powerful. And nobody expounds, nobody seeks, and nobody asks. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our Father who is in Heaven."

    "Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: from the day the Temple was destroyed, the sages began to be like scribes, scribes like synagogue-attendants, synagogue-attendants like common people, and the common people became more and more debased. And nobody seeks. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our Father who is in Heaven. In the footsteps of the messiah insolence (hutzpah) will increase and the cost of living will go up greatly; the vine will yield its fruit, but wine will be expensive; the government will turn to heresy, and there will be no one to rebuke; the meeting-place [of scholars] will be used for licentiousness; the Galilee will be destroyed, the Gablan will be desolated, and the dwellers on the frontier will go about [begging] from place to place without anyone to take pity on them; the wisdom of the learned will rot, fearers of sin will be despised, and the truth will be lacking; youths will put old men to shame, the old will stand up in the presence of the young, 'For son spurns father, daughter rises up against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law a man’s own household are his enemies (Micah 7:6)."

    "The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog, a son will not feel ashamed before his father. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our Father who is in Heaven."

    "Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair says, Heedfulness (being aware or alertness) leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to purity, purity leads to separation, separation leads to holiness, holiness leads to modesty, modesty leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to piety, piety leads to the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead comes from Elijah, blessed be his memory, Amen." -- Mishnah  Sotah Chapter 9.

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  • The Mystery of The Lit Candle

    Have you ever wondered why we light a candle during the Bedikat Chametz or Searching for the Leavened Bread? To the outsider, this looks like an ancient ceremony, but as always there may be reasons for it and it should be something for us to look into.

     

    On the night of Bedikat Chametz we use a candle and look for 10 pieces of bread that we hid before, and also let me mention here - that we use the lit candle on Motzeh Shabbat during the Havdalah. Why do we do that? Is there a connection between these two candles? I believe there's, so let's examine it closely.

     

    The first time the fire is mentioned is in the Midrash for Parashat Bereshit, when Adam and Chavah went out of Gan Eden. When the night has fallen it says, that Adam got scared, since this would be the first time he has experienced - the nighttime. Hashem told him not to worry since it is a normal occurrence. He taught him how to start a fire with stones, and this gave Adam peace of mind and calmed him down. But I believe there's more that could be added to this Midrash or may be explained from a different angle.

     

    Let's start with a question, how come Adam and Chavah ended up outside of Gan Eden?

    In Parashat Bereshit, right after Hashem created the world, Hashem has told Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, in turn, Adam has told Chavah not to touch the tree. Later when Adam wasn't around, Chavah was approached by a nachash, a primordial snake. And this is when the snake persuaded her - by telling Lashon Hara or slander about Hashem - to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and she fell for it. There are several opinions about the fruit that the tree had - apple, grape, bread, etc.., but I strongly believe this tree had a ready-to-eat bread growing as fruits. 

     

    So there was Chavah - she took the fruit of that tree - a piece of bread from the Tree of Knowledge, and right before she ate it - the snake placed his poison into it - and Chavah ate the poisoned bread. And at that moment, the Yetzer Hara went into her, and then she made Adam eat it as well, and there they were with Yetzer Hara also known as - the bad character traits - jealousy, hatred, dishonesty, rudeness, and more - deeply rooted in them, and which are passed on to billions of people throughout the generations until today all across the world.

     

    Hashem wasn't happy about this. He punished Adam, Chavah, and the snake, but humanity was still infected, and Hashem had to figure out a way to somehow cleanse the people from it.

     

    And this is what Hashem did.

    Remember the time when Moshe Rabbeinu came to Egypt and took the Jewish nation out of Mitzrayim? In Parashat Beshalach, Hashem has given us manna in the dessert - a pure bread - food for the angels. A bread that was digested by the body fully with no waste. There's a reason why Hashem has put millions of people in the desert on this diet - only one reason - to raise the nation spiritually to the level Adam HaRishon was at when he was in Gan Eden. 

     

    But later when we get to Parashat Shelach, suddenly the selected few get this idea of spying out the Land. Hashem is not so excited about this idea, but He still lets Moshe send out an expedition, which he does. After forty days when they come back, what do they do? They say Lashon Hara or slander only this time on the Land of Israel. Hashem tried to cleanse the nation from that original sin, and raise them to high spiritual levels, but they fell for the same sin again, and this time Hashem decided to kill the males between ages 20 to 60 of that generation, and their children went into Israel years later. 

     

    But the Yetzer Hara was still inside those people that went to Eretz Yisrael.

     

    So, in Parashat Bo 12:11 it says, "So shall you eat it: your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You shall eat it in haste. It is a Passover offering to G-d." It continues in 12:34 & 39: "The people picked up its dough before it could become leavened, their leftovers bound up in their garments upon their shoulders. They baked the dough that they took out of Egypt into unleavened cakes, for they could not be leavened, for they were driven from Egypt for they could not delay." 

