Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) begins Hilchot Chanukkah with a historical precis of its story:

In [the era of] the Second Temple, the Greek kingdom issued decrees against the Jewish people, [attempting to] nullify their faith and refusing to allow them to observe the Torah and its commandments. They extended their hands against their property and their daughters; they entered the Sanctuary, wrought havoc within, and made the sacraments impure. The Jews suffered great difficulties from them, for they oppressed them greatly until the G-d of our ancestors had mercy upon them, delivered them from their hand, and saved them. The sons of the Hasmoneans, the High Priests, overcame [them], slew them, and saved the Jews from their hand. They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple. (3:1, this and all Mishneh Torah translations, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)
 
This type of introduction is highly unusual in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, since we find nothing of the kind when it comes to Hilchot Pesach and Hilchot Purim, two chagim with the same kind of complex narratives as Chanukkah. In his posthumous work, Days of Deliverance: Essays on Purim and Chanukkah, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, analyzes why the Rambam singles out Chanukkah for this unique treatment:

Those [Pesach and Purim] are biblical narratives. Hanukkah, however, is a post-biblical holiday. When its events occurred, the canon was closed, and prophecy was a thing of the past. The story of Chanukkah was told by the Torah she-be’al peh, the Oral Torah. Hence, Maimonides found it necessary to repeat the tale in his Code, which is a summary of the Oral Law. (Eli D. Clark, Joel B. Wolowelsky and Reuven Ziegler editors, page 168, brackets my own)
 
Why was it necessary for the Rambam “to repeat the tale in his Code?” The Rav’s answer is clear: “Knowledge of the events is indispensable halakhically for the perfect fulfillment of the mitzvot of Chanukkah.” This is the case, since the Rambam stresses that the act of hadlakat nerot Chanukkah (lighting the candles of Chanukkah) is based upon the concept of hallel ve-hoda’ah, praise and thanksgiving: “The mitzvah of kindling Chanukkah lights is very dear. A person should be very careful in its observance to publicize the miracle and thus increase our praise (shevach) of G-d and our expression of thanks (hodayah) for the miracles which He wrought on our behalf.” (Hilchot Channukkah 4:12)  How is it that these ideas lead us to “the perfect fulfillment of the mitzvot of Chanukkah?” The Rav explains:
The technical performance, the ma’aseh hadlakah, consists of lighting a candle. The kiyyum ha-mitzvah, the genuine fulfillment, expresses itself in an expression of gratitude, which manifests itself in a physical act.  If we are indeed to experience gratitude, it is necessary to know for what we are grateful, for what we extol the Almighty. Therefore, knowledge of the story is essential.
 
The distinction that obtains between ma’aseh ha-mitzvah and kiyyum ha-mitzvah is a constitutive element of the Brisker (Soloveitchik family) conceptual lexicon. As such, the Rav revisits and elaborates upon these terms throughout his public lectures and shiurim. One notable instance is found in his collection of teshuvah drashot, “On Repentance:”

But there are other precepts whose performance and fulfillment are not identical, for example when the performance of the precept is through specific action of some kind, or through a verbal utterance, but its fulfillment is up to the heart. The precept, is, in fact performed by means of an external act, but fulfillment is dependent on attaining a certain degree of spiritual awareness. (On Repentance in the Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, translated and edited from the Yiddish, Professor Pinchas HaKohen Peli, page 80)
 
Hadlakat Nerot Chanukkah is an ideal illustration of a mitzvah “whose performance and fulfillment are not identical,” since the ma’aseh ha-mitzvah is accomplished through the simple act of lighting the candles, whereas the kiyyum ha-mitzvah “is dependent on attaining a certain degree of spiritual awareness.” Moreover, as the Rambam stresses in Hilchot Chanukkah, manifest feelings of hallel ve-hoda’ah are crucial elements that enable this spiritual awareness to engender the total fulfillment of this mitzvah. Hence, the Rav concludes: “If we are indeed to experience gratitude, it is necessary to know for what we are grateful, for what we extol the Almighty. Therefore, knowledge of the story is essential.”
 
