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12/25/2016

Parashat Miketz 5777, 2016: "G-d, Man and the Pursuit of Justice"

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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, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

The Five Books of the Torah contain four instances of the Hebrew word “chalilah” – “Far be it.” It appears twice in Parashat Miketz:

And they [the brothers] said to him [the overseer of Joseph’s house], “Why should my master say such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do a thing like this!” (Sefer Bereishit 44:7, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica press Complete Tanach, all brackets my own)

But he [Joseph] said, “Far be it from me to do this! The man in whose possession the goblet was found he shall be my slave, but as for you go up in peace to your father.” (44:17)

The other two cases of our term are found in a very well-known verse in Parashat Vayera:

Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice? (18:25)

Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon the Midrash, explains “chalilah” in the following manner:

Chalilah Lecha: It is profane (chulin), [i.e. unfitting] for You [G-d]. They [the people of the world] will say, “So is His craft [i.e. normative behavior] - He drowns everyone, righteous and wicked.” So You did to the Generation of the Flood and to the Generation of the Dispersion. (Commentary on 18:25)

Rashi’s gloss on the words, “Far be it from your servants to do a thing like this!” (44:7) underscore and elaborate upon his earlier observation:

Chalilah: It is inappropriate for us (chulin), an expression of disgrace. The Targum [i.e. Onkelos] renders: chas v’shalom - may your servants be spared, may the Holy One, blessed be He, spare us from doing this. [May He never allow us to do such a thing!] There are many such expressions in the Talmud: chas v’shalom – G-d forbid. (Translation with my emendation)

Our verse from Parashat Vayera, and one of the two pasukim from Parashat Miketz (44:7), contain exactly the same phrase. In reference to the Almighty (18:25) the text reads, “chalilah lecha may’asot k’davar hazeh” - “Far be it from You to do a thing such as this,” whereas, in the course of proclaiming their innocence, Joseph’s brothers cry out, “chalilah l’avadecha may’asot k’davar hazeh” – “Far be it from your servants to do a thing like this!” (44:7) As we can readily see, the only difference between them is the subject of each phrase, in one case, Hashem, and in the other, Joseph’s brothers. As such, even though these pasukim (verses) are 22 chapters apart, their sentence structure portrays a powerful conceptual nexus that unites them.

Thus far we have focused upon the similarities that exist among our four verses. There is, however, one highly significant difference that obtains among them. In Parashat Vayera, chalilah is spelled without the letter “yud” (k’tiv chaser), whereas in our parasha, it is written with a “yud” (k’tiv ma’le). In my estimation, we can explain this variation in the following fashion: In Parashat Vayera, Avraham Avinu (our Patriarch, Abraham) beseeches the Master of the Universe to follow the same universal moral law that He demands from mankind. Included within this meta-value system is the concept of reward for the virtuous, and punishment for those who engage in sinful activities. If the Almighty, therefore, were “to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked,” He would violate His own moral code and thereby diminish His Divine presence in the world. In short, G-d, so to speak, would commit an act of self-profanation (chilul Hashem). In order to forestall such a dire possibility, Avraham Avinu urges G-d to rescue the righteous of Sodom and Gomorrah from the imminent punishment of the wicked. Were He to act otherwise, however, as Rashi suggests, the nations of the world would declare: “So is His craft [i.e. normative behavior] - He drowns everyone, righteous and wicked. So You did to the Generation of the Flood and to the Generation of the Dispersion.” In sum, I believe this analysis is subtly suggested by the k’tiv chaser spelling of chalilah without the letter yud that hints at the negative outcome that would ensue if Hashem were to violate His moral stance in the universe.

