My husband introduced me to a recent shiur by Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, the rav of Tzfat and son of the tzaddik Rav Mordechai Eliyahu.
(Sorry, this 5:29-minute class is only in Hebrew as far as I know.)
https://www.hidabroot.org/article/1124317
Anyway, the family of Zachariah Baumel z"l apparently resented Binyamin Netanyahu for not bringing Zachariah's remains home.
And I don't blame them one bit.
(In general, none of Israel's leaders have done enough to bring home most of the captured Israeli soldiers, whether dead or alive. They've failed Yohonatan Pollard too...)
I remembered when Zechariah Baumel's father died a few years back with no closure about the fate of their son. It hurt, even though I knew that in the World of Truth, everything is made clear and full closure is received there.
One day, someone in the Baumel family said, "Why should we always badmouth Netanyahu? Let's start say something good about him."
Then it was suggested that perhaps with all the negotiations and deals that a world leader like Netanyahu needs to make, maybe Zachariah Baumel's return simply could not take priority.
In essence, they found a zechut in Netanyahu. They didn't justify the decades-long neglect of the missing Jewish soldiers, but they gave this particular prime minister the benefit of the doubt in one particular area.
Not long after, they were told that Zachariah Baumel's remains had been found and were coming home for burial.
Netanyahu personally contacted Zachariah's sister, who then told Netanyahu of what had occurred in the Baumel family: "Hechlatnu bimkom lavo elecha batruniot, na'aleh alecha zechut - We decided that instead of complaining about you, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
Then Netanyahu told her the story behind Zechariah's return...
Netanyahu had Israel do some kind of strategic favor for the USSR.
In return, Putin wanted to express his appreciation. So he asked Netanyahu what he wanted.
Now, Netanyahu had a list of 3 things he'd prepared for this moment - matters of national security and strategy.
But they all escaped his mind at that moment and the only thing that popped into mind was Zechariah Baumel.
So Netanyahu asked Putin if he could find an Israeli soldier who'd been captured 35 years ago.
In true Russian military fashion, Putin said, "A soldier from 35 years ago! What do you care?"
But Netanyahu held firm to his request.
And 2 years later, Putin indeed found and returned Zechariah Baumel's remains to Eretz Yisrael for a proper burial and closure for his family.
And now you know why Zechariah Baumel's sister said at his funeral, "Todah l'Netanyahu sheh lo hechmitz et hasha'ah - Thank you to Netanyahu for not missing the boat" (so to speak).
(Sorry, this 5:29-minute class is only in Hebrew as far as I know.)
https://www.hidabroot.org/article/1124317
Anyway, the family of Zachariah Baumel z"l apparently resented Binyamin Netanyahu for not bringing Zachariah's remains home.
And I don't blame them one bit.
(In general, none of Israel's leaders have done enough to bring home most of the captured Israeli soldiers, whether dead or alive. They've failed Yohonatan Pollard too...)
I remembered when Zechariah Baumel's father died a few years back with no closure about the fate of their son. It hurt, even though I knew that in the World of Truth, everything is made clear and full closure is received there.
One day, someone in the Baumel family said, "Why should we always badmouth Netanyahu? Let's start say something good about him."
Then it was suggested that perhaps with all the negotiations and deals that a world leader like Netanyahu needs to make, maybe Zachariah Baumel's return simply could not take priority.
In essence, they found a zechut in Netanyahu. They didn't justify the decades-long neglect of the missing Jewish soldiers, but they gave this particular prime minister the benefit of the doubt in one particular area.
Not long after, they were told that Zachariah Baumel's remains had been found and were coming home for burial.
Netanyahu personally contacted Zachariah's sister, who then told Netanyahu of what had occurred in the Baumel family: "Hechlatnu bimkom lavo elecha batruniot, na'aleh alecha zechut - We decided that instead of complaining about you, we'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
Then Netanyahu told her the story behind Zechariah's return...
Netanyahu had Israel do some kind of strategic favor for the USSR.
In return, Putin wanted to express his appreciation. So he asked Netanyahu what he wanted.
Now, Netanyahu had a list of 3 things he'd prepared for this moment - matters of national security and strategy.
But they all escaped his mind at that moment and the only thing that popped into mind was Zechariah Baumel.
So Netanyahu asked Putin if he could find an Israeli soldier who'd been captured 35 years ago.
In true Russian military fashion, Putin said, "A soldier from 35 years ago! What do you care?"
But Netanyahu held firm to his request.
And 2 years later, Putin indeed found and returned Zechariah Baumel's remains to Eretz Yisrael for a proper burial and closure for his family.
And now you know why Zechariah Baumel's sister said at his funeral, "Todah l'Netanyahu sheh lo hechmitz et hasha'ah - Thank you to Netanyahu for not missing the boat" (so to speak).
Rav Shmuel Eliyahu used this story to emphasize the importance of finding a good point, a merit, in another person.
It reminded me of the concept Rebbe Nachman wrote about in Likutei Moharan, as discussed by Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender in Words of Faith:
By find a merit, a good point, in even the worst person, you can cause that person to do teshuvah.
Just by noting it. You needn't tell the person nor anyone else. You just need to note it (and preferably tell it to Hashem).
Look, Netanyahu is not a good Jew. He's just not. Maybe he's not the worst of them (actually, Rav Shach himself said Netanyahu wasn't as awful as, say, Shimon Peres), but looking at Judaism's stick for measuring goodness, Netanyahu definitely has what to worry about.
Yet all the Baumels did was find zechut in Netanyahu. They gave him that benefit of the doubt.
And look what happened.
Baruch Hashem, Yishtabach Shemo.
It reminded me of the concept Rebbe Nachman wrote about in Likutei Moharan, as discussed by Rav Levi Yitzchak Bender in Words of Faith:
By find a merit, a good point, in even the worst person, you can cause that person to do teshuvah.
Just by noting it. You needn't tell the person nor anyone else. You just need to note it (and preferably tell it to Hashem).
Look, Netanyahu is not a good Jew. He's just not. Maybe he's not the worst of them (actually, Rav Shach himself said Netanyahu wasn't as awful as, say, Shimon Peres), but looking at Judaism's stick for measuring goodness, Netanyahu definitely has what to worry about.
Yet all the Baumels did was find zechut in Netanyahu. They gave him that benefit of the doubt.
And look what happened.
Baruch Hashem, Yishtabach Shemo.
For more about this powerful concept, please see:
- The 3 Best Ways to Give the Benefit of the Doubt
- The Most Effective Way to Fix Your Flaws (because this method works with yourself too!)
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