26 Jan MISHPATIM- HOPE

Some 250 years ago, one of the greatest halachic sages of all time, the Noda Bi’yehudah, received a shocking letter.

Maybe the only thing more shocking than the letter is the Rabbi’s response.

The letter was written by a young Torah scholar who turned to the Noda Bi’yehudah for guidance about a situation so bizarre that it’s almost impossible to believe. This young scholar had spent several years living with a family while studying in yeshivah. And for three years, he committed a grave sin…with the wife of that family.

As if this weren’t strange enough, he ended up marrying her daughter.

This man now wrote to the Noda Bi’yehudah asking: 1) if he was halachically obligated to inform the husband of what he did; 2) what he should do to repent.

If I had received a question like this, my response probably would have been something to the effect of:

I know or have met hundreds and hundreds of Rabbis, and not one of them has done anything remotely as bad as what you did. You would not be allowed in my shul. How can you even open a Gemara? And you even call yourself a Rabbi? Are you serious? You think G-d wants anything from you after what you did?!?!

But this is not what the Noda Bi’yehudah wrote.

The Noda Bi’yehudah wrote a lengthy, respectful response, outlining for the man what he should do to earn atonement for his sin. He did not let this fellow off the hook – he demanded a grueling, three-year process. But he made it very clear to the man that his situation was not hopeless, that he could still earn Hashem’s favor.

One of the laws of Parashat Mishpatim concerns the case of somebody who accidentally killed a person, and requires him escape to a special city of refuge where he would be safe. The Torah says, והאלוקים†אנה†לידו≠†ושמתי†לך†מקום†– if

G-d caused an accident to happen, then He would designate a special place of refuge for the killer to escape to. The first letters of the words אנה†לידו†ושמתי†≠†לך†spell

the word אלול†– the month before

Rosh Hashanah which is a special time for repentance and earning Hashem’s forgiveness.

What is the connection between this pasuk and the special month of Elul?

The answer given is that the month of Elul is about hope. It means that no matter what kind of mistake a person made, no matter how badly a person failed – even if, tragically, he caused the loss of life! – Hashem will still help him “escape” and find refuge. There is always hope. This is the message of Elul.

The worst feeling a person can have is hopelessness. The only time in the entire Torah when Hashem criticized somebody for his mood was when Kayin felt upset after his offering was rejected. Hashem turned to Kayin and asked, למה†חרה†לך†– “Why are

you upset?” Kayin felt hopeless, like there was nothing he could do. And this is the most dangerous feeling.

The next time we feel hopeless, such as after we did something wrong or made a terrible mistake, we should think of the Noda Bi’yehudah’s letter to that young Rabbi. And the next time we want to help a family member or friend who feels hopeless after making a terrible mistake, we should tell him or her about this letter. It shows us that no matter what, we cannot lose hope. No matter how far we have fallen or how big a mistake we made, all is not lost. We need to focus on the future, not on the past. We need to think about what we can do going forward, not about what we’ve already done.

Because there is always hope. The Torah guarantees it.