Rav Soloveitchik replied: “I’m astonished that Chazal obligated one to bless over bad news just as one blesses over good (Berachot 54a), and moreover, to do so with joy!” Rabbi Avraham enthusiastically said: “For a believer that everything is from Heaven, and all that Hakadosh Baruch Hu does He does for the good, this is not such a complicated issue!” Seeing his enthusiasm, Rav Soloveitchik stood and handed him the telegram. When Rabbi Avraham read it, he fainted and collapsed, and only with difficulty was he revived. A few days later, the rav visited Rabbi Avraham at his home to check in on him. The man asked: “What, then, is the intent of Chazal?” Rav Soloveitchik replied: “A person always remains obligated to fulfill this, for truly, it is no small matter to accept bad news with joy.”
From these words, I would like to address the astonishing words of Chazal in Parshat Shmini. Chazal say (Yalkut Shimoni 525), Aharon stood bewildered, saying: “Woe is me! Such a sin is in my hand or my sons’ hands that this event has come upon me!” Moshe then entered and comforted him, saying: “Aharon, my brother, at Sinai, I was told that I would sanctify this house, and with a great person I would sanctify it. I thought it would be through me or you that the house would be sanctified. Now, your sons are found greater than you and me, for through them the house was sanctified.” When Aharon heard this, he accepted the righteousness of the Din and was silent: וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן. The righteous are accustomed to accepting and justifying Divine Judgment upon themselves – Avraham Avinu did so when saying וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר; Yaakov Avinu accepted the Din when he said קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת; David HaMelech justified Divine Judgment, as it is stated: וּחַבּוּרֹתָי מִפְּנֵי אִוַּלְתִּי הִבְאִישׁוּ נָמַק – My wounds stink and fester because of my folly. These are the words of the Midrash.
The question arises on this Midrash: How does וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר relate to צִדּוּק הַדִּין – acceptance of the righteousness of Divine judgement? The Malbim says, the Midrash’s statement that the righteous are accustomed to justifying Din, citing Avraham, Yaakov, and David as examples, means they justify Heaven’s judgment from three perspectives: Firstly, by considering the lowliness of the servant in comparison to the greatness of the Master. Given His greatness and man’s lowliness, man’s righteousness is considered as nothing, as Avraham said: And I am but dust and ashes. Secondly, by considering the abundance of good received from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Given this great goodness, one is obligated to greater gratitude and service, diminishing his merits, as Yaakov said: I am unworthy of all the kindnesses. Thirdly, by considering the sins themselves, committed due to limited knowledge and character failures, as David said: My wounds fester and stink because of my folly.
From these three perspectives, Aharon accepted the righteousness of Din and was thus silent from speech. Thus, he thought and said: “Ribbono Shel Olam, not only am I like dust and ashes compared to You, and not only have You done much good for me – but I also have sins. Therefore, it is better that I remain quiet.”
From here, I wish to address an approach I found in a sefer titled Asufat Ma'archot – shiurim recorded by the students of Rav Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht ztz”l. He says the settings in which these magnificent words of Tziduk HaDin were uttered by the Avot seemingly have no connection to actual Tziduk HaDin. Yaakov was indeed in distress at that moment, pursued by his brother Eisav with four hundred men, and he greatly feared for himself. But is a person commanded to justify Din before it has even struck him? Is the act of accepting the righteousness of Din even relevant while a person still anticipates and hopes for Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s salvation?!
Similarly, Avraham was not pursued at that moment. Rather, he stood in fervent prayer for the people of Sedom, negotiating on the minimum number of Tzaddikim required to spare them. When answered in the negative, namely, that there were not enough righteous people to shield and protect the city, he sought a pretext beyond the strict letter of the law to defend them, prefacing his plea with clear words of apology: וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל ה’. This is quite bewildering. What place is there here for Tziduk HaDin?
