Toldos- Mockery
For this year of Parsha Lesson, I will be focusing on one area of character growth, to think about in the week ahead and the benefits that a person would have from becoming better in that area.
Background
The first passuk of this week’s Parsha, Toldos, says ‘and these are the offspring of Yitzchak the son of Avraham, Avraham fathered Yitzchak.’ Rashi is bothered by the obvious question- if Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, then of course Avraham fathered Yitzchak! Why would the Torah, which was written by G-d, Hashem Himself, and does not contain an extra letter, tell us something as redundant as this?
Rashi explains that the Torah is trying to tell us something. What the Torah is telling us is that Yitzchak looked so much like Avraham, that everyone was able to bear testimony that it was clear that Avraham fathered Yitzchak.
Why was this important to know? Rashi explains, from a Midrash, that there were ‘mockers’ who said that really Yitzchak was born from Avimelech. As proof, they suggested that it was interesting that Avraham and Sarah were married for so many years and did not have children and then, shortly after being kidnapped by Avimelech, Sarah had a son. Therefore, Hashem made Yitzchak’s looks to be an exact copy of his father, Avraham’s.
Question
Why are these people called ‘mockers’? In what way were they mocking? It seems that they were merely suggesting something that had some rationale to it. Perhaps they were wrong, but they did not seem to be mocking anyone. Further, does the thought not have some logic to it? Is there not what to think about?
Answer
The definition of ‘mockery’ is to lessen the seriousness of something that should be serious, and to lower or demean something that is deserving of respect. For people to suggest that the holy, righteous woman Sarah lived with Avimelech, is a tremendous mockery, proportionate to the tremendous respect and honor that this great woman deserved. What this would accomplish was to belittle and demean this great woman and her holy, righteous and great husband, Avraham.
So while this may have been something which had some logical progression to it, to suggest that this is what happened to such a great woman is merely demeaning and belittling. Hence, it is mockery.
As far as this being the truth, this was not anything resembling the truth. This was a mere smear in order to demean a great woman and her family. Because there were some philosophical underpinnings to it, it was enticing and attractive to believe. But in truth, there was no reason for someone to even consider such a thought. The only thing which would lead a person to such a thought was their interest in belittling and mocking someone who was otherwise righteous. It should have been clear to anyone that:
A. Sarah would have allowed herself to be killed before such a thing would take place.
B. From Avraham keeping Sarah as his wife, it is quite clear that such a thing did not happen.
C. The tremendous miracle of the entire household of Avimelech being plagued by a mysterious illness upon the kidnapping of Sarah, was surely quite well-known and much talked about.
Lesson
How dangerous is mockery! The Ramchal in the Mesillas Yesharim says that a little bit of mockery can nullify a tremendous amount of inspiration. A drop of mockery is compared to a shield which is coated in oil, which does not allow any truth or meaningfulness to affect the one who engages in it.
How careful must we be to not demean and belittle those around us! Doing so will cause us to accept lies and ascribe to all sorts of philosophies which can lead us astray. The Ramchal depicts the great danger of mockery by saying that one who engages in it will not allow for any amount of inspiration to bring him back to the straight path. Rather he will be trapped by his mockery as one is drowning in a great sea, with no help of salvation.
Benefits of this…
In Mishlei, Shlomo Hamelech (King Solomon) constantly contrasts a mocker with a wise person. One who mocks will have all sorts of challenges, but perhaps the saddest aspect of this mocker is that they will never be able to attain real wisdom. They may have wit and be able to promote sharp lines and nefarious philosophies and conspiracies, but real wisdom is out of their grasp.
What a shame and a waste! Someone who otherwise could have devoted their smarts and intellect to the attainment of wisdom, instead resorts to being the cheap laugh and sharp-line king of social media.
On the other hand, if one stays away from belittling and mocking behavior, wisdom will come easily to them; they will find it naturally within them. (Mishlei 14:6)
Have a wonderful Shabbos!
Rabbi Eli Meir Kramer
