By now, most people have heard about the incident where Nurali Emomal, a judo competitor from Tajikistan, refused to shake the hand of his Israeli competitor, Baruch Shmailov, at the 2024 Paris Olympics. What happened subsequently was that he himself was subjected to “immediate karma” when he was beaten and left in tears during his very next match with Japanese Judo competitor, Hifumi Abe. Emomal was crying because he had dislocated his shoulder.
Newspapers across the United States and across the world reported the incident as pure karma — Emomali getting his just desserts.
The widespread reporting of the incident reflects the fact that an extremely large percentage of the world accepts the principle of “What goes around comes around,” which in the language of Chazal, is “Midah keneged midah.”
But why does Hashem do it? Why does Hashem run the world in this fashion? [It should also be noted that the American use of the word karma is technically not the original use of the notion, — which reflects an idea from a foreign religion; the American use of it reflects the idea of midah keneged midah.]
Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz
One of the leading gedolim of the past generation was Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz, zt”l, who is probably better known to the world as Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l’s cheder rebbe. He is also known as the student of Rav Shlomo Heineman, zt”l who wrote the three-volume “Chiddushei Rabbi Shlomo” — a sefer that has become an absolute classic in the Torah world.
Rav Michel Yehudah writes that there is a clear and determined purpose for midah keneged midah, and it is not what most people think. Every day, just before the Shema, we recite the bracha of “Ahava Rabbah,” which recalls the boundless love Hashem has for Klal Yisroel. But we must also remember that Hashem loves all of His creations and so much wants their teshuva. Hashem even wanted Pharoah’s teshuva. “Hashem is good to all.” — “Tov Hashem lakol.” “Karov Hashem lechol korav, lechol asher yikra’u’hu b’emes” — “Hashem is close to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
The reason for Hashem punishing people with “karma,” explains Rav Michel Yehudah, is that He wants us to know exactly what we did wrong so that we will know exactly how to do teshuva — so that we can come back to Hashem. Karma, so to speak, directs the individual to the exact location and area where he has stumbled.
Specifically, what did Emomali do wrong? He failed to treat his opponent Baruch Shmailov as a mentsch. Every human being is created in the Divine Image and reflects Hashem Himself. Rabbi Akiva teaches us this point in Pirkei Avos 3:14:
“He (Rabbi Akiva) would say: ‘Beloved is man since he is created in the image [of God]. Especially beloved is he for it was revealed to him that he had been created in the image, as it says (Genesis 9:6): “For in God’s image He made man.”’”
Emomali disrespected that Divine Image within his opponent and did not even give him the courtesy of a handshake. Hashem, therefore, said to him, “You mistreated a reflection of the Divine Image —you will thus also be treated not as a reflection of the Divine Image.
While some readers may question whether Hashem is really concerned with the teshuva of Emomali, we may point out that we do find this when Avrohom Avinu was in the home of Avimelech, and Avimelech kidnapped Sarah, his wife. Hashem punished him with a “Karma-esque” punishment in that his excretory system became non-functional. This was on account of his immoral designs on Sara Imeinu, rachmana litzlan. Yet, even still we see that Hashem wanted Avimelech’s teshuva.
Let’s also realize that in chapter 42 of Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer we find that Hashem took Pharoah from among the dead and placed him as king of Nineveh. Eventually, Hashem sent the Navi Yonah, and Pharoah did teshuva. [Whether this was an example of Hashem employing time-travel is not relevant here; the point is Hashem’s concern for everyone’s teshuva.]
Can One Lose Their Tzelem Elokim?
Can a person lose his tzelem Elokim? A person can choose a life where he makes a series of horribly immoral choices that eventually cause him to lose his tzelem Elokim. The Maharal implies in several places that throughout the depraved history of antisemitism, some of the nations have lost a portion of their innate tzelem Elokim. It is clear to this author that many of the Nazis, y”s, lost their tzelem Elokim, as well as many of the perpetrators of the October 7 massacre.
Not Just for Treating Others Like a Mentsch
On a final note, the idea of tzelem Elokim is also a means of advancing spiritual growth. Rav Yitzchok Feigelstock, zt”l, the rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Long Beach, once took this notion a bit further. He lectured that, “Contemplating the fact that we are a tzelem Elokim, that we were created in Hashem’s image (in that we have free choice – bechira), helps us realize that we are also spiritual entities — not just physical ones.This idea keeps us on the straight path.”
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