~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas Ki Seitzei
Hangman, Shovels, and Fingers in
Your Ears
Kavod Ha'adom vs. Kavod Hashem:
Same Difference
By: Daniel Listhaus
וְכִי יִהְיֶה בְאִישׁ חֵטְא מִשְׁפַּט מָוֶת וְהוּמָת
וְתָלִיתָ אֹתוֹ עַל עֵץ: לֹא תָלִין נִבְלָתוֹ עַל הָעֵץ כִּי קָבוֹר תִּקְבְּרֶנּוּ
בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כִּי קִלְלַת אֱ־לֹקים תָּלוּי וְלֹא תְטַמֵּא אֶת אַדְמָתְךָ
אֲשֶׁר ה' אֱ-לֹקיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה
“If a man will have
committed a sin whose judgment is death and he shall be put to death, and you
shall hang him on a wooden beam. His body shall not remain for the night on the
wooden beam, rather you shall surely bury him on that day, for a hanging person
is an insult of Hashem...”
-Ki Seitzei 21:22-23
Rashi[1]
comments that we do not leave the body hanging because man is made in the image
of Hashem, and the Jews are His sons. Therefore, to leave a body hanging would
be deemed a degradation of the King. Rashi continues and gives the
following moshol (parable): There were two identical twin brothers. One
became a king, while the other became involved in thievery and was hung.
Whoever would see him hanging would exclaim, “The king is hanging!”
There
are a couple of questions on this Rashi which beg to be asked. Granted,
man was created with the image of Hashem and we are His children. However, at
the end of the day, this guy did an aveirah (sin) deserving of
death[2].
Last week's parsha stated many times that we should show no mercy to
those deserving of punishment for not following the laws of the Torah[3].
Why is it then that when it comes to keeping the man hanging, the Torah
suddenly seems to show mercy for his corpse? Furthermore, if we take everything
this Rashi says literally, then this whole concept seems difficult to
understand. Is it really true that if one will see a man hanging that he will
say about it that Hashem is hanging? Certainly not! So what exactly is going on
here? What is the underlying reason behind why we do not leave the man hanging?
And how could we understand Rashi's concern of people immediately
associating man with Hashem?
Later
on in the parsha, the passukim (verses) resume dealing with the halachos
(laws) of going out to battle. The passuk[4]
tells us that in addition to a soldier's weaponry, there is an obligation upon
each soldier who goes out to battle to carry a shovel. The reason for this, as
the Torah itself tells us, is in order to be able to use it to dig a hole and
cover one's excrement.
Let
us think for a moment about this strange mitzva. It does not take a
military expert to comprehend that when going to battle one must only pack the
essentials. A gun[5]
is a good idea. A canteen of water is a good idea. A heavy solid-metal shovel
is not a bad idea... it is a TERRIBLE idea! Why tire out an entire army by making
each soldier carry such an instrument?[6]
Furthermore,
the Gemara[7]
learns out a limud from this passuk. The passuk[8]
says, “There should be a spade among your weaponry”. The Hebrew word for “your
weaponry” is “a'zei'ne'cha” which is very similar to the word for “your
ears” - “a'za'ne'cha”. With this, the Gemara goes on to say a halacha;
that we learn from here that if someone is about to hear something which is not
nice [such as lashon harah or nivul peh], one should put his
fingers – which are shaped as spades – into his ears.[9]
There
is obviously a connection between this halacha and the halacha that
each soldier must carry a spade into battle, based on the similarity of words.
This alone would certainly allow chazal to make their limud.[10]
However, is there perhaps a deeper connection linking these seemingly very
different halachos together?
