Parashat Va’era 5782, 2022:
 
To Be Hashem’s People
 
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.
 
Our parasha contains four terms that presage yetziat mitzrayim:

Therefore, say to the children of Israel, “I am the L-rd, and I will take you out (v’hotzati) from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you (v’hitzalti) from their labor, and I will redeem you (v’ga’alti) with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you (v’lakachti) to Me as a people, and I will be 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, translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Rashi (1040-1105), Rashbam (1085-1158), and the Ba’alei Tosafot (12-14th centuries), among others, labeled v’hotzati, v’hitzalti, v’ga’alti, and v’lakachti the “four expressions of redemption” (“arba’ah leshonei geulah,” Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 99b). The first three are relatively easy to understand, as they speak directly to Hashem’s impending actions to redeem our ancestors from 210 years of Egyptian servitude. V’lakachti, however, is more problematic regarding its relationship to the Exodus, and, hence, raises exegetical challenges.
 
According to Rabbeinu Ibn Ezra (1092-11670, the Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) and Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340), v’lakachti does not speak to the physical salvation from Egyptian slavery; rather, it references spiritual redemption through Kabbalat haTorah (receiving the Torah). As such, in his Commentary on the Torah on our pasuk, the Ramban interprets “I will take you to Me as a people” as: “When you will come to Mount Sinai and you will receive the Torah [then you will become My people.]” (Translation and brackets my own). A contrasting approach is offered by Rabbi Yosef ben Yitzchak (12th century) in his classic Torah commentary, Bechor Shor, wherein he emphasizes the practical sense of what it means to be Hashem’s people:

“I will take you to Me as a people:” And you will be My servants, as it is better for you to be My servants than to be Pharoah’s slaves. “And I will be G-d to you:” I will be your master, and not Pharoah. “And you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has brought you out:” And you will volitionally serve me, for you will say: “It is better to serve the great King, than to serve this commoner Pharoah.” (Translation my own)
 
In Rav Yosef ben Yitzchak’s view, “I will take you to Me as a people” portrays our essential obligation toward the Almighty, namely, to recognize Him as our sole master, whom we willingly serve.
 
In his exegetical work Be’er Mayim Chaim, the Chasidic rebbe, Rabbi Chaim of Czernowitz (1760-1816), takes a different tack that focuses, instead, on Hashem’s role in the covenantal relationship:

“I will take you to Me as a people and I will be G-d to you:” That is to say, I [Hashem] will do two things for you [the Jewish people]: Firstly, the indescribable good that I will do for you is the very act of My taking you to be my people, a people [that henceforth] will be beloved and pleasant to Me, for whom I will bring forth all manner of good and worthy things. Secondly, I will be unto you Elokim, that is, the Judge and Master of Judgment Who will remove from before you all that is necessary [for your well-being], punish your enemies, and do unto those that hate you according to your will. (Translations and brackets my own)
 
According to Rav Chaim, being Hashem’s people is the greatest good we can acquire, as this status confers His love upon us. Moreover, in His role as Elokim, He will forever be our Shomer Yisrael, our eternal protector. In Rav Chaim’s estimation, Hashem’s love and protection enable us to apprehend His presence in our lives, as the continuation of our pasuk states:

And in so doing [all of the aforementioned], “you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d,” for it will no longer be necessary to acquire a [theological] expert’s knowledge level of emunah (belief) to believe in Me, rather, you [the Jewish people] will know with complete understanding that I am the L-rd your G-d and will thereby comprehend My sense of perfect and total unity. As such, I am complete (shalame) in every regard and there is none other besides Me… [We see, therefore,] two opposites [regarding our relationship with Hashem and the way He encounters us:] chesed (kindness) and din (judgment). Chesed for the Jewish people, and din for the nations of the world [who seek to do us harm]. In sum, I am Hashem, and it is I [alone] who does all this.
 
May the time come soon, and in our days, when we will recognize and feel Hashem’s chesed for us, and witness His din against all those who desire to destroy us. As the navi Ovadiah so famously said: “And saviors shall ascend Mt. Zion to judge the mountain of Eisav, and the kingdom shall be Hashem’s. (1:21)  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.
 
