Q:
Why is מיתת צדיקים מכפרת? Why is that so?
A:
There’s a statement of our Sages (Moed Katan 28a) that the death of the righteous is an atonement. Why does it atone?
(We must understand that יקר בעיני ה׳ המותה לחסידיו. It’s precious in the eyes of Hashem. It’s a rarity that He has to sacrifice a righteous man.)
Now, when a righteous man passes away it causes a certain regret among the people. And then, even if it’s only for a moment, people pause to appreciate what they once had.
That’s the great tzarah of human beings – when they had the righteous man they lacked to appreciate him. Let’s say the Chofetz Chaim; when he was alive certainly there were a lot of people who appreciated him but very many didn’t even bother to think about him. Because he’s around. After he passed away then the world began to understand the Chofetz Chaim.
I once went in to visit in a shivah house where a local rav passed away and his son was sitting shivah; and his son told me that now he appreciates his father. A little too late.
But that’s what misas tzaddikim has to accomplish. People should know what they missed.
It’s a pity. Had they understood when they had him, when he was still around, it would be a bigger kapparah, believe me. If people would study the tzaddikim that are alive it would be a much bigger kapparah. But since they don’t, unfortunately – they say “Look, he’s a human being like I am. I yawn and he yawns. I have to sleep and he has to sleep. So what’s so great about him? He has teeth and I have teeth. He looks exactly like me.”
So in their eyes there’s nothing to him because people are so shallow. We are bemused, we are influenced by externalities.
About Moshe Rabeinu the Gemara reports that people said “Look how thick are his thighs.” You hear that? That’s the way they looked at Moshe Rabeinu. כמה עבים שוקיו – “Look how fat his thighs are.”
You know Moshe was a muscular man. He was a big man. He was a heavy man, big. A giant man. So some people said “Look how thick are his thighs. He eats well.”
Ohhh!
Now they didn’t actually say that. Don’t think they said that. But it was a thought that floated through their minds. “He’s a human being.” You see a human being so you think he’s the same as you.
That’s how people are. It’s a tragedy. If they could rise to understand Moshe Rabeinu while he was alive they would get the full benefit. But after Moshe passed away it says ויבכו בני ישראל את משה … שלושים יום – the nation wept for thirty days (Devarim 34:8). Oh, now they wept for thirty days. Now they wept for thirty days. That’s a pity.
But it’s mechaperes however. Because at least now we begin to understand something. That’s a kapparah for everybody. It’s an atonement. Everybody is supposed to get better because of that. That’s why it’s such a great thing to make hespedim on tzaddikim so people should appreciate them. They should come and listen and learn the lessons.
That’s one of the ideas of misas tzaddikim mechaperes.
TAPE # 250 (December 1978)
