Silence
By Moshe Katz
CEO
Israeli Krav International

June 5, 2015, Israel

MdKatzSmall

My family name is Katz, but it is really not a name. It is simply an abbreviation for a longer Hebrew name, Cohen (Kohen) Tzedek, which means righteous one who serves.

The name dates back over 2,000 years.

THE OLDEST SURNAME IN WORLD IS KATZ (INITIALS OF THE TWO WORDS KOHEN TSEDEK). EVERY KATZ IS A PRIEST DESCENDING IN AN UNBROKEN LINE FROM AARON THE BROTHER OF MOSES 1300 B.C. (Ripley's Believe It or Not!)

Did you know that it is illegal in Israel to change your name to Katz? It is also illegal to change your name to Cohen. This is to prevent people from claiming to being Cohanim when they are not.

The Cohen clan served the spiritual needs of the Jewish people in ancient times, and to a certain extent even in our own times. Our family tree goes back to Aharon the Cohen, brother of Moses.

The actions of my ancestor are always with me, his example. I have written of this before.

His two sons died an unnatural death. It was seen as divine punishment. Aharon, the high priest, was rebuked.

He has just lost two sons.

And what is recorded of his response? "And Aaron stood in silence."

"וידום אהרן"

And the Biblical commentator Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki writes, "And for this silence Aharon received a great reward, that God spoke to him directly".

Aharon's silence. Silence. What an incredible inspiration.

There are times in life when we are betrayed. We are betrayed by those whom we trust the most. Et Tu Brute? And you too Brutus? Asked the stunned Caesar in Rome, you too have betrayed me? You, a person I treated so well, a person whom I so trusted? If so, what hope is there?

Some say that at this point Caesar lost the will to live.

There are things that hurt and yet the best response sometimes is silence.

Life has a way of dealing with things. Sometimes the worst thing we can do is respond, react. We must wait. The time may come, later. But at times, no matter how difficult it is, we must remain silent.

As the Bible teaches there is a time for everything, a time for pain and a time for joy. There is a time to speak and a time to remain silent.

The wise man knows when it is best to remain silent.

Do not protest when you have been insulted. You have only aided their evil cause. They have shown who they are by their actions, now you can show who you are by your lack of response. No answer is also an answer.

There is a time when no action is best, when no words are best.

A wise man knows the time for action, the time for words, and the time for silence.

You might come up with an entire list of valid arguments against the accusations being leveled against you. Now if you are in a court of law, those arguments will hold water, an impartial judge will listen and pass judgement. But if there is no judge, and it is just you and this other person, a list of logical arguments is of no value. As a wise rabbi once told me, "Don't confuse logic with the issue." i.e. This dispute is not based on logic, but on a person's emotional state, and presenting logical arguments to prove that they are in the wrong, is pointless. You cannot win a argument on logic, when the dispute is based on emotion. 

So how should you respond? With the most difficult response possible, the one that takes the most self-control and the most restraint, pure Silence. You want to respond, every fiber of your body wants to fight back and prove that these things being said about you are wrong, totally false, but the wiser you knows that it is pointless, trust in the silence. 

I recall a friend who spent hours on the internet every night trying to fight back against those who claimed his martial arts claims were false. He achieved nothing, he only aggravated himself. Silence is the only response, as difficult as that is. 

When the hurt comes, the betrayal, the Et tu, Brute? it helps to think back to Aharon, the high priest, "And Aharon was silent".

Knowing that he is my ancestor, knowing that he was a man of pure heart and was known as a peace seeker, gives me strength. Often, I think of him and remember, "And Aharon was silent", "The actions of the fathers are a sign to the sons."

Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.