Innocent or Guilty? It’s the Jury’s Decision

A Generation that is Entirely Innocent or Entirely Guilty

R’ Yochanan taught (Sanhedrin 98a): אין בן דוד בא אלא בדור שכולו זכאי או כולו חייב. בדור שכולו זכאי דכתיב (ישעיהו ס, כא) ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ בדור שכולו חייב דכתיב (ישעיהו נט, טז) וירא כי אין איש וישתומם כי אין מפגיע וכתיב (ישעיהו מח, יא) למעני אעשה ([Mashiach] ben David will come only in a generation that is entirely innocent or entirely guilty. In a generation that is entirely innocent, as it is written [Yeshayahu 60:21]: ‘And Your people, all of them, are tzaddikim; they shall inherit the land forever.’ In a generation that is entirely guilty, as it is written [Yeshayahu 59:16]: ‘And He saw that there was no man, and He was amazed that there was no intercessor.’ And it is written [Yeshayahu 48:11]: ‘I will do it for My sake’).

Not only is this difficult to understand, but in light of the many statements of Chazal describing the generation in which Mashiach comes, it’s difficult to understand how anyone could say that the final generation could possibly be entirely innocent. Consider the following statements regarding the generation in which Mashiach will come (see Sanhedrin 97a):

• תלמידי חכמים מתמעטים (Torah sages will diminish)
• בית הוועד יהיה לזנות (The meeting house [where Torah is studied] will be [used] for licentiousness)
• ויראי חטא ימאסו (Those who fear sin will be despised)
• והאמת נעדרת (Truth will be absent)
• נערים ילבינו פני זקנים (Young people will shame the elderly)
• וזקנים יעמדו לפני נערים (Elderly people will stand before the youth)
• ובת קמה באמה וכלה בחמותה (A daughter will stand against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law)
• ואין הבן מתבייש מאביו (A son will have no shame before his father)
• העזות תרבה (Arrogance will increase)
• כל המלכות למינות (The whole government will turn to heresy)
• ירבו המסורות (Informants will increase in number)
• ואין תוכחה (There will be no rebuke)

In addition to all of that, Chazal say that most of the people living at that time (young and old alike) will be drained, exhausted, depressed and filled with despair – יתייאשו מן הגאולה (they will despair of redemption), עיניהם כלות ביגון ואנחה (their eyes will fail from grief and sighing), and וצרות רבות וגזרות קשות מתחדשות עד שהראשונה פקודה שניה ממהרת לבא (many troubles and harsh decrees will be introduced so before the first one passes, a second one comes quickly). We could go on, but hopefully we’ve made our point. Chazal has painted a pretty grim picture of that generation. No wonder Ulla and Rabbah both said [Sanhedrin 98b], ייתי ולא איחמיניה (May he [Mashiach] come, but may I not see him)! Don’t misunderstand. Of course, they wanted to see Mashiach. It’s just that they didn’t want to witness the hardship that would befall the Jewish People in that generation.

Therefore, we think it is fairly intuitive to understand how R’ Yochanan could say that Mashiach could come in a generation that is entirely guilty. But how could he possibly say that Mashiach could come in a generation that is entirely innocent? That seems utterly preposterous in light of what Chazal say about that very generation! How are we to understand his words?

After the revelation on Har Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu went up the mountain to receive the Torah from Ha-Kadosh, baruch Hu. He was there for 40 days. Everything seemed to be going well enough until it appeared to the people that Moshe had delayed, as it is written (Shemot 32:1): וַיַּרְא הָעָם כִּי־בֹשֵׁשׁ מֹשֶׁה לָרֶדֶת מִן־הָהָר (And the people saw that Moshe delayed coming down from the mountain). Rashi comments: בָּא שָׂטָן וְעִרְבֵּב אֶת הָעוֹלָם וְהֶרְאָה דְּמוּת חֹשֶׁךְ וַאֲפֵלָה וְעִרְבּוּבְיָה לוֹמַר וַדַּאי מֵת מֹשֶׁה לְכָךְ בָּא עִרְבּוּבְיָא לָעוֹלָם אָמַר לָהֶם מֵת מֹשֶׁה שֶׁכְּבָר בָּאוּ שֵׁשׁ שָׁעוֹת וְלֹא בָּא (Satan came and confused the world, giving it the appearance of darkness, gloom and confusion, implying, surely Moshe is dead, and that is why confusion has come into the world. He said to them, ‘Moshe is dead, for six hours [noonday] have already come (בשש = ‎בא שש) and he has not come’). The Satan was desperate because he knew that his hold on the world was weakening rapidly and that his influence on mankind was about to cease. So what did he do? R’ Yehoshua ben Levi says (Shabbat 89a) that הֶרְאָה לָהֶן דְּמוּת מִטָּתוֹ (He showed them an image of his [Moshe’s] deathbed).

