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CELL BIOLOGY & ELIMINATING THE VIRUS
It is remarkable to see the extent of the interest that the Torah takes for the worst criminals. Take for example a murderer who has perpetrated a crime that is punishable by capital punishment. The Torah requires the Jewish court to find ways to exonerate the killer and free him from capital punishment. (If he is a menace to society,
they are authorized to lock him up for the public safety.) The Torah actually offers mechanisms, legal loopholes, which the court can implement by which to disqualify the witnesses. Even though it is clear he perpetrated the crime we still try to save him. The reason for this is because HaShem loves every Jew. No matter how far a Jew may drift away from the path of Torah, HaShem has trust in him. Deep within every Jew is the spark that needs only to be ignited and he will return home.
There is, however, one exception to this rule. In our Parsha, we find the criminal called the meisis, the fellow who tries persuading his friend, his brother, his spouse to worship idolatry. Even though he is unsuccessful in persuading his target, nevertheless, just for trying to do so, he receives capital punishment. The Torah says about this criminal we should not try to exonerate him. We must do everything within our power to bring him to justice and carry out his deserving capital punishment.
Why is this crime worse than every other criminal act? Furthermore, he is subjected to punishment even when he is unsuccessful in carrying out his evil design. How do we explain this?
The human body is made of 3.7 trillion cells. Each cell has its own life with all the components necessary for it to live and reproduce. Every cell has a nucleus when it is born and keeps it throughout its life with the exception of blood cells. They sacrifice their nucleus to make more space for oxygen. This way they can deliver enough oxygen to the other cells in the body. This is quite generous of the blood cells. They do this because they know that without their sacrifice, the body will fail and its soul, the life force of the body, will exit and all the cells will die. This is how HaShem programmed it.
HaShem created a universe in which He is the Soul and the material world is the body. Just as the soul fills the body but cannot be seen, so it is with HaShem and His universe. Just as the body must be nourished with material nourishment to keep its soul intact even though the soul itself needs no physical nourishment, so it is with the universe. The universe requires the spiritual nourishment of Torah and mitzvos to keep its Soul intact, even though the Soul itself, namely HaShem, has no need for that Torah and those mitzvos.
The critical cells of this universe which maintain the Soul’s connection are the Jewish people. Every Jew has his role to play in the welfare of the ‘body’. If there is a cell that is faulty, it is still needed for the welfare of the body. We must do our best to rehabilitate that cell and bring it back to good health. We never want to eliminate any cell. Every cell is needed, even the faulty ones. However, if a cell begins to try to invite other cells into rebellion against the body, there is no solution other than eliminating it immediately.
Perhaps, the reason for the Torah’s unforgiving attitude on the meisis is because he is the only criminal who perpetrates his crime for the sole purpose of sabotaging the welfare of the world and HaShem’s connection with His universe.
Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Paysach Diskind