​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The mitzvah of the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer), the focus of this week’s additional Torah reading, is the best-known example of our inability to comprehend the underlying reasons for the mitzvot. We do, however, know that the outcome of this commandment is the halachic purification of an individual who has become tamei (ritually impure) due to contact with a corpse. Since the Parah Adumah purifies those who are tamei, while simultaneously rendering those who are tahor (ritually pure) tamei, it is intrinsically paradoxical and mystifying in nature. Even Shlomo HaMelech, blessed with the most prodigious intellect and insight in history, was stymied by the Red Heifer’s seemingly irreconcilable contradictions. As he plaintively declared: “All this I tested with wisdom; I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it [that is, the Parah Adumah] was far from me.” (Sefer Kohelet 7:23, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
While many Rabbinic sources suggest that Shlomo HaMelech was successful in ascertaining the rationale inherent in all mitzvot other than the Parah Adumah, we are far from his level. What approach, then, can we follow to try to comprehend Hashem’s mitzvot? Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (1080-1145) teaches in his Kuzari that humankind is, by definition, incapable of comprehending infinite Hashem and His works. Little wonder, then, that the Rambam (1135-1204) urges us to avoid the pitfalls of treating the mitzvot whose reasons escape us in a facile and flippant manner: 

A matter [mitzvah] wherein one does not find a reason and does not know its rationale should not become frivolous in his eyes and he should not burst forth against Hashem, lest He burst forth against him. Additionally, his thoughts in this matter ought not to be like his thoughts in profane matters. (Sefer Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Meilah 8:8, this and the following translations my own)
 
The Rambam utilizes classic halachic reasoning to buttress his contention:
 
Come and see how strict the Torah is in the Laws of Trespassing (Meilah): Just like wood, stones, dust, and ashes, once they are sanctified with the name of the Master of the Universe through words alone, and all who treat them in a profane manner commit a trespass will have to seek atonement, even if the act was done inadvertently, all the more so (kal v’chomer) in the case of mitzvot that the Holy One Blessed be He has commanded us, wherein man may not rebel against them simply because he does not understand their reasons. 
 
In addition, the Rambam warns against inventing ingenious, but specious, reasons for the mitzvot: “And he should not attribute (literally “pile on”) false rationalizations [for the mitzvot] against Hashem. He concludes his presentation by warning, “And one ought not to think concerning them [the mitzvot] in the manner in which he thinks about everyday profane matters.”
 
In his incisive exegetical study, Beit Halevi, on Sefer Shemot 31, Rabbi Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zatzal (1820-1892) posits an exposition of the Parah Adumah that expands upon the Rambam’s approach. He notes that the phrase “This is the statute of the Torah that Hashem commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow...’” (Sefer Bamidbar 19:2) is very unusual, since the Parah Adumah is singled out as being the “statute of the Torah.” Consequently, he asks: “At face value, the Parah Adumah is simply one of the [613] mitzvot of the Torah. Why, then, is it given the unusual label of the ‘statute of the Torah?’” His answer expresses some of his central beliefs concerning the search for the underlying rationale of the mitzvot:

… for it is precisely from the Parah Adumah that it is revealed to man that he, in reality, does not know anything regarding [the true meaning inherent] in any mitzvah of the Torah, since [based upon this verse,] the entire Torah is a statute (chukah) [that eludes our understanding] And the explanation of this concept is the following, behold all of the mitzvot are inextricably attached to, and interwoven with, one another. Moreover, each one depends upon the other … [As a result,] it is impossible to comprehend even one of the mitzvot without understanding all of them. Therefore, when we encounter the Parah Adumah, and we do not understand its underlying principle, it is clear that we really know nothing at all [regarding the other mitzvot]. 
 
For the Beit HaLevi, since all the mitzvot are inextricably interwoven, if the Parah Adumah is incomprehensible, it is impossible to truly understand any other mitzvah of the Torah. As such, the Parah Adumah emerges as a protection against humankind’s potential intellectual arrogance:

…the Parah Adumah is, therefore, a fence and a protective measure for man who utilizes his intellect (hamitbonane b’sichlo) to examine the reasons inherent in the mitzvot; to prevent him from erring in their regard if he were to [merely] follow his intellect and thereby burst forth [against the mitzvot] and declare: “I am the one who knows their rationale!” In this manner, one would be able to err and add or subtract [from the mitzvot]. 
 