     

    So, it was set as a Holiday of Pesach for generations till today, to eat the unleavened bread - matzah, a bread that is pure and has no chametz in it. The Sages teach us that we should celebrate the night of Pesach, and we should feel that we leave Mitzrayim. But I don't believe that by leaving Mitzrayim, they meant that we should leave any physical location. Our Mitzrayim is our OK with the current situation, our contentment with it, and our will to continue living in it. Because the moment we understand what happened, we understand that we have lost - and we have lost BIG.

     

    On Motzeh Shabbat when we make the blessing for a lit candle, we look at our fingernails, which reminds us of Adam HaRishon, since it says in the Midrash that his whole skin was covered by fingernails like skin, but now we have nails only on our fingers and toes. But this is not the only loss it should remind us of. It should remind us of the fact that we no longer live in the Gan Eden, we no longer have ready-to-eat bread growing on the trees, and we have to toil hard for a piece of bread daily. We no longer have a close relationship with Hashem and thus live in the darkness. No Bet Hamikdash, and no Eretz Yisrael, with wars, diseases, hunger, death, conflicts, and a whole lot of troubles across the globe.

     

    Therefore, while we look for chametz with a lit candle, and gather the pieces of chametz - the leavened bread, we realize: Chametz, it is because of you we have lost so much. The life we have, and the life the whole world has is not what Hashem initially intended it to be - and instead, we suffer today because of the poison the snake put into the bread - which is the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge - which in turn has infected us, humans, with the Yetzer Hara from which we suffer daily. We take that bread and we burn it, and with it, we annul all the chametz, that may be in our possession -- thus weakening its influence over us for the next 7 days

     

    And to all those that think, that G-d has abandoned the Jewish nation - should know that He has neither abandoned nor has given up on us.

     

    He has commanded us to celebrate the Holiday of Pesach for 7 days. And on this holiday we are commanded to eat the unleavened bread for 7 days. The bread that has zero chametz - the matzah. And when we eat the matzah - we grow in our belief in G-d, and most importantly we grow in holiness, which eventually will lead to the ultimate redemption, Mashiach, and Third Bet Hamikdash speedily in our days...amen.

    Shmuel Katanov

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  • Почему Вс-вышний выбрал Моше Рабейну а не Кораха?

    Слышал однажды от одного человека который сказал: что Вс-вышний поступил с Корахом очень сурово, ведь он всего лишь хотел хорошего для народа, и тоже хотел места под солнцем - ...может быть. Но нам надо понять что двигало Корахом, какие у него были амбиции и идеалы, поняв это мы можем трезво и осознанно посмотреть на ситуацию ещё раз. 

    Не секрет что Корах хотел позицию Моше Рабейну и всё остальное что он говорил и делал было просто пыль в глаза. Как говорится - он говорил и делал до тех пор пока не вмешался Вс-вышний. Но почему Вс-вышний выбрал именно Моше а не Кораха, ведь у Кораха были тоже благие намерения и он тоже хотел делать добро народу. Давайте копнём поглубже чтоб по настоящему понять в чём дело.

    В чём заключалась ошибка Кораха? Что такое лидер? Почему Моше Рабейну был выбран лидером самим Вс-вышним чтоб вывести народ из Египта? И почему в конце Моше Рабейну всё же умирает в пустыне и не попадает в Израиль? Это очень серьёзные вопросы, и пока мы не разберём что такого увидел в Моше Вс-вышний, мы не сможем понять - почему Вс-вышний выбрал именно Моше а не Кораха для этой миссии?

    В Главе Хукат, Г-сподь говорит Моше Рабейну чтоб он взял посох и пошёл поговорил с камнем и чтобы камень дал воду для народа. Сразу возникает вопрос, если он всего лишь должен поговорить с камнем, зачем нужно взять с собой посох. Но это ещё не всё. Когда Моше Рабейну поговорил с камнем, как вы уже знаете - камень воды не дал, и тогда люди из толпы начали шушукаться что Моше Рабейну не говорит со Вс-вышним, и может быть сам всё это и выдумывает. И тогда дав волю своим чувствам Моше Рабейну бьёт камень посохом два раза и сказано: и хлынула вода из камня рекой и попил народ, Бамидбар 20:11. Вроде чудо, вода из камня но не тут то было, приходит Вс-вышний и говорит что Моше и Аарон потеряли возможность попасть в Израиль и останутся лежать здесь в пустыне. Такого поворота событий никто не ожидал.