In contrast to Parashat Vayera, Parashat Miketz’s k’tiv ma’le spelling of chalilah includes a yud. In my view, this is reminiscent of the k’tiv ma’le spelling of “vayitzer” in the verse, “And the L-rd G-d formed (vayitzer) man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul,” wherein vayitzer is spelled with a double yud. (Sefer Bereishit 2:7) Our Sages note, that the two yudin symbolize man’s dual nature, namely, that we are endowed by our Creator with both a yetzer hatov and a yetzer hara (good and evil inclination, Midrash Bereishit Rabbah Vilna 14:4) I believe this is the rationale underpinning Parashat Miketz’s spelling of chalilah in its complete form, namely, to indicate that Joseph and his brothers are acting in a whole-hearted and righteous manner that channels both the yetzer hatov and the yetzer hara. The k’tiv ma’le spelling of chalilah, therefore, symbolizes the prevailing sense of justice that informs the current interactions between Joseph and his brothers.

Based on this analysis of our pasukim, justice emerges as the ultimate litmus test of moral behavior, whether we are referencing the actions of the Master of the Universe or those of mankind. As such, with Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may we, as a nation and as individuals, fulfill the stirring words of Sefer Devarim, “Justice, justice shall you pursue…” (16:20) V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

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 mailto:[email protected].

*** My audio shiurim for Women on the topics of Tefilah and Megillat Esther, 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.

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12/18/2016

Parashat Vayeshev 5777, 2016: "Joseph, the Maccabees and Klal Yisrael"

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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, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

Sefer Bereishit contains the narratives of a number of larger-than-life individuals whose values and behaviors guide us until this very moment. In broad terms, it is the story of Adam and Eve, Noah, the Avot (Patriarchs), the Emahot (Matriarchs) and the first generation of Jacob’s children. In particular, our parasha portrays the “torch being passed to a new generation,” namely, from the Avot (Jacob) to Joseph. Moreover, from Parashat Vayeshev onward, the Torah relates to us Joseph’s trials and tribulations, and his ultimate ascendancy to the post of Viceroy of Egypt.

Joseph’s story is always read in juxtaposition to Hanukkah. This, of course, is not mere happenstance. Instead, deep connections obtain between Joseph’s challenges and those faced by the Maccabees. My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known widely as “the Rav,” formulated this thought in the following manner:

There is meaning and symbolism to every detail of the Jewish calendar. The mere fact that Hanukkah always falls on either or both of the two Sabbaths devoted to the reading of the Joseph story, Vayeshev and Miketz, bears witness that there is a link between the events surrounding Joseph’s sale into slavery and the events leading to Hanukkah; the Joseph story contains elements of the Maccabee’s dramatic struggle with the Hellenistic tyrant of Syria. (This, and all quotes, are from Days of Deliverance: Essays on Purim and Hanukkah, Chapter Nine, “Joseph and Hanukkah,” pages 155-166, Eli D. Clark, Joel B. Wolowelsky and Reuven Ziegler editors, underlining my own)

The Rav notes that Joseph’s overall task was similar in kind to that of his father Jacob, since Joseph, like his father, “had to prove that Abraham’s covenant could be practiced outside the Promised Land, that the moral laws are not contingent upon geography and chronology.” According to Rav Soloveitchik, however, there were two essential differences between the tasks that confronted Jacob and Joseph. First, Jacob “had to prove that the Torah is realizable in poverty and oppression,” whereas “Joseph’s mission was to demonstrate that enormous success, unlimited riches, admiration, prominence, and power are not in conflict with a saintly covenantal life.” Second, Jacob lived a life of spiritual and religious heroism in the midst of a backward pastoral society, and under the hegemony of Laban. In contrast, Joseph “demonstrated his heroic action in the most advanced civilization of antiquity, Egypt.”

