Parashas Vayechi

As Yaakov fell ill prior to his death, Yosef came with his sons, so that might receive their grandfather’s blessing.

Yaakov told Yosef: And now, your two sons that you have borne in the land of Egypt, until I came to you to Egypt, they are mine. Efraim and Menasheh will be to me like Reuven and Shimon – Yaakov declared that the two sons of Joseph would, like his own sons, be the progenitors of Tribes.

After a discussion, he asks that Efraim and Menasheh approach him to be blessed, but as they do, he suddenly asks: Who are these [men]?  

What does that mean? He knew who they were; he had just appointed them as Fathers of Tribes, he just asked that they come over to him. What does his question mean?

Chazal explain that as they approached, the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, suddenly abandoned Yaakov. Yaakov sensed that these two young men would have wicked descendants, and he now doubted whether he should bless them. Yosef prayed, the Divine Presence returned, and Yaakov blessed his grandchildren with Hamalach Hagoel, a blessing that we continue to use to this very day.

We find a similar episode later in the parashah. Yaakov is about to bless his sons. Those blessings outlined the personalities of each son and encapsulated the role and destiny of the Tribe that was to descend from him.

Before those blessings, Yaakov asks his sons to gather so that he might share with them “what would transpire to them at the end of the days.”

They gather and the Shechinah again departs from Yaakov.

Now Yaakov is concerned that perhaps they have abandoned their faith, so they cry out in unison the phrase Shema Yirsael.  Yaakov responds by saying Baruch Shem... . He then proceeds to bless them.

Our sages explain that the Yaakov intended to reveal to them when the ultimate End of Days would commence, but Hashem did not want him to.

It is interesting that before each set of blessings, the departure of the Shechinah caused Yaakov to question the righteousness of those he was about to bless.

Just before Yitzchok blessed Yaakov – transmitting the power of Divine blessing invested in him by Avrohom – we are told וַיָּרַח אֶת רֵיחַ בְּגָדָיו וַיְבָרֲכֵהוּ..., and [Yitzchok] smelled the scent of [Yaakov’s] clothes and he blessed him…. Our sages teach (Sanhedrin 37a) that the word בגדיו can also be vowelized בֹּגְדָיו, his traitors, the sinners.

Why was it important for Yitzchok to sense the sinners before he gave the blessing?

The commentators explain that had Yitzchok given the blessing to a son he felt was fully righteous, with no whiff of sinners, those blessings would have been in effect only as long as the descendants were completely good. Hashem wanted him to smell the traitors, so that the blessings would remain effective even when the Jews would be remiss in their spiritual duties.

In our parshah, too, Hashem wanted Yaakov’s blessings -- first to Efraim and Menasheh then to his sons – to always remain in effect. So as he was about to give the berachos, their was the suggestion that they may not be fully righteous. And although they really were, the berachos were given with the recognition that although the Shechinah may depart, the blessings will remain.

May we always be worthy of all the blessings, but even when we fall short, may we always be the beneficiaries of the spiritual and material bounty they offer.

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayigash

I'd like to start with an expression of thanks to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, as this week apparently marks the one year anniversay of this blog. Baruch shehechiyanu v'kimanu, v'higianu lazman hazeh. If anyone has been inspired by any of the thoughts here, I am grateful to Hashem for allowing me to be the vehicle for that inspiration. I am also grateful to you, dear reader, who actually takes the time to read my musings.

In this weeks’ parashah, Yosef, Viceroy of Egypt, reveals his identity to his brothers. As he sends them back to Canaan to bring Yaakov and their families down to Egypt, he admonishes them “אַל תִּרְגְּזוּ בַּדָּרֶךְ, do not quarrel along the way.”

Rashi explains that the simple understanding of this statement is that Yosef was worried (“she’haya do’eg”) that the brothers might quarrel among themselves, blaming one another for his sale; accusing one another of having gossiped about him, leading to his becoming hated. Yosef therefore cautioned them not to argue, for this was all part of a Divine Plan.

Why would their internal dispute be a source of worry to Yosef? How would that affect him?

There are different reasons that people seek to resolve disputes.

There are those who simply want to move past their disagreements to live in peace and harmony, without the stress and challenges of conflict.

Others are prepared to forego their legitimate gripes against others in order that the Heavenly Court will be more forgiving toward them.

Then there are those who are more selfless, and who are committed to avoid or resolve discord as a matter principle, because they recognize the wrongness of disharmony and just want no part of it.

Others, however, are on a higher level.

Dovid Hamelech tells us: “...יִרְאַת ד' אֲלַמֶּדְכֶם... בַּקֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם וְרָדְפֵהוּ; …I will teach you Fear of Hashem: Who is the man who wants life?...He seeks peace and purses it.” (Tehillim 34:12, 15)

For the person who fears Hashem, it is not enough to “seek peace” in his own life, he also “pursues peace” between others. The goal of such a person is universal peace and harmony, as Chazal (Berachos 64a) tell us “Torah scholars increase peace in the world,” i.e., among everyone.

Yosef’s words offer us a glimpse into of the purity of his motivations.

