Our Holy Forefathers Did Aveiros!
Whenever Mashgichim (and those influenced by them) speak of past generations’ sins (which are numerous and mentioned everywhere), there is the tired, obligatory disclaimer:
Just as the pluperfect Roshei Yeshivos of old would tell our perfect teachers who in turn would tell us when we were sitting in your place a thousand times, and as we have bored you with a million times, we are not, in fact, discussing the students of Rabbi Akiva or the Shevatim. We are speaking to and of ourselves, handily using them כאדם שמקלל עצמו ותולה קללתו באחרים. And we aren’t speaking of Biblical personalities, but repeating Chazal, who teach us the ways of life; they too merely using our inherently perfect primogenitors as poor paradigms.
So, to drill deeper, when we mention these angels’ names, we refer not to the discarnate giants themselves, Tzaddik forfend, but to these Platonic Ideals made flesh elsewhere, in lesser, fallen specimens; those who do, in fact, you know… SIN.
Is it clear yet, or should I say it once more, for those who only perk up the third time a thing is said?
Ugh. The end.
While, indeed, the Torah’s message is central, not the facts employed (and the same, as Yeshayahu Leibowitz said, goes for the science), the message itself includes that humans tend to sin, with some degree of malice – all of them. Even if they didn’t sin today, they sinned yesterday, and עברה גוררת עברה, slight Meizid leads to some large Shogeg. The very greatness of the individuals amplifies the lesson we cannot rely on ourselves and must be forever vigilant and precede prayer to escape the evil inclination.
And we cannot relate to angels, so we cannot learn anything at all from them if they are “angels”, and us “donkey” shadows.
No matter how much the sin is “explained” (the person had good intentions, etc.), even if this is the case, there must still be some degree of sinfulness remaining, otherwise, why is it mentioned against them, and/or why were they punished? (And don’t we, too, often have good intentions? Except, we are partially deceiving ourselves beneath the ingenious justifications, the same way they did.)
The big problem is, this Mussar nonsense prevents us from improving upon the past…!