Terrible despair descended upon the people for they felt like they were now leaderless in a harsh desert in the middle of nowhere. We know the story. The Erev Rav among the nation led the charge and initiated the building and worshiping of the golden calf (Shemot 32:6): וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ מִמׇּחֳרָת וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיַּגִּשׁוּ שְׁלָמִים וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם לֶאֱכֹל וְשָׁתוֹ וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק (And they got up early in the morning and offered up olah offerings and brought shelamim offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they got up to play). Rashi demonstrates how this reference ‘to play’ comes to include both גִּלּוּי עֲרָיוֹת (sexual immorality) and וּשְׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים (bloodshed). Let that sink in. Just forty days after Matan Torah, the people descended to such a low that they committed (or failed to protest against) the three worst crimes proscribed by the Torah: idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed. What was Hashem’s response? He wanted to wipe them all out and start over with Moshe (Shemot 32:10): וְעַתָּה הַנִּיחָה לִּי וְיִחַר־אַפִּי בָהֶם וַאֲכַלֵּם וְאֶעֱשֶׂה אוֹתְךָ לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל (Now, leave Me alone! My anger is burning against them, and I will consume them, and make of you a great nation).

Moshe’s response is absolutely incredible, and if it weren’t written in the Torah no one would believe that he actually said it. Nevertheless, he did say it, and this is what he said (Shemot 32:11): לָמָה יְיָ יֶחֱרֶה אַפְּךָ בְּעַמֶּךָ (Hashem, why does Your anger burn against Your people?)

What?!? ‘Why are You angry?’ What was Moshe thinking? Had he lost his mind? Wasn’t it obvious why Hashem was angry? Isn’t idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed three reasons good enough to justify Hashem’s anger? How much worse could it be than that? In fact, it was so bad that Hashem had intended even to destroy Aharon (Devarim 9:20)!

After coming down off the mountain to deal with the immediate aftermath of this horrific sin, Moshe went back up the mountain and spent another 40 days begging and arguing with Hashem not to destroy the people, but instead to forgive them.

Hopefully now, you have a taste of the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu. His greatness is not be measured by the greatness of the ten plagues, by the splitting of the sea, or by any of the other great miracles that Hashem did on behalf of the Jewish People through his hand. Rather, his greatness is measured right here. It is as R’ Yochanan taught (Megillah 31a): כׇּל מָקוֹם שֶׁאַתָּה מוֹצֵא גְּבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אַתָּה מוֹצֵא עִנְוְותָנוּתוֹ (Every place where you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, you find His humility). Just as this is true of Hashem, it is also true of Moshe Rabbeinu. Greatness is measured by one’s humility, not by one’s ability to perform miracles.

Therefore, as the supreme defense attorney and advocate for his people, Moshe successfully won the case that seemed utterly impossible to win. After an exhausting 40 day trial – without food or water (and some say without sleep) – the court agreed with Moshe and delivered a verdict of not guilty. And not only that, but afterward (beginning on Rosh Chodesh Elul) Moshe went back up the mountain a third time for another 40 days – again without food and water – to receive the instructions for the building of the Mishkan. So the nation went from being involved in the three cardinal sins of idolatry, sexual immortality and bloodshed to meriting the construction of the Mishkan and having the Shechinah dwell in their midst – through one man’s personal sacrifice.

How did Moshe do it? How did he successfully argue his case to defend the people? And further, how was he able to guide the nation from such a lowly state to such a sublime state in less than a year? The answer is that Moshe, as the faithful and true shepherd of the flock, looked for, sought after, and found the good points within each and every Jew (see Likutei Moharan 282). Through these good points, he was able to convince the Heavenly Court that the Jews were innocent, and through these same good points, he was able to receive the instructions regarding the construction of the Mishkan. Notice what R’ Natan of Breslov writes in Likutei Halachot (Orach Chaim, Hilchot Haskamat ha-Boker 1:3): כִּי תֵּכֶף אַחַר מַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל נִצְטַוּוּ עַל מְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, עַל־יְדֵי שֶׁנִּתְרַצָּה הַשֵּׁם־יִתְבָּרַךְ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, עַל־יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּנוּ שֶׁמָּסַר נַפְשׁוֹ עֲלֵיהֶם וְהִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעֲדָם כִּי מֹשֶׁה הָיָה יָכוֹל זֹאת לִמְצֹא נְקֻדָּה טוֹבָה אֲפִלּוּ בְּהַפָּחוּת שֶׁבַּפְּחוּתִים, כַּמְבֹאָר בְּדִבְרֵי רַבֵּנוּ זַ״ל כּמַָּה פּעְמִָים. וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה הָיָה יָכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם תָּמִיד, אֲפִלּוּ כְּשֶׁפָּגְמוּ בְּכָל הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּה בְּמַעֲשֵׂה הָעֵגֶל, אַף־עַל־פִּי־כֵן מָצָא בָּהֶם נְקֻדּוֹת טוֹבוֹת (For immediately after the episode of the calf, they were commanded to construct the Mishkan because Hashem, may He be blessed, was appeased on behalf of Yisrael because Moshe Rabbeinu sacrificed himself for them and prayed on their behalf, for Moshe was able to find a good point even in the most inferior of them, as explained in many places by our teacher [R’ Nachman], may his memory be a blessing. And through this he was able to pray for them constantly, even when they transgressed the entire Torah in the matter of the calf. Even so, he found good points in them).

