Storytime (source: Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu):
Harav Yitzchak Volozhiner says in the name of his father, Harav Chaim Volozhiner, that a tried-and-true method to remove the hatred of one’s enemy is to work on oneself to judge him favorably… (i.e. view his behavior and his motivation from his point of view). When we do that, the other person’s attitude toward us will change to the point where his antipathy will be transformed into love.
When I hear the term MIA (Missing in Action), one of the first names that comes to mind is Zachariah Baumel, the frum soldier who disappeared 37 years ago during one of the bloodiest battles of the First Lebanon War.
For years, Israeli protesters stood with placards outside the prime minister’s residence, urging him to do something to “bring back our boys.” Zechariah’s distraught father pleaded with government officials the world over to discover the whereabouts of his missing son, eventually bringing his grief with him to the grave.
In April 2019, 89-year-old Mrs. Baumel received the long-awaited news that after all these years, there was finally a breakthrough! Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called to inform her that the Russians had located Zechariah’s remains in a Syrian refugee camp in Damascus, and that he himself would be accompanying the aron back to Eretz Yisrael.
Shortly before he was killed, Zechariah sent a note to his parents that read: “Baruch Hashem, I’m fine. But it doesn’t look like I’ll be coming home any time soon.” Who would have dreamed that it would take 37 years?
At the emotional single day of shivah, the prime minister came to pay his condolences. Zechariah’s sister Osna Haberman bared her heart. “I want you to know,” she said, “that for years, the members of our family held a grudge against you and the previous governments. We’ve always felt that you didn’t do enough to bring our brother home. We felt that if you truly cared for his plight, you would have done more.
“Two years ago,” she continued, “our family got together and decided that we need to let go of our grievances. We agreed that as frum Jews, we are obligated to judge you favorably. We tried to put ourselves in your shoes and to better understand that as the prime minister of a tiny country constantly in a precarious state, you have major security concerns to deal with, and Zechariah Baumel can’t possibly be at the forefront of your mind at all times. At that time, we finally let go of our negative feelings.”
When Mr. Netanyahu heard this, his face paled and he began to visibly tremble. “Let me tell you the background to the story of Zechariah’s sudden return,” he shared.
“Two years ago, our intelligence uncovered a large-scale terrorist attack being planned against Russia. We shared the classified information with Vladimir Putin and the attack was averted.
“We knew that sooner or later would be payback time, so our Security Cabinet sat to discuss what to request of Mr. Putin. We drew up a list of 50 items. We succeeded in narrowing down the list to the three most important items, which dealt with Israel’s greatest security concerns. Zechariah Baumel was not even on the first list.
“As I met with Mr. Putin,” continued Mr. Netanyahu, “Zechariah’s name suddenly popped into my head. I told myself that it must be from Shamayim. Ignoring the list on the paper in front of me, I asked Mr. Putin to help me locate he remains of your brother and the other two boys who went missing with him.
“Mr. Putin was surprised by my request and asked me, ‘When was he killed?’ When I told him it was 35 years earlier, he was incredulous and wanted to know why I cared so much.
“I explained to him that as Jews, we take care of our people – both dead and alive, and I explained to him the importance of a body receiving a proper Jewish burial.
“Mr. Putin was so moved by my concern for a fellow Jew that he said, ‘If it’s so important to you, then I’ll take care of it. I’ll get it done.’
“Immediately after making this request,” admitted Netanyahu, “I began to regret what I had done. After all, how could I have squandered the opportunity to secure the pressing needs of my country in exchange for a soldier’s body? How would I explain this to my Cabinet?
“But then Mr. Putin surprised me and said, ‘I’ll give you Zechariah Baumel’s remains gratis – it’s not part of what I owe you.’ And then he allowed me to make my other requests.
“Now it is clear to me why your brother’s name suddenly popped into my head out of nowhere,” concluded Netanyahu emotionally. “It must be in the zechus of your family choosing to judge me in a positive light.”
(Excerpted from an article on Parashas Vayishlach by Genendel Krohn)