The Beit HaLevi, therefore, concludes that there is only one way to demonstrate our acceptance of, the mitzvot: 
​
One must perform all of the mitzvot, with all of their specific details, according to what we have received from our Rabbis according to the overarching rules of the Torah and the established Halacha without any deviation whatsoever from the words of the Shulchan Aruch. This is the case, since, he himself, recognizes that he does not comprehend the depth of these matters… (Translations and brackets my own)
 
Perhaps more than any other mitzvah, the Parah Adumah reminds us that Hashem is the measure of all things. With the Almighty’s help, and our fervent desire, may we be zocheh (merit) to serve Him with heartfelt devotion as we fulfill His holy Torah. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 









Rabbi David Etengoff
​
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
This Shabbat we read Parshiot Tetzaveh and Zachor. According to the Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim (146:2 and 685:7), the public reading of Parashat Zachor enables us to fulfill two of the three Taryag (613) commandments associated with Amalek. As cited by the Rambam (1135-1204) in his Sefer HaMitzvot, these are: “Zachor mah sh’asah lanu Amalek—Remember what Amalek did to us,” (Positive Commandment 189) and “Hizharnu mishchoach mahsh’asah lanu zerah Amalek—We are warned not to forget what ‘the seed’ of Amalek did to us” (Negative Commandment 59). 
 
Amalek exemplified malicious and unmitigated evil like no other ethnic group in history. As the Torah states: “v’lo yarah Elokim—and he did not fear G-d.” (Sefer Devarim 25:18)  In other words, Amalek acted as if G-d did not exist, and there would be no response to his malevolent and sadistic behavior against our people. As such, there must ever be a: “…milchamah l’Hashem b’Amalek m’dor dor—a war of Hashem against Amalek throughout all the generations.” (Sefer Shemot 17:16) 
 
Chazal teach us that, with the exception of the Jewish people, King Sennacherib of Assyria (720-683 BCE) destroyed the ethnic cohesion of all the nations of his time. (Mishnah Yadaim 4:4)  Since this is the case, why does the Torah give us three separate and eternal mitzvot regarding a tribal entity that no longer exists? 
 
My rebbi and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, answers this question in his seminal essay of 1956 entitled: “Kol Dodi Dofek.” Therein, he presented a profound idea from his father, Rav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal (1879-1941):
 
Divine providence is testing us once again via the crisis that has overtaken the land of Israel. Let it be clearly stated: The matter does not just affect the political future of Israel. The designs of the Arabs are directed not just against the political sovereignty of the State of Israel but against the very existence of the Yishuv (settlement) in the land of Israel. They wish to destroy, heaven forbid, the entire community, “both men and women, infant and suckling, ox and sheep.” (1 Samuel 15:3) At a Mizrachi convention I cited the view expressed by my father and master (Rabbi Moses Soloveitchik) of blessed memory, that the proclamation, “The L-rd will have war with Amalek from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16) does not only translate into the communal exercise of waging obligatory war against a specific race but includes as well the obligation to rise up as a community against any people or group that, filled with maniacal hatred, directs its enmity against Keneset Israel. When a people emblazons on its banner, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation: that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance,” (Psalms 83:5) it becomes, thereby, Amalek… (Fate and Destiny, translation, Rabbi Dr. Lawrence Kaplan, pages 65-66)
 
According to Rav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal, Amalek is not a tribe or an ethnic entity, but, rather, a state of mind. As such, Amalek has existed since time immemorial and will continue to exist until Mashiach Tzidkanu (the righteous Messiah) comes and destroys evil. (Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Melachim 11:4)  The Rav underscores this point in footnote 23, in the original Hebrew text of Kol Dodi Dofek: “…Amalek still exists in the world. Go and see what the Torah says: ‘a war of Hashem with Amalek throughout all of the generations.’ If so, it is impossible that Amalek will be destroyed from this world before the arrival of the Messiah.” (Translation my own) Therefore, the Rav writes: “In the 1930’s and 1940’s the Nazis, with Hitler at their head, filled this role. They were the Amalekites, the standard-bearers of insane hatred and enmity during the era just past.” 
 
