Rabbi Frand on Parshas Bamidbar
This dvar Torah was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 374, Bathing
on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Good Shabbos!
When A Rebbe Is Equal To A Father
The pasuk [verse] says, "And these are the descendants of Aharon and Moshe
on the day that G-d spoke to Moshe on Mt. Sinai" [Bamidbar 3:1]. Then the
next pasuk mentions the names of the sons of Aharon, but Moshe's sons are
not included. Rashi comments that Aharon's sons are called the descendants
of Moshe as well, because he taught them Torah. For "whoever teaches the
son of his friend Torah, the Torah considers it as if he fathered them"
[Sanhedrin 19b].
The Maharal asks: based on this logic, the Torah should say that the
entire population of Israel was like sons of Moshe. Moshe taught Torah to
the entire nation. The Maharal answers that Rashi is making a specific
point here. Although Moshe did, in fact, teach Torah to all of Israel, he
must have taken extra time and extra care with his own nephews -- Aharon's
sons. Certainly, he taught Torah to everyone, but he no doubt went the
'extra mile' to explain and review the Torah with his own nephews. The
Maharal argues that a parent is defined by the willingness to go the extra
mile. Set hours do not exist. There are no boundaries. A parent is always
willing to do whatever it takes.
The principle that whoever teaches his friend's son Torah, is considered
as though he fathered him, only applies when the "Rebbe" truly acts like a
father in the sense that he is willing to go beyond the call of duty and
in fact becomes like a parent.
I once heard a story from Rav Shiya Fishman, the Executive Vice-President
of Torah U'Messorah. Rav Fishman had been a student of Rav Yitzchok Hutner
(1907-1980). Rav Fishman related the following beautiful story involving
his teacher.
When Rav Fishman was a young man in Kollel, he had a child with a serious
medical situation. He went to his Rebbe, Rav Hutner, and unburdened
himself with his personal problems -- to the extent that he broke down in
tears and covered his face with his hands. After a few minutes, when he
recovered, he looked back at Rav Hutner and saw that Rav Hutner too was
crying. The disciple's pain was the teacher's pain. The disciple's tears
were the teacher's tears.
If one ever wonders why Rav Hutner was so successful in raising hundreds
and hundreds of such special disciples, the reason is clear. Rav Hutner
was not merely a teacher to his friends' children - he was their father as
well!
The Torah is referring to this type of Rebbe, when it refers to Moshe as
the father of Aharon's children.
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion (# 330).
The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is: Sefer Rus and Its
Halachic Implcations. The complete list of halachic portions for this parsha
from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
