Defining Kiddush Hashem - Machlokes Tana'im

The Ramban at the end of Parshas Vayigash quotes a very interesting Machlokes between R' Yosi in Medrash Rabba and R' Shimon in Sifri. 

וכך הוזכר בבראשית רבה (פט יא) אמר רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא שתי שנים עשה רעב כיון שירד יעקב אבינו למצרים כלה הרעב ואימתי חזרו בימי יחזקאל

ועוד שנינו בספרי (עקב לח) ויברך יעקב את פרעה במה ברכו שנמנע שני הרעב אף על פי כן שלמו אחר מיתתו שנאמר ועתה אל תיראו אנכי אכלכל אתכם מה כלכול האמור להלן (פרק מה יא) בשני רעבון הכתוב מדבר אף כלכול האמור כאן בשני רעבון הכתוב מדבר רבי שמעון אומר אין זה קידוש השם שדברי צדיקים קיימין בחייהם וניטלין לאחר מיתתן אמר רבי אלעזר ברבי שמעון רואה אני את דברי רבי יוסי מדברי אבא שזה קידוש השם שכל זמן שהצדיקים בעולם ברכה בעולם נסתלקו מן העולם נסתלקה ברכה מן העולם

Essentially the question is as follows: Yaakov Avinu came to Mitzraim. According to the Medrash, as soon as Yaakov came the Nile River rose to greet him and effectively ended the famine because when the Nile rose it irrigated all the Egyptian fields. R' Yosi states that sometime after Yaakov's death the famine returned for another five years. The Ramban explains that the famine had to return because the interpretation of the dream was tantamount to Nevua'h (prophesy) and had to be fulfilled. However R' Shimon argues and says that it is not a קידוש השם for a Tzadik to have a punishment be stopped in his merit only during his lifetime only to have that punishment continue to be meted out after his death. R' Elazar the son of R' Shimon disagrees. R' Elazar ben R' Shimon says that it IS a קידוש השם just by virtue of the fact that the punishment is abated so long as the Tzadik is alive. 

What is the argument exactly. What is the reasoning behind both R' Shimon and his son R' Elazar be R' Shimon? (maybe something to do with kiddush hashem where goyim are involved? maybe something to do with the saying that a kiddush hashem is greater than a chillul hashem? maybe something to do with their stay in the cave?)

The King and the High Priest. Chanukah. שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד The Division of Powers

 

Tehillim - Psalms - Chapter 133

שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּֽעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֖וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד

The Rada'k learns that שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד refers to the Melech and the Kohen Gadol, the king and the High Priest. The Radak says that in the future the king and High Priest will be able to share authority. At the end of days the Melech and the Kohen Gadol will work together and there will be no friction between them both. Not only will they work together seamlessly but they will also be like brothers at heart with real love between the two. It will be much more than a workable arrangement but rather a brotherly relationship. 

The reason that this is considered such a "Miracle" and a "End of Days" wonder is because the king has full civil authority and full control of the government. The Kohen Gadol on the the other hand, is the nation's spiritual leader and has supreme authority over anything and everything spiritual. It is almost impossible for such an arrangement to work where none of the two has authority over the other's space. To make the arrangement work, the two powers must totally let go of their egos completely and allow for the other to infringe on his sphere of influence. The two can only succeed if they are Leshem Shamayim without seeking any vestige whatsoever of personal power.

For a society to reach its spiritual potential it has to be a totally free society. Spirituality and freedom go hand-in-hand. God created a world with free choice. That is not a coincidence. The concept of free choice is an intrinsic part of any spiritual journey. God HAD to give man free choice in order to fulfill his spiritual obligation in this world. 

Man has to CHOOSE good and CHOOSE life in order to fully internalize his actions. This allows for the intensity and passion man needs to continuously work hard towards accomplishing all the lofty spiritual goals required of him. No amount of external pressure can get a person there. On the contrary, to whatever extent man is not self-motivated, man will lose the ability to perform the required tasks.

