How the Unassuming Hero Saves the Day

Photo by Katya Wolf: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-boy-wearing-a-mask-and-a-cape-9428947/

People love hero stories that typically feature someone swooping in and rescuing people in a dire situation. Those are the stories that make headlines and that are celebrated in viral videos and posts. 

What you don't see in headlines and likely don't even get to notice much are the unassuming people whose heroic acts occur behind the scenes. They're the ones who see that a train wreck is inevitable if no one fixes the track and then quietly fix the track. They don't publicly pat themselves on the back for what they've done. And usually no one even knows about their role in preventing a terrible accident. And so these people remain anonymous and uncelebrated.

In at least one instance, though, the Gemara gives such a person credit in Horayot 13b. The major players that everyone saw on the stage, so to speak, were  the Nasi, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel; the Chacham, Rabbi Meir; and the deputy Nasi, Rabbi Natan. The name of the unassuming hero in this episode is Rabbi Ya’akov ben Korshei.

What happened was that R' Shimon was not happy that the public shows of respect people would demonstrate in rising up upon entry in the study hall for him were not distinguished from those of R' Meir and R' Natan. On a day when they were not present, he resolved that they should only stand up for him. When R' Meir and R' Natan came the next time, no one stood up for them. When they asked about that, they were told that is what R' Shimon instituted. R' Meir found this unacceptable and devised a plan: 

אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַבִּי מֵאִיר לְרַבִּי נָתָן: אֲנָא חָכָם וְאַתְּ אַב בֵּית דִּין, נְתַקֵּין מִילְּתָא כִּי לְדִידַן. מַאי נַעֲבֵיד לֵיהּ? נֵימָא לֵיהּ: גַּלִּי עוּקְצִים, דְּלֵית לֵיהּ. וְכֵיוָן דְּלָא גְּמִר, נֵימָא לֵיהּ: ״מִי יְמַלֵּל גְּבוּרוֹת ה׳ יַשְׁמִיעַ כׇּל תְּהִלָּתוֹ״, לְמִי נָאֶה לְמַלֵּל גְּבוּרוֹת ה׳ – מִי שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהַשְׁמִיעַ כׇּל תְּהִלּוֹתָיו. נְעַבְּרֵיהּ, וְהָוֵי אֲנָא אַב בֵּית דִּין וְאַתְּ נָשִׂיא.

Rabbi Meir said to Rabbi Natan: "I am the Chacham, and you are the deputy Nasi. Let us devise a matter and do to him as he did to us. What shall we do to him? Let us say,  'Reveal to us tractate Okatzim, 'which he does not know. And once it is clear to all that he did not learn, he will not have anything to say. Then we will say to him: 'Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord, shall make all His praises heard?' (Psalms 106:2), indicating: For whom is it becoming to express the mighty acts of the Lord? It is becoming for one who is capable of making all His praises heard, and not for one who does not know one of the tractates. We will remove him from his position as Nasi, and I will be deputy Nasi and you will be Nasi."

שַׁמְעִינְהוּ רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בֶּן קֻדְשַׁי, אֲמַר: דִּלְמָא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם אָתְיָא מִלְּתָא לִידֵי כִּיסּוּפָא, אֲזַל 

יְתֵיב אֲחוֹרֵי עִילִּיתֵיהּ דְּרַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, פְּשַׁט, גְּרַס וּתְנָא, גְּרַס וּתְנָא.

 Rabbi Yaa'kov be Korshei heard them and said to himself: "Perhaps, Heaven forfend, this will cause humiliation." He then went and sat behind the upper floor of R' Shimon ben  Gamliel's home and studied that that tractate out loud and then repeated it. 

אָמַר: מַאי דְּקַמָּא? דִּלְמָא חַס וְשָׁלוֹם אִיכָּא בֵּי מִדְרְשָׁא מִידֵּי, יְהַב דַּעְתֵּיהּ וְגַרְסַהּ. לִמְחַר אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: נֵיתֵי מָר וְנִיתְנֵי בְּעוּקְצִין, פְּתַח וַאֲמַר. בָּתַר דְּאוֹקֵים, אֲמַר לְהוּ: אִי לָא גְּמִירְנָא, כַּסֵּיפְיתֻּנַן.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said to himself: "What is this happening here?  Perhaps, Heaven forfend, there is something going on in the study hall."  He concentrated and studied tractate Okatzin. The following day Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan said to him: "Let the Master teach a lesson in tractate Okatzin." He began to expound on the lesson he had prepared. After he completed teaching the tractate, he said to them: "If I had not studied the tractate, you would have humiliated me."

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He then had R' Meir and R' Natan thrown out, though they were brought back due to popular demand (literally). Had they succeeded in publicly humiliating him, though, he likely would have come up with an even more severe punishment that may have led to a schism in leadership.   Rabbi Ya’akov's actions averted that, though nothing in the text indicated he was ever thanked for that. 

Notice also how very thoughtful and considerate Rabbi Ya'akov was in all this with deep insight into the egos he was dealing with and absolutely no personal gain.  He could have tried to talk R' Meir out of the plan, though he likely knew that wouldn't work given R' Meir's personality. He could have told R' Shimon of the plot, rationalizing that the prohibition of lashon hara is pushed aside for the greater need of averting public humiliation. Or he could have openly offered to teach R' Shimon that tractate, though he knew that even that could have embarrassed the Nasi. And so he came up with this clever solution to avert disaster.

Some of us are given the opportunity to step in the way R' Ya'akov did to help without getting credit for what we do. It's the real measure of integrity to help someone out when even the person helped may not realize that you deserve credit for what you've done and that they owe you one. That is acting purely lishma.  

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