To Study Torah Or To Search Torah?

Regenerate

By contrast, the fire represents a way of leading through inspiration, enlightenment, teaching, and encouragement.

Both forms of leadership are necessary for a smoothly functioning society, and they should not be combined in a single source of power. Ketones Passim explains that this is why the Jewish kingship and priesthood should not be held by one family line. The Chashmonaim’s attempt to unite these roles ultimately led to corruption and dysfunction. This dual nature of leadership is also seen in the story of the famous convert who sought to learn the whole Torah while standing on one foot (Shabbos 31a). He sought to have the whole Torah in only one form – enlightenment or coercion. Shammai rejected him with a “builder’s measuring rod,” symbolizing that the world is built with a balance of both enforcement and enlightenment, that is, to respect G-d’s measuring rod, His plan. Hillel, on the other hand, welcomed him anyhow, offering the succinct teaching, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Hillel’s approach emphasized enlightenment and encouragement, trusting that the convert would eventually recognize the need for the structure and discipline represented by Shammai’s measuring rod.

Ironically, Hillel’s approach is tautological; he trusts his teaching style of enlightenment to non-coercively convince the convert of the eventual need to accept rules and conformity. One can well identify with Hillel and Shammai’s grappling with the convert’s dilemma. He came to Judaism voluntarily out of love, but once accepting the covenant, became obligated even by force if necessary. This is the deep paradigm in the Torah. We first say, “We will do and we will listen”; then have the mountain held over our heads; then later on, as our relationship to G-d and appreciation for the Torah develops, we ultimately re-accept it newly and fully (see Shabbos 88a). To become a full Jew, the convert relives our national process, the Torah process of enlightenment, coercion, and acceptance.

As we seek Torah and engage in life, we can strive to inspire ourselves and others toward Torah observance. However, when inspiration fails, there may be a need to take a forceful stand for our beliefs and push through to our objectives. True leadership requires knowing when to inspire and when to enforce, balancing these two approaches in a way that promotes a healthy self and a functional civilization.

The Importance Of Validation

Sanhedrin 6

Our Gemara on amud beis describes Aharon’s character and temperament in comparison to Moshe. Moshe was a lawgiver and valued strict justice and truth. However, Aharon, whose role was not that of a judge, was a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace, and he would foster peace between one person and the other.

Ben Yehoyada here notes that the Hebrew word used here, “pursuer of peace,” is more ambiguous-sounding than the English translation. In Hebrew, a “chaser” (“rodef”) has a connotation of an attacker, who is chasing after a person to do them harm. The phrase in the Gemara would have more accurately been written as “Rodef achar shalom,” one who seeks out peace. But the literal text is “Rodef shalom,” which almost sounds like chasing after peace to fight it off.

Ben Yehoyada answers that it can also mean chasing away peace, as sometimes Aharon may have had to be clever and drive a rift between certain parties. For example, if one person was trusting the reports of a gossip who was sowing hate and dissent, Aharon would attempt to devalue the esteem and friendship between the instigating gossiper and the object of the quarrel. This way, the hatred would be open to repair, as there was no longer a continuous flow of negative influence.

Ben Yehoyada also offers a creative answer given by his son, which utilizes what psychology calls “paradoxical intervention.” Aharon would first side with the angry and bitter emotions. He would say something along the lines of, “Yes, well if Ploni really did all those terrible things, I would hate him too.” This way, Aharon actually “chased away” peace by initially intensifying the emotions and siding with the person’s sense of outrage. However, once Aharon established the person’s trust, he had the opportunity to gently confront the incorrect assumptions and distorted beliefs. He might ask something like, “So what really happened?” Upon hearing a possible misunderstanding or more wholesome perspective, Aharon might be able to carefully say, “Yeah, if he did that, he really was disgusting and deserves to be hated. I just was wondering – maybe he meant it [this] or [that] other way?”

We see from this lovely interpretation the importance of not rushing to refute another person when they are angry and hurt. Instead, we should fully validate their feelings with a passion and outrage equal to theirs. Once the person feels fully validated, he may be open to other perspectives. This reminds me of one of my favorite sayings from Carl Jung: “The degree that you will influence others is the degree that they sense you are open to their influence.”