The kings authority is directly antithetical to the Kohen Gadol's authority. The Kohen Gadol's authority is gained from people's respect. The Kohen Gadol has no authority to tell people what to do or how to act. The Kohen Gadol oversees  the Bais Hamikdash. This includes the Sanhderin, the high court seated in the Bais Hamikdash. However, the Kohen Gadol has no direct authority on the masses. The Kohen Gadol preaches free will and self-motivation. The king on the other hand controls the government. The king is in charge of the laws of the land. Generally the two will conflict. There is literally a zero sum relationship between the two. An increase in the power of one will cause an equal decrease in the power of the other. 

The Rada'k goes on to say that this was the prophesy of Zecharia in (Zecharia 3) that Zerubavel, the king, will rule together with Yehoshua Kohen Gadol. He called the "Zeisim" (Olives) because they were both anointed with olive oil. 

This prophesy in Zecharia is the prophesy that we read in the Haftorah of Chanuka. This is the situation that will exist at the end of days. This beautiful ability for both powers to coexist. 

The only time in history that it existed was during Chanuka. However, during the Chanuka period it only was possible to exist for one reason. The reason was that during that period the Hasmonaim who were the family of High Priests also served as kings. When the king is also the High Priest and is Leshaim Shamayim, has not ego, and is a Tzadik, effectively the same situation exits. This period lasted only a very short time. After a few short generations the Hasmonaim got corrupted and then what was left was the worst of all worlds where power was consolidated and there was no checks or balances. 

However for that short flash in history, during the days of the early Hashmonaim, the jewish nation had a glimpse of how real power can actually work beneficially. That is why we read the Haftorah of Zerubavel and Yehoshua Kohen Gadol on Chanuka 

Dedication and Sacrifice in the Modern Era

 I once heard a Rabbi in a sermon speaking to a group of wealthy individuals from a very wealthy neighborhood in NY. He said that he understands  that it is very hard for them, sitting in their big mansions to cry when the say Tikun Chatzos. It was spoken a bit in jest but the point was that how can someone living in the lap of luxury in a big house with a number of vacation homes, swimming pools, tennis courts, private jets, etc. bemoan the lack of the Bais Hamikdosh and the Galus of the Shechina. A Mashgiach might give them Mussar that they are very materialistic and don't understand and can't relate to the Shechinta Be'Galusa because they are so very materialistic. However,  a realist would actually evaluate the situation and ask what can God expect from a person who has everything. Why should he pray for Mashiach to come? What is in it for him? The Rabbi giving the sermon actually admitted that it would be hard for anybody in their place to pray for Binyan Yerushalaim. He concluded his sermon by stating that this crowd has a very special opportunity. Their opportunity is as follows: For thousands of years Jews have been crying and praying for Mashiach. Jews that were being torture during  the Spanish inquisition, expelled from Portugal, killed by the Cossaks, lived with no food in hovels in the shtetl, gassed by the Nazis, etc. Those jews all cried and prayed for Mashiach....obviously. But consider how much more a prayer from someone living in a NY mansion means to God. If we can just spend a little time to understand why we should want Mashiach and then just spend a few minutes praying to God for the salvation those prayers would mean so much more than all the prayers of our forefathers. Our prayers would show God that we really long to become close to him and we are not just praying because we lack warmth and shelter. We, all of us, in the 21st century have a unique opportunity to show God that we really miss him. Something that could not be shown in any of the previous generations. 

The Gemara in Pesachim 87b/88a says:

עוּלָּא אִיקְּלַע לְפוּמְבְּדִיתָא קָרִיבוּ לֵיהּ טִירְיָנָא דְתַמְרֵי אֲמַר לְהוּ כַּמָּה כִּי הָנֵי בְּזוּזָא אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ תְּלָת בְּזוּזָא אֲמַר מְלָא צַנָּא דְּדוּבְשָׁא בְּזוּזָא וּבַבְלָאֵי לָא עָסְקִי בְּאוֹרָיְיתָא

 בְּלֵילְיָא צַעֲרוּהוּ אָמַר מְלָא צַנָּא סַמָּא דְמוֹתָא בְּזוּזָא בְּבָבֶל וּבַבְלָאֵי עָסְקִי בְּאוֹרָיְיתָא

We see from this Gemara that it is a much bigger deal and harder to learn in a situation of wealth when having to practice self control than succeeding in learning when things are tough. 

