Why Rav Lichtenstein washed dishes in the army

There is a story about the Gadol Hador (one of the great rabbis of our generation,) Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zatza”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Her Etzion, who passed away last month.

Rav Aharon came to Israel in 1970 and although past conscription age, he felt he should volunteer for service in the Israeli army. During his brief basic training, he was assigned to kitchen duty.

One evening a student of Har Etzion who was serving in the same base, was giving his dishes to the duty soldier washing dishes and saw that it was his rosh yeshiva, Rav Lichtenstein! Rav Aharon would not let the young student/soldier take his place, instead insisting on fulfilling his duty to sort and wash the dishes himself as it was his assigned duty!

The story eventually became known to Rav Amital zatza”l (Rav Aharon’s co-rosh yeshiva and a colonel in the reserves himself) who promptly arranged for Rav Aharon to be transferred to different duties, responsible for giving lectures to soldiers.

I have often wondered why Rav Aharon initially insisted on fulfilling kitchen duties when it would have been an easy matter for him to arrange to be assigned duties more befitting a rosh yeshiva of his stature, allowing him to make a much greater contribution in keeping with his skills and talents.

This week, in the portion of Naso, we read of the Nazirite, the individual who for various reasons vows, for a period of 30 days, to abstain from wine and haircuts and not to defile himself by contact with death. Despite what would seem to be a holy decision to abstain from worldly pleasures in pursuit of a higher spiritual level, the Nazirite, as part of his concluding ceremony (before reentering society and the world) brings a sin offering (a Korban Chatat). (Bamidbar 6:13-14)

The Talmud (Rabbi Eliezer HaKappar in Nedarim 10a) suggests that his “sin” was his decision to deny himself the pleasures of this world that G-d has declared as good.; apparently we are not meant to deny the world, we are meant to embrace it. Conversely, the Ramban (Nachmanides) suggests that his sin is actually the fact that he is now returning to the world of earthly pleasures; having achieved a higher level, he should desire to remain holier.