Rabbi David Etengoff


Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shmuel David ben Moshe Halevy, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam, Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel.

The protagonist and heroine of this week’s Haftorah is the prophetess and judge, Devorah, the wife of Lapidot: “Now Deborah was a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth; she judged Israel at that time.” (Sefer Shoftim 4:4, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) Our Sages noted in Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a, that Devorah was one of the seven prophetesses: “Who were the seven prophetesses? Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Chana, Avigail, Chulda, and Esther.” Devorah had the additional distinction of being one of the Judges (Shoftim) of the Jewish people – or did she? In other words, can the phrase “she judged Israel at that time” (“hi shoftah et Yisrael ba’eit hahi”) be taken at face value?


At first blush, it seems that the phrase, “she judged Israel at that time,” should be taken at face value, since the next pasuk (verse) states: “And she sat under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth-el, in the mountain of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.” (Sefer Shoftim 4:5, underlining my own) There are dissenting voices regarding this interpretation, however, as reflected by the fourth century Talmud Yerushalmi, Yoma 6:1 (32a): “From here we may learn that a woman may not judge” (“M’atah ain haisha danah”). Although, surprisingly, the Rambam (1135-1204) does not include this ruling explicitly in his Mishneh Torah, it is found nearly verbatim in Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher’s (1270-1340) seminal work of Jewish Law entitled “Arba'ah Turim” and in Rabbi Yosef Karo’s (1488-1575) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Dayanim 7:4: “A woman is disqualified from judging” (“Ishah pasulah l’don”). Given this clear-cut ruling, we must once again ask the simple and straightforward question: “Was Devorah really a judge?” The answer, as in many areas of Halacha (Jewish Law) and Hashkafa (Jewish Theology), is a resounding, “It depends upon whom you ask.”

Tosafot, Rashi’s (1040-1105) 12-14th centuries students and disciples, discussed Devorah’s status in a number of different masechtot (tractates) of the Talmud. One such source is Talmud Bavli Gittin 88b s.v. v’lo lifni hedyotot. Initially, Tosafot opines that the phrase from Sefer Shoftim “she judged Israel at that time,” should not be taken in its plain sense, since it is entirely possible that its real meaning is “… perhaps she never rendered judgment at all, and [instead] she instructed [the judges] as to what the legal decisions ought to be.” According to this view, even though Devorah was a legal scholar who discussed cases with members of various batai din (Jewish courts), she was not an actual judge. It should be noted that this opinion is stated explicitly by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher in the above-cited section of the Arba'ah Turim. In contrast, Tosafot’s second approach suggests that Devorah was a practicing judge and that her mandate to judge had come directly from the Almighty: “Alternately, perhaps they [the Jewish people] had accepted her juridical authority upon themselves because of [a Divine pronouncement] from the Schechinah (G-d’s immanent presence).”

Devorah, the divinely mandated judge, finds further support in a previously cited Gemara, Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a, in one of the explanations of the phrase “And she sat under the palm tree of Deborah…” Therein our Sages teach us: “Just as this palm tree has but one heart [Rashi: a central growing point] so, too, did the Jewish people of that generation have but one heart (lev echad) directed to their Father in Heaven.” This explanation is particularly fascinating in that Devorah’s universal acceptance as a judge for Klal Yisrael (he Jewish people) took place precisely because the heart of the Jewish people was unanimously directed to Avinu she’b’shamayim (our Father in Heaven).

The previous interpretation parallels another great moment in our people’s history when we also stood united with one heart directed to G-d, namely, the awe inspiring Revelation at Mount Sinai: “They journeyed from Rephidim, and they arrived in the desert of Sinai, and they encamped in the desert, and Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.” (Sefer Shemot 19:2, underlining my own) Rashi, basing himself on Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Yitro, Masechta d’b’Chodesh, Parasha 1, notes that the phrase “and Israel encamped” is written in the singular rather than the plural that is found in the rest of the verse: and Israel encamped there: “Heb. vayichan [the singular form, denoting that they encamped there] as one man with one heart (k’ish echad b’lev echad), but all the other encampments were [divided] with complaints and with strife.” It seems, therefore, that when we were united k’ish echad b’lev echad at Har Sinai  (Mount Sinai), nothing was impossible – even lowly and finite man was capable of encountering the infinite and ineffable Creator of the Universe.

