The Wood Chopper’s Motivation Was Good, But...
At the end of the Parsha, the Torah tells us the incident of the “mekoshesh eitzim” [the cutter/collector of wood on Shabbos]. There is a Talmudic dispute exactly what forbidden labor was involved, but the bottom line is that this individual desecrated the Shabbos. Moshe Rabbeinu did not know yet what the proper punishment was for Shabbos desecration. He inquired of the Almighty and was told the punishment was stoning and this punishment was carried out.
It is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva [Shabbos 96b] that this “wood cutter” was none other than Tzelafchad, whose 5 daughters later inquired of Moshe Rabbeinu concerning their rights to their father’s inheritance.
The Medrash states that the mekoshesh eitzim carried out his act “for the sake of Heaven”. He desecrated the Shabbos “for the best of reasons”. His purpose, according to the Medrash, was to demonstrate the severity of Shabbos desecration. He felt he needed to dramatically demonstrate to the nation that laboring on Shabbos was a capital offense. This same idea is brought in the Targum of Yonasan ben Uziel.
Assuming the interpretation of Rabbi Akiva and the Targum Yonasan ben Uziel – we may ask: was Tzelafchad righteous or wicked? There are several proofs that may be brought that Tzelafchad was indeed a tzaddik [righteous]. [Shabbos 96b; Bava Basra 118b]
Although the Talmud does call Tzelafchad righteous for what he did, Tosfos writes in Shabbos that had the Jews kept that second Shabbos (which was violated by the wood chopper), no nation would have ever been able to rule over them. Klal Yisrael would have been unconquerable. There would not have been a “Churbun Bayis Rishon” [Destruction of the first Bais HaMikdash], a “Churbun Bayis Shayni” [Destruction of the Second Bays HaMikdash], a Babylonia exile, a Roman exile, an Inquisition, a Tach v’Tat, or a Holocaust. But because of this action our future was infinitely worse.
What is the lesson? Here is a person who intended to act for the sake of Heaven. In fact, he was a righteous person. But look what he caused! He caused all the destruction we have known as the Jewish people. Rav Simcha Zissel Brodie says the lesson is that one is never allowed to take the law into one’s own hands. One should follow the Shulachan Aruch and not say that there is a greater good or a higher purpose or that the “ends justify the means”.
This is exactly what the woodchopper did. He claimed that the ends – to get the message of the severity of Chilul Shabbos across – justified the means of Chilul Shabbos. But this is not the way Judaism works! One is not allowed to play fast and loose with the law, even for the best of reasons.
The Gemara [Shabbos 150b] speaks of a certain pious person who noticed a breech in his fence on Shabbos. When he saw what happened, he made plans to fix it immediately because of the great financial loss the breech would cause him. A few moments later, he remembered that it was Shabbos and decided to leave the breech open. The Talmud relates that a miracle occurred and a fast-growing bush (Tzelaf tree) appeared in the breech and restored the protection of his property so that he suffered no loss.
The Ben Yehoyada writes in the name of the Ari z”l that this “certain pious individual” was a Gilgul of Tzelafchad. The soul of Tzelafchad, who made an error in desecrating the Shabbas with the incident of the wood chopping, was given the opportunity to come back to earth in another body and correct the mistake he had once made. When he corrected the error by abstaining from repairing the fence, it was most appropriate that the vegetation which (miraculously) grew there was named Tzelf-chad (one Tzelaf tree).
According to Tosfos (Bava Basra 119b) who maintains that the mekosheish had good intentions, his original good intentions stood in his stead to safeguard the Shabbos even in thought. Thus, he observed the Shabbos in action, speech and thought, and he was therefore rewarded with the tzelaf which has three edible products: its fruit, its flowers and its palm-like shoots.
Also known as the caper bush, this plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), often used as a seasoning, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed pickled. Other species of Capparis are also picked along with C. spinosa for their buds or fruits. Other parts of Capparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
