Hashem called to Moshe, Hashem Spoke… From here we learn that any Talmid Chacham that doesn’t have the ability to differentiate, a carcass is better than him. (Vayikra Raba 1:15)

Did you ever notice that people who have all the answers often don’t know much about the subject? For example, everyone understands that we must somehow achieve security in the Middle East, and some people think they have come up with an original way to solve the problem. But if they honestly delve deeper into their “solution”, they soon realize that it is riddled with so many difficulties that it isn’t even close to a “solution”.

This week someone came to me with a complaint about the way the administration in a certain school disciplines their students. But as the conversation unfolded, it became evident that there were more facts that were not originally presented to me! I then asked this person, “What is your experience in the world of education? Which methods of punishment have you seen implemented which have been successful? Which methods have you seen that were failures? To what would you attribute the successes or failures of these methods?” Obviously, for this parent and most parents in general, the answer would be “none” to all of the above. Yet we persist in thinking that our opinion is relevant.

I believe that sometimes it is necessary to be humbled. I would like to share with you a thought which I saw by Rav Nosson Meir Wachtfogel (1910-1998) the mashgiach of Lakewood. The Medrash (Bereishis Raba 8:10) equates Moshe Rabbeinu to Adam Harishon. Moshe asked permission before entering the Kodesh Kadoshim, which was a proper request, as if he would not have asked, he would have been called a person without daas – where even a carcass would be better than him. The Medrash equates this to Adam Harishon, whom the Angels were about to mistake for G-d, and therefore Hashem made Adam fall asleep so that the Angels would realize that he is not G-d, but merely a human who is G-d-like.

The implication of the Medrash is that there was something wrong with the way that Adam Harishon carried himself that necessitated that he go to sleep. Reb Nosson explains that if the Angels could confuse him with G‑d, then obviously there must have been some lack in showing his subordination. This, he says, was enough for Adam Harishon to be punished. He cites in his piece that Rav Aharon Kotler (1892 –1962) at one point disagreed vehemently with one of the Rabbis of the previous generation on a certain subject. Afterwards, there was some kind of fire in his home, and he understood that this was a punishment for not following the dictum of Pirkei Avos (2:10) “but beware…all their (the chachamim’s) words are like coals of fire.”

Even when one, who is qualified to do so, disagrees with his superiors, which one is permitted to do so when qualified, it does not give him the right to speak about them with disrespect. I believe that in the Megillah we find this idea. Mordechai did not bow down to Haman and there were those who looked at this behavior negatively. In hindsight many of us understand that Mordechai’s actions must have been correct, for we see that it brought about the desired result, saving himself together with all the Jews. While coming to that conclusion is definitely better than judging him unfavorably, it does not mitigate our obligation to try to comprehend Mordechai’s ways. In fact, the sefer Ze’ev Yitrof goes into great detail to explain why specifically Mordechai was the person who was able to do this and it could not have been accomplished by anyone else. In brief, even when one sees things done by great people, that does not give them the right to mimic their actions, for one has to realize that they may be lacking the background, knowledge and perspective which are necessary to execute these actions properly.

As Moshe Rabbeinu did, we should humble ourselves and wait for a message from those above us to lead us in the right path, so that we should also be blessed to have the Divine Presence rest upon us.

Good Shabbos and a Freilichen Purim!