May the time come soon and in our days when we once again stand shoulder to shoulder k’ish echad b’lev echad in total dedication to the Almighty, in the rebuilt Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem, and under the leadership of Mashiach Tzidkeinu (the one and only Messiah). V’chane yihi ratzon.


Shabbat Shalom
 

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd

*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

** Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shmuel David ben Moshe Halevy, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam, Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel.

It came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, and it came to pass in that very day, that all the legions of the L-rd went out of the land of Egypt... It came to pass on that very day, that the L-rd took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their legions. (Sefer Shemot, Parashat Bo, 12:41 and 51, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 

Our Torah portion contains the description of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus). The two preceding parshiot (Shemot and Va’era), provide us with frightening snapshots of the relentless suffering our ancestors endured during the merciless years of Egyptian bondage:

So the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with backbreaking labor. And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with clay and with bricks and with all kinds of labor in the fields, all their work that they worked with them with backbreaking labor. (Sefer Shemot 1:13-14)
 

In light of the millennia that separate us from the horrors of this enslavement, we might well ask, “How can we understand the Torah’s description of the terror of Egypt so that it speaks to us today?” I believe Sefer Devarim 4:20 provides us with an answer when it describes the Egyptian experience as being similar in kind to that of an “iron crucible,” “But the L-rd took you and brought you out of the iron crucible, out of Egypt, to be a people of His possession, as of this day.” Midrash Shocher Tov explicates the iron crucible motif in the following manner:

Rabbi Ibo said in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra: “Just like this gold smelter puts forth his hand and removes the gold from the iron crucible, so, too, did the Holy One Blessed Be He act toward the Jewish people when He took them out of Egypt.” (107:4, page 462, Buber edition)

In other words, the Midrash is teaching us that the Jewish people were the “gold” in the dross of Egyptian society – a culture that exemplified unfettered violence and uncontrolled pleasure seeking. As such, like gold from a crucible, we needed to be removed from this toxic environment by G-d’s yad chazakah (powerful arm). Moreover, for reasons that we may never fully comprehend, it appears that it was an essential part of Hashem’s plan for our ancestors to be exposed to the perverted and pernicious culture of Egypt, and to suffer immeasurably therein. The question, of course, is “Why?”

My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, stated that, “The Exodus from Egypt is one of the most significant episodes in Jewish history. Many areas of the Torah are intimately connected with it.” (Rabbi Avishai C. David, Darosh Darash Yosef: Discourses of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on the Weekly Parashah, page 134) The Rav noted that there are four areas of the Torah that relate directly to Yetziat Mitzraim and all that it entailed:

1)    Laws Pertaining to Holiness

2)    Laws Pertaining to Social Justice

3)    The Sabbath

4)    Commandments that Commemorate the Exodus

(This listing, and the following exposition, are based upon Darosh Darash Yosef, pages 134-138)

I would like to focus upon the Laws Pertaining to Social Justice, since they are universally recognized as one of Judaism’s singular contributions to the world. The Rav quoted the following verses that command us to remember our experience in Egypt, and, in turn, mandate us to “institute a legal system that addresses the needs of the less fortunate”:

You shall not pervert the judgment of a stranger or an orphan, and you shall not take a widow's garment as security [for a loan]. You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the L-rd, your G-d, redeemed you from there; therefore, I command you to do this thing. (Sefer Devarim 24:17-18)

We must remember that, for almost all of human history, strangers, widows and orphans were consistently taken advantage of and subject to the worst forms of abuse and oppression. In a world where “might makes right,” Judaism’s clarion call for authentic justice for all mankind emerged, and emerges, as nothing less than a “light unto nations.” (Sefer Yeshiyahu 49:6)

