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- Avraham means אַב-הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם- the father of a multitude of nations (17:5 בְּרֵאשִׁית). This Bracha means that they should be at the head of all other nations.
- Yitzchak means laughter, blessing them that they should always be filled with happiness.
- Yisrael comes from כִּי-שָׂרִיתָ עִם-אֱלֹהִים וְעִם-אֲנָשִׁים, וַתּוּכָל – for you have fought with angels and with men, and have prevailed. (32:29 בְּרֵאשִׁית) This Bracha means that they should always be able to overcome their internal obstacles.
- Finally Yaakov comes from the saying עקב רב טוב הצפון לצדיקים – because of all the good reserved for Tzaddikim in the future. This Bracha tells them that even though sometimes life seems hard, they should draw strength from knowing that ultimately they will be rewarded for all the good that they do in their lives.
Shabbat Duality: The Value of Inaction
י"ט באדר ה'תש"ע (March 5th, 2010)In this week’s Parsha, right after discussing the details of the construction of the Mishkan the Hashem instructs Moshe to tell the Jewish people about Shabbat. There it states (in full):
וְאַתָּה דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר,אַךְ אֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתַי, תִּשְׁמֹרוּ: כִּי אוֹת הִוא בֵּינִי וּבֵינֵיכֶם, לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם–לָדַעַת, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם. וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת, כִּי קֹדֶשׁ הִוא, לָכֶם; מְחַלְלֶיהָ, מוֹת יוּמָת–כִּי כָּל-הָעֹשֶׂה בָהּ מְלָאכָה, וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִקֶּרֶב עַמֶּיהָ.שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, יֵעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן קֹדֶשׁ, לַיהוָה; כָּל-הָעֹשֶׂה מְלָאכָה בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, מוֹת יוּמָת. וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם, בְּרִית עוֹלָם. בֵּינִי, וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל–אוֹת הִוא, לְעֹלָם: כִּי-שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ.
‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: However, you shall keep My Sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy unto you; every one that desecrates it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days work shall be done; but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work in the Sabbath day, shall surely be put to death. The children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.’
The Abravanel asks many questions on these verses, but I am going to focus on just a few. First, what is the significance of telling us about keeping Shabbat right after the discussion of the Mishkan? Weren’t we just told about Shabbat at Har Sinai a few weeks ago? Second, why does the Pasuk use the word שַׁבְּתֹתַי (my Shabbats) in plural? It could have just said “but keep the Shabbat”. Finally, why does the description of Shabbat use the word אוֹת (a sign) twice – first, it is a sign through which we can know that Hashem sanctifies the Jewish people and second, it is a sign that Hashem created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th.
To answer these questions, the Abravanel explains that there are two major aspects to Shabbat. First, there is the acceptance and appreciation of the fact that Hashem created the world. Shabbat comes as as a break from the busy week to serve as perpetual sign that there is a Creator who placed us here and gave us purpose in our weekly tasks. This aspect of Shabbat corresponds to the word “Zachor (remember)” which is recorded in the first recounting of the 10-commandments in the Torah. Through Zachor, we observe Shabbat in an active sense. By refraining from work we have an opportunity to spend time learning Torah, taking advantage of the extra Neshama we have on Shabbat to come closer to Hashem.
The second aspect of Shabbat, (as noted by the plural שַׁבְּתֹתַי) is the recognition that there is a World To Come. Chazal say that the Shabbat we experience is 1/60th of our ultimate Olam Habah, and note that the World To Come is a “Yom SheKulo Shabbat (a day which is entirely Shabbat).” Through this recognition, Shabbat serves as its second sign. By reminding us that that we have a place and a purpose on this world, Shabbat ensures that we keep focused on the fact that it is Hashem who makes our work successful in this world and gives us our due reward in the World To Come.
