By Dovid Zaklikowski for COLlive and Hasidic Archives
He had a fiery character, a sharp tongue, and an eye that saw through every kind of deception. Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu (1929–2010) was the chief rabbi of Israel, and as such, sat on the board that selected rabbinical judges (dayanim) and state-recognized rabbis.
As is often the case, these positions were easier to obtain when there was someone to advocate for you on the board. But young rabbis who had toiled in their studies knew that they would find an impartial judge in the chief rabbi, who was known for judging each person based on their personal merits.
Indeed, the chief rabbi’s family members knew not to expect any extra help. So when he stood up during a meeting and announced that he had a relative whom he wished to see appointed to the rabbinical court, everyone was shocked.
The board immediately granted his request, but later, when another member met the newly appointed dayan, he could not resist congratulating him on his powerful relative. “Thanks to your relative, Rabbi Eliyahu, you received the position.”
“There must be some mistake,” the man replied. “We are not related.”
The news spread quickly, and finally someone summoned the courage to ask the chief rabbi why he had claimed an alliance that didn’t exist. Smiling, he said, “I went through the list of candidates. I saw this man’s name. I saw that he received good marks, and I knew that he has a large family to feed.”
He also knew that the man had no powerful relations that could influence the board. “So I became his relative,” he said, and quoted the verse in Proverbs (7:4): “Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and to understanding, ‘You are my relation.’” Thus, he concluded, “He is truly my relative.”
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