Before inflicting the final plague, death of the firstborn, Moses warned Pharaoh that “your servants, will come down to me and prostrate themselves” and beg the Israelites to leave Egypt. (Exodus 11:8). Why didn’t Moses say that Pharoah would also come and plead for the Jews to leave; why only his servants? (Especially considering that after the plague, Pharaoh himself did beg Moses to tell the Jews to leave. (Ex.12:31) Rashi answers that Moses was showing respect for royalty, and that’s why he initially didn’t say “you (Pharoah) will come down and bow to me,” but rather “your servants.” Here’s the lesson: we must grant honor to royalty no matter how evil they might be. Even Pharaoh deserved honor and that is why Moses spoke the way he did. The Talmud (Shabbos 67) states that all Jews are royalty, and this idea carries ramifications. If we have to bestow honor even to wicked royalty, all the more so should we be careful to bestow honor to all our brothers and sisters, who are considered royalty. Maimonides advises: “Showing honor to people is a concept that should not be taken lightly; there are even instances that Rabbinic prohibitions are pushed aside to uphold someone’s personal dignity.” The following story illustrates this point (Even if one doesn’t believe it, at least understand it as the type of fiction our culture considers important.) Rabbi Mordechei Banet (1753-1829), Chief Rabbi of Nikolsburg, Hungary, was one of the greatest scholars of his generation. He didn’t die in his home city, and it was decided to bury him in the closest town, Lichtenshat. Shortly thereafter the people of Nikolsburg requested that his body be exhumed and brought to their town for final burial. The people of Lichtenshat felt differently and it was decided that they would present the question to the Chasam Sofer, chief Rabbi of Pressburg; the most illustrious Hungarian Rabbi of the time. He wrote a written response (vol. 6:37) permitting the body to be unearthed, but didn’t make his answer known for six months. The mystery of his six-month silence was explained by his son, who bore witness that his father fell asleep in the middle of writing the response. Rabbi Banet, whose corpse was in question, came to him in a dream and revealed that he was being given a heavenly punishment to be buried for six months in the particular grave that he was in because he was once engaged to a girl and broke the engagement. Even though he didn’t do anything wrong according to the law of the Torah, “in heaven they are extremely strict in matter regarding preserving honor and human dignity. My actions caused my finance and her family pain and disgrace and therefore I was judged very strictly in Heaven. To check the veracity of my words, go to my burial site and you will see that I have been buried next to my former fiancée!” The Chasm Sofer immediately sent messengers to check the grave and indeed the dream was true. His son testified that this was the reason his father waited six months before sending his response. This story shows the extreme importance of the dignity we must give to every Jew. We have to be conscious and careful about not embarrassing or causing mental anguish to anyone. Jews are meant to be sensitive and keep in mind the advice of the Chofetz Chaim: “if you would be pained to hear something said to you or about you, don’t say it to or about someone else.” Sometimes in conversation we embarrass someone or make fun of him in jest but that doesn’t remove the other person’s hurt. One of the most wicked kings in history—Pharaoh—deserved honor, should our friends and even enemies be any different? It doesn’t matter if it’s an ex-wife or husband, boss or employee, we are royalty and royalty requires respect. Good Shabbos |
