וַיַּעַן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן מְשָׁרֵת משֶׁה מִבְּחֻרָיו וַיֹּאמַר אֲדֹנִי משֶׁה כְּלָאֵם: (יא, כח(
Yehoshua bin Nun, the attendant of Moshe since his youth, spoke up and said, “My lord Moshe, make an end of them!” (11:28(
Rashi explains: Put upon them the needs of the community, and they will be ended by themselves.
Indeed, we often follow in the footsteps of the Zohar HaKadosh, which taught us that when delving into the stories of the Torah, one must examine their details in order to understand what the Torah intended to convey to us through them. For it is impossible that the Torah—whose purpose is to instruct a person in how to act—would recount events merely for the sake of storytelling. (See the words of the Zohar on this matter in Part III, page 152.)
Thus, when we come to this story, when we see Yehoshua’s suggestion to impose communal responsibilities on Eldad and Medad, we must draw from it two points. The first is itself the principle that the Torah’s stories are not told merely as tales, for this is a story that is not graspable by those of physical substance. What wrongdoing did these two righteous men commit, that for it they should deserve punishment? After all, HaKadosh Baruch Hu rewarded them in the merit of their good deeds and their humility. It is necessary to conclude that the entire story is something lofty beyond our comprehension, and hidden secrets of Torah are embedded in it. It was not, chalilah, written merely as a tale.
Yet, alongside our understanding that we cannot grasp the depths of the matter, we are still obligated to understand that the Torah wants us to learn from these matters even according to our limited comprehension, with the intention that we extract from it ways of life. For the lessons for people of our stature depend certainly on understanding that is relevant to us.
Therefore, even if we do not understand why Yehoshua thought it was necessary to silence the prophecy of Eldad and Medad, we are obligated to learn from this that communal responsibilities lower a person from his spiritual level. Indeed, Chazal told us the opposite—they listed among the forty-eight qualities by which Torah is acquired also “one who bears the burden with his fellow” (Avos 6:6). And indeed, all the great ones of Israel throughout the generations greatly occupied themselves with communal needs and cared for the physical and spiritual wellbeing of their brothers among the Jewish people.
However, this is only when it is done with boundaries and safeguards, because otherwise, all of a person’s time will necessarily be consumed by these matters, and he will not merit Torah at all.
On the other hand, we must also know that the primary greatness of Torah is only when it is accompanied by acts of kindness, and those who involve themselves only in Torah do not merit to see blessing in their toil. This is also stated precisely in the words of our Chazal (Bava Kamma 17a), and here is their language: “Rebbe Yochanan said in the name of Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai: What is the meaning of the posuk Yeshaya 32:20), אשריכם‘ השור רגל משלחי מים כל על זורעי ’והחמור - ‘Fortunate are those who sow beside all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey’? – Anyone who engages in Torah and acts of kindness merits the inheritance of two tribes... His enemies fall before him like Yosef, as it is written (Devorim 33:17), יחדו ינגח עמים בהם‘ ’ארץ אפסי - ‘With them he shall gore the nations together, to the ends of the earth.’ And he merits understanding like Yissachar, as it is written (Divrei Hayamim I 12:33), ’לעתים בינה יודעי יששכר ומבני ישראל יעשה מה לדעת‘‘ - ‘And of the sons of Yissachar, those who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel should do.’”
This statement, aside from bearing witness to the good that awaits those who engage in Torah and acts of kindness, also reveals to us that the primary value of Torah study is when it is coupled with acts of kindness. And it is true that Torah study on its own is also a great virtue.
Chazal already said (Succah 52b) that Torah study itself gives one the strength to overcome the yetzer, as they said: “If that wicked one encounters you, drag him to the study hall. If he is a stone, he will dissolve; if he is iron, he will shatter.” But the primary excellence of Torah is when it is joined with acts of kindness. And therefore, aside from the reward that “his enemies fall beneath him”—that is, the yetzer, which is a person’s main enemy, falls beneath him—he also merits the ultimate goal of Torah study, which is understanding. That is, he is elevated and gains wisdom through it. For we have learned (Vayikra Rabbah, Parasha 2, section 1): “A thousand enter to learn halacha, and one emerges fit to rule,” which means not all who study merit to become Torah scholars. This requires merit. And here, Chazal revealed to us that this merit comes when Torah is combined with acts of kindness.
It is told of the gaon Rebbe Chaim Palagi who was the Rav of a great city of G-d—namely, the city of Izmir in Turkey—and as a result was greatly burdened with all the matters of the city. For in earlier generations, the Rav of the city was responsible for all those in need within the city; he was the one who extended his hand to support and assist them. And in addition to those seeking the word of Hashem—that is, halacha—all the broken-hearted would gather at his door to share their troubles with him. And after dedicating much of his time to hearing their pleas, he was also required to walk about and knock on the doors of the generous among the people to collect for the benefit of those in need. All of this took many hours of his time. And nevertheless, he astonished all who saw him when he succeeded in publishing one hundred and ten works.
When he was asked how he managed to publish so many works, he answered and said: The art of success is not in driving away the widow who comes to share her sorrow; the art is in training the hand to begin writing immediately as soon as the widow rises from the chair and has not yet left the house.
In any case, one sees from this very fact that it was precisely he who combined Torah with acts of kindness who saw success in his Torah.
Certainly, such success also requires an intense desire for Torah and using every free moment for Torah, but when he sees that his help is needed in the matter of an act of kindness, he is obligated to involve himself in this mitzvah as well. Chazal already said (Yevamos 109b): “Whoever says, ‘I have only Torah’—even Torah he does not have.”
Even in more recent generations, we merited to see an illustration of this. For who is greater than our master, the Raavad of the Holy City of Yerushalayim, the gaon Rebbe Yisrael Yaakov Fisher? The expression “his mouth did not cease from learning” truly fit his image and is not at all an exaggeration. And this great one, despite his immense toil in Torah, also made acts of kindness a major priority, and indeed his rulings and halachic decisions were accepted throughout the Jewish world.
The Raavad himself testified that his success in Torah was dependent upon his concern for others. This was when he was asked why he rose above his peers, and he replied: The truth is that I had other friends who also studied eighteen hours a day, just as I did. But they studied eighteen hours and did not help their wives with household chores, and I also studied eighteen hours and also helped my wife. And apparently, this is what brought me immense Divine assistance [Siyata D’Shemaya].