While an honest and impartial legal system is crucial to the proper functioning of society, it is, nonetheless, necessary but insufficient without an “ongoing sensitivity to the needy.” Here, too, as Rav Soloveitchik observed, Judaism rose to this never-ending challenge and declared “And you shall not mistreat a stranger, nor shall you oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Sefer Shemot 22:20)


With the insights garnered from the Rav’s judiciously selected quotes and analysis, I believe we are in a position to answer our major question: “Why was it an essential part of Hashem’s plan for our ancestors to be exposed to the perverted and pernicious culture of Egypt, and to suffer immeasurably therein?” In my estimation, the nascent Jewish nation needed to personally experience the trials, tribulations and anguish of Egyptian slavery in order to permanently sensitize our collective psyche to the plight of the downtrodden and those less fortunate – especially the widow, orphan and stranger. In sum, only through the experience of the cauldron of Egyptian misery could the golden compassion of our people be brought forth and become the eternal hallmark of our nation.

With Hashem’s help, may the remembrance of our slavery in Egypt enable us to continue to lead the world in chane v’chesed v’rachamim, m’atah v’od olam (graciousness, kind-heartedness and compassion, now and forever more). V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd

*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

** Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shmuel David ben Moshe Halevy, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam, Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

Therefore, say to the children of Israel, “I am the L-rd, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a G-d to you, and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (Sefer Shemot 6:6-7, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica press Complete Tanach)

Our pasukim (verses) are quite well known, since they form the basis of the universal practice of drinking the four cups of wine at the Passover Seder. The final phrase, “and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” however, presents significant interpretative difficulties. Based upon many of the antecedent verses of Sefer Shemot, it is quite clear that it would be Hashem and no other who would redeem us from the Egyptian servitude to which we had been subjected for 210 years. If that is the case, what is the Torah adding by the inclusion of these words?

Talmud Bavli, Berachot 38a directly addresses our question in the context of its analysis of the term “hamotzi” (the One who brings out), as found in the blessing that we recite prior to eating bread:

Regarding what do they [the Sages and Rabbi Nechemyah] disagree? Regarding “hamotzi. The Rabbis hold that “hamotzi,” too, connotes that He [G-d] has brought forth, i.e. the term is used on the basis of what G-d has done, for it is written: “the One Who brings forth for you water from the rock of flint” [Sefer Devarim 8:15]. But R’ Nechemyah holds that “hamotzi” connotes that He brings forth [is to understood in the future sense] as it is stated: “I am Hashem your G-d, the One Who brings you forth from under the burden of Egypt [Sefer Shemot 6:7, translator’s note: “the redemption was yet to be”]. And how do the Rabbis, who held that hamotzi connotes what has been done in the past, explain the verse cited by R’ Nechemyah? In that verse this is what the Holy One, Blessed is He, is saying to the Israelites: When I eventually take you out of Egypt, I will perform for you miraculous things, so that you will know that I am the One Who took you out of Egypt, as it is written: “and you will know that I am Hashem, your G-d, the One Who brings you forth …” (Translation, The Artscroll Gemara, Tractate Berachot, pages 38-3 – 38-4, brackets and underlining my own)

Rabbi Baruch Halevi Epstein (1860-1941), in his commentary on the Torah and cognate Rabbinic literature, “Torah Temimah,” interprets the end of our passage as suggesting, “that then [after the overwhelming wonders and miracles] you will know, that I [Hashem] was the One that took you out of Egypt.” (Translation and brackets my own) Therefore, the concluding words of our original verses, “and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” are to be understood as an essential statement of the idea that it was Hashem, and no one else, who redeemed us from the shackles of Egyptian bondage. This theme is noted, as well, in a famous phrase found in the Haggadah of Pesach: “And Hashem took us out of Egypt” (Sefer Devarim 26:8) – “Not through the agency of an angel, and not through the agency of a Saraf, and not via a messenger, rather, it was the Holy One blessed be He – solely and in all His glory, that took us out of Egypt.”

The great Chasidic master, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter zatzal (1847–1905), known as the “Sefat Emet” after the title of his most renowned work, explains our text, “and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians,” in the following manner:

We can readily see that the entire desire of Hashem regarding the Exodus from Egypt was to enable us to know that it was the Holy One blessed be He [and no other] that took us out from there. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly remember the Exodus from Egypt.