This second aspect of Shabbat is manifest through the word “Shamor (to guard)”, as recorded in the second recounting of the 10-commandments. In contrast to Zachor, Shamor is a passive observance of Shabbat. We keep Shabbat by not doing things. Through this observer we realize that just as there is value to action, there is sometimes also value to in-action. Just as we must work for 6 days (as it says שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, יֵעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה), so to0 we accomplish even more by showing that we refrain from work on the 7th day. Through this in-action we show how we recognize Hashem’s ultimate dominion and realize that all we accomplish is through Him.
This is why Shabbat is commanded again right after the instructions for the Mishkan. It is very easy to understand how the Jewish people might have thought that the holy task of building the Mishkan might supersede the observance of Shabbat. Isn’t it more important to have the Mishkan built as soon as possible to help bring Hashem’s presence into the world than to keep Shabbat? The answer is “No.” The most important thing is to realize that just as the world was created by Hashem, so to everything we accomplish, we accomplish through His hands.
Have a wonderful and rest-filled Shabbat!
Also, enjoy this video to get into the Shabbat mood.
Judging a book by its cover
י"ב באדר ה'תש"ע (February 26th, 2010)
Contrary to common belief and practice, there are very few instances where Judaism actually cares about what clothing you wear. This weekend we will experience two out of the four such instances. These are: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, when we wear white; Tu B’Av, when single girls borrow each others’ dresses; Purim, when we wear costumes; and finally the clothes the Kohanim wore in the Beit haMikdash, which we read about in this week’s Parsha.
What is the meaning behind these four situations where clothing is important?
Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch talks about the importance of the Bigdei Kehuna. He explains that when the Kohanim were doing the service in the Temple, they had to think of themselves as messengers of the congregation of Israel. They had to realize that they should have no ego involved in the service and were, on their own account, naked in front of Hashem.
This is in contrast to the High Holidays where we are being judged on account of our own actions. On those days we wear our own white clothing, working to cleanse ourselves of our personal actions.
On Tu B’Av, once again, people dress in clothing that doesn’t belong to them. The custom used to be that single girls would all wear borrowed dresses and go dance in the fields to find their future husbands. The borrowed clothing ensured that poorer people weren’t disadvantaged by their lower quality clothing. In this case, clothing is used as a means of expressing care and compassion towards others, ensuring that no one is disadvantaged by class differences.
Finally, we come to Purim. On Purim, we wear costumes, disguising our actual appearances. Why is this? One of the central lessons of Purim is that the reason the Jewish people were saved is because we banded together as a community and davened to Hashem to save us from Haman’s plots. While the story played out in such a way that Esther was the means to our salvation, Mordechai warned Esther that if she didn’t do what she could to save the Jews, HaShem would still save the Jewish people as a whole, but would not extend that salvation to Esther and her family (כִּי אִם-הַחֲרֵשׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי, בָּעֵת הַזֹּאת–רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר, וְאַתְּ וּבֵית-אָבִיךְ תֹּאבֵדוּ Esther 4:14).
On Purim, therefore, we disguise ourselves to show that it’s not the individual but the community that is important. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what type of Yarmulke or what color pants you wear. What’s important is that we are all Jews and we are all celebrating Purim together.
Have a great Shabbat and a Happy Purim!
Interconnected Pieces
ג' באדר ה'תש"ע (February 17th, 2010)[This Dvar Torah is based on an idea I heard from Rabbi Yaakov Hillel when he was in Los Angeles a few months ago.]
This week’s parsha discusses the construction of the Mishkan and all of its vessels in great detail. Hashem tells Moshe to create two poles made out of acacia wood and covered in gold with which to carry the Aron (the Ark).
These poles are quite similar to those made for carrying the Mizbeach (the Altar) and the Shulchan (the table for the Showbread), but the instructions are different. Only when describing the Aron’s poles does Hashem command Moshe to ensure that the poles are never separated from the Aron (לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ).
What is so special about these poles that they can never be removed? If their use is purely for carrying the Aron around, wouldn’t it be more practical to remove them when the Jewish people were camped? This question is made even stronger by the Midrash which notes that there wasn’t actually enough room in the Kodesh Kodashim (Holy of Holies) for the poles. Yet, a miracle occured and not only did the Aron and the poles fit into the Kodesh Kodashim, but there was room for the Kohen Gadol to enter for the Yom Kippur service.