Let’s bring two Gemarot to try to understand what צִדּוּק הַדִּין truly is. The first Gemara (Avodah Zarah 17b) recounts that Rabbi Elazar ben Perata and Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon were seized by the Romans. Rabbi Chanina said to him: “Fortunate are you, as you were arrested on five charges but will be saved; woe is me, as I have been arrested on one charge, but will not be saved. You will be saved because you engaged in Torah study and in acts of charity, and I engaged in Torah study alone.” At trial, Rabbi Chanina was asked why he studied Torah, which was forbidden under the penalty of death at the time. He replied that he was simply following Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s command. He was subsequently sentenced to burning, his wife to execution, and his daughter to sit in a brothel. The Gemara explains: Rabbi Chanina was punished for publicly pronouncing the Shem HaMeforash, though he did so for the purpose of learning, which is permitted privately. His wife was punished for not protesting his public act, and his daughter for vanity in seeking Roman praise. As they left the court, all three justified the Din with Pesukim; Rabbi Chanina cited הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ, his wife continued כִּי כָל דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט, and his daughter cited Yirmiyahu: גָּדוֹל הָעֵצָה וְרַב הָעֲלִילִיָּה אֲשֶׁר־עֵינֶיךָ פְקֻחוֹת עַל־כׇּל־דַּרְכֵי בְּנֵי אָדָם. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: “How great are these righteous people, that these three verses, which speak of the acceptance of G-d’s judgment, came to them at the time of accepting the righteousness of His judgment.”
The second Gemara (Ta’anit 22a) teaches that an alarm is sounded for any army passing through, even a "sword of peace," as it may turn hostile, citing Pharaoh Necho’s army, which intended to pass through Eretz Yisrael to fight Assyria. King Yoshiyahu tried to stop them, misinterpreting the Pasuk: וְחֶרֶב לֹא תַעֲבֹר בְּאַרְצְכֶם – No sword shall pass through your land; He interpreted it as including peaceful armies, believing his generation merited this blessing. He did not consult Yirmiyahu HaNavi, however, who would have clarified his generation’s unworthiness and instructed him to let the army pass through. Pharaoh Necho warned Yoshiyahu to desist, but Yoshiyahu engaged and was fatally wounded, his body pierced like a sieve. As he died, Yirmiyahu saw his lips moving and feared he was complaining, but heard him justify the Din, saying: צַדִּיק הוּא ה' כִּי פִיהוּ מָרִיתִי – The Lord is righteous, for I rebelled against His word (by not consulting the Navi). Yirmiyahu then eulogized him with: רוּחַ אַפֵּינוּ מָשִׁיחַ ה'.
Before addressing the wonderful yesod brought by Rav Goldvicht, I would like to preface it with a brief introduction, via a story. A man, Baruch Hashem, marries at age 21. His father-in-law buys him a four-room apartment, and two years later, a son is born to the happy couple. A year later, another son is born, followed by two daughters – all, Baruch Hashem, healthy and whole. After two years of learning in kollel, the father decides to work and, with Siyata Dishmaya, finds a job with a net salary of 8,000 shekels and company car. Every morning, he rises at 4:45am, attends Daf Yomi by 5:15, then Shacharit until 7:15, eats a small breakfast, and heads off to work. He finishes work at 4:30pm, comes home, eats a little, and rests. At 8:00pm, he has a Daf Yomi shiur until 9:00, followed by a shiur on Parshat HaShavua with the Ramban’s commentary and a Halacha shiur. By 10:00, he’s back home. Look at this man – three hours of learning daily; Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv; a steady job, and so on. This repeats year after year. His boss is pleased, raises his salary, improves his conditions – everything is perfect, a vine of delicious fruit! One day, however, the clock stops ticking as it should. Either his relationship with his wife is not what it used to be, or his boss announces layoffs, or he attends a parent-teacher meeting filled a long and heavy agenda. This young man comes home and says: “Ribbono Shel Olam, may I ask You a question? For seventeen years, everything worked fine! What happened – did You decide to pick on me? Are You short of other people to target? Look at the neighbor across the street; if You call him at 8:00am, You’ll find him still in bed! I’m not even talking about whether he prays; I’ve seen him with tefillin in the living room – he has a picture of the Kotel with nine people, and he completes their minyan!
The question arises: This is incomprehensible – what is he complaining about? Does Hakadosh Baruch Hu owe him something?! Chazal say (Vayikra Rabbah 24:2) this is what Iyov said: ה' נָתַן וַה' לָקַח יְהִי שֵׁם ה' מְבֹרָךְ. Whether He gave with mercy, He gave; whether He took with mercy, He took. Moreover, when He gave, He did not consult any creature, but when He took, He consulted His heavenly court. Wherever you find וַה', it refers to Him and His court. Thus, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives you a gift, He does not consult anyone, lest an angel object. But when He takes something from a person, He first consults His court, as perhaps an angel will defend the person! So why does a person always ask “why”?