He was committed to increasing peace. Thus, he was worried that now that he and his brothers had buried the hatchet, they may get into a fight among themselves. Resolving his own issues with them by engendering a new conflict would be self-defeating. This is why he implored them to maintain peace among themselves.

Unfortunately, the resolution of one fight often leads to recriminations against others. That is not what Hashem wants. This parashah shows us what the true Torah approach is.

“לֹא מָצָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כְּלִי מַחֲזִיק בְּרָכָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, ד' עֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן ד' יְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם, Hashem found no vessel that holds blessing for the Jewish Nation, only peace, for it says: May Hashem give strength to His Nation, may Hashem bless His Nation with peace.” (Ukztin 3:12)

May we all maintain and promote peace and harmony, and may Hashem fill our “vessel of peace” with blessings for the entire Nation, and may he bring the ultimate geulah, when there will be “neither hunger, nor war, nor jealousy or discord” (Rambam Hil Melachim 12:5).

Gut Shabbos.

Chanukah / Parashas Mikeitz

There is a well known disagreement between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel (Shabbos 21b) regarding how many lights are lit each night of Chanukah. Beis Shammai maintains that eight lights are lit on the first night and that one light fewer is lit each subsequent night, while Beis Hillel maintains that we begin with one light and add and additional light each day. One reason for this is that Beis Shammai follows the model of the offerings brought over the festival of Succos, where the number of cows brought as offerings was diminished each day (13 cows were offered the first day, 12 on the second day, etc.); Hillel follows the rule that “we go up holiness, and do not go down.”

Chazal teach us (Beitzah 16a) that Shammai and Hillel also had different approaches to Shabbos preparations. Whenever in the Shammai would find a good food, he would purchase it for Shabbos. If he later found a better item, he would buy the better item for Shabbos and eat the first one. Hillel, on the other hand, “all of whose actions were for the sake of Heaven” taught “baruch Hashem yom yom, bless Hashem every day,” and he purchased his Shabbos supplies only when he needed them.

Perhaps these two disagreements are related.

What relationship does Beis Shammai see between the lights of Chanukah and the offers of Succos?

Over the course of Succos, 70 cows were brought as offerings, one for each of the nations of the world. We are told to diminish the number each day as an omen for the ultimate demise of those nations (see Rashi to Bamdbar 29:18).

Chanukah is the last festival to have been established. Prophecy had ceased. Even as the Nation lived in its own land, it did so under the dominion of others. The sefarim explain that Chanukah was the Yom Tov that was to carry the Jews through the long and bitter Exile that was to come, the Exile we experience to this day.

Shammai lived his entire week working for Shabbos. He did not live the weekday as a weekday, but as a means toward an end: Shabbos, the day of me’ein Olam Habah, a bit of the World to Come. He views the celebration of Chanukah similarly – we live in Exile for the purpose of hastening its end. We start with eight light, and we diminish them, our function is to end the galus.

Hillel, on the other hand, asserted that we “bless Hashem every day.” While we anticipate and look forward to Shabbos, we must bless Hashem for the weekdays as well, and we must seek to make the most of them. Similarly, Chanukah marks what Hashem has given us now, even as we are in galus. Of course we pine for the end of this exile, but while we are hear we must add holiness every day.

Shabbos Chanukah generally corresponds to Parashas Mikeitz. In Parashas Vayeishev, the prelude to Chanukah –and continuing through this week’s parashah – we find that in every difficult circumstance, Yosef makes the most of what he has. Certainly he thought of his father and reuniting with him, but until that could happen, he lived baruch Hashem yom yom, focusing on sanctifying Hashem’s Name in his current circumstances.

May we all live each day to the fullest, thanking Hashem for whatever mission he has given us for that day, and may we soon merit the end of our galus.

Gut Shabbos and a freilichen, lichtigen Chanukah.

Parashas Vayeishev

This week's parashah concludes with correctly Yosef interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh's Chief Butler and Chief Baker.

The Butler had a vision of himself squeezing grapes into the cup of Pharaoh and placing the cup into the king's hand. Yosef explained that this foretold that the man would be reinstated to his position.

 

 

The Baker had seen himself with baskets on his head, the top one filled with the special pastries he would serve Pharaoh, and birds were eating from the baskets. Yosef explained this dream to mean that  the Baker would be hanged.

 

Many explanations have been given for how one dream indicated the restoration of the person's former stature while the other indicated he would be killed,

 

Some years ago (I think it was in 1977), Rabbi Moshe Weitman zichrono levrachah, founder of Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway, spoke at a melaveh malkah at the Yeshivah of Staten Island, and offered the following insight:

 

Both the Butler and the Baker were providing food.

 

But the Butler was active; he was alive. He would regain his position.

 

The Baker, on the other hand, was passive; he did nothing. He was dead.

 

The true measure of life is not about how much we know. It is about whether we worked to achieve our knowledge. It isn't about how many people are helped though our being passive (although that, too, is rewarded), but through our efforts to help others.

 

Perhaps Descartes was wrong: I think AND DO, therefore I am.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayishlach

This week's parashah recounts how the angel who is Master of Eisav engaged Yaakov in a combat. Although he was unable to overcome Yaakov, he succeeded in injuring Yaakov's thigh at the gid hanasheh, "and therefore the Children of Israel do not eat of the gid hanasheh..."