A careful reading of the Joseph narrative reveals it is replete with high drama that is second to none. As the Rav highlights, it is a story of carrying forth the banner of kedushah (holiness) under the most trying of circumstances and of “sacrificial action, heroic decisions, and courageous plans.” Upon due reflection, these were precisely the tasks undertaken by the Maccabees, as portrayed by our Sages in the Al Hanissim prayer for Hanukkah:

In the days of Matityahu, the son of Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the wicked Hellenic government rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and violate the decrees of Your will. But You, in Your abounding mercies, stood by them in the time of their distress. You waged their battles, defended their rights, and avenged the wrong done to them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and the wanton sinners into the hands of those who occupy themselves with Your Torah. You made a great and holy name for Yourself in Your world, and effected a great deliverance and redemption for Your people Israel to this very day. Then Your children entered the shrine of Your House, cleansed Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, kindled lights in Your holy courtyards, and instituted these eight days of Chanukah to give thanks and praise to Your great Name.
(http://www.chabad.org/holidays/chanukah/article_cdo/aid/597182/jewish/Val-Hanissim.htm)

At this juncture, the Rav asks a question that is fundamental to understanding the true role of the Maccabees and their relationship to Joseph as his spiritual heirs:

How did the Almighty use the Hasmoneans in order to save the covenantal community? Did He act as He acted in Egypt, where He just informed Moses what He had in store for them? Or did He require of the Hasmoneans total involvement – sacrificial action, heroic decisions, and courageous plans – as He demanded from Joseph?

Rav Soloveitchik’s powerful response informs our understanding of the Joseph-Hanukkah nexus as never before:

The Hasmoneans seized the initiative; G-d willed them to defend the sanctuary, to guard the honor of the Jewish women, the pride of the people and the grandeur of the Torah. They fought like lions, selflessly and with unqualified devotion. Of course, G-d defeated the enemy after man did his part. The Hasmoneans were confronted by the same destiny as Joseph, the destiny of suffering. It is a great and heroic destiny, but a very difficult one.

In many ways, the stories of Joseph and the Maccabees serve as a blueprint for living in the pre-Messianic era, whether in Medinat Yisrael or the Diaspora, when we, too, are called upon “to guard…the pride of our people and the grandeur of the Torah.” With Hashem’s help and our fervent devotion, may we ever have the strength and vision to do so. V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

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 mailto:[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. Please click on the highlighted link.

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12/11/2016

Parashat Vayishlach 5777, 2016: "Rashi and the Pursuit of Truth"

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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, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana and Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

Our parasha contains the rather perplexing pasuk (verse): “And G-d went up from him [Jacob] in the place where He had spoken with him.” (Sefer Bereishit 35:13, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) We immediately find that “the place where He had spoken with him” is not identified. These words, therefore, do little to advance our understanding of the encounter that transpired between the Almighty and Jacob. Little wonder, then, that this mysterious phrase led Rashi (1040-1105) to declare: “I do not know what this is coming to teach us” - “aini yodeah mah melamdanu.”

Rabbi Shabbetai Bass (1641-1718), in his celebrated supercommentary on Rashi’s work of Torah exegesis, Siftei Chachamim, noted that Rashi cited the words of Reish Lakish: “The Patriarchs were surely the chariots [i.e. the footstools] of the Almighty,” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 82:6) in his explanation of, “And He finished speaking with him, and G-d went up from above Abraham.” (Sefer Bereishit 17:22) Why, therefore, asked Rav Bass, did Rashi refrain from employing this interpretation to elucidate our text? He replied that Rashi viewed our verse’s expression, “in the place where He had spoken with him,” as superfluous, since it is not found in the previously referenced parallel verse. As such, Rashi found no rationale for the inclusion of this phrase in the Torah. It was, therefore, his unshakable intellectual honesty that was the driving force behind his noteworthy admission, “aini yodeah mah melamdanu.”

