Rav Meir Ma’arim of Kobrin, zt”l, was someone who always acted in a pleasant way to everyone, no matter how he himself was treated. He never took revenge against anyone, he was always kind to others, and he tried to make peace whenever he could.
Always Acting a Soft and Gentle Way
Someone once approached him about this and asked how he could always act in such a soft and gentle way, when the Gemara in Yoma (23a) says that a Talmid Chacham who does not take revenge and bear a grudge like a snake, is not a true Talmid Chacham?
Rav Meir explained, “Just imagine what would happen if I didn’t act in my normal manner, and instead, I tried to take revenge from those who bother me. After I leave this world, the Bais Din in Shamayim will surely ask why I behaved with such terrible Middos and did so many Aveiros with these actions.
“If I quote this Gemara to justify what I did, everyone assembled there will all get a good laugh at my expense. They will say, ‘Look who thinks he’s a Talmid Chacham!’”
“At Least I Won’t be a Laughing Stock”
Rav Meir concluded, “While it’s true that I may have some explaining to do after my time is up about why I didn’t react more strongly in some situations, at least I won’t be a laughingstock for having made a mistake and think myself to be a Talmid Chacham!”
Reprinted from the Parshas Tzav 5784 email of Rabbi Yehuda Winzelberg’s Torah U’Tefilah.