To understand this, we must enter that person’s mind. The person says: “Ribbono Shel Olam, everything You gave me is mine alone! My health is mine, my money is mine, my children are mine – so why did You take it if it’s mine?” And herein lies the person’s mistake!
In contrast, there is another person whose thinking is very different. A man walks down the street and begins crossing the road. Suddenly, a semi-trailer truck approaches, not noticing him, and at the last moment, the driver sees him and manages to brake! The man checks himself – everything is in place. The driver runs to him, pale as stone: “Are you okay?! Did I hurt you?” The person says, “No, no... everything’s fine, Baruch Hashem.” The driver responds with his own “Baruch Hashem,” and then adds, “I’m already on probation for reckless driving – this is all I needed!”
How long will this man think about that truck? At least for a few weeks. A couple of weeks later, this same man walks down the street and starts talking to Hakadosh Baruch Hu: “Ribbono Shel Olam, may I ask You a question? Do You remember sending me a semi-trailer recently? Can I know why You scared me like that? If I deserved punishment, You would have let it gently hit me; I’d sit in a cast for a few weeks, get a few months off work, go to a good lawyer, get compensation from insurance, and marry off the kids! If I deserve it, give me the punishment! If not, why just scare me?!”
Rav Goldvicht says, the truth is, as Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen establishes, that a “near-accident” is a sign from Heaven, meant to serve as a severe warning of the Din he deserves and what he could have faced based on his deeds, were it not for Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mercy that spared him from danger. It is therefore appropriate that he examine his deeds as if the accident had occurred, rectify himself, repent, confess, and accept the righteousness of Din as if it had actually happened.
Therefore, the Rachamim surrounding this street-survivor is twofold. It is the usual mercy that covers every mortal from the moment he enters the world, and added to it, is the grace Hakadosh Baruch Hu granted him in that moment of danger, saving him from the harsh Din of the accident that was destined to testify against him.
When Avraham stood before Hakadosh Baruch Hu, pleading for the people of Sedom and saying: וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר, this was not merely a statement of humility. It was an expression of profound recognition, one that the Kohen Gadol also points to. Avraham said before Hakadosh Baruch Hu (Bereishit Rabbah 49:11): “Had Amraphel killed me, would I not be dust? Had Nimrod burned me, would I not be ashes?”
Just as a person standing in supplication before Hakadosh Baruch Hu must conclude by recognizing his place, Avraham Avinu was aware of his standing. He clearly recognized the strength of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mercy that surrounded him all his days and brought him to this point. The “near-accident” with Nimrod, and again with Amraphel and his fellow kings, stood vividly before his eyes. He did not ponder why he was cast into the furnace, but he knew with certainty that Nimrod’s furnace was meant to burn completely. He did not question why he was involved in the war of the kings, but he was certain that their sharpened swords do not recoil. If he was thrown into these terrible dangers and emerged unscathed, he knew with certainty that every day he walked and every moment he existed since then, was nothing but חֶסֶד שֶׁל מַתְּנַת חִינָּם – a gift of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s grace. The moments of his life from then on were not his own, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s.
When he now stood to plead before Hakadosh Baruch Hu to extend His grace to the people of Sedom, he felt obligated first to thank Him for every moment of his life, for the immense privilege He granted to stand and serve before Him at that moment – a moment when a death sentence had been decreed upon him twice, and to his surprise, he was spared. Only the profound recognition that the very privilege of standing before Hakadosh Baruch Hu now is an immeasurable grace, and that his very existence at this moment is an incomprehensible gift, define his place standing before Hakadosh Baruch Hu. It also guides the context of his current request, his צִדּוּק הַדִּין.
Similarly, Yaakov. He did not need a “near-accident.” Even without it, he knew clearly he was unworthy of the kindness: קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת. But precisely because the mercy that enveloped him until now was incomprehensible to him, he dared to request from Hakadosh Baruch Hu that His favor not be withdrawn, even in the face of Eisav and his four hundred men. צִדּוּק הַדִּין – the virtuous are accustomed to accepting the righteousness of Divine judgement upon themselves!