Rabbi Yaakov Hillel says that the poles are actually symbolic of those people who support Torah and Torah learning in their communities. Just as the actual poles were inseparable from the Aron and equally deserving to rest in the Kodesh Kodashim, the supporters of Torah are also spiritually connected to the institutions and people that they support.
The Midrash also teaches us that when Hashem performs miracles to help sustain Torah, those miracles are performed primarily for the “poles” who support Torah.
Have a happy Shabbat!
Good Advice?
כ"א בשבט ה'תש"ע (February 5th, 2010)In this week’s Parsha, Moshe’s father-in-law, Yitro, notices that Moshe is overworked dealing with all the requests and disputes coming to him from the Jewish people. He suggests that Moshe delegate some of the work to other highly-qualified people.
In making his suggestion, Yitro says “וְהָיָה כָּל-הַדָּבָר הַגָּדֹל יָבִיאוּ אֵלֶיךָ, וְכָל-הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפְּטוּ-הֵם (and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to you [Moshe], but every small matter they will judge themselves).” When Moshe actually implements the advice, however, the Pasuk says “אֶת-הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה יְבִיאוּן אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, וְכָל-הַדָּבָר הַקָּטֹן יִשְׁפּוּטוּ הֵם (and the hard matters they brought to Moshe and the small matters they judged themselves)”. What is the significance of the word change between הַדָּבָר הַגָּדֹל (the great matters) and הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה (the hard matters)?
The Mechilta quotes a disagreement between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Elazar. Rabbi Yehoshua says that Moshe certainly did exactly what Yitro suggested he do, while Rabbi Elazar said that Moshe took the advice of his father-in-law, but in the end modified it a little per Hashem’s command.
According to the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, then, we can easily understand the word change. While Yitro wanted Moshe to judge the important matters, Moshe felt it was more important for him to take the hard cases, regardless of the importance of its litigants.
According to Rabbi Yehoshua, however, if Moshe did exactly what Yitro suggested, why did the Torah choose to use a different word to explain the outcome?
The Rashbam comments on the words כָּל-הַדָּבָר הַגָּדֹל (all the great matters) and says that these “great matters” are people coming to build their relationships with Hashem. The small matters therefore would be standard court litigation without any real spiritual growth involved.
With this idea, in mind, Rabbi Yehoshua now seems to make sense as we can understand that these “great matters” are one and the same with the hard matters. Figuring out whether Reuven owes Shimon money may be complicated but doesn’t compare in difficulty to helping Levi grow as a person.
Unfortunately, according to the Rashbam, Rabbi Elazar is now quite challenging. If the “great matters” are working on developing peoples’ relationships with Hashem, why wasn’t the advice of Yitro good advice? Why did Moshe still feel the need to modify his advice.
The Ba’al Haturim comes to the rescue by totally changing the meaning of the words הַדָּבָר הַקָּשֶׁה (the hard matters). He says that the truly hard matters are managing those court cases of the most important people, as they are the most “stiff-necked” of everyone.
According to this view, we can now understand why Moshe chose to modify his father-in-law’s advice. Yitro figured that any of the people Moshe chose could handle general litigation while Moshe should focus on the general religious growth of the population. But Yitro missed one thing. In Judaism everything – even tort law – is a religious experience. Moshe knew how easily a stiff-necked litigant could falter in their religious growth and wanted to make sure he was there in those cases to help everyone grow as best as they could.
Keeping Perspective
י"ד בשבט ה'תש"ע (January 29th, 2010)וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּם-סוּף, וַיֵּצְאוּ אֶל-מִדְבַּר-שׁוּר; וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת-יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר, וְלֹא-מָצְאוּ מָיִם.
וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה–וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתֹּת מַיִם מִמָּרָה, כִּי מָרִים הֵם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמָהּ, מָרָה.
וַיִּלֹּנוּ הָעָם עַל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר, מַה-נִּשְׁתֶּה.