Given this analysis, it appears that the Sefat Emet closely follows the above-cited statement of the Haggadah that focuses upon the unilateral role of Hashem in taking us out of Egypt. Yet, he adds an additional center of focus when he states, “Therefore, it is necessary to constantly remember the Exodus from Egypt.” What, we may ask, does this phrase add to our understanding?

The Sefat Emet answers our question with a deep psychological insight that expands the essence and meaning of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Departure from Egypt), and places it in a trans-historical context. In his view, every Jewish individual existentially relives the Egyptian experience during each moment of his or her life. As such, he opines, “it is necessary to mention and remember Yetziat Mitzraim each and every day of our lives.” He further suggests that an active knowledge and understanding that Hashem emancipated us from the shackles of Egyptian servitude serves as a protective device that obviates the need to suffer in a similar fashion to our forebears in Egypt. An individual, however, who forgets the concept that it was Hashem and no other who performed the wonders and miracles that accompanied the Exodus, and consequently acts with hubris and arrogance, must re-experience the trials and tribulations of Egyptian enslavement. As the Sefat Emet so clearly notes, the attitude of “My strength and the might of my hand has accumulated this wealth for me” (Sefer Devarim 8:17) is antithetical to a recognition of G-d’s presence in our lives – and His role as the Redeemer (Hamotzi).

With G-d’s help, may we acknowledge Him as the sole Redeemer of the Jewish people, both on the national and individual levels. With this recognition, may we grow ever closer to Him in Torah and mitzvot, and personally experience Yetziat Mitzraim in our daily lives. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd

*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

** Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.

Rabbi David Etengoff

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, Chaim Mordechai Hakohen ben Natan Yitzchak, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shmuel David ben Moshe Halevy, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam, Devorah bat Chana, and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel.

Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt. (Sefer Shemot 1:5, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)


Since the time of the earliest Midrashim, our Sages have endeavored to explain the meaning of the words “and Joseph was in Egypt.” At first glance, we are completely stymied as to why the Torah would include this phrase. After all, the Torah has already taught us that Yosef was in Egypt in the final eleven chapters of Sefer Bereishit! If so, what can possibly be gained by this seeming repetition?

The Sifrei, the halachic Midrash to Sefer Devarim, is one of the first sources to address our question. It derives an ethical message from our phrase:

And don’t we already know that Yosef was in Egypt! [The underlying reason for stating this idea once again] is to publicize Yosef’s righteousness. He had been the shepherd of his father’s flocks – and even though he was appointed the king of Egypt, he remained the same “Yosef” in regards to his righteousness. (Parashat Ha’azinu, 334, translation my own)

Significantly, Rashi (1040-1105) quotes this Midrashic passage virtually verbatim, suggesting that it is, indeed, the authentic peshat (direct explanation) as to why the Torah re-informs us, “and Joseph was in Egypt.”

Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoach was a 13th century Torah exegete from Northern France. He is famous for his Torah commentary entitled, “Ḥazzeḳuni.” While his work is based primarily upon Rashi’s explanations, he followed his own interpretive path in his natural language explanation of our phrase:

Regarding all of the others [i.e. Yaakov’s children and heirs] it is written: “who came to Egypt,” (Sefer Shemot 1:1). Yet, this one [i.e. Yosef] was not with them [on their journey from the Land of Israel to Egypt] since he was already there. [At the same time, however,] he was counted in the number [of the 70 individuals who came to Egypt]. Therefore, the Torah states, “and Joseph was in Egypt.” (Translation, brackets and emphasis my own)

In sum, Rav Manoach maintains that it was necessary to repeat, “and Joseph was in Egypt,” so that we would know with certainty that Yosef was included in verse 1:5 of Sefer Shemot, “Now all those descended from Jacob were seventy souls.”