Our parasha contains the famous incident of Moshe striking and killing the Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Jewish slave: “He turned this way and that way (vayifen koh va’koh), and he saw that there was no man (vayare ki ain ish); so, he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” (Sefer Bereishit 2:11-12, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Rashi (1040-1105) presents two glosses on this verse:

vayifen koh va’koh: He saw what he [the Egyptian] had done to him [the Jew] in the house and what he had done to him in the field (Midrash Shemot Rabbah 1:28). But according to its simple interpretation, it is to be understood according to its apparent meaning, that is, he looked and saw no man.
 
vayare ki ain ish: [That is, he saw that] there was no person destined to be descended from him [the Egyptian] who would become a convert. [Based on Midrash Shemot Rabbah 1:29]
 
Rashi views vayifen koh va’koh from the perspectives of peshat and drash, namely, Moshe ascertained that there were no witnesses present before killing the Egyptian and, with ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration), he saw what had transpired in the Jew’s house prior to observing his life-threatening beating. Rashi does not, however, present a peshat-level analysis of vayare ki ain ish. Instead, he focuses solely on its midrashically-suffused interpretation, that this vicious Egyptian would not be the forebear of any converts to Judaism. Given the universal acceptance of Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah, these explications have become the primary lens through which our pasuk is viewed.
 
A fascinating and very different explanation of our verse, however, is offered by the Chasidic master, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein zatzal (1751-1823) in his classic work Ma’or VaShemesh:

vayifen koh va’koh vayare ki ain ish and he struck the Egyptian: This means he turned this way and that way (that is, he analyzed the situation before him) and saw that the Egyptian was obligated in the death penalty on two levels: Firstly, he was a rodef [one who pursues another for the avowed purpose of murdering the one pursued] and secondly, Moshe determined that the principle of, “haba l’horgecha hashkam l’horgo, if someone comes to murder you, rise up early and kill him first,” was operable. (See Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 21:4 and Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Pinchas, 3, this, and the following translation, my own)
 
Based on these two halachic principles, Rav Epstein maintains that Moshe Rabbeinu “looked and did not see a man present [before him], since one who comes to murder another is as if he is already dead (ain lo damim), and is, in essence, like a corpse.” Moreover, Moshe realized:

... there was no one else to save the one pursued from the hands of the rodef; he, therefore, ruled on his own: “In an instance where there are no other people present, one must endeavor to be the individual who will save the pursued, [even if it entails] killing the pursuer.” [Therefore, the verse writes:] “And he struck [and killed] the Egyptian.”
 
In relatively few words, Rav Epstein provides us with a novel way (chiddush) to interpret our pasuk. Rather than focusing on peshat and drash, he urges us to view our verse from the perspective of halachic principles. In so doing, he helps us understand the legitimacy of Moshe’s actions. As the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) rules:

When, however, a person is pursuing his fellow with the intention of killing him [that is, the rodef]…every Jewish person is commanded to try to save the person being pursued, even if it is necessary to kill the pursuer…If there is no way to be precise in one’s aim and save the person being pursued without killing the rodef, one should kill him, even though he has not yet killed his victim. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Rotzeach u’Shmirat HaNefesh 1:6-7, this and all Mishneh Torah translations, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)
 
The Torah obligates us to protect ourselves, as we find in the well-known phrase, “u’shmor nafshecha m’ode (and you should take every effort to guard your life).” (Sefer Devarim 4:9)  This, in turn, leads to the corollary statement quoted by Rav Epstein, “haba l’horgecha hashkam l’horgo.” In our pasuk, the Jewish man being beaten was unable to rise and protect himself, leaving Moshe, alone, to champion his cause by applying the halachic principle cited by Rav Epstein and supported by the Rambam: “In an instance where there are no other people present, one must endeavor to be the individual who will save the pursued, [even if it entails] killing the pursuer.”
 
Fortunately, most of us are rarely faced with the challenge of protecting individuals who are in mortal danger. Yet, based upon the well-known Rabbinic dictum, “kol yisrael aravim zeh l’zeh (all of the Jewish people are responsible for the welfare of their fellow Jews),” we are obligated to aid our brethren in their hour of need. This concept is given voice through the practice of gemilut chasadim, acts of lovingkindness that emulate Hashem’s actions. As Chazal state:

Just as Hashem clothed the naked [in the case of Adam and Chava] … so, too, should you clothe the naked. Just as Hashem visited the sick [in the case of Avraham after his brit milah] … so, too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One Blessed be He comforted the mourners [in the case of Yitzchak after Avraham’s passing] … so, too, should you comfort the mourners. Just as the Holy One blessed be He buried the dead [in the case of Moshe] … so, too, should you bury the dead” (Talmud Bavli Sotah 14a, translation my own).
This Talmudic passage provides the basis for the Rambam’s famous halachic ruling that defines many of the essentials of Jewish communal life:

It is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to visit the sick, comfort mourners, prepare for a funeral, prepare a bride, accompany guests, attend to all the needs of a burial, carry a corpse on one’s shoulders, walk before the bier, mourn, dig a grave and bury the dead, and bring joy to a bride and groom as well as to help them with all their needs. These are deeds of lovingkindness that one carries out with his person that have no limit. (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avel 14:1).