יִּצְעַק אֶל-יְהוָה, וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ, וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶל-הַמַּיִם, וַיִּמְתְּקוּ הַמָּיִם; שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט, וְשָׁם נִסָּהוּ.And Moshe led Israel onward from the Sea of Reeds, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
And the people murmured against Moses, saying: ‘What shall we drink?’
And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them;
(Bereishit 15:22-25)
In this week’s parsha, immediately following the splitting of the Yam Suf, we encounter a strange story in which Bnei Yisrael travel for 3 days and complain about not finding water. How is it possible that the Jewish people could start complaining just 3 days after witnessing the miracles of crossing the sea?
To ask a second question, the Gemara in Bava Kama 82a tells us “Ein Mayim Ela Torah”, that water is always analogous to Torah. (This story, the Gemara says, is the reason why we never go more than 3 days without having a Torah reading in Shul — on Shabbat, Monday and Thursday.)
This is strange because even though it might make sense to us to need to continually refresh our connection to the Torah to maintain its impact, I’m sure that just 3 days after seeing the miracle of the splitting sea the impact would still linger. Furthermore, can’t we assume that Moshe was constantly teaching the Jewish people about how to properly relate to Hashem during the journey to Mt. Sinai?
Looking very carefully at the words that describe this whole incident will I think help explain these two questions.
Firstly, the language of וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל (And Moses led Israel) is very rare. Usually it would say something like וַיִּסְעוּ (and they traveled) like it does following this story. The Ba’al haTurim quotes the famous story that all the riches of Egypt washed up on the shores of the sea, and Bnei Yisrael were too busy collecting the riches to want to leave. Moshe had to actively lead the Jews away from where they wanted to be so they could move towards Mt. Sinai and the receiving of the Torah.
Secondly, the language of כִּי מָרִים הֵם (because [the waters] were bitter) is ambiguous. The standard understanding would be that Bnei Yisrael couldn’t drink the water because the water was bitter, but the pasuk could just as easily say that they couldn’t drink the water because Bnei Yisrael themselves were bitter!
I think by combining these two ideas, we can have a better picture of what was really happening. Bnei Yisrael felt that they deserved to collect more of the spoils of Egypt. When they were forced to move on, despite the miracles they had experience, they quickly developed a bad attitude and felt as if they had been cheated of something that was rightfully theirs. They got lost in the pursuit of wealth and failed to recognize the gifts Hashem was giving them. After traveling for 3 days they arrived at this miraculous oasis in the desert, but all they could taste was the bitterness of what they had left behind at the sea.
If the people who experienced the miraculous Exodus could fall prey to thoughts like this, what chance do we have today? The Kli Yakar, comes to our aid with his analysis of the end of this story.
Looking at the phrase וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ, וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶל-הַמַּיִם, וַיִּמְתְּקוּ הַמָּיִם (and Hashem showed [Moshe] a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet), he notes that the word וַיּוֹרֵהוּ does not actually mean “and He showed him ” but rather “and He taught him” (it has the same root as the word Torah).
Additionally, the Kli Yakar quotes the the famous phrase “Etz Chaim Hi” ([The Torah] is a tree of life); to cure Bnei Yisrael of their bitterness, Hashem had to teach Moshe the lessons of Torah which he then “threw” into the bitterness of the Jewish People. They had to learn that Torah and truth, not gold, are the true keys to life. (This is why one of the mitzvot they were taught here was Shabbat and the importance of taking a day off from work to connect to Hashem.)
We can now better understand the teaching of the Gemara that we must make sure to never go more that 3 days without learning. It is so easy for anyone, even the people who crossed the sea on dry land, to lose sight of their place in the world. By constantly learning and growing we can make sure that our thoughts stay straight and tied to the ultimate truth of the Torah and Hashem.
Shabbat Shalom and happy Tu B’Shvat
The Meaning of Lice
כ"ח בטבת ה'תש"ע (January 14th, 2010)One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell God that modern mankind was done with Him.
The scientist went to God and said, “God, we’ve decided that we no longer need you. We’ve gotten to the point were we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don’t you just go on and get lost?”