    Позже Тора рассказывает нам об инциденте который произошёл между Моше и Корахом. Корах хотел стать лидером народа и не хотел просто идти следом за Моше Рабейну. Но как всегда это бывает не все кто хотят стать лидером или уже за рулём, по настоящему понимают насколько ответственна и серьёзна их работа и как велик с них спрос - вот так не понимая и не осознавая всего этого Корах рвался заменить Моше Рабейну.

    Чтоб ответить на выше поставленные вопросы, нам надо понять каких принципов Моше и Корах придерживались. Ведь прежде чем мы готовы отдать за кого-то голос, мы должны знать как этот кандидат намеревается править.

    Мудрецы говорят что в Торе, да и в жизни существуют две структуры правления, заметьте я не говорю о строе государства, например как коммунистический строй. 

    Одна из структур - эта структура Пирамиды. Как выглядит пирамида? Это огромное каменное сооружение которое широко внизу, и сужаясь многоступенчато идёт далеко вверх, заканчиваясь одним кирпичиком наверху. Корах думал что как лидер, он будет сидеть там на вышке, а под ним будет его семья, ниже рангом его близкое окружение, а потом дальше и дальше люди выполняющие разные функции в обществе, и там где-то далеко внизу остальная часть народа, про которых он вряд ли будет знать. Наверняка вы знаете все те страны где практикуется пирамидная структура правления - где хорошо живётся президенту и его узкому кругу, а там внизу где-то далеко страдает народ, чьи страдания и проблемы в верхах не известны. Также вы слышали про все финансовые пирамиды - как много делают денег люди в верхах но все те кто присоединяются к ней позже теряют свои сбережения и в конце концов все пирамиды рушатся, потому что эта система правления не работает. Поднимая людей на восстание, изменяя правду и придумывая байки, Корах и все ему подобные показывают что им безразличны судьбы тех людей которые пошли за ними. Что и случилось, Корах и все те люди которые присоединились к нему с семьями провалились под землю в ад.

    Но есть другая структура. Став лидером, Моше Рабейну показал что править народом не совсем уж лёгкое и простое дело. Придя в Египет он прошёл много трудностей с фараоном, уже в пустыне когда народ сделал золотого тельца, Моше Рабейну упрашивал Вс-вышнего чтоб Он простил им этот грех, когда народ роптал про неудобства в пустыне, Моше Рабейну опять ходатайствовал за народ, он слышал от них много недовольства, но не смотря на всё это - он всегда был готов  пожертвовать собой ради народа. И всё потому что Моше Рабейну придерживался иной идеи правления народом - структурой Меноры.

    Как выглядит Менора? Во первых, она сделана из одного, цельного куска золота - чтоб показать что народ Израиля является одним целым. Во вторых, она стоит на одной ноге и от неё отходит шесть ветвей, три вправо и три влево и одна в центре. Центром Меноры являлся сам Моше Рабейну, а ветви Меноры - это раскрытые руки лидера отведённые в стороны - это и является всё общество Израиля, все колена и каждый человек в отдельности. Моше Рабейну нёс весь народ на своих плечах - все ссоры и житейские проблемы народа были на нём и были его проблемой - все сорок лет пока он не передал правление.

    И что же думал Моше Рабейну стоя у камня с посохом в руках, тот самый посох который Вс-вышний ему сказал чтоб он захватил с собой? 

    Он смотрел на этих людей которых он вёл много лет по пустыне, и вот что он понял. То поколение которое получило наказание быть погребёнными в пустыне после случая с разведчиками, уже давно было не с ним, и все люди которые его окружали были детьми тех людей. И Моше Рабейну впервые почувствовал себя чужим среди своего народа, потому что всех тех кого он вывел давно уже лежат в земле, в пустыне. 

    И вот он стоит у камня, и все эти мысли пробегают у него в голове. Зная и понимая ход его мыслей, Вс-вышний говорит ему возьми посох и поговори с камнем. Народ для Моше Рабейну был всё - несмотря на все проблемы которые они ему причинили за все эти годы, Моше Рабейну бьёт камень, этим давая знать всем тем кто остался в пустыне, что он не уходит от них а как истинный лидер, остаётся вместе с ними за пределами Израиля. Мидраш говорит, что когда придёт Мошиях, Моше Рабейну сделает то что он уже начал - приведёт народ пустыни и всех тех кто лежит вне Израиля в Землю Обетованную.

    Идти вперёд через трудности несмотря ни на что, жертвовать всем даже жизнью ради народа - это и отличало Моше Рабейну от Кораха.

    А вот нам стоит над чем задуматься - какая у Нас структура правления - в семье, в общине и в нашем обществе?