Each weekday Shemoneh Esrai includes the bracha of birkat binah: “You graciously endow man with wisdom and teach insight to a frail mortal. Endow us graciously from Yourself with wisdom, insight, and discernment. Blessed are You, Hashem, gracious Giver of wisdom.” (Translation, The Complete ArtScroll Siddur)  On this Chanukkah, may Hashem bless us with the wisdom, insight and discernment to imbue our observance of these holy days with the spiritual awareness that will empower us to fulfill mitzvat hadlakat nerot Chanukkah from the depths of our very being. 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 on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach 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. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav zatzal
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The Torah contains eleven instances of the phrase, “aleh toldot,” seven of which appear with the letter “vav” prefixed to “aleh.” Except for Sefer Bereishit 2:4, wherein aleh toldot may be translated as “these are the chronicles,” all other cases of this phrase refer to the generations, or descendants, of a particular individual. As such, we find in Parashat Bamidbar: “These are the descendants (v’aleh toldot) of Aharon and Moshe on the day that the L-rd spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai. These are the names of the sons of Aharon: Nadav the firstborn, Avihu, Eleazar, and Itamar.” (Sefer Bamidbar 3:1-2, this, and all Torah and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  It is crucial to note that in nearly every case we have a complete listing of the children’s names when aleh toldot conveys this meaning.
 
Our parasha contains a glaring exception to the previous observation: “These are the generations (aleh toldot) of Ya’akov: when Yosef was seventeen years old, being a shepherd, he was with his brothers with the flocks, and he was a lad, [and was] with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives…” (37:2)  At this juncture, all twelve of Ya’akov’s sons and his daughter, Dinah, have been born, yet, only Yosef’s name is cited. Moreover, his name is mentioned in the context of a new Torah narrative that eventuates in his sale and transport to Egypt and our forebears’ descent to Egypt, rather than as Ya’akov’s child per se. As we might expect, these issues have been addressed by the meforshim in a variety of ways. In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) presents a two-pronged approach that reflects both peshat (direct meaning) and midrashic analysis:

“These are the generations of Ya’akov:” And these are those of the generations of Ya’akov. These are their settlements and their wanderings until they came to settle. The first cause [of their wanderings]: when Yosef was seventeen years old, etc. Through this [the events that unfolded], they wandered and descended to Egypt. This is according to the plain explanation of the verse, putting everything in its proper perspective.
 
Herein, Rashi interprets toldot as “settlements and wanderings.” He presents a very different explanation, however, in his midrashically-suffused statement: “…whatever happened to Ya’akov happened to Yosef. This one (Ya’akov) was hated, and that one (Yosef) was hated. This one, his brother (Eisav) sought to kill him, and that one, his brothers sought to kill him; and likewise many [other similarities related] in Bereishit Rabbah [84:6].” In this portion of his gloss, Rashi maintains that toldot connotes occurrences. In both sections, however, he deviates from the standard meaning of aleh toldot. Significantly, the Ibn Ezra (1092-1167), in his Commentary on the Torah, also follows the midrash’s path in interpreting this phrase.
 
The Ramban (1194-1270), in his Commentary on the Torah, rejects Rashi’s peshat-level explication of aleh toldot, as he maintains “the term ‘toldot’ has nothing to do with the notion of settlement.” He also rebuffs the exposition of the Ibn Ezra, stating: “a person does not bring about those things that happen to them, and it is only to days can one attribute such things.” Alternatively, the Ramban suggests the following line of reasoning:

The correct interpretation in my opinion is as follows: “These are the generations of Ya’akov: Yosef and his brothers, whom the Torah will mention further on.” The Torah here adopts a concise approach to their names since it already mentioned them above. [35:23-26] But the intent of the verse is to say that these are the generations of Yosef and his brothers to whom the following happened. (Ramban, Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Bereishit 37:2, translation, Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel, underlining my own)
 
In this gloss, the Ramban is pursuing what can be characterized as “fundamental peshat.” In his view, on the etymological level, toldot equals generations and descendants, and any attempt to recast this word in some other manner is unacceptable. In this instance, and unbeknownst to him, he is espousing the methodology of Rashi’s grandson, Rabbeinu Shmuel ben Meir (Rashbam, 1085-1158), who is universally recognized today as the greatest proponent of peshat-level exegesis:

And now, wise ones, look how earlier commentators [that is, Rashi and the Ibn Ezra] analyzed the phrase, “aleh toldot Ya’akov,” namely: “These are the events which happened to him, and the occurrences which befell him.” Behold this [explanation] is utter nonsense! This is the case, since all instances of toldot that appear in Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim signify either an individual’s children or, in many pasukim, the grandchildren of a particular person. (Perush HaRashbam HaShalame al HaTorah, David Rosen edition, Sefer Bereishit, Parashat Vayeshev, 37:2, translation and brackets my own)
 