God listened patiently to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, “Very well, how about we have a man-making contest.” To which the scientist replied, “Okay, great!”
“Now, we’re going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam,” He stipulated.
The scientist said, “Sure, no problem” and bent down to grab a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, “Hey there! You go get your own dirt.”
This week’s parsha details the first seven plagues sent to afflict the Egyptians. For the first two plagues, Blood and Frogs, Pharaoh’s court magicians were able to replicate the plagues and helped convince Pharaoh that Moshe and Aharon were nothing special. For the 3rd plague, however, the magicians were forced to admit that Moshe and Aharon were no mere conjurers of tricks.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ-כֵן הַחַרְטֻמִּים בְּלָטֵיהֶם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת-הַכִּנִּים, וְלֹא יָכֹלוּ; וַתְּהִי, הַכִּנָּם, בָּאָדָם, וּבַבְּהֵמָה. וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַחַרְטֻמִּם אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים הִוא
And the magicians did so with their wands to bring out the lice and they were not able to, and there were lice on the people and the cattle. And the magicians said to Pharaoh “This is the finger of God”…
What exactly was it about lice that the magicians were unable to replicate?
The Ramban (along with most other Meforshim) says that the Egyptian magicians tried to copy Moshe and Aharon for this third plague the same way they had tried to copy the first two plagues. He states that the way the Egyptians did their magic is by controlling the Shedim (demons) and getting them to do their bidding. In the plague of Blood, the “magic” was to change one object into another. This is something that the demons could do. In the second plague, the “magic” was to summon the frogs from the river. This too, was something within their power.
The plague of Lice, however, was very different. In this plague, Hashem created lice as an entirely new creation. This is an act that only the Creator of the world can do. Pharaoh’s magicians finally realized that they were dealing with an entirely different kind of power than any they had encountered before.
The Malbim, however, says that “לְהוֹצִיא” (to bring out) really means “to get rid of.” The magicians weren’t trying to create new lice, they were just trying to prevent the plague from spreading across the land of Egypt. Even though the magicians were usually able to prevent such infestations from harming the country, none of their usual cures worked. This is what prompted them to declare the “finger of God” being present.
According to the Ramban, the lesson Hashem was teaching the magicians was that they cannot do everything. Hashem wanted them to know that there is a supreme power able to do things they cannot even dream of.
I think the Malbim’s lesson is much more relevant to us today. In this explanation, Hashem was telling the Egyptians that even those methods that they know will work are still subject to the will of Hashem. Just because something has worked 100 times before doesn’t mean that it will continue to work if Hashem doesn’t want it to.
Living in the luxury of the 21st century it is often easy to lose sight of where our money and our food come from. It is easy to think that things get done through our own hard work. The truth is that even though Hashem insists that we exert effort in everything that we do, at the end of the day we must realize that everything we accomplish we owe to Him.
Have a great Shabbat!
Becoming a Nation
כ"א בטבת ה'תש"ע (January 7th, 2010)There is a book called The Fugu Plan, which tells the story of a Japanese plot to encourage Jews to move to Japan following World War II. The Japanese leadership was presented with a translated copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and, in a move entirely at odds with other nations’ reactions to the book, decided to bring the Jews to Japan in a very controlled manner to better the Japanese economy.
While this story may not be true, it is a story we can relate to because it is very similar to what happened to start off the slavery from Egypt.
וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף. וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶל-עַמּוֹ: הִנֵּה, עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל–רַב וְעָצוּם, מִמֶּנּוּ. הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה, לוֹ: פֶּן-יִרְבֶּה, וְהָיָה כִּי-תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם-הוּא עַל-שֹׂנְאֵינוּ, וְנִלְחַם-בָּנוּ, וְעָלָה מִן-הָאָרֶץ.
A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yosef. And he said to his people “Behold the nation of Bnei Yisrael is many and more mighty than us. Let’s be smart with [them], lest they become even more numerous and it will be when we are at war that they will join with our enemies and fight with us and leave the land.”
Looking at Pharaoh’s statement closely, there are many questions to ask.
