It is well know the story of the R. Meir (The Maharam) of Rothenburg, Germany, who was the foremost Torah leader of his time. He was imprisoned for various reasons and an astronomically high sum was demanded as ransom. Us Jews are very careful with the mitzvah of "Pidyom Shvuim" as there is no greater mitzvah thereof (שו"ע יו"ד סי' רנב), and as such, the Jewish community of the time rushed to his rescue. R. Meir refused, ruling that we cannot redeem captives for more than their worth (עי' שו"ע שם ס"ד).
The Maharsh"al questions the justification of R. Meir's actions: Being that he was the leader of his generation in knowledge and piety, all money in the world could have been spent for his release?! If he was so humble and did not wish to recognize this, he should have at least considered the countless hours of Torah learning that was wasted as a result of his incarceration (as he himself writes)!
The Maharash"al concludes that R. Meir must have reasoned that if he lets the community buckle to the pressure, all Torah scholars would be in ultimate danger, and Torah would eventually be forgotten. Indeed, it is related that the plan was to capture the Ro"sh as well, and he was forced to flee to Toledo where he was spared, Thank G-d.
"So that Chassid made a decision: better my superior knowledge be forgotten that that of the entire Torah!
Indeed, history proved him right: from then on, capturing Torah scholars ceased."
ים של שלמה גיטין פ"ד סי' ס"ו
ועי' בשו"ע יו"ד סי' רנ"ב ובנו"כ שם
No comments:
Post a Comment