Perhaps
there is a common denominator between the hanging man, covering excrement, and listening
to evil speech. Let us start our analysis with the shovel one is required to
carry during battle. From the fact that the Torah demands that it be part of
the weaponry, it must be because it is just as important as the weaponry. We
could try to understand this based on the following. We know that there are two
elements to everything we do: our hishtadlus – the effort we put in, and
siyata d'shmaya – aid from Hashem. Certainly the weaponry we bring with
us to battle is the hishtadlus we put in. The shovel, on the other hand,
is our symbol for siyata d'shmaya. The halacha[11]
is that it is assur (forbidden) to daven in front of excrement,
since it is unfitting for Hashem to come to such a place. Since it is
through tefillah (prayers) that we ask for siyata d'shmaya,
a spade or shovel is certainly a necessity in order to be able to utilize our
real weapon - davening.[12]
Looking at this in a broader sense, another way of presenting this idea is that
in order to create an environment of “v'haya machane'cha kadosh”[13]
– to keep the camp holy – a milieu of kavod
ha'briyos (respect of creations [i.e. humans]) is needed as a
prerequisite to an atmosphere worthy of kavod Hashem (honor/respect
of Hashem).
Perhaps
this is the underlying theme behind the hanging man, digging excrement, and
listening to evil speech. All three are commandments guarding the basics of kavod
ha'adom (respect of mankind). It is forbidden to say or listen to lashon
harah because it is fundamentally disregarding others. Forgetting to
exercise kavod ha'adom during battle has a direct positive
correlation with not showing kavod Hashem. Therefore, the shechina
will not fight alongside the hishtadlus of the army. The same is true
when it comes to the death penalty. If the Torah demands the death of an
individual, it is certainly mandatory to do so, and, as the Torah says, with
showing no mercy. However, when it comes to leaving the corpse hanging for
longer than necessary - a most degrading thing, Hashem says things have gone
too far. As Rashi[14]
states, “Leaving the corpse hanging is a degradation to the King, for man is
made in the likeness of His image”. Not showing proper kavod ha'adom
automatically means not recognizing proper kavod Hashem.
Respect
for humans is something so basic and so necessary, it is required to be
rehearsed during the hardest of times, such as war, and even at times when the
person being degraded is hanging due to his sins Without a basic understanding
of chashivus ha'adom (greatness of man), Hashem will not come to our
help in battle and, as in the case where a person is treated improperly –
whether alive or dead, will feel degraded Himself – so to speak.[15]
Why
is this so? Why is it that kavod ha'adom and kavod Hashem
are so closely interconnected?
The
Alter of Slabodka[16]
writes that the passuk[17]
in Bereishis tells us that Hashem created man in His image and His
likeness. Hashem created man as his own miniature world.[18]
Just as the world has a King – Hashem, so too each of our own little worlds has
a king – the neshama which Hashem breathed into us. The neshama,
which connects every person with Hashem, is so precious that when man was
created, the melachim (angels) wanted to sing praises.[19]
Within each and every person is an incredible amount of potential waiting to be
tapped into.[20]
The neshama comes from a limitless place and is ready and waiting to
achieve tremendous heights.[21]
This aspect of man, which is directly connected to kavod Hashem, demands
a level of kavod ha'adom.
The
Gemara[22]
relates the famous story of a man who came to Hillel and asked him to teach him
the whole Torah while standing on one foot. Hillel responded, “What is hateful
to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah while the rest is
commentary; go and learn it.” Hashem, and His Torah, is the source for all kavod.
Yet, man resembles Hashem and therefore, kavod ha'adom and kavod
Hashem overlap on many fronts. This is perhaps why the Gemara[23]
has a whole discussion as to which laws we would push away if they would
conflict with kavod habriyos. At one point the Gemara even
suggests that kavod habriyos should be docheh
(supersedes [literally: push away]) a lo sa'aseh (negative commandment)!
This is not because kavod habriyos is better than the Torah,
rather because it is the Torah and is kavod Hashem.[24]
When one honors his fellow man (for the proper reasons), he is in essence
honoring Hashem. It is based on this that Rabbi Akiva taught[25],
“v'ahavta l'rei'acha ka'mocha zeh k'lal gadol ba'torah – You shall love
your fellow as yourself. This is a great rule in the Torah.”
Anything
that goes contrary to the axiom of “v'ahavta l'rei'acha ka'mocha” - the
basic principle of loving one's friends as one loves oneself - is by definition
against the Torah. It disregards kavod ha'adom and therefore, by
definition, kavod Hashem as well. This is why we cannot leave the corpse
hanging, must carry a shovel into battle, and are required to stick our fingers
in our ears when we are at risk of hearing lashon harah.