The Kli Yakar points out that this is the first time in the Torah that Bnei Yisrael are called עַם – a nation. If this is such a monumental step forward from being just a family to becoming a fully fledged nation, why is the evil Pharoah the one who merited to make this distinction?
In addition, the Kli Yakar points out that רַב וְעָצוּם מִמֶּנּוּ means that while the Jewish people were רַב – many – they were still not as numerous as the Egyptians. Nevertheless, they were still וְעָצוּם מִמֶּנּוּ – more mighty that the Egyptians. If the Jews were more mighty than the Egyptians, then why did they allow themselves to be subjugated?
Finally, if Pharaoh was truly anti-Semitic, he would have desired to kill all the Jews. Instead, we see him say that is true fear is that the Jews will leave, as it says פֶּן… וְעָלָה מִן-הָאָרֶץ. Why was this his greatest fear?
The answer to all of these questions is a simple one. Sometimes our enemies realize our abilities better than we do ourselves. Pharoah recognized that the Jews were no longer a simple family, but rather a nation unto themselves, capable of toppling the Egyptian empire with the sheer force of their unity and talent. He recognized that the Jews were influential in all spheres of government and he knew that the one thing Egypt couldn’t afford was for the Jewish people to leave. Egypt needed the brain-power and the man-power of the nascent Jewish nation to function as the dominant world empire that they were.
Additionally, Pharaoh saw that the Jewish people didn’t realize their own power. They still considered themselves a collection of independent families and did not yet realize that by joining together they could easily move from family/tribe status to nation status. Thus he devised schemes to outsmart the Jews, attempting to prevent us from ever realizing our true potential.
Today as well, the Jewish people are fractured. May we realize that by uniting together we too have the ability to change worlds and to bring the true and ultimate redemption soon in our days.
The Power of Names
ט"ו בטבת ה'תש"ע (January 1st, 2010)This week’s Dvar Torah is dedicated for a Refuah Sheleima for Sarah Freida bat Shoshana.
הַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל-רָע, יְבָרֵךְ אֶת-הַנְּעָרִים, וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק; וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב, בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ.
The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.’
Everyone knows the famous Bracha (above) that Yaakov gives to Yosef’s sons, Ephraim and Menashe, but what does it really mean?
The Kli Yakar explains וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי, וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק (let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac) in an interesting way. He says the blessing means that Ephraim and Menashe should be blessed with all the characteristics epitomized by the names “Avraham”, “Yitzchak”, “Yaakov” and “Yisrael”.
What is most interesting to me is that from this we see the true power of names. Names are not just a way to get a particular person’s attention but contain meaning about who that person is.
I heard from a podcast by Rabbi Berel Wein recently that this is why HaShem called Moshe “Moshe” when tasking him with saving the Jewish people. The Midrash tells us that Moshe was given another name at his birth and the name Moshe was only given by the daughter of Pharaoh. Why would HaShem choose to call Moshe by his Egyptian name?
Rabbi Wein explains the answer simply. When Moshe resisted and said to HaShem that he couldn’t speak well and couldn’t possibly be the man best suited for saving the enslaved Jewish people, HaShem responded by saying “your name is Moshe, which means drawn out [of the water]. It is for this purpose that you were saved from the Nile.”
This, said Rabbi Wein, is the value of reading the names of all the people who perished in the Holocaust. We are reminding ourselves that just as those people and their names had power, so do we. Just like Moshe, we should remember that we have all been saved and placed here for a reason.
We all have our own unique name with our own unique purpose. But we should remember that we are not alone; we have been blessed with all the powers of our ancestors as well.
Shabbat Shalom
Care for the the victimizer?
ז' בטבת ה'תש"ע (December 24th, 2009)Parshat VaYigash serves as the climax of the last few weeks of parshiot, wherein Yosef is finally reunited with his brothers and with Yaakov 22 years after being sold away to slavery.
There is a famous question asked about Yosef’s actions during these 22 years. Why didn’t Yosef try and contact his father to let Yaakov know that he was still alive? Even if Yosef didn’t have the ability as a slave or in jail during the first portion of his time in Egypt, he certainly had the ability to contact Yaakov when he was regent of Egypt? How could he have allowed his father to suffer more emotional pain than necessary?
