In Pirkei Avot 2:5, Hillel says, "Uvimekom She'ein Anashim Hishtadel Liheyot Ish - In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man." Most commentators understand this as a call for someone to step forward as a leader, in a situation when no one else is acting as one (See Bartenura). I would like to suggest another understanding of this mishnah, based on two incidents found in the Torah.
In Parashat Yayeshev, we see that Potiphar's wife is infatuated with Yosef. Day after day, she tries to seduce him, but Yosef always refuses her advances. One day, Yosef arrives at Potiphar's house to do his work and the Torah reports, "Veein Ish Meianshei Habayit Sham Babayit - there was no man from the household staff there in the house" (Bereshit 39:11). The Talmud in Massekhet Sotah (36a) explains that when the Torah says that Yosef came to do his work, it means that his resistance to Potiphar's wife had cracked and the "work" he came to do was to yield to her advances. Based on this explanation, it is possible to understand the phrase "Veein Ish - there was no one there" to mean that there was no one in the house who would see him commit this act of adultery. But Yosef knew that "Bemekom She'ein Anashim Hishtadel Liheyot Ish" – in a place where there are no people -- where no one will see you commit a transgression -- you must struggle to be a man. You must struggle to do what is right. And Yosef succeeded: when Potiphar's wife grabbed him and tried again to seduce him, he runs out.
We see this same idea come out in Parashat Shemot. The Torah says that one day Moshe came out and saw an Egyptian beating up a Jew, "Vayifen Ko Vakho - he turned and looked this way and that way," and "Vayar Ki Ein Ish - he saw that there was no man" (Shemot 2:12). The Chatam Sofer in Torat Moshe explains that the simple explanation of this verse is that Moshe looked to see that there was no one there before he killed the Egyptian. But I would suggest that Moshe looked around to see if anyone saw that he had witnessed the Egyptian's brutality. Because "Vayar Ki Ein Ish - no one was there," he could have left without holding the Egyptian accountable for his actions. But Moshe knew "Bemekom She'ein Anashim Hishtadel Liheyot Ish" - in a place where there are no people -- where no one will see you shirk your responsibilities -- you must struggle to be a man. And like Yosef, Moshe succeeded: he protected his fellow Jew.
The Torah's use of the words "Ein Ish" in these two places helps us to clarify Hillel's statement in Pirkei Avot. This mishnah recognizes that the thought of someone seeing you transgress is usually enough to stop you from committing the transgression. The danger lies when you are sure that no one will see you, "Behadrei Hadarim - in the confines of your house or office." That is when one must struggle the most to follow the Torah. That is when a Jew's true level of commitment is put to the test. Yosef and Moshe found themselves "Bemakom Sheein Anashim" - in places where no one saw them - it would have been so easy for them to do wrong. But they didn't.
Rabbi
Mordechai Friedfertig
Congregation B'nai Shalom
Williamsville,
New York
Email: mordechai at utj.org
Copyright 2001-2003 by Mordechai Friedfertig