Rashi addresses another seemingly unnecessary repetition in the Torah in his very first explanatory gloss to Sefer Shemot. Sefer Bereishit 46:8 contains the expression, “And these are the names of the children of Israel who were coming to Egypt: Jacob and his sons…” A complete citation of Yaakov’s sons and descendants follows this initial statement. If so, why does Sefer Shemot need to begin with the words, “And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Jacob, each man and his household came,” replete with another listing of Yaakov’s family? Rashi provides us with a famous Midrashically–based explanation that focuses upon the importance of “the names”:

Although [G-d] counted them in their lifetime by their names (Sefer Bereishit 46:8-27), He counted them again after their death, to let us know how precious they are [to Him], because they were likened to the stars, which He takes out [from beyond the horizon] and brings in by number and by name, as it is said: who takes out their host by number; all of them He calls by name (Sefer Yeshiyahu. 40:26). [Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Sefer Shemot 2; Midrash Shemot Rabbah 1:3] (Underlining my own)

Midrash Vayikra Rabbah (Vilna) 32 further elaborates upon the importance of “the names of the children of Israel” in the following statement, “And they did not call Yehudah ‘Rofeh,’ nor Reuven ‘Luliani,’ nor Yosef ‘Listis’ – and neither did they call Binyamin ‘Aleksandri.’” In other words, Yaakov’s children kept their original Hebrew names in Egypt, and radically opposed the powerful assimilatory pressures of the time.

The second Bobover Rebbe, HaRav Ben-Zion Halberstam zatzal (1874-1941), known as the “Kedushat Tzion” after the name of his Torah commentary, quotes the above-cited Midrash in the context of his analysis of our phrase, “and Joseph was in Egypt.” He, too, emphasizes that Yosef maintained his original Hebrew name, even after Pharaoh renamed him “Tzafnat Paneach” (Sefer Bereishit 41:45). Moreover, HaRav Halberstam stresses that Yosef was so successful in maintaining his “Yosef identity” that even Pharaoh, himself, referred to his viceroy as “Yosef.” This notion is explicitly found in Sefer Bereishit 45:16-17: “And the voice was heard [in] Pharaoh's house, saying, ‘Joseph's brothers have come!’ And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Tell your brothers, “Do this - load up your beasts and go, enter the land of Canaan.’” (Underlining my own) As such, opines the Kedushat Tzion, Yosef was deserving of singular praise and recognition for both continuing to use his Hebrew name and for guarding his Jewish persona. Therefore, the text teaches us, “and Joseph was in Egypt” – no matter how inimical Egypt was to the sanctity and holiness that Yosef personified.

How, we might well ask, did Yosef persevere in being “Yosef” in the uniquely hostile environment of Egypt? What was the secret to his Jewish survival? Rav Moshe Feinstein zatzal (1895-1986) discussed this question in his posthumously published homiletic work, Darash Moshe. Therein, he suggests that Yosef was able to not only survive, but also thrive, as a “stranger in a strange land” (Sefer Bereishit 15:13) precisely because of the unique chinuch (education) he had received from his father, Yaakov. As a result, “and Joseph was in Egypt” comes to teach us that even though Yosef was in Egypt, he was no less beloved, and no less a valued member of Yaakov’s beloved family. Clearly, suggests Rav Moshe, Yaakov’s formidable educational and spiritual influence upon Yosef remained the ultimate regenerative force in his life - so much so that the vision of Yaakov’s very face was ever before him. Consequently, “and Joseph was in Egypt,” is far more than a statement of mere fact as to where Yosef was. It is, instead, a statement that speaks to Yosef’s existential being and reality. In short, he ever remained, Yosef ben Yaakov, Yosef the son and scion of Yaakov Avinu (Our father Yaakov).

With Hashem‘s help, may we, too, be b’nai and banot Yaakov (the sons and daughters of Yaakov), and, like Yosef, ever see Yaakov’s countenance before us as we travel upon the challenging road we call our lives. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org

The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email [email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on “Tefilah: Haskafah and Analysis,” may be found at: http://tinyurl.com/8hsdpyd

*** I have posted 164 of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. They are available here: http://tinyurl.com/82pgvfn.

** Follow new postings on my Twitter accounts: @theRavZatzal and @Torahtech613.