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Yoni Mozeson
FInding God's hiding places

Finding God in the palaces of tyrants

Midrash Tanchuma delves into the brutal, ego driven nature of power. Although some may argue that not much has changed today, nations in the ancient world seem to have defined their greatness by the pursuit of power for the purpose of exploitation. The Midrash expressed it this way;

 בְּנֹהַג שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, מִי שֶׁהוּא בַּעַל זְרוֹעַ אֵינוֹ רוֹצֶה לַעֲשׂוֹת דְּבָרָיו בְּמִשְׁפָּט, אֶלָּא מַעֲבִיר עַל הַמִּשְׁפָּט, חוֹמֵס וְגוֹזֵל,… וְנוֹשֵׂא פָּנִים לִפְנֵי אוֹהֲבָיו וּקְרוֹבָיו,.,

 The way the world works, whomever is most powerful need not act with justice. Rather they trample justice, rob and steal with impunity…In judgment they show favoritism to their friends and relatives”(Midrash Tanchuma Mishpatim, 1:1). 

Power corrupts –  as reflected in the remarkable story of Onkelos

The next example of the abuse of power comes from an most unusual setting – a conversation between the Roman Emperor Hadrian and his nephew – our great sage, Onkelos:

 בֶּן אֲחוֹתוֹ שֶׁל אַדְרִיָּאנוֹס, הָיָה מְבַקֵּשׁ לְהִתְגַּיֵּר וְהָיָה מִתְיָרֵא מִן אַדְרִיָּאנוֹס דּוֹדוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ: אֲנִי מְבַקֵּשׁ לַעֲשׂוֹת סְחוֹרָה … אָמַר לוֹ: כָּל פְּרַקְמַטְיָא שֶׁאַתָּה רוֹאֶה שְׁפָלָה וּנְתוּנָה בָּאָרֶץ, לֵךְ עֲסֹק בָּהּ, שֶׁסּוֹפָהּ לְהִתְעַלּוֹת וְאַתָּה מִשְׂתַּכֵּר. בָּא לוֹ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלָמַד תּוֹרָה.

“Hadrian’s nephew desired to convert to Judaism, but he feared his uncle’s wrath. He told his uncle: “I want to engage in business.” … Hadrian responded: “Look for merchandise that is low in price because it is ignored and deal in it, for it will ultimately rise in price and you will profit from it.” Then Aquilas (Onkelos) went to Israel and studied the Torah” (Ibid, 5:1).

Ultimately, Hadrian found out about his nephew’s conversion and confronted him. Onkelos replied that he was just following his uncle’s advice. The moral teachings of Judaism were derided by the world but their wisdom and truth would sure to be appreciated in the future. 

This response may have been abhorrent to Hadrian. However, when Hadrian’s advisor suggested that Onkelos be put to death, Hadrian came to his nephew’s defense and declared that his nephew was destined to convert in his mother’s womb. Although Onkelos may have committed a crime punishable by death, the advisor made a grave political blunder. He forgot what the Midrash said about the nature of power. Namely, those in power are not subject to laws they impose on everyone else. Perhaps realizing that he was now out of favor with Hadrian, his advisor took his own life. 

 A recipe for global harmony 

In another glimpse into divine morality, the Midrash explores what it is that causes human beings to be in conflict with each other. What prevents Mankind from reaching harmony with each other? The Midrash expresses it in a most creative way that gets right to the heart of the matter:

שֶׁכָּל זְמַן שֶׁהַתּוֹכָחוֹת בָּעוֹלָם, נַחַת רוּחַ בָּאָה לָעוֹלָם, טוֹבָה בָּאָה לָעוֹלָם, בְּרָכָה בָּאָה לָעוֹלָם, רָעָה מִסְתַּלֶּקֶת מִן הָעוֹלָם

“…If the world could only conduct itself in a way that one person could accept rebuke from another, serenity would come to the world, goodness, and blessing would prevail and evil will vanish from the world…”(Ibid, 7:7).

I would venture to say that the scarcity of this character trait is why tyrannies can flourish and corporations fail. Because, as we all know, it is rare for someone to tell their boss that his or her ideas are flawed and unworkable. Nor can you tell a dictator that his or her policies will cause great harm to those that are most vulnerable. The Midrash challenges us to reach a level of higher consciousness. Suspend our egos. Put our frail egos aside. Maintain an open mind and accept criticism and rebuke. This is especially critical for those in positions of power. 

