Date: July 15th 2022

At the end of Parshas Balak, we are told of one of the great acts of zealotry recorded in the Torah. Zimri, a prince from the tribe of Shimon became ensnared in a web of seduction by the Midianite princess, Cozbi. He brazenly sinned with her in front of the Mishkan in very public fashion in the presence of Moshe. At that moment, Moshe was unsure what to do. Pinchas the son of Aharon sprung into action and impaled them on the spot with a spear and put an end to this tragic episode.

The pasuk states that when Zimri committed his act, Moshe and the others that were gathered there began to cry. The fact that they cried in this instance is actually remarkable. We have numerous other instances in which the Jews of that generation erred in ways that seem to be as bad, if not far worse than this incident. Yet we don’t find that Moshe and the other leaders cried as a result. What was unique about this situation that caused them to cry more than the golden calf or the episode of the spies?

The commentary of Rashi on this verse addresses this very question. Rashi explains, based on the medrash tanchuma, that what they cried about was actually not due to the severity of the sin of Zimri. Why did Moshe hesitate to react to the travesty that was unfolding? The sages explain that Moshe actually forgot the law that was applicable in this situation and, according to the medrash, that was what they were all crying about. To see their great leader, who was able to stand against sixty thousand men who rebelled against Hashem at the time of the golden calf, was unable to oppose this single individual because he could not arrive at a decisive conclusion about the halacha. This was a cause to cry.

Zimris behavior was not a random occurrence nor was it an isolated event. Zimri was a casualty, along with many thousands of other Jews, of a targeted and devious plot laid out by Bilam to bring down the Jews. After his unsuccessful attempts to curse the Jews, Billam advised Balak that they should use the women to entice the Jews to sin with them and slowly influence them into eventually serving their idols. He reasoned that since it was the merit of the Jews that was protecting them, if they could cause the Jews to have a spiritual collapse they would lose their divine protection. The midrash describes the complex psychological methods they used to entrap the Jewish men. As a result of this mass breach of morality and idol worship a plague ensued and 24,000 Jews lost their lives .The plague only stopped once Pinchas took the action that he did.

When one contemplates the gravity of the situation, the mass public desecration of the Torah, the public immorality and idol worship, and the death of 24,000 Jews it is difficult to understand why Moshe forgetting one halachah was the thing that caused them to cry. In addition, it appears that this was more of a reason to cry than the golden calf or the spies. Moshe only forgot one halacha, he still knew every detail of every other halacha in the Torah.

We can learn from this Rashi the incredible significance of the Torah knowledge of a leader in klal yisroel. This midrash highlights the responsibility placed on Torah leaders and the necessity to perfect their knowledge of Torah and halacha. There are numerous stories about the diligence and hasmadah of our Torah Scholars and such as the Vilna Gaon all the way to present gedolim such as Reb Chaim Kanyevsky who studied Torah around the clock to achieve the most comprehensive knowledge necessary to guide the Jewish people.

POSSIBLE APPLICATION

Life is full of choices. Every day offers us countless opportunities to turn right or left. Sometimes the decisions are spontaneous and reactionary, but often times we are presented with issues that require judgement. How much time should we spend learning torah every day? How much tzedakah should we give? How should we act as parents? The list goes on and on and on. We do our best to make the right decisions, and then we are content that we’ve tried our best.

The Jews wept because their leader did not know what to do and that was a bigger tragedy than the great sin that was being done. We have leaders and rabbonim and talmidei chachamim from whom we can seek guidance. Those torah giants who devote their entire lives 24/7 to continually perfecting their knowledge of torah provide an invaluable resource. On an organizational level, in community matters, we often do not put the true power of decision making in the hands of our sages. Boards decide, wealthy or influential people decide. This is a great tragedy and a travesty. We must recognize the tremendous value of torah guidance in all areas of our lives, public and private, individual, and community.



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