The range of opinions of these gedolei Torah regarding the meaning of aleh toldot Ya’akov reflects the dynamism and creativity that are the hallmarks of true Torah study. As Chazal declared long ago: “Shivim panim baTorah — there are 70 approaches to the study of the Torah.” (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 13:16)  Each day we proclaim in our tefilot: “Ashreinu mah tov chelkeinu u’mah nayim goraleinu … (“Joyous are we in the goodliness of our [Torah] portion! And how pleasing is our lot [to study Torah]! …)  May we ever recognize the beauty of our Torah inheritance — u’mah yafah yerushateinu! V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: 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 on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach 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. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav zatzal

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Vayishlach begins with the well-known words, “Ya’akov sent messengers (malachim) ahead of him (lifanuv) to his brother Eisav, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.” In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) champions the opinion of the Rabbanan in Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (75:4) and explains the word, “malachim,” as “actual angels.” (All Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  According to the midrash, if Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah, and Eliezer, the servant of Avraham, had visions of malachim, all the more so should Ya’akov have had intense contact with them. As such, we should not be surprised that the malachim went so far as to encounter Eisav on Ya’akov’s behalf.
 
As is often the case in Torah analysis, the near-universal acceptance of Rashi’s commentary sets the tone of future exegetical discussion. As such, if Rashi did not comment upon a word or a phrase, most meforshim will refrain from so doing as well. This is the case concerning the word in our pasuk “lifanuv,” even though it appears to be an unnecessary addition. The Torah could have written, “Ya’akov sent messengers to his brother Eisav, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom,” without changing the verse’s essential meaning. Therefore, the presence of lifanuv should have generated a significant number of analyses by classical commentators; yet, as a result of Rashi’s silence, this is not the case.
 
The Apter Rav zatzal (Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, 1748-1825) is one of the few meforshim that spends significant time exploring the meaning of lifanuv. He begins by noting that its inclusion in our pasuk is “aino muvan,” in the sense that it is not easily understood. Subsequently, he presents a penetrating examination as to why lifanuv is found in our verse:

Ya’akov Avinu is the root and basis of Kenesset Yisrael (the entire Jewish people) and all generations that descend from him. [Consequently,] all his actions and endeavors that are written in the Torah, everything he said to Eisav, including his words of reconciliation and appeasement, the submissive stance he adopted toward him, the messengers that he sent, and the precise words he commanded them to say, without question, have ramifications far beyond Ya’akov’s personal and immediate needs, and those of the Twelve Tribes: Ya’akov’s intention was to establish [the correct way of responding to our adversaries] for all future generations to come, up to and including the arrival of the Mashiach. (Torat Emet, Sefer Bereishit, Parashat Vayishlach, this and the following translation my own)
 
At this juncture, the Apter Rav expands upon the essence of Ya’akov’s objective:

The way he [Ya’akov] sent messengers to Eisav, and how he attempted to mollify and reconcile with him through his gift giving, is efficacious for all time — whenever nations will intensify their efforts against us and embitter our lives. During those periods, the messengers that Ya’akov sent will rise once again on our behalf. This refers to actual angels …. They will placate and silence Eisav and remove all accusers from upon us.
 
The Apter Rav explains that not only did Ya’akov Avinu model the exact behaviors we should follow to deal with the many Eisavs we would encounter throughout Jewish history, he guaranteed that we will never be alone, as “the messengers [he] sent will rise once again on our behalf:”

Ya’akov charged the angels with the permanent mission to encounter Eisav whenever “he” will desire to wreck misery upon the Jewish people. Ya’akov had this ability, as they [the Jewish people] are ever intertwined with his spiritual power, since all Kenesset Yisrael descends from him. This is the case even though the Jewish people were not yet extant and only existed in potential, nonetheless, he was able to [protect his future descendants through the agency of the malachim]. This, then, is why the Torah wrote, “lifanuv,” with the connotation of lifnei hadavar hahu (before the matter had come to pass), for even though the Jewish people did not yet exist, Ya’akov provided the us with the refuah to respond, and put an end, to all accusers that would rise against us.
 