If this is the case, we can now understand a wonderful yesod. When a person comes and rails against Hakadosh Baruch Hu – Why are You punishing me? Why do I deserve this? – it happens because he feels everything belongs to him, and now it is being taken away. But if a person knew that nothing is his, he would not think anything was being taken from him. Avraham Avinu came and said: “Ribbono Shel Olam, before I speak with You at all, I want to request on behalf of the people of Sedom. I want to thank You for giving me the opportunity to speak at all. According to the plan, I should have long been under the ground – I was supposed to be burned in the furnace! The very fact that I stand on my feet is a privilege You granted me – a privilege I am not worthy of! How do You have so much mercy on me?”
Why did Avraham Avinu say these things in this way? Because Avraham Avinu knew that nothing was owed to him! The very act of waking up in the morning is because Hakadosh Baruch Hu has mercy on you! That you have a livelihood is because He has mercy on you! That you have children is because He has mercy on you! So, say “thank you”!
Therefore, when a person wakes up in the morning and enters the shul, he says: וַאֲנִי בְּרֹב חַסְדְּךָ אָבוֹא בֵיתֶךָ – But I, through Your abundant mercy, will enter Your house – it is the Creator’s mercy that you merit entering the shul at all!
The same applies to Yaakov Avinu, who said קָטֹנְתִּי – I am unworthy of all the kindness. “Ribbono Shel Olam, You gave me four wives and twelve tribes – how much good You do for me! Before I request anything from You, I must say “thank You very much”! But who am I to speak with You at all?”
Chazal teach us a new, simple understanding: If a person knew that all he has is not truly his, he would not complain at all. If a neighbor came to me and asked: “Can you lend me a drill?” “Sure, with great pleasure!” A week later, I knock on his door and ask: “Excuse me, can I have the drill back, please?” “Yes...” Would it occur to him to ask why I’m taking it back? Of course not! It’s my drill, so I’m asking for it back! So, when does a person complain? When the thing belongs to him, and it's taken away! But if the thing is not his and is only on loan, why would he complain at all?
We asked, how can a person whose children are taken from him remain silent and joyful? A person who feels something is his and it is taken away, immediately begins to complain. But a person who knows nothing is his – that everything is a deposit – will never complain! וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן – Chazal tell us, the virtuous are accustomed to accepting the righteousness of Din upon themselves, and if you wish to learn how to reach that state of acknowledging and justifying Din, come and learn from Avraham, Yaakov, and David. Learn how they viewed their lives, and you’ll understand how to genuinely perform Tziduk HaDin!
If a person knows to say “thank you very much” for waking up in the morning, why would he complain about a headache? Say “thank you very much” for waking up in the morning – Hakadosh Baruch Hu could have easily not woken you! So what if your head hurts a bit?! That’s the demand of the Ribbono Shel Olam – you belong to Him! Besides your head, you have 248 other limbs which don’t hurt – say “thank you very much”!
How does one reach the level to perform צִדּוּק הַדִּין? Chazal (Shocher Tov, Mishlei 30) expand on the Pasuk אֵשֶׁת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא: While Rabbi Meir taught in the Beit Midrash on Shabbat, his two sons died. Their mother, Bruriah, covered their bodies on a bed, and after Shabbat, when Rabbi Meir returned and asked for his sons, she delayed, saying they were at the Yeshiva or elsewhere. She gave him the Havdalah cup and served him food and then asked him if a deposit must be returned to its owner. He affirmed it must be returned. She then led him to the bed, revealed their sons’ bodies, and as he wept, she reminded him of his words about returning a deposit, quoting Iyov: ה' נָתַן וַה' לָקָח. This comforted him, earning her the title a woman of valor.
What is the lesson here? A person must know that everything he has is from HaBoreh Yitbarach – everything is a deposit from the Creator! Our body is a deposit, our children are a deposit, our money is a deposit – everything! And how does one live with such a principle of faith? The Malbim says, very simply, through consideration of the greatness of Hakadosh Baruch Hu and the smallness of man. If you internalize that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is constantly doing good for you, and you calculate the sins you’ve committed against what you receive from Him, you understand it is all Rachamim – mercy!
Now, we can answer our original question. We asked why the Parsha of Yom Kippur is juxtaposed with the death of