After noting the Rabbinic basis of these ma’asim (actions), the Rambam asserts that the performance of each one is a kiyyum (fulfillment) of v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha, a Torah-based mitzvah:

Although all these mitzvot are of Rabbinic origin, they are included in the Torah commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That charge suggests that whatever you would like other people to do for you, you should do for your fellow in Torah and mitzvot.
 
With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may our efforts to live by the maxim, “kol yisrael aravim zeh l’zeh,” lead us to acts of gemilut chasadim and, thereby, the fulfillment of the mitzvah of v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha. 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 two instances of the phrase, hatachat Elokim, the first, in Parashat Vayatze (30:2), and the second, in our parasha (50:19): “But Yosef said to them [his brothers], ‘Don't be afraid, ki hatachat Elokim ani, for am I instead of Hashem?’” (This and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) suggests this interpretation of our phrase: “Am I perhaps in His [Hashem’s] place? [A statement] of wonder. [For even] if I wanted to harm you, would I be able? Did not all of you plan evil against me? The Holy One, blessed be He, however, designed it for good. So how can I alone harm you?”
 
Rashi’s analysis is analogous to a passage in the 11th century work, Midrash Bereishit Rabbati:

hatachat Elokim ani: Rabbi Yona the father of Rabbi Moneh explained: “Yosef said to his brothers: ‘Who can change the order of the world? There are 12 hours during the day, and 12 hours at night. There are 12 major constellations, 12 months and 12 stones that in the future will be placed upon Aharon’s heart [in the choshen mishpat]. And what is the purpose of all of these [that focus upon the number 12]? None other than to highlight the [eternal] significance of the number of the [12] tribes of the Jewish people. And am I Hashem, that is, am I able to alter the order of the world?’” (Parashat Vayechi, beginning on page 225, translation and brackets my own)
 
The similarity between this midrash and Rashi’s gloss is quite notable. Both focus on the idea that Yosef declared to his brothers that only Hashem can change the order of the world, and as such, he, alone, cannot harm them.
 
In his Commentary on the Torah on our verse, the Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel Wisser, 1809-1879) focuses on Yosef’s recognition of Hashem’s hashgacha (divine providence) as the lens through which to view our phrase:

This means that after I [Yosef] have seen that this matter [my sale as a slave and rise to second-in-command in Egypt] was completely under Hashem’s hashgacha, how can I possibly question it, since it was done by Almighty? For am I instead of Him and in His place to do the opposite of His action? In addition, the core of this hashgacha was for me to help and support you; if so, how can I change the will of the Almighty and all that He has done through His hashgacha? Moreover, since you [my brothers] did not do evil to me in actuality—as Hashem changed your actions toward me for the good—I am unable to repay you in an evil manner like you initially did to me, as that was transformed into good. This is the case, since I am not in Hashem’s place, and I cannot know that good will [ultimately] result from an evil action I might seek to do against you. [It is therefore impossible for me to do evil to you my brothers]. (Translation and brackets my own)
 
In sum, the Malbim suggests that when Yosef utters the phrase, “ki hatachat Elokim ani,” he acknowledges that hashgachat Hashem is the driving force behind all the trials and tribulations he has faced, as well as his rise to mishneh l’melech (second-in-command of Egypt). Hashem, he asserts, changed the brothers’ actions toward “or the good.” Consequently, he maintains, he can neither question Hashem’s actions nor counter His will.
 
On measure, in their examination of the phrase, “ki hatachat Elokim ani,” Midrash Bereishit Rabbati, Rashi and the Malbim, unhesitatingly proclaim the primacy of Hashem’s hashgacha in the world. I believe this is the message Yosef is teaching his brothers, and by extension, the entire Jewish people for all time. Little wonder, then, that a powerful allusion to this idea is found in the paragraph following the recitation of the private Shemoneh Esrai: “As for all those who design evil against me, speedily nullify their counsel and disrupt their design…let Your right hand save and respond to me.” (The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, page 119)  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.
 