 

Following their battle, Yaakov insists that the angel bless him. In response, the Angel changes him name from Yaakov to Yisrael, "for you have fought with angels and with men, and you have succeeded."

 

Perhaps we can understand the symbolism and import of this very esoteric episode in the following light:

 

Yaakov/Yisrael was now entering a new phase in his life -- and in the life of the nation that would bear his name.

 

Although he had been living with challenges and in galus for many years, he had been dealing with them, as his name implied, though v'yaakveini, circling around and avoiding or outsmarting his nemesis. He extracted the bechorah from Eisav, he left home when he was later threatened by him, he stayed out in the fields when he worked for Lavan.

 

Now, however, he would be directly engaging with Eisav, sending him gifts, bowing to him, hugging ang kissing him. His children would be going into Shechem -- and leaving booty that included idols and more. Yosef would live in the home of Potiphar and then in the Egyptian palace. And, in the thousands of years since then, living in cultures throughout the world.

 

The blessing of the angel was that when he faces these new challenges, he should emerge victorious. When Avrom's name was changed to Avrohom, he could no longer be called Avrom because his mission, his essence, had fundamentally changed. Yaakov/Yisrael, however, retained both names, because both approaches -- avoiding confrontation and engagement -- were required, depending on the circumstances.

 

The interactions of Yisrael were and are perilous and fraught with dangers both physical and spiritual. But, as the Chinuch explains, the "reasoning" behind the prohibition of gid hanasheh is to encourage the Jew. Although we may be buffeted by the tribulations of exile, we will -- like Yaakov -- emerge victorious.

 

May we merit to soon see that victory.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Vayeitzei

At the start of this week's parashah we find Yaakov leaving his home, and the Yeshivah of Shem V'ever, to go to the home  of his uncle Lavan in Charan.

 

The sun set suddenly, and he prepared to spend the night at Har Hamoriah, the site where Avrohom had offered Yitzchok as a sacrifice and where the Beis HaMikdash would later stand.

 

The Torah tells us: , וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו, and he took from the stones of that place and he placed them at his head. Rashi explains that he placed them around his head for protection.

 

Why does the Torah tell us "He took from the stones of that place"? It could simply have told us וַיִּקַּח אַבָנִים he took stones. From where else would he have taken stones? Would we expect him to have traveled carrying a bag of rocks?

 

Perhaps the lesson is that Yaakov had arrived in a new place, and he knew that he had to protect himself against the dangers there.

 

But how does he do that?

 

He realized that the "stones" of Beer Sheva and Shem V'Ever would do him no good at Har Hamoria, as holy a place as it may be. He needed to understand the threats of this new place, and he needed to protect himself against them in an appropriate and effective way.

 

That is why we are told that Yaakov took from the stones of that place to protect himself.

 

Rav Moshe Feinstein used to ascribe the complete failure of many chadorim in America to the fact that they tried to emulate the European shtel-approach here. But the challenges of America were different than they were in "der heim". And if there was to be even a slim chance of small success, it had to be with the understanding of the new challenges and with an effort to address them.

 

Indeed, later on, we find that Yaakov taught Yosef everything he had learned in the Yeshivah of Shem V'Ever (37:3). Rav Yaakov Kamenetzky asks: What could Yaakov have learned there that he did not already learn in the house of Yitzchok?

 

Rav Yaakov answers that under Shem V'Ever Yaakov learned the Torah of how a Jew survives in Galus. Yitzchok never left Eretz Yisrael; that was all Yaakov had experienced until then. Shem V'Ever prepared Yaakov for their future.

 

It was that lesson which guided Yaakov as he took from the stones of that place, and it is a lesson we must all understand if we are to succeed in overcoming challenges -- for ourselves and for our children.

 

May Hashem grant us the wisdom and siyata Dishmaya to succeed.

 

Gut Shabbos.

Parashas Toldos

In this week's parashah, we are told how Yitzchok and Rivkah prayed for children and that Hashem responded to Yitzchok's plea and granted them children.
 
Rashi quotes the well known Chazal that the efficacy of the prayer of a tzaddik who is the child of a tzaddik is far greater than the tefillah of tzaddik who is the child of a wicked person, so much so that they are not even comparable.
 
What is the Torah's purpose in telling us this? What lesson is there?
 
It's noteworthy that Yitzchok himself was not the descendant of a long line of righteous people. He had only one generation of righteous forebears, Avrohom and Sarah.
 
One generation of righteousness enhanced the power and efficacy of Yitzchok's tefillah so exponentially that the two were “eino domeh,” beyond compare.
 
The Torah may be trying to impress upon us how profound an impact our choices and deeds have, not only on our own spiritual level and destiny, but also on that of generations to come.
 
Our actions have amazing potential to spiritually empower and strengthen our progeny.
 
May we merit to make the right choices and be motivated to do the proper actions, and may we have the siyata d'Shmaya to succeed for ourselves and for the doros who follow.
 
Gut Shabbos.