Now we should be able to grasp how Moshe was able to say: לָמָה יְיָ יֶחֱרֶה אַפְּךָ בְּעַמֶּךָ (Hashem, why does Your anger burn against Your people?). As R’ Natan explains there: כִּי הוּא מָצָא הַטּוֹב שֶׁבָּהֶם וַאֲזַי נִדְחֶה הָרָע לְגַמְרֵי…כִּי הָרָע אֵינוֹ נֶחֱשָׁב כְּלָל כְּנֶגֶד מְעַט הַטּוֹב שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם עֲדַיִן (For he found the good that was in them, and then the bad got pushed away completely…for the bad isn’t considered anything compared to the little good that was still in them). Moshe Rabbeinu took the fruit and removed the peel, realizing that it was just the peel. He then showed Hashem the infinite good within the fruit of each Jew, as it is taught (Chagigah 27a): פּוֹשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁמְּלֵאִין מִצְוֹת כְּרִמּוֹן, דִּכְתִיב: ״כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ״ (שיר ד:ג), אַל תִּקְרֵי ״רַקָּתֵךְ״, אֶלָּא: רֵקָנִין שֶׁבָּךְ ([Even] Jewish criminals are full of mitzvot like a pomegranate, as it is written [Shir ha-Shirim 4:3]: ‘Your temple is like the slice of a pomegranate’ – don’t read ‘Your temple [rakateich]’ but rather ‘The empty ones that are in you [reikanin she’bach]’). For how can any finite amount of bad compare to the infinite amount of goodness within the heart of a Jew? As it is taught (L.M. 49:4): כִּי כָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל הוּא חֵלֶק אֱלוֹקַּ מִמַּעַל וְעִקַּר הָאֱלֹקוּת בַּלֵּב וְהָאֱלֹקוּת שֶׁבְּלֵב אִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי הוּא בְּחִינַת אֵין סוֹף (For every Jew is a part of G-d above [chelek Eloka mima’al], and the essence of godliness is in the heart, and godliness that is in the heart of a Jew is an aspect of the Infinite [Ein Sof]).

Not only did Moshe justify the people, he even went one step further. The School of R’ Yannai taught that Moshe Rabbeinu claimed that Hashem should be held at least partially responsible for the sin of the golden calf [Berachot 32a]: כָּךְ אָמַר מֹשֶׁה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, בִּשְׁבִיל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב שֶׁהִשְׁפַּעְתָּ לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד שֶׁאָמְרוּ ״דַּי״ — הוּא גָּרַם שֶׁעָשׂוּ אֶת הָעֵגֶל (This is what Moshe said before Ha-Kadosh, baruch Hu: Master of the World, because of the silver and gold that You lavished upon Yisrael, until they said ‘Enough!’ — this [or ‘He’] caused them to make the calf). In other words, ‘You are to blame for the sin of the golden calf! It’s Your fault, Hashem.’

Hopefully now we can understand the strange teaching of R’ Yochanan that Mashiach will come only in a generation that is entirely innocent or entirely guilty. In light of all of the sins enumerated by Chazal, how can R’ Yochanan’s statement make any sense? The answer is that it’s up to us. That was R’ Yochanan’s point. How Mashiach comes – either with lots of mercy or, chas v’shalom, accompanied by harsh decrees – is entirely up to us. We are the members of the jury, and with each comment that we make about a fellow Jew we write our verdict. We can either choose to be with Moshe Rabbeinu on the defense team by finding the good points in every Jew and acknowledging that every Jew is a tzaddik (see Yeshayahu 60:21), or we can choose, chas v’shalom, to be on the side of the prosecution, bringing forward accusations and criticisms against each other.

It is truly as R’ Yochanan said: we are either a generation that is entirely innocent or entirely guilty. There is no halfway point. To think that we can save ourselves while others perish is a delusion. We are one body. We sink or swim together.

It took B’nei Yisrael less than one year to go from being entirely guilty on account of the sins associated with the incident of the golden calf to being entirely innocent and having the merit to build the Mishkan. Do you think that we can go from being entirely guilt on account of our many sins which directly led to the massacres on Simchat Torah to being entirely innocent and having the merit to build the Beit ha-Mikdash – also within the span of one year? We believe it is possible. It’s up to us. Why not choose to be an advocate?