Like many other parshiot, our parasha received its name based upon the first word in the initial phrase of the introductory pasuk: “Vayigash aluv Yehudah,” “And Yehudah drew near to him [Yosef].” (Sefer Bereishit 44:18)  The word, vayigash, is found in three other verses in Sefer Bereishit. In each case, it signals a major shift in the narrative and a fundamental change in the pre-existing paradigm.
 
The first time we encounter vayigash is in the context of Hashem’s plans to destroy S’dom: “Vayigash Avraham (and Avraham drew near) and said, ‘Will You even destroy the righteous with the wicked? … 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?’” (Sefer Bereishit 18:23, 25, this, and all Torah translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  These verses suggest a fundamental shift in the encounter between Hashem and humankind. For the first time, we were true partners in the I-Thou relationship. As such, Avraham approached Hashem with the conviction that his plea on behalf of S’dom would certainly be heard. He understood, as well, that both the Almighty and humankind are subject to the same Torah-based elements of justice.
 
The second instance of vayigash is found in the quiet battle for the future of the Jewish people, fought in the privacy of two desert tents: “And Yitzchak loved Eisav... but Rivka loved Ya’akov.” (Sefer Bereishit 25:28)  Rivka sought to ensure that the bracha Yitzhak intended to bestow upon Eisav would go to Ya’akov:

And Rivka said to Ya’akov her son, saying, “Behold I have heard your father speaking to Eisav your brother, saying, ‘Bring me game and make me tasty foods, and I will eat, and I will bless you before the L-rd before my death.’ And now my son, hearken to my voice to what I am commanding you.” (Sefer Bereishit 27:6-8)
 
Once again, vayigash signaled a singular transition that guaranteed the spiritual future of Ya’akov and his descendants:

Vayigash Ya’akov (and Ya’akov drew near) to Yitzchak his father, and he felt him, and he said, “The voice is the voice of Ya’akov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” … “And may the L-rd give you of the dew of the heavens and [of] the fatness of the earth and an abundance of grain and wine. Nations shall serve you and kingdoms shall bow down to you; you shall be a master over your brothers, and your mother's sons shall bow down to you. Those who curse you shall be cursed, and those who bless you shall be blessed.” (27:22, 28-29)
 
Clearly the power of vayigash could not be more manifest.
 
The third usage of our term appears within the context of Ya’akov’s first encounter with Rachel. This dramatic moment serves as a pivotal point in Jewish history, as all Jews are ultimately descended from Ya’akov, Rachel, and Leah: “And it came to pass, when Ya’akov saw Rachel, the daughter of Lavan, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother’s brother, vayigash Ya’akov (and Ya’akov drew near) and rolled the rock off the mouth of the well, and he watered the sheep of Lavan, his mother’s brother.” (Sefer Bereishit 29:10)  This eventuated in Ya’akov meeting Lavan, marrying Rachel and Leah, and eventually fathering the 12 Tribes of Israel.
 
The fourth case our term is found at the beginning of our parasha: “Vayigash aluv Yehudah (and Yehudah drew near to Yosef) and said, ‘Please, my lord, let now your servant speak something into my lord’s ears, and let not your wrath be kindled against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.’” (Sefer Bereishit 44:18)  These well-known words are a crucial link in the great chain of events that resulted in the descent of Ya’akov and his family to Egypt, their survival of the worldwide famine, the years of Egyptian servitude, the Exodus from Egypt, the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and all subsequent Jewish history until our present moment. Once again, the verbal fulcrum for these history-changing events is the deceptively simple word “vayigash.”
 
Rabbi Nissan Alpert zatzal (1927-1986) was one of the great roshei yeshivah of Yeshivat Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan. In Limudei Nissan, his posthumous work of Torah analysis, he notes that Yosef revealed himself to his brothers only once they had physically and psychologically drawn close to him. Moreover, he suggests “… it was at that time that it was revealed before them how much they all truly loved one another and that any separation between them should vanish and be replaced by deep and abiding love for one another.” Rav Alpert concludes that: “When all of the Jewish people will dwell together in deep affection and draw near to one another on the profoundest level, and reject division, this closeness we will bring the Geulah (the ultimate redemption, translations my own).” May this time come soon and in our days, 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