We have been talking about the dangers of machloket and argument. Sometimes people try and look for an out or excuse, citing the concept of L’shem Shamayim- the concept that the argument is for the sake of God. They claim that the man they are fighting with is not good, that he’s spreading improper ideas etc… and for whatever reason, they think that they have a right to go after this person.
There are times when that is true. But how does one know if he’s really L’Shem Shamayim or not?
There’s a very important rule-
The sifrei Mussar say that if someone does something with tremendous exuberance, more so than how he does a regular Mitzvah, you have to question it.
For example, when a man doesn’t stay up past 11pm on a regular night (even when putting up his Succah, he still keeps his 11:00 bed time) and yet somehow when he deals with a machloket he’s up until 1am, then we have to start questioning- Why is there so much excitement and exuberance coming from this machloket?
If it’s coming from a Mitzvah, then why isn’t it like all his other Mitzvot? Why is he putting more effort forth here?
We have to question ourselves to understand what is really driving us.
This is an important point.
Our good inclination does not drive us as much as our bad inclination. That is just the way it works.
There’s a legendary story told over about Rav Chaim Volozhin, who started the Yeshiva in Volozhin, which is known as the mother of all yeshivot. All yeshivot until today are fashioned after it.
His rabbi was the Gaon of Vilna, whom he went to, to ask whether or not he should go forth with his idea of opening a Yeshiva. He explained his plans of a morning, afternoon and night seder, all the areas of study etc…
But the Gaon of Vilna told him he didn’t think it was a good idea.
Then, a year later, he went to his rabbi again, to ask about starting the yeshiva. This time, the Gaon of Vilna asked him a few questions, and told him he liked the idea. Rav Chaim asked what had changed- the previous year he didn’t like the idea, and now he did.
The Gaon of Vilna answered that the previous year, Rav Chaim had been full of excitement and exuberance, and he was concerned that maybe it wasn’t coming from the right place. He had felt that Rav Chaim was too excited for it to be L’Shem Shamayim.
But when he came back the second time, he was a little bit more levelheaded, so the Gaon of Vilna was able to see that it was coming from the right place.
This is an unbelievable concept. We have to question ourselves even on something good. This was about something that was not a machloket it was about opening a yeshiva- And still you have to question where it’s coming from. So surely, regarding a machloket, it is very, very hard to see that it’s coming L’Shem Shamayim.
The Sefer Noda B’Yehuda, (in his section on Yoreh De’ah chapter 1) says, “There is no greater Mitzvah than shalom, and there is nothing worse than machloket/arguments. And in our times (keep in mind that he wrote this 250-300 hundred years ago) it’s very hard to find someone who is arguing LShem Shamayim.”
So don’t use that excuse.
Have a wonderful day.