We must make no mistake about it. The ever-changing persona of Amalek has one undeniable goal: to destroy each and every member of the Jewish people in order to, chas v’shalom, obliterate Hashem’s name from the world. The Torah therefore commands us “Zachor!—Remember!” In so doing, we will join the Almighty is His battle against the forces of evil.
 
May Hashem grant us the strength to join Him in His righteous war against Amalek, and may we witness the time of Mashiach when the entire world will stand shoulder to shoulder in recognizing His truth and glory. Then, the words of Zechariah the prophet will finally be realized: “And Hashem shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall Hashem be one, and His name one.” (14:9)  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.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Terumah focuses on the various raw materials necessary to construct the Mishkan (Portable Sanctuary) and its holy kalim (vessels). Therein, we find a well-known pasuk that speaks to the general mitzvah of building the Mishkan: “V'asu li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham—And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.” (Sefer Shemot 25:8, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach). The very next pasuk, however, employs the word, “mishkan,” in place of mikdash: “According to all that I show you, the pattern of the Mishkan and the pattern of all its vessels; and so, shall you do.” Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar zatzal (1696-1743), known as the Or HaChaim Hakadosh after the name of his commentary on the Torah, addresses this change in terminology:
… It appears to me that when the Torah says, “v’asu li mikdash,” it is referring to the general positive commandment that incorporates all times, whether [the Jewish people were in] the desert or when they entered the land [Eretz Yisrael], as well as the entire period the Jewish people would dwell therein throughout the generations. [Moreover,] the Jewish people were obligated to create a mikdash, even in the Diaspora (galiot), [but were prevented from so doing, since] we find that Hashem forbade all other places [outside of Eretz Yisrael] from the point in time of the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, as it says in the Torah: “For you have not yet come to the resting place or to the inheritance, which the L-rd, your G-d, is giving you.” (Sefer Devarim 12:9)  This, then, is why the Torah does not declare, “v’asu li mishkan,” in order that we may understand that the creation of the mishkan was a mitzvah solely at that time… (Or HaChaim, Sefer Shemot 25:8, translation, brackets and paratheses my own)
 
According to the Or HaChaim, the Torah first utilizes the term, mikdash, and then mishkan, to teach us a crucial lesson: the mitzvah of the mikdash is obligatory at all times in Eretz Yisrael. In contrast, the mitzvah of the mishkan was time-bound, that is, its construction was a commandment to the Dor HaMidbar (Generation of the Desert) to create a temporary stand-in for the yet to be built Beit HaMikdash. As such, the Torah commands us, “v’asu li mikdash,” rather than “v’asu li mishkan.”
 
A different approach as to why the Mishkan was called mikdash is offered by Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (1255–1340) in his Commentary on the Torah on our verse: “The Mishkan was called ‘mikdash’ because it was made holy through the indwelling of the Shechinah (b’shriat haShechinah). Then, too, it is possible to say that it was an earthly representation of the heavenly Beit HaMikdash.” (Translation my own)  In sum, the Mishkan was a makom mekudash (holy place) and called, “mikdash,” because Hashem’s holy presence was manifest therein, and it was a human reflection of the Beit HaMikdash in Shamayim. 
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as the “Rav” by his followers and disciples, builds upon these ideas and notes that the ultimate purpose of the Mishkan, and, by extension, the Beit HaMikdash, was to reinstate the original relationship between the Almighty and Adam and Chava:
God created the world to reside in it, rather than to reside in transcendence. Man could have continually experienced Him instead of trying to infer His Presence through examining nature. But in the wake of the original sin of Adam and Eve, He retreated. And they heard the voice of the Lord God going in the garden to the direction of the sun, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:8).  These “footsteps” were those of God leaving the garden and departing into infinity. Had they not sinned, God would always have been close. As a result of Adam’s hiding and fear of communicating with God in the wake of his sin, God removed His Divine Presence. The purpose of the tabernacle [Mishkan]was to restore the relationship between man and God. (Public lecture, Boston, 1979, cited in Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Shemot: with Commentary Based Upon the Teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Dr. Arnold Lustiger, editor, page 226, underlining my own
 
