The Torah relates the story of a Jew who committed the heinous sin of blaspheming the Name of Hashem. The Torah records this person’s mother’s name as Shlomis bas Divri. Rashi attributes the name Shlomis to her tendency to greet everyone, striking up a conversation with everyone she meets. The name Divri also implies that she was a dabronis, talked very much with everyone. Apparently, her proclivity to talk excessively led to all forms of sinful speech and behavior. The Chasam Sofer questions Rashi’s statement. It would seem that Rashi was giving us a reason why this woman gave birth to such a despicable son. Rather than relating her deplorable behavior to us, Rashi tells us that she was a friendly person who made a point of greeting everyone she encountered. Second, Rashi comments regarding both aspects of her name – Shlomis and Divri. Is that really necessary? Moreover, while the name Shlomis implies her amicability towards people, the name Divri, whose root word is diber, alludes to a harsher form of speech. What was Shlomis really like and wherein lay the origin of her iniquity?
In his approach to responding to these questions, the Satmar Rav, zl, is bothered by the fact that the generation of the wilderness, the people who stood at Har Sinai during the Revelation and accepted Hashem’s Torah, produced an individual who could commit such an atrocious sin. Furthermore, according to the Daas Zekeinim, the blasphemer was a Torah scholar! How are we to understand the evolution of this tragic occurrence and its ramifications for us today?
In response to these questions,. the Satmar Rav cites the pasuk in Devarim 29:18 regarding the renewal of the covenant in which Hashem details the punishment for he who would defy the Torah, saying, “Shalom yiheyeh li,” “Peace will be with me,” though I walk as my heart sees fit. He is not impressed with the thought of impending punishment. Hashem will surely punish him, as Rashi explains that those sins that heretofore were committed inadvertently will now be viewed as done b’meizid, intentionally. Is this the type of punishment for one who scoffs punishment? Should he be punished so harshly that his shegagos, unintentional transgressions, be treated as zedonos, intentional ones?
He explains that the covenant here is a reference to each Jew’s responsibility towards his fellow man. “Kol Yisrael areivim ze la’zeh,” “All Jews are responsible one for another” is a halachic axiom. When one Jew sees another Jew transgressing, he has a moral responsibility to protest and help him to return to the Torah way. There are those who regrettably shirk their responsibility due to personal vested interests. They will express a number of excuses to justify not making an issue. First and foremost is the idea of shalom – peace. Peace among Jews is the lifeblood of our People. Unity and harmony – achdus is G-d like. As Hashem is echad – One, He wants His children to live in achdus – oneness, in harmony with one another.
When a close friend is doing something that is harmful to himself, it behooves an individual to prevent him from hurting himself. When one sins, he is hurting himself – and Klal Yisrael! A true friend will not stand idly by ignoring, and at times even encouraging him — simply because he does not want to strain his relationship. Such a person is not a friend. Any relationship that does not leave room for constructive criticism is not a relationship.
This is the meaning of the pasuk. He, who when he hears the punishment that will be meted out to those who ignore their responsibility towards their fellow Jew, saying, “Peace will be with me,” meaning – shalom is more important than addressing my brothers’ shortcomings, he will have a share in all the sins committed by his friend. Although regarding his friends’ sins he is only a shogeg, Hashem will consider him a meizid, because he could have prevented them from occurring.
With this in mind, we can understand the underlying meaning of Shlomis bas Divri’s name. She believed in shalom – hence the name Shlomis. While still in Egypt, she made it her business to make peace with everyone. The wicked were her best friends, to the point that she would put down her brethren in order to sycophant to the reshaim – all in the name of shalom. Interestingly, she was at peace only with those who desecrated the Torah and denigrated Hashem’s word. In her relationship with the rest of her brethren, she was at odds. She spoke harshly to them, with hatred and vitriol. She was Shlomis to the wicked and Divri, speaking harshly, to the righteous. What began as Shalom, by ignoring her responsibility, ended as hatred towards those from who she had originated. A child growing up in such a home, observing such a double standard, an inner animus towards observant Jews who were supposedly his brothers, can have very little recourse but to grow up into the blasphemer that he became.