God is willing to give up truth for the sake of peace

The Midrash makes a counterintuitive observation about the incompatible nature of truth and peace:

 רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן קָרְחָה אוֹמֵר: .… וַהֲלֹא כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֵּשׁ מִשְׁפָּט, אֵין שָׁלוֹם. שָׁלוֹם, אֵין מִשְׁפָּט. אֶלָּא אֵיזֶה מִשְׁפָּט שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ שָׁלוֹם. הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר: זֶה בִּצּוּעַ.

“Rabbi Joshua the son of Korcha said:… Whenever there is absolute justice, peace cannot prevail, and where there is peace, there cannot be absolute justice. Through what kind of justice does peace prevail? It is in the justice achieved through reaching a compromise…”(Ibid, 6:21).

Consider, for example, 2 opposing litigants, each are convinced they are right. When the judge examine the facts and rules in favor of one, we call that “justice.” So, for example, the judge rules that one party must pay $100,000 in damages to the other party. That is the fairest resolution of the case. However, the losing party may feel he was wronged and is certainly not at “peace” with the opposing party. On the other hand, if the judge works out a compromise and one party only has to pay $50,000 in damages to the other party, it is more likely that there will be “peace” between the litigants. However, “justice,” in its strictest sense, may not have been served. After all, the first party really should have paid $100,000 in damages. Yet, as the Midrash states, God is willing to put justice aside for the sake of peace.

God’s moral mission statement

Yet another insight from Midrash Tanchuma pertains to the subject of equality. For anyone who thought socialism was a new idea, according to Midrash Tanchuma, King David asked the following question about 3,000 years ago. God’s answer speaks volumes of what God wants from mankind. 

תַּלְוֶה אֶת עַמִּי, אָמַר דָּוִד לִפְנֵי הַקָּבָּ”ה, רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָם, יֵשֵׁב עוֹלָם לִפְנֵי אֱלֹקָּים (תהלים סא, ח). תְּיַשֵּׁב עוֹלָמְךָ בְּשָׁוֶה, הָעֲשִׁירִים וְהָעֲנִיִּים. אָמַר לוֹ: אִם כֵּן, חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת מַן יִנְצְרֻהוּ (תהלים סא, ח). אִם יִהְיוּ כֻּלָּם עֲשִׁירִים אוֹ עֲנִיִּים, מִי יוּכַל לַעֲשׂוֹת חָסֶד. 

King David said to God: ‘Lord of the Universe, may the world be (made equal) before God’ (Psalms. 61:8), that is, make Your world either rich or poor… He (God) answered: ‘.. if all people are either rich or poor, who will perform acts of loving kindness’” (Ibid, 9:6).

What is expected of the Jewish People? Besides keeping the commandments and revering God (Kohelet, 12:13) the conversation between God and King David shows that God expects from Mankind a heightened degree of sensitivity to those in need of Chessed – loving kindness. Once again, this flies in the face of what those in power take as their right – to treat people like objects that they have acquired.

Is the Midrash trying to remind us of something we naturally grow numb to? 

In the opening of the Shemona Esrei (the silent prayer) we address God as the הַגָּדוֹל הַגִּבּוֹר וְהַנּוֹרָא קל עֶלְיוֹן – “the Great, the Powerful, the Awe-inspiring, and supreme.”  What does God do with all that power? The next words are:  גּוֹמֵל חֲסָדִים טוֹבִים God  is the “bestower of beneficent kindness.” 

Perhaps the Midrash delved into the dark nature of mankind’s abuse of power in order to highlight something of beauty and holiness that we take for granted: Our fate is in the hands of an all-powerful God devoid of human frailties which go hand in hand with power. Rather, God אֹ֭הֵב צְדָקָ֣ה וּמִשְׁפָּ֑ט loves righteousness and justice (Tehillim, 33:5). Furthermore, just as God has these traits, we are supposed to emulate God’s traits:

מקום נקרא רחום וחנון – אף אתה הוי רחום וחנון ועשה מתנת חנם לכל. מה הקב”ה נקרא צדיק, .. אף אתה הוי צדיק

..just as God is called “merciful and gracious,” you, too, be merciful and gracious, and give gratuitously to all. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He is called “righteous,… you, too, be righteous” (Sifrei, Devarim 49).

Not only can we learn through negative examples from tyrants, we can learn through a positive example from God Himself.

About the Author
(Almost 100 Midrash Video summaries can be found on my youtube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLynSVeS5_iNhHleKroA6r3br-bmaHQigk) After college and Semicha at Yeshiva University my first pulpit was Ogilvy where I wrote TV commercials for brands like American Express, Huggies and Duracell. My passion is Midrash Tanchuma. I am an Architect of Elegant Marketing Solutions at www.mindprintmarketing.com. We are living in (where else) the Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem.
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