Ki Tetze
Parashat Ki Tetze 5784 –
The Ben Sorer u’Moreh
The Consequences of a Small Deviation
At the beginning of Parashat Ki Tetseh we find three sets of laws in quick succession that seemingly have little connection to each other: The laws of the captive wife, the laws of the unfavoured wife and of not diverting inheritance and the laws of the ben sorer u’moreh (rebellious child).
Rashi famously explains the juxtaposition of these three sets of laws and explains that the Torah gave a special concession and allowed a man to marry a captive lady during a time of war, but if one marries a captive lady, it is likely that she will end up becoming the unfavoured wife, and her child will likely grow up and become a rebellious child.
We see from Rashi that the Torah is teaching us that a small deviation at the beginning (i.e. marrying a captive wife) can have disastrous consequences at a later stage (i.e. the development and punishment of the rebellious child).
The End Result
Chazal teaches us that a ben sorer u’moreh is judged based on his projected deeds. In other words, the ben sorer u’moreh is currently guilty of theft and of gluttonous behaviour, which, as deplorable as they are, do not warrant the death sentence. However, Chazal explains that the Torah “forecasts” the outcome of such an individual and predicts that if he is demonstrating this behaviour in his younger years, he will inevitably become a murderer in his later years, and that is why he is punished so severely as a youth.
The Current Status
Various mefarshim contrast these laws with the episode of Yishmael in Parashat Vayera and ask that we find the opposite with Yishmael: As the pessukim there describe, Yishmael was dying of thirst in the desert and Hashem performed a miracle and revealed to Hagar water in the desert and this water kept Yishmael alive. Rashi explains that the malachim claimed to Hashem that Yishmael was not deserving of a miracle, because his descendants would cause klal yisrael to die from thirst after the churban. To this Hashem retorted that He is judging Yishmael according to his current situation, and not based on his future deeds, therefore he is deserving of a miracle “in the location [i.e. situation] where he currently is”.
Why Was Yishmael Judged Favourably?
And the obvious question posed by the mefarshim is why was Yishmael judged according to his current situation and deeds, whereas the ben sorer u’moreh is judged based on his projected deeds? And furthermore, we see from the pesukim prior to this episode that Yishmael was not such a righteous individual at this moment of his life and was already guilty of various sins that are far more severe than theft and gluttonous behaviour. So, if Yishmael was currently guilty of sin and was forecasted to sin even more in future years, why was he treated as a tzaddik and not as a ben sorer u’moreh?
Teshuva and Zechut Avot
We would like to suggest the following resolution, based on the Targum Yehonatan ben Uziel. The Targum writes that Hashem listened to Yishmael in the merit of Avraham Avinu. And the Targum also relates that when Hagar and Yishmael reached the desert, they began to worship avodah zarah. When they saw that this was futile, they discarded the avodah zarah. It is implied that after discarding the avodah zarah they turned to Hashem and beseech Him to save them.
According to the Targum, Yishmael had began the process of teshuva by discarding the avodah zarah, and this act of teshuva, together with the merit of Avraham Avinu, gave Yishmael the merits that he needed to deserve his salvation, and therefore he merited being judged “according to his current situation”. This small but significant act of teshuva overrode both his previous and future misdeeds and that is why he was found to be deserving to live, and even merited a miracle.
Conversely, the ben sorer u’moreh is now on a slippery slope that will inevitably progress from sin to sin and the ben sorer u’moreh will end up committing some of the most severe aveirot. Unlike Yishmael, he has shown no remorse or repentance for his misdeeds and has not begun the process of teshuva. That is why the Torah gives him such a severe punishment.
The miraculous salvation of Yishmael should serve as a lesson to us all as we approach Rosh Hashannah. First and foremost, we see the incredible power of tefillah and its ability to save lives. Secondly, we see the extent and effect of teshuva and that even if a person has sinned, and even if it can be predicted that he will sin in the future, provided that he repents sincerely, he is considered a tzaddik in his current situation.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Gad Bouskila