    Шмуэль Катанов


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  • The Life on Autopilot

    As you already know, Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in the palace of Pharaoh and one day he has decided to go out and see the world outside of the palace. As he was taking a tour around the city, he saw all the hardships and bitterness his people had to go through in their everyday life. Suddenly he came across this scene - he saw how an Egyptian guard was beating a Jewish slave.

    In Shemot 2:12 says:
    וַיִּ֤פֶן כֹּה֙ וָכֹ֔ה וַיַּ֖רְא כִּ֣י אֵ֣ין אִ֑ישׁ וַיַּךְ֙ אֶת־הַמִּצְרִ֔י וַֽיִּטְמְנֵ֖הוּ בַּחֽוֹל׃
    “He turned this way and that, and seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.”

    Rabbeinu Bahya said:
    וירא כי אין איש אין איש עתיד לעמוד ממנו שיתגייר - And he saw that no one, (there are were people standing around since pharaoh found out about this incident), no one was a man enough to stand up to him - to the Egyptian guard. All were afraid and no one stepped forward to defend the slave.

    So Moshe Rabbeinu struck the Egyptian guard, killed him and buried him in the sand.

    In the Masechet Gittin 56A there’s a story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, where the host of the party was arguing with one of the people that was invited to the party erroneously, and which happened to be his enemy - bar Kamtza. As they were arguing back and forth, no one from the rabbis present at the party said anything in his defense. When he was thrown out from the party, bar Kamtza decided to revenge all those people involved in his humiliation and the outcome was that we have lost millions of lives and the Temple was destroyed.

    In another scenario: when Moshe Rabbeinu came late for few hours from the Mount Sinai where he received the Torah, the people came over to Chur the son of Miriam and demanded from him to build them an idol - he flatly refused for which he was killed said Rashi on Shemot 32:5:3. After killing Chur they have approached Aaron haCohen. He saw how they have dealt with Chur and agreed to build them an idol, but he was stretching the time and slowing the process in hopes that Moshe Rabbeinu will come down and this plan will be foiled. But against all of his efforts and with the help of the Egyptian sorcerers working behind his back, the Golden Calf has emerged from the fire and people have worshipped the idol as it says in Shemot 32:4. When Moshe Rabbeinu came down with the commandments, he saw similar scenario, few thousand or so people are dancing around the golden calf and the rest of the three million people along with Aharon haCohen are standing around and watching.

    After this incident, Aaron haCohen becomes a Rodef Shalom - the Pursuer of Peace. Aaron haCohen understood one simple truth – we should not live on autopilot. He started strengthening the unity between friends and families, thus creating peace, unity, and harmony in the society.

    But what is living on autopilot? When we live on autopilot – we make mistakes in ideology, principles, and convictions. We ignore quarrels in the society, accept and spread slander, and play along in other people's arguments.

    Evil thrives when no one goes against it when no one challenges it and it sweeps more people into it while doing lots of damage.

    As German theologian Martin Niemöller said in his poem in 1933:

    "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a socialist.

    Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a trade unionist.

    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
    Because I was not a Jew.

    Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

    And as Albert Einstein said: “This world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

    The more we ignore things that are happening with others, standing by idly while letting things to be done and words to be said, the more it goes out of control and at the end, we too become liable in the eyes of G-d. Look around in your community, your family and the places where you have influence. Is it lacking peace? Is there are harmony or there are strife and slander?

    Moshe Rabbeinu had to get involved when Egyptian guard was beating a Jewish slave to death and he did. The rabbis that were present at the party, had to get involved in the story of Kamtza and Bar-Kamzta without concerning themselves of the consequences they might have had. And in the building of the golden calf, the three million people and Aaron haCohen had to stand their ground and go against the people that were bowing down to the idol no matter the outcome that was there for them.

    The more we keep quiet, thinking that it is none of our business and while pretending we do not notice anything – we give evil time to carry out their evil plans, because that's when they start to count on us that we will defend them, justify their actions before others and not expose their plans – and for this we carry the burden of the guilt and will be responsible before G-d, as our ancestors.

    So, what should one do? Should he get involved in a machloket/dispute? Definitely YES! but not to make more trouble or take sides, but to make sure the dispute is ended and peace is restored.

    That's why in Pirkey Avot 1:12 it says: "Hillel used to say: Be of the disciples of Aaron haCohen, loving peace and pursuing peace..."

    When Aharon haCohen died, on his funeral there are were a lot of children from all those families that were about to fall apart, that he was able to save. Thousands of children were named in his name as a token of appreciation from their parents. Aharon haCohen has dedicated his life to peace, he was pursuing it, he has busied himself with it all the hours of his day – giving it the importance and letting us know of the huge responsibility that was placed on our shoulders.

    With his efforts and results, Aharon haCohen has proven that each one of us can and should be a peacemaker in his own society.

    Shmuel Katanov

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