bamidbar / shavuos

The posuk says 'וימת נדב ואביהוא לפני ה ,and Nadav and Avihu died before 'ה. The Midrash says, Nadav & Avihu saw Moshe & Aaron walking up front,with them following,and the rest of כלל ישראל behind them. Nadav said to Avihu, when are these two old men going to die so we could take over? Then 'ה said, let's see who will bury who. They're going to bury you & they will lead the people. The בן איש חיי asks, how do we understand this midrash? Is it possible that נדב ואביהוא who were great tzadikim, were wishing the death of Moshe & Aaron? In the sefer בינה לעיתים he answers this in a very unique way. He prefaces it with the mishna in avos that says איזהו חכם - הלומד מכל אדם, who is the wise man? The one who learns from all people - from the young & from the old. The mitzvos of the Torah are divided into two categories. One is the mitzvos whose essence is abstaining from the pleasures of this world, like not gorging ourselves with food & drink, or staying away from forbidden pleasures & the like. It's these types of mitzvos that we need to learn from the younger generation. They have intense desires for these pleasures, & have the means to do them, yet still they cling to Torah & mitzvos. We have to learn from them, as opposed to the older accomplished tzaddik whom we could easily say doesn't have the desire any more. Therefore, it's no challenge for them to control themselves. The second category is mitzvos that necessitate the strength of a person such as getting up early to daven, be it in the snow or pouring rain & learning with full concentration, doing the mitzvos etc. For this we could look to the older generation to see how we should act. Even in their weakened state they still push themselves to the limit in the service of 'ה. This is what the mishna meant when it said to learn from all people. Learn from the kids how to control your desires, & learn from the elders how to push yourself to serve 'ה . This was the reasoning of נדב ואביהוא. They felt that the younger generation wouldn't relate to Moshe & Aaron in how to serve 'ה. Moshe & Aaron were so far removed from any earthly pleasures that נדב ואביהוא thought the people couldn't learn from them. Therefore they felt that if they were the leaders, being that they were young too, and still tzadikim, then the people would learn from them. Obviously their reasoning was wrong & Moshe and Aaron were the ones that led the generation. How is it that even though they were seemingly out of touch with the people they were still able to lead & connect to the people? There's a story told of רב יהודה בן עטר who was walking home one afternoon for lunch when he walked by the shop of a Jewish spice merchant who also wanted to go home to eat. However, for him to close the store required a lot of effort for there were big sacks of spices that he kept outside that would all have to be brought in. When he saw the great sage he turned to him and said with naive simplicity, "rebbi can you please do a chesed and just watch the store for a little so I can go eat?" The rabbi said, "sure my son, go eat & enjoy." The man left. The rabbi stayed & watched the store, all the while reviewing his learning. A short time later ר יעקב בן צור passed by & saw רב יהודה בן עטר manning the store. Bewildered, he said "what's the rabbi doing here?" With a smile רב יהודה בן עטר said "the owner gave me the opportunity to do a great mitzva of chesed & let me watch the store for a little while". ר יעקב got angry & said what nerve! רב יהודה said no, not nerve, rather simplicity. Additionally, in his naivete he taught me what the yerushalmi meant when it said about ר' יהודה הנשיא that because of his great humility he did whatever anyone asked of him. Continued רב יהודה, I never understood what he meant. If it meant he lent people money or gave charity, he was a very wealthy man! He was obligated to help others. If he meant going to make peace between man & his friend, that's obligatory too. So what did he do that was out of the ordinary that he only did because of his humility? It must have been for a situation like this, to watch the store of a spice merchant. Now If ר יהודה הנשיא, who was the leader of כלל ישראל did things like this, how much more so should I! This is how even the greatest leaders connect to the people with warmth & humility. Moshe as we know, was the epitome of humility, so he was able to connect to the people regardless of level. As we head into Shavuos & prepare to accept the Torah, we have to remember that humility is the prerequisite for Torah. Let's humble ourselves to be able learn from anyone in our quest to become closer to 'ה & His Torah!