Weekly DAFootnotes 
Bava Kama 44-50
Issue #7
Week of 21-27 Elul 5761 / September 9-15, 2001 
By Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions 
===================================== 

HAIRLINE JUSTICE


"Nechuniya, the digger of cisterns" was what they called him.  This saintly 
man was in the practice of digging deep holes in the ground to create cisterns 
for storing water; he would then turn them over to the general public, who 
made pilgrimages to Yerushalayim and needed water for themselves and their 
animals.

Along with the happy story of how his daughter was miraculously saved after 
falling into such a cistern, there is the sad account of his son who died of 
thirst.  This tragedy is cited by our Sages as an expression of the strict justice 
which Hashem dispenses to those close to Him, of whom he demands such 
perfection that even a shortcoming as thin as a hair is punished.

The source for this is a passage in Tehillim (50:3) which speaks of that future 
day in which Hashem will destroy the nations who persecuted His people, a 
day in which He will appear with all His power "and all around Him will be 
tempestuous."  The Hebrew word for a tempestuous storm is "sa'arah" written 
with the letter "samech."  The word in this passage appears instead with the 
letter "sin."  Although this does not alter the pronunciation, it does transform 
the word into an approximation of the Hebrew word for hair.  This led Rabbi 
Acha to interpret it as a hint to the hairline judgment of Hashem in regard to 
those "around Him" — the righteous ones.

Maharsha offers an explanation for this strict justice in regard to the righteous:  
Since the real reward for man is in the World to Come, it is actually a favor for 
the righteous to be punished for even their slightest sins in this world so that 
their reward in the eternal hereafter will be complete.

Another approach is suggested by the commentaries:  Even the slightest sin 
of a righteous man takes on a magnified guilt because others are likely to 
learn from his example, since he is the model of religious commitment.  The 
punishment he receives, on the other hand, takes on a greater significance as 
our Sages point out in regard to the death of the sons of Aharon (Rashi on 
Vayikra 10:3).

When Hashem does justice with the righteous He is exalted and feared by all, 
for they say, "If this happens to the righteous, then the sinners must certainly 
expect judgment."

Bava Kama 50a


WHERE WAS YEHOSHUA?

"Whoever has a case for litigation shall approach them." (Shmot 24:14)

This passage is taken from the instructions given by Moshe just before going 
up to heaven for forty days to learn the entire Torah, and to receive the tablets 
upon which were etched the Ten Commandments heard by all of Israel the 
day before.  In delegating authority for administering justice, Moshe used the 
term "yigash" (approach) which can also be read "yagesh" which means to put 
forward and present a case.  There are two opinions in our gemara as to what 
this teaches us:  Either that the claimant must present proof for his claim in 
order to have the court take the property of the defendant, or that the courts 
must first deal with the initial claim presented to it and only afterwards with the 
counterclaim of the defendant.

In the first part of the above passage we learn that this judicial authority was 
delegated to Moshe's brother Aharon and to his nephew Chur.  Why were 
these two chosen over Yehoshua, who was Moshe's closest disciple and 
eventual successor?

To solve this mystery, our commentaries refer us to a passage (Shmot 32.17) 
describing the scene of Moshe descending from Heaven with tablets in hand 
and encountering Yehoshua.  The latter heard the loud noise emanating from 
Jews shouting in their excitement over the golden calf which they had sinfully 
created as a replacement for Moshe, whom they mistakenly assumed was not 
returning to them.  Yehoshua told his master Moshe that he assumed that this 
was the sound of battle, and Moshe corrected him that this was rather the 
sound of frivolity.

If Yehoshua was thus unaware of what happened in the Jewish camp, we 
must conclude that he accompanied Moshe to the foot of Mount Sinai, pitched 
his camp and waited there alone for forty days so that he would be able to 
serve his master the moment he returned from Heaven.  This is in the spirit of 
the praise given by the Torah (Shmot 33:11) of Yehoshua as the loyal servant 
who never left his master's tent, a loyalty which eventually won him the right 
to be Moshe's successor.

Bava Kama 46b

===================================== 
If you like this e-mail please share it with a friend. 
===================================== 
To subscribe to this list please e-mail DafYomi-subscribe@ohr.edu 
To unsubscribe e-mail DafYomi-unsubscribe@ohr.edu 
===================================== 
(C) 2001 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.