Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- May 8
- 2 min read
הלוא כבני כשיים אתם לי בני ישראל נאם ה' ... (עמוס ט-ז)
While describing the awesome Presence of Hashem, Amos HaNavi declared in the name of the Almighty, “To Me, you (Klal Yisroel) are just like the Ethiopians.” Chazal explain that the simple implication here is that Hashem was comparing the uniqueness of the dark-pigmented skin of the Ethiopians to Klal Yisroel’s uniqueness that is distinguished by their actions and isolation from all the other nations of the world. But is that all the comparison does?
The Yalkut Shimoni, R’ Shimon Ashkenazi zt”l, makes an interesting distinction which we can use to elaborate on the words of the Navi. He says that in Parshas Behaaloscha, Miriam HaNeviah and Aharon HaKohen “spoke harshly” about Moshe Rabbeinu claiming that “he had taken [into his household as his wife] a Cushite woman.” The two were punished for their slander but Chazal learn from here that their implications were that Moshe Rabbeinu had married his wife Tzipora merely for her looks, as opposed to her inner beauty and piety. Obviously, Moshe did nothing of the sort.
As such, we can say that the understanding of Amos’ statement is that during times of transgression, Klal Yisroel as a whole nation, can be compared to the superficiality of the Ethiopians. The fact that they are unique as a result of their look. However, when Klal Yisroel is doing the will of the Almighty, then our comparison to the Ethiopians takes on a whole new life of its own - we possess a uniqueness that is unmatched across all the other nations of the world!