Professor Nechama Leibowitz zatzal (1905-1997), one of the most renowned Bible scholars and teachers of the previous generation, built upon the conceptual underpinning of Rav Bass’ gloss. She underscored both Rashi’s humility and never-ending search for the truth in her discussion of the one other instance in which Rashi states, “aini yodeah mah melamdanu”:

Why did Rashi see fit to proclaim to the world his failure to find a plausible explanation of the superfluous text? Surely the admonition of our Sages to “teach your tongue to say ‘I do not know’” [Talmud Bavli, Berachot 4a] was meant to apply only in response to an inquiry. But no one was called upon gratuitously to proclaim his ignorance. Surely Rashi has left many passages in the Torah unexplained, and he could very well have passed over our text without comment, since he had none to make.

After formulating this classic problem of Rashi analysis, Professor Leibowitz answered this question in a manner that teaches us a great deal regarding Rashi’s approach to Torah and truth:

But this presents no difficulty. Rashi left those texts unexplained which were plain to him that he presumed would be clear to any Torah student. If he had remained silent, in our context, he would have been guilty of misrepresentation, allowing scholars to imagine that everything was crystal clear, failing to draw attention to a difficulty in the text. He therefore proclaimed to the world his failure to give adequate explanation [of our phrase, “in the place where He had spoken with him,”] throwing out a challenge to commentators and scholars to search, probe deeper and labor in their efforts to find their own solution. (Studies in the Book of Genesis: In the Context of Ancient and Modern Jewish Bible Commentary, translated and adapted from the Hebrew by Aryeh Newman, page 287, brackets my own)

For Professor Leibowitz, the words, “aini yodeah mah melamdanu,” present Rashi as the rebbe par excellence, who unhesitatingly put forth “a challenge to commentators and scholars to search, probe deeper and labor in their efforts to find their own solution.” In so doing, Rashi emerges as the exemplar of the individual praised in Sefer Malachi: “True teaching (Torat emet) was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips...” (2:6)

With Hashem’s help, may we have the strength of character to emulate Rashi’s unswerving pursuit of the truth when we encounter the Almighty’s holy Torah. Moreover, may we ever remember that the Torah is the ultimate source of Divine wisdom: “Delve and delve into it, for all is in it; see with it; grow old and worn in it; do not budge from it, for there is nothing better.” (Pirkei Avot 5:21, translation, Chabad.org) V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

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 mailto:[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. Please click on the highlighted link.

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12/3/2016

Parashat Vayatze 5777, 2016: "The Power of Personal Prayer"

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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, Avraham Yechezkel ben Yaakov Halevy, HaRav Yosef Shemuel ben HaRav Reuven Aharon, David ben Elazar Yehoshua, the refuah shlaimah of Devorah bat Chana, Yitzhak Akiva ben Malka and Leah bat Shifra, and the safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.

Our parasha focuses upon Rachel Emeinu (our Mother, Rachel), and the intense psychological pain and suffering that resulted from her inability to bear children: “And Rachel saw that she had not borne [any children] to Jacob, and Rachel envied her sister, and she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, and if not, I am dead.’” (Sefer Bereishit 30:1, this and all Bible and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself upon the Midrash, explains the somewhat unusual phrase, “give me children,” as meaning: “Did your father [not] do that for your mother? Did he not pray for her?” In other words, Rachel pleaded with Jacob to pray to the Almighty on her behalf, just as his father, Isaac, had done for his mother, Rebecca, when she failed to conceive.

Rachel, however, did not receive the response from Jacob she sought; for although the Torah informs us that Jacob “loved Rachel more than Leah,” he responded to her in what appears to be a harsh manner: “And Jacob became angry with Rachel, and he said, ‘Am I instead of G-d, Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’” (30:2) Rashi explains the content of Jacob’s words in the following fashion:

Am I instead of G-d: Am I in His place? Who has withheld from you: You say that I should do as my father did. I am not like my father. My father had no sons [at the time he prayed], but I have sons. [It is thus apparent that] He has withheld [children] from you, not from me.