The Ohr HaChaim comes to Yosef’s rescue. He quotes the Gemarrah in Brachot (33b) where it says “נוח לו לאדם שיפיל עצמו לתוך כבשן האש ואל ילבין פני חברו ברבים – it should be more agreeable to a person that he throw himself into a fiery furnace than embarrass others in public.” This is why Yosef first cleared the Egyptian court of all visitors before revealing himself to his brothers and why Yosef allowed the brothers the opportunity to break the news to Yaakov on their own terms.
In addition, Yosef needed the opportunity to show the brothers in practical terms that he harbored no hard feelings by giving them gifts during their two trips to Egypt. Rashi explains that when Yosef says “וְהִנֵּה עֵינֵיכֶם רֹאוֹת, וְעֵינֵי אָחִי בִנְיָמִין – And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin” that Yosef is telling the brothers that just as Binyamin had no part in the sale of Yosef and no negative feelings are harbored against him, so too Yosef feels no ill will towards his other brothers.
The brothers on the other hand needed the opportunity to properly repent from the sale of Yosef. The Rambam in Hilchot Teshuva says that teshuva gemurah (complete teshuva) is only achieved when someone has the opportunity to do the same sin previously committed, yet conquers the temptation. Yosef orchestrates the whole brothers-in-Egypt story to make sure that the brothers have the same chance to get rid of Binyamin as they had with Yosef.
Both of these aspects are important lessons in how true peace is made. The victim must show that he not only forgives the one who has harmed him, but cares about them as well. The victimizer, on the other hand, must accept responsibility for what he has done wrong and repent in full, thus proving that he truly regrets what he has done wrong.
After the brothers have had their opportunity to repent and Yosef successfully reveals himself to his brothers, the brothers are finally called “Bnei Yisrael” instead of “Bnei Yaakov” for the first time. Only now are they able to join together as the founders of the nation of Israel rather than merely a collection of Yaakov’s sons.
In life we all have situations where we have done wrong and been wronged. May we learn the lesson of Yosef and his brothers and realize that by showing care and compassion to those around us can overcome even the most egregious wrongdoings.
The Importance of Appearances
ל' בכסלו ה'תש"ע (December 17th, 2009)
In Massechet Shabbat (22a), the Gemarrah records a debate between Rav and Shmuel whether or not one can use an already lit Chanukkah candle to light another one of the candles. Rav says that one cannot light another candle, while Shmuel permits it.
In analyzing this debate, the Gemarrah wants to know the reason for Rav’s prohibition. If the reason is Bizzui Mitzvah (disgracing the Mitzvah) there would be no prohibition against lighting one Chanukkah candle from another, as both candles are being used for a Mitzvah. According to Rav, the only prohibition would be lighting another non-Chanukkah candle from the Chanukkah candles.
If, however, the reason is because of Acchushei Mitzvah (diminishing the Mitzvah), Rav would even prohibit lighting from one Chanukkah candle to another.
Practical experience makes the second understanding of Rav to be quite difficult to understand. We know that lighting one candle from another does not cause the first candle to burn any less bright or for a shorter period of time. If so, how could the Gemarrah suggest that Rav might prohibit lighting another candle from the Chanukkah candles for this reason?
Rashi comes to the rescue with an amazing explanation of what Acchushei Mitzvah means. Rashi says that by lighting one candle from another you “appear as if you are saving the flame and pouring off some of the bad oil.”
Even though you are the one lighting the Chanukkah candles, and you know that you are not intending to pour off any of the extra oil, the Gemarrah is still concerned about how taking one of the lights and tilting it over appears.
If appearances are so important in an area like this, where it seems to be obvious that you aren’t doing anything wrong, then we need to be even more careful in other areas of our life! We need to make sure as we walk down the street and when we conduct our business that we are living our lives impeccably.
May the light of the Chanukkah candles inspire us to live our lives as a true Ohr laGoyim – a light unto the nations.
