Fifth Reading: Admitting One’s Mistakes
We have been talking about the number 956, which is the sum of the names of the bride and groom. We have already seen a few phrases and verses that have this same value. Now let us turn to a verse from parashat Shemini, “Moses heard, and it pleased him,” whose value is also 956.
We saw earlier that 956 also equals “Moses Torah”. It follows then that since we have the word “Moses”, 345, in our verse, the rest of the words, “head, and it pleased him” equal “Torah”, 611.
Rashi explains that “He [Moses] conceded and was not embarrassed [and did not attempt to justify himself] by saying: ‘I did not hear.’” Rashi is quoting the Talmud, which has an interesting continuation: “conceded and was not embarrassed [and did not attempt to justify himself] by saying: ‘I did not hear,’ rather, he said: ‘I heard, and I forgot.’” Seemingly, this is different from what Rashi explained, almost the opposite.
What happened there? Aaron and his sons burnt the goat of the sin offering for Rosh Chodesh (the first of the month), which is a sacrifice that is offered in perpetuity and Moses was upset at them. He challenged their decision to burn the sacrifice entirely despite their being a state of pre-burial of their relatives (Nadav and Avihu)—a state in which a person is not obligated by the commandments because his mind should be focused on burying his relation. Moses contended that since Aaron was a High Priest, he was permitted to continue his service in the Tabernacle without disruption.
The point of contention between Moses and Aaron was regarding the status of sacrifices offered in perpetuity and those that were ad hoc due to the inauguration of the Tabernacle and the priesthood. This can be summarized as a distinction between Moses and Aaron’s conception and connection with time. Moses whose consciousness transcends time does not distinguish between something that is ad hoc and something that is for perpetuity. The sages sometimes refer to this distinction as the difference between “momentary life” and “eternal life.” Prayer is considered “momentary life” while Torah learning is considered “eternal life.” But for Moses they are equivalent, because he transcends time.
Aaron though lives within the limitations of time and therefore distinguished between the two, which is why he ostensibly did not eat the perpetual offering for the New Month. His reasoning was apparently that the two other sin-offerings sacrificed on the eighth day of the inauguration of the Tabernacle and the Priesthood, were of exceptional character, for they were only brought on that day and for that occasion and should therefore be eaten. When Moses heard his brother explain the temporal difference between the two types of sin-offerings he conceded that this was the manner in which most people experienced reality, differentiating between occasional and perpetual actions.
The Cycle of Anger and Error
The sages add something more that Rashi does not mention in his commentary. The translation or the Torah into Aramaic known as Targum Yonatan adds that Moses declared throughout the encampment, “I erred,” so that everyone would know that he had made a mistake. Why does Moses err? Because he was angry at Aaron and his sons!
The sages tell us that “when one comes to anger, one comes to err.” The point that is interesting in the sages’ statement is that anger causes one to err, that is the regular explanation for the relationship between anger and errors. However, here they note both sides of the relationship, “because he was angry he erred,” and “because he erred, he was angry.” To first err is a mistake in the intellect. The intellect must be straight. If there is some error in judgment or in one’s mindset, the mistake will cause him to become angry at someone else. It is a vicious cycle, because the angrier you get, the more mistakes you make, and the cycle continues.
If a person finds himself in a vicious cycle of this nature, what should he do, how can he break it? Regarding the errors in judgment, those are hard to see and so we might not be able to fix them. But we can stop our anger, our irritation.
So, someone who wants to break the cycle must decide that he will never be vexed at a friend, certainly not at our spouse, then we will not make mistakes.
Though Moses made mistakes, it says that Mashiach will not. Apparently, he will be even more calm and patient than was Moses—never angry and never irritated by anyone. If we can resolve to never be angry (especially if we resolve to do so on Rosh HaShanah), we will sweeten all the harsh judgments that stand against the Jewish people. God to will not be angry with us, no matter the situation, for there is an important principle taught by the Maggid of Mezritch, that “God is your shadow on your right hand” meaning that God follows your lead; however you act, God acts the same with you. This is the moral to be learned from the verse, “Moses heard, and it pleased him.”
The Joy of Admitting a Mistake
What else do we learn from this verse? With all the irritation and the mistake that Moses experienced, he is still the humblest of all men. Once he hears an explanation that satisfies him, that convinces him that Aaron was justified in his actions, he immediately admits his mistake and even publicizes it. He actually enjoys admitting in public that he was wrong—so that everyone knows that even Moses can err. About Moses it says, “You have made him little less than Divine.” The word translated as “Divine,” is God’s Name, Elokim, whose value is 86. There is a well-established principle that states that the minimum of a plural is 2, and if we make the Name Elokim “less” by 2, we get the value of the word, “erred”. The value of the phrase, “Moses our teacher erred” is the same as “the essence in physical form”. You can be Moses and even be described as a little less than Divine and yet still err.
There are people for whom admitting that they made a mistake is very difficult, but there are people like Moses, whose humility makes it enjoyable for them to admit their mistakes. In fact, the ability to do so is the sign of a true rebbe, a true spiritual leader and reveals that the individual is “the extension of Moses into every generation.”
Hearing in Depth
In Chasidic thought, to hear, i.e., “Moses heard,” is indicative of what is known as “inner hearing,” which in Yiddish is called derher—it refers to being able to hear the inner meaning of an issue and to connect to its depth of meaning. Derher, inner hearing, is in some ways more powerful than sight, in connecting a person.
About Moses, it is said, “Moses merited understanding.” Understanding corresponds with hearing and Wisdom with sight. So even though it says that “Moses see what God sees”, in this verse he merits to hear. Even though Moses heard, in the end “it pleased him” which is written using an idiom, that literally means “it was good in his eyes.”
Actually, all three intellectual sefirot were involved. We already mentioned hearing and sight (good in his eyes), and the fact that it was “good,” corresponds to the sefirah of knowledge (da’at). When something spiritual is absolutely clear, it is like seeing it with the eyes—just like we say about “seeing creation out of nothingness at every moment.” This is the spiritual sight of wisdom. But when you hear something and it sits well with you, these are the eyes of knowledge. Knowledge also has “eyes” according to Kabbalah. The two eyes are the 5 aspects of loving-kindness and the five aspects of might in the sefirah of knowledge.
(from a Kabbalat Panim, 23 Elul, 5777)