I believe that the Apter Rav’s analysis of lifanuv is an exegetical tour de force that can provide hope and light during the dark moments when our enemies contrive against us. As Ya’akov’s spiritual heirs, we are certain that he will ever watch over us and send forth malachim to protect us.
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when we will no longer have to contend with those who seek our very destruction. For on that day, “Hashem will be one, and His Name one.” (Sefer Zechariah 14:9)  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 on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach 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. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav zatzal

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon Hakohen, father-in-law, Levi ben Yitzhak, sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra bat Yechiel, Chana bat Shmuel, Yehonatan Binyamin ben Mordechai Meir Halevi, Shoshana Elka bat Avraham, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Peretz ben Chaim, Chaya Sarah bat Reb Yechezkel Shraga, Shmuel Yosef ben Reuven, Shayndel bat Mordechai Yehudah, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, and the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, Moshe ben Itta Golda, Yocheved Dafneh bat Dinah Zehavah, Reuven Shmuel ben Leah, Chana bat Sarah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha begins with the well-known words: “And Ya’akov left Be’er Sheva, and he went to Haran.” (28:10)  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains this pasuk with a midrashically-suffused gloss:

And Jacob left: Scripture had only to write: “And Ya’akov went to Haran.” Why did it mention his departure? But this tells [us] that the departure of a righteous man from a place makes an impression, for while the righteous man is in the city, he is its beauty, he is its splendor, he is its majesty. When he departs from there, its beauty has departed, its splendor has departed, its majesty has departed. (These and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Rashi’s celebrated interpretation tells us a good deal about how Be’er Sheva was affected by Ya’akov’s exit. He had been its “beauty, splendor and majesty,” and his leave-taking signaled an abrupt end to all three. What we do not know, however, is how Ya’akov was impacted by his exodus from Be’er Sheva. To fully appreciate the depth of the spiritual and psychological changes Ya’akov was forced to undergo, we must understand the nature of Be’er Sheva at that time.
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, describes Be’er Sheva in this manner:

Beer Sheba… was the first home of the covenantal community, the center of spiritual life for the adherents of Abraham’s teaching. Beer Sheba was rooted in a wellspring of kedushah [holiness]. It was a fulcrum for offerings to G-d and a conduit for the Divine Presence…Later on in Jewish history, that kedushah found its home in the place that Jacob encountered on his journey from Beer Sheba: the holy city of Jerusalem. (This, and the following quotations of the Rav, Darosh Darash Yosef: Discourses of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on the Weekly Parashah, Rabbi Avishai C. David, editor, pages 74-76.)
 
According to the Rav, Be’er Sheva was, in essence, the Beit HaMikdash of the Avot and Emahot in that it was the “center of spiritual life for the adherents of Abraham’s teaching… a fulcrum for offerings to G-d and a conduit for the Divine Presence.” This depiction of Be’er Sheva’s singular import places us in a much better position to understand Ya’akov’s experience when, as the Rav suggests, “he was uprooted by forces beyond his control, [and] compelled to leave a place he loved… to which he had become bonded.” Beyond a doubt, Ya’akov must have felt existentially adrift upon leaving this this holy place, and entering galut.
 
The Rav posits that Ya’akov may also have feared “… that if he left the home of his father and grandfather and the center of their teaching, he would lose his role as leader and the teacher of the covenantal community,” because his “departure from the city of Beer Sheba temporarily detached him from the spiritual destiny of the Jewish people.” In my estimation, this may have been the impetus for Ya’akov’s prophetic vision upon leaving Be’er Sheva:

And he dreamed and behold! a ladder set up on the ground and its top reached to heaven; and behold, angels of G-d were ascending and descending upon it. And behold, the L-rd was standing over him, and He said, “I am the L-rd, the G-d of Avraham your father, and the G-d of Yitzchak; the land upon which you are lying to you I will give it and to your seed. And your seed shall be as the dust of the earth… And behold, I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go, and I will restore you to this land, for I will not forsake you until I have done what I have spoken concerning you.” (28:12-15)

In his dream, Ya’akov Avinu was reassured by Hakadosh Baruch Hu that although his connection to Eretz Yisrael, and by extension Be’er Sheva, had been temporarily rent asunder, it would be reestablished. Hashem promised Ya’akov, “I will restore you to this land,” and assured him that both he and his children would inherit it. Then, too, perhaps Hashem’s pledge to Ya’akov, “And behold, I am with you ... I will not forsake you until I have done what I have spoken concerning you,” can be seen as a guarantee that “his role as leader and the teacher of the covenantal community,” would once again be established.
 
May the time come, soon and in our days, when we will witness the fulfillment of Michah’s oft-quoted phrase, “You [Hashem] shall give the truth of Ya’akov (emet l’Ya’akov)” (7:20), when Ya’akov Avinu will take his place as the rightful leader and teacher of the entire Jewish people once again. 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 on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach 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. Please click on the highlighted link: The Rav zatzal