An even more basic element contained in v'ahavta
l'rei'acha ka'mocha is that each of us has an obligation to love ourselves.[26]
Only once we respect ourselves for being created in the image of Hashem, realizing
our own potential and what we are capable of, could we be prepared to respect
others. And only once we have an appreciation for others, could we be ready to
fully honor Hashem.
[1] Devarim 21:23
[2] See Rashi 21:22 who writes that all
those who get put to death through s'kilah (stoning) are hanged
afterward. Keep in mind that getting put to death by Beis Din (Jewish
courts) means that one is guilty without a shadow of a doubt. There is a whole
process required in order to actually prove someone deserving of the death
penalty. For example, the person has to have
been warned, and the two people who witnessed him doing the action
despite his warning go through a strenuous cross examination by Beis Din
to verify that their stories match. The Mishna in Makkos (7a)
states that because of this process, a Beis Din that killed more than
one man every seventy years was known as a “bloody Beis Din”.
[3] For examples see: Devarim 18:22, Devarim 19:13, and Devarim 19:21,
[4] Devarim 23:14
[5] They probably had more swords, spears, and
bows and arrows than guns, but that is beside the point.
[6] The seriousness of the commandment that each
solider must carry a shovel, could be seen quite clearly because Rashi
explains the passuk to mean, “Take the shovel besides the other
implements you use”. The Be'er B'sadeh comments that Rashi uses
the word besides instead of in addition to in order to bring out
the following point: Even though the solider has other instruments with him
which could perhaps be used to dig holes in the ground as well, still, do not
rely on those tools because sometimes in battle the ground will be hard and one
may choose not to put so much pressure on his weapons and will therefore not
make a deep enough hole to fully cover his excrement. We therefore see how
extreme and serious the Torah is when it comes to this mitzva.
[7] Kesuvos 5a-5b
[8] Devarim 23:14
[9] See also Sefer Chasidim 72. Another
observation that is made is that the earlobe is soft and could be bent in to
block one's hearing when in danger of hearing lashon harah.
[10] See Maharsha in Kesuvos 5b who
writes that the limud links this passuk with the one a few passukim
earlier (Devarim 23:10) which could be read as “guard yourself from
any bad speech” [as if written dibbur (speech) instead of davar
(thing)]
[11] Shulchan Aruch Ohr HaChayim Siman 79
[12] As we say in Tehillim 20:8 “...Some
with chariots and some with horses, but we in the Name of Hashem our G-d call
out.”
[13] Devarim 23:15
[14] Devarim 21:23
[15] See S'forno Devarim 21:23
[17] Bereishis 2:26
[18] See commentaries on Koheles 9:14 as
well as Orchos Tzadikkim: Sha'ar Yiras Shamayim
[19] Bereishis Rabbah 8
[20] As a related side point, see Tosfos 'Eid
Echad...' in Gittin 2b who ask: How could we trust someone who does
not know hilchos sh'chitah, such as a woman, to say that
something was slaughtered properly? Tosfos answer that because it is in her
capability to learn the halachos and within her ability to hire someone
else to do it, it is considered like it is “b'yadah” (literally - “in
her hands”) - as if she could do it - to be believed as an eid echad even
though ischazek issura.
[21] See Orchos Tzadikkim Sha'ar Yiras Shamayim who
suggests that this is the cause for people to want more and more. The neshama
is always pushing us to go further. However, depending on the amount
control we have over our guf (body) will determine which direction it
pushes us in.
[22] Shabbos 31a
[23] Berachos 19b
[24] And even according to the end of the Gemara
that kavod habriyos is only docheh a de'rabannan b'kum
ve'asheh and de'oraisah only by a shev ve'al ta'aseh, we only
come to that conclusion by learning it from a passuk, which the Gemara
explains is coming to teach that if there would be a chilul Hashem, we
do whatever we must to stop it. But this further agrees with our point. Kavod
habriyos and kavod Hashem are the same. So in cases where doing kavod
habriyos may cause chilul Hashem, then obviously that would not
fall under the category of kavod habriyos.
[25] Toras Kohanim and Rashi on Vayikra
19:18
[26] This is obvious because how could we love
others as we do ourselves, if we do not love ourselves.
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