Ahead of the Election Campaign, Rabbi Tzvi Mazuz Warns Against the Chase for Power
Amid the atmosphere surrounding the opening of the upcoming election campaign, in which everyone is convinced he can “save the country,” rosh yeshiva Hagaon Rabbi Tzvi Mazuz delivered a sharp message last night in his weekly class. Through the parable of “the camel and the horns” from the Talmud, and through the tragic mistake of Korach in this week’s Torah portion, he offered a pointed lesson on the limits of personal effort and the deeper understanding that “you will be placed in your appointed place.”
In these days, when the election campaign has almost formally begun and every public figure is convinced that he alone holds the key to leading the country, the rosh yeshiva, Hagaon Rabbi Tzvi Mazuz, addressed the heated political race in his weekly class last night. In his remarks, Rabbi Mazuz drew a timely and striking connection between the turbulent reality in the streets and the weekly Torah portion, Korach, while delivering a sharp lesson on the measure of effort versus the pursuit of honor, and an incisive, clear message to opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who seek and struggle to replace him at any cost.
“There is nothing better than peace,” the rosh yeshiva began. “Soon the election days will arrive, and everyone wants to ‘save’ the country, everyone wants to be prime minister. But King Solomon already tells us in Ecclesiastes: ‘Vanity of vanities, says Koheleth, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’”
Later in his remarks, Rabbi Mazuz referred to the firm principle of faith brought by the Sages in Tractate Yoma, “You will be placed in your appointed place, and what is yours they will give you,” and to the verse in Proverbs, “Wear yourself not to be rich.” The message, the rosh yeshiva explained, is that a person should do only his minimal part in this world: “There is no need to toil and exert oneself a great deal. One does need a little effort, but no more than a little effort is needed, that is the tradition we have from our rabbis.”
To illustrate for his listeners the frightening danger inherent in the pursuit of power and honor beyond what has been allotted to a person from Heaven, Rabbi Mazuz used a brilliant parable from the Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin: “As people say, ‘The camel went to seek horns, and the ears it had were cut off from it’,” the camel that went to ask for horns, and in the end even the ears it had were cut off.
“Anyone who has ever seen a camel knows it is a tall and beautiful animal, but it has one drawback, its ears are small,” the rosh yeshiva explained with a smile. “The camel said to itself: ‘I am much taller than the ox, and if the ox has horns, I deserve horns bigger and more beautiful than his!’ And indeed, not only did it not receive the horns it asked for, but even the ears it had were cut off, and so it remained with small ears.”
“And what is the moral?” Rabbi Mazuz added in a sharp tone. “A person thinks that what he has is not enough, and he fights and wants more and more. And what does he receive in the end? Not only will he not get more, but even the little he already had is taken from him.”
The rosh yeshiva based these words on the figure of Korach in this week’s Torah portion. Korach, who was exceedingly wealthy and was even among those who carried the Ark, the holiest vessel in the Tabernacle, was not satisfied: “This immense greatness was not enough for him. He set his eyes on the High Priesthood and sought to bring down Moses and Aaron. But what happened in the end? Not only did he not become High Priest, and not only did he remain a carrier of the Ark, he simply did not remain alive. The earth opened its mouth, and he, his family and all his property were swallowed into the ground. Nothing remained of them. In the end, Korach lost everything.”
Rabbi Mazuz concluded his stirring remarks with a sharp, clear and resonant message that appears directed straight at these days: “From this we learn that a person must be content with his lot and with what he has. A person must remember, if something truly belongs to you, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring you everything on a golden platter. It is possible, and even necessary, to make an effort, but it is forbidden to fight!”