Finally, after waiting for what must have felt like an interminable number of years, Rachel was blessed with her own child:

And G-d remembered Rachel, and G-d hearkened to her (vayishmah aleah Elokim), and He opened her womb. And she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “G-d has taken away my reproach.” So she named him Joseph, saying, “May the L-rd grant me yet another son!” (30:22-24)

Rashi interprets the phrase, “And G-d remembered Rachel,” as referring to her kindness in telling her sister, Leah, the secret signs between herself and Jacob, to spare Leah untold disgrace on her wedding night. Rashi does not, however explain the expression, “vayishmah aleah Elokim,” which may literally be translated as, “and G-d listened to her.” This leads us to ask, “To what did G-d listen?” We are fortunate that some of the great thinkers of Judaism applied themselves to this question.

Onkelos (35-120 CE) translates and interprets, “vayishmah aleah Elokim,” as “v’kabill tzelotah Hashem,” i.e. “and Hashem accepted her prayers.” The Netziv (Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin 1816-1893) follows Onkelos’ approach and notes, “She [Rachel] engaged in a great deal of prayer [before the Almighty].” The Malbim (Rav Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser, 1809-1879) continues in Onkelos’ footsteps, and formulates his interpretation in a highly nuanced fashion, “for now (“ki atah”) she [Rachel] prayed.” As noted earlier, when Rachel beseeched Jacob to “give me children,” she was actually asking him to pray to Hashem on her behalf, just as Isaac had done for Rebecca. Suddenly, like a beam of light that pierces the darkest night, Rachel realized that she was the one that needed to pray, and that now was the time to directly encounter the Almighty through tefilah (prayer). By so doing, she taught a vital lesson that was followed many years later by the childless Hanna when she, too, came before Hashem in profound and heartfelt prayer:

And Hannah arose after eating and after drinking, and Eli the priest was sitting on the chair beside the doorpost of the Temple of the L-rd. And she was bitter in spirit, and she prayed to the L-rd, and wept. And she vowed a vow, and said: to L-rd of Hosts, if You will look upon the affliction of Your bondswoman, and You will remember me, and You will not forget Your bondswoman and You will give Your bondswoman a man-child, and I shall give him to the L-rd all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head. And it was, as she prayed long before the L-rd, that Eli watched her mouth. But Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, and her voice was not heard, and Eli thought her to be a drunken woman. (Sefer Shmuel I: 9-13)

As we know, Hannah was anything but a drunken woman. Instead, as she herself professed to Eli, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit, and neither new wine nor old wine have I drunk, and I poured out my soul before the L-rd.” (I:15) In sum, Hannah was an intensely spiritual being who, like her mentor Rachel, recognized the power of personal prayer and its potential to burst through the very gates of heaven.

May the Almighty give us the strength and wisdom to daven to Him from the depths of our being, so that with Rachel and Hannah as our guides, we, too, may, “pour out our souls before the L-rd.” V’chane yihi ratzon.

Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
They may also be found on YUTorah.org using the search criteria of Etengoff and the parasha’s name.

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 mailto:[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. Please click on the highlighted link.

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Parashat Miketz 5777, 2016: "G-d, Man and the Pursuit of Justice"

Parashat Vayeshev 5777, 2016: "Joseph, the Maccabees and Klal Yisrael"

Parashat Vayishlach 5777, 2016: "Rashi and the Pursuit of Truth"

Parashat Vayatze 5777, 2016: "The Power of Personal Prayer"

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​Parashat Miketz 5777, 2016: "G-d, Man and the Pursuit of Justice"

Parashat Vayeshev 5777, 2016: "Joseph, the Maccabees and Klal Yisrael"

​Parashat Vayishlach 5777, 2016: "Rashi and the Pursuit of Truth"

​Parashat Vayatze 5777, 2016: "The Power of Personal Prayer"

Archives

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Categories

Parashat Miketz 5777, 2016: "G-d, Man and the Pursuit of Justice"

Parashat Vayishlach 5777, 2016: "Rashi and the Pursuit of Truth"

Parashat Vayatze 5777, 2016: "The Power of Personal Prayer"