We live in a world that is different than the world was throughout most of history. Our challenge is dealing with material excess.  We struggle to diet, we struggle to get enough exercise. We dont need to scrounge for food. We don't tire our bodies out physically and need to rest more. The Gemara says that this is a bigger challenge than not having enough. We can do big things we just need to focus on self control                                                                                                                                                 

The Navi Yeshaya and Reb Shayala's Tziyun

 The Navi Yeshayahu in Chapter 65 says:

הָעָ֗ם הַמַּכְעִיסִ֥ים אוֹתִ֛י עַל־פָּנַ֖י תָּמִ֑יד

הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ בַּקְּבָרִ֔ים וּבַנְּצוּרִ֖ים יָלִ֑ינוּ הָאֹֽכְלִים֙ בְּשַׂ֣ר הַחֲזִ֔יר ופרק [וּמְרַ֥ק] פִּגֻּלִ֖ים כְּלֵיהֶֽם׃

הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ קְרַ֣ב אֵלֶ֔יךָ אַל־תִּגַּשׁ־בִּ֖י כִּ֣י קְדַשְׁתִּ֑יךָ אֵ֚לֶּה עָשָׁ֣ן בְּאַפִּ֔י אֵ֥שׁ יֹקֶ֖דֶת כָּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃

I've gone with a bit of a free translation here but I believe it captures the essence of the Navi's point....

The nation that angers me, in front of me (in my face) all the time;

Those that spend all their time at the Kivrei Tzadikim and sleep there too or in areas close by that are maybe a little more protected. 

They eat and eat and eat and feed others like swine until they are stuffed from eating so much. 

They are so obsessed with all their foodstuff that their dishes become repulsively  saturated with their disgusting soups.

Those people assert that they are holier than all others and therefore demand that others separate themselves from them. "We need to isolate from others so that our children don't learn their wicked ways" they say. 

Upon those people God declares "My Anger upon them is Smoking" "They cause within me a Perpetual Burning Anger that will not Abate"

The Gentile's Attitude to the Jew and the Commandment of וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם

 The Gemara in Brachos 32B tells a story:

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּחָסִיד אֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה מִתְפַּלֵּל בַּדֶּרֶךְ. בָּא הֶגְמוֹן אֶחָד וְנָתַן לוֹ שָׁלוֹם, וְלֹא הֶחְזִיר לוֹ שָׁלוֹם. הִמְתִּין לוֹ עַד שֶׁסִּייֵּם תְּפִלָּתוֹ. לְאַחַר שֶׁסִּייֵּם תְּפִלָּתוֹ, אָמַר לוֹ: רֵיקָא, וַהֲלֹא כָּתוּב בְּתוֹרַתְכֶם ״רַק הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ וּשְׁמֹר נַפְשְׁךָ״, וּכְתִיב ״וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם״.  כְּשֶׁנָּתַתִּי לְךָ שָׁלוֹם לָמָּה לֹא הֶחְזַרְתָּ לִי שָׁלוֹם? אִם הָיִיתִי חוֹתֵךְ רֹאשְׁךָ בְּסַיִיף, מִי הָיָה תּוֹבֵעַ אֶת דָּמְךָ מִיָּדִי?!

There is a very interesting point in this story that should be highlighted. This happens a lot in the public arena but goes largely unnoticed. The non-Jewish הֶגְמוֹן tells the Jew:

וַהֲלֹא כָּתוּב בְּתוֹרַתְכֶם ״רַק הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ וּשְׁמֹר נַפְשְׁךָ״, וּכְתִיב ״וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם

He says; "You Mr. Jew, are not keeping your Torah properly, you are transgressing the Mitzvah of:

וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם"

It just seems like outsiders continuously obsess over Jews and their observance of this specific commandment. There are not many outsiders preaching to Jews how to put Tzitzis on correctly or how to shake their Lulav and Etrog. However, the commandment of  וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם is an outsiders obsession. 

Whenever there arises some kind of health or medical crisis the outsider becomes suddenly very knowledgeable on how the Jews should best observe this commandment of וְנִשְׁמַרְתֶּם and seem to become very vocal about it. 

What is also interesting this phenomenon doesn't seem to apply only to outsiders and Jews but within the Jewish community too. Many cultural outsiders within the Jewish community like to preach to the more cultural Jews (Jews that are more culturally Jewish and less culturally assimilated) on how they think that they should observe this commandment. Just a thought.