Yisro

T

he posuk says לא תבנה אתהן גזית כי חרבך הנפת עליה ותחללה, the מזבח  has to be made with whole stones as they were pulled out of the ground. You're not able to cut them, and if a sword were to touch them they would be פסול for the מזבח.

The Rav asks why that is. If we're going to use uneven, unsmoothed stones, the מזבח won't be as nice. Why wouldn't we want the מזבח to be nice like all the other kaylim?

He answers that just like the stones of the מזבח need to be rough and uncut, so too when one comes to the מזבח to get atonement, he has to be a mirror image of the מזבח. He has to look at all his "rough edges", not trying to smooth over his failings with excuses, but to see them and commit to improving them.

Rashi brings another reason. He says that the מזבח's purpose was to make peace between 'ה and the Jews, therefore something that was made to cut and injure should not come over it. Then rashi brings a קל וחומר . Just as stones can't hear or speak or see, because they make peace, a sword can't come over it, so surely if one makes peace between people, how much more so no evil will befall him.  How can we reconcile the Rav's reason with Rashi's?

The חתם סופר told over a story that happened in the days of the מהרש"א. There was a fellow who was a complete רשע who passed away, and while they were doing the טהרה one of the guys started hitting him on the mouth and the other people around were laughing.

That night the dead man came to this boy in a dream and said, you embarrassed me, now I want to take you to a din torah in בית דין של מעלה. The boy went to his father and told him what happened, but he just dismissed it. This happened every night until the boy was so tormented by this vision he became very sick. The family was worried about him and went to the  מהרש"א to ask his advice. He told them that the next time the boy has this vision he should be brought  to him. That night as the boy had his vision they brought him to the מהרש"א who started speaking to the spirit. He asked the spirit what he wants from the boy? The spirit answered, he embarrassed me. The מהרש"א said, you were a רשע your whole life, and  for this little embarrassment you're coming back? The spirit answered him, I wasn't a רשע my whole life. Once I was walking by the river and there was a תלמיד חכם who was drowning and I jumped in and saved him. Ever since then I supported him and his family. When I came up here, not only did I get the merit of saving, I also got a share in his torah. I was treated like a תלמיד חכם  with no mention of sins. So now I'm taking this boy to court for embarrassing a תלמיד חכם .The מהרש"א heard him out and said, in reality you have a multitude of sins, but they can't judge you on them because the good you did stands like a brick wall between you and your accusers. However, know that your sins weren't forgiven, and now the satan is trying to trip you up, for if you cause this kid to die, then the satan can get you מידה כנגד מידה. Granted you once saved a תלמיד חכם , but now you're causing one to die and that will negate the one you saved. Then they can get you on all your sins. Don't be a fool and just forgive him. He was never heard from again.   

Maybe this is what the Rav means, that we have to look at ourselves and see what's lacking in us instead of looking at the other guy to see what's lacking in him. If we're not looking at others' faults and focusing on our own, then we will have peace with our friends. We have to realize that no matter how you might perceive someone, it's not necessarily how they truly are. The good that we do can only save us if that's really what we're about. We shouldn't help with one hand and hurt with the other. We have to learn from here how sensitive we have to be to others' feelings, and be like we were at Har Sini, !כאיש אחד בלב אחד

In the zechus of each one of us committing to be more sensitive to others' feelings, may  הרב יוסף שלום בן חיה מושא. have a complete רפואה שלמה !