May the time come soon and, in our days, when the relationship between Hashem and the Jewish people is fully restored and His Shechinah once again dwells in the soon to be rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. V’chane yihi ratzon. 
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Our parasha concludes with the introduction to Kabbalat HaLuchot HaRishonim (Receiving of the First Tablets of the Law) by Moshe Rabbeinu: “And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Come up to Me to the mountain and remain there, and I will give you the stone tablets, the Law and the commandments, which I have written to instruct them.’ … and Moshe ascended to the mount of Elokim…” (Sefer Shemot 24:12-13)  These pasukim are a foundational source in establishing the theological principle of “Torah min HaShamayim—the Divine nature of the holy Torah.” Due to its singular import, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) includes this doctrine in his celebrated 13 Principles of Faith (Yud Gimmel Ikkarim): “The eighth Principle of Faith is that the Torah has been revealed from Heaven. This implies our belief that the entire Torah found in our hands today is the [same as] that which was given to Moshe by the Omnipotent One.” (Mishnah Sanhedrin, Introduction to Perek Chalek, this and the following translations, J. Abelson with my extensive emendations)  
 
Hashem’s role at this transformative moment in world history is well-defined. What is less clear, however, is the part Moshe played in this process. Fortunately, the Rambam clarifies this issue: “Moshe was like a scribe writing from dictation who wrote down what he heard in its entirety, inclusive of its chronicles, its narratives and its mitzvot. It is in this sense that he is termed “mechokake—lawgiver.” (Sefer Bamidbar 21:18) The Rambam was exceptionally exact in his wording. As such, this statement informs us of the precise process in which Moshe was engaged, that is, that he did not create the mitzvot or compose the chronicles and narratives, as many have spuriously claimed. Instead, he acted as a faithful sofer (scribe) and recorded verbatim that which he heard from Hashem. Therefore, since every word of the Torah is divrei Hashem (the words of Hashem):

There is no difference between verses like “And the sons of Cham were Cush and Mitzraim, Phut and Canaan” (Sefer Bereishit 10:6) and… “I am Hashem your G-d,” (Sefer Shemot 20:2) and “Shema Yisrael,” (Sefer Devarim 6:4). They are equally of Divine origin and are within the category of the “Law of Hashem, which is perfect, pure, holy and true.” (See Sefer Tehillim 19:8)
 
In addition, the Rambam emphasizes that Moshe received the Oral Law (Torah she’beal peh) at the same time he received the Written Law (Torah she’bichtav). Consequently, Torah she’beal peh is a constitutive element of Torah min HaShamayim:

So, too, is its [that is, Torah she’bichtav] accepted interpretation (perushah hamekubal) [that is, Torah she’beal peh], directly from the Omnipotent One. And that which we do today regarding the form [tzurah, the manner of fulfilling the mitzvot] of succah, lulav, shofar, tzitzit and tefillin, and other mitzvot besides these, is precisely the same form that Hashem said to Moshe, and he subsequently said to us.
 
According to the Rambam, the direct proof text for Torah min HaShamayim is Sefer Bamidbar 16:28, wherein Moshe was aggressively challenged by Korach and his rebellious assembly: “Moshe said, ‘With this you shall know that Hashem sent me to do all these deeds, for they are not of my own device--ki lo m’libi.’” In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105) explains the expression, “ki lo m’libi,” as “I [Moshe] did according to the word of Hashem(sh’asiti al pi hadibbur) and gave Aharon the kahuna gedolah, his sons the deputy kahuna, and Elitzaphon the leadership of b’nai Kehati.” (Translation, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In stark contrast, the Rambam perceives the phrase, “ki lo m’libi,” in its most universal sense, that everything Moshe said to the Jewish people in Hashem’s name and did on their behalf, was al pi hadibbur mamash--according to the actual words of Hashem. In short, all that Moshe shared was Torah min HaShamayim.
 
May the Master of the Universe aid us in our acceptance and fulfillment of Torah min HaShamayim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Yitro is preeminently the parasha of the Asseret Hadibrot (The Ten Statements). The first of these dibrotbegins with the famous words, “Anochi Hashem Elokecha (I am the L-rd your G-d), Who took you out of the land of Egypt), out of the house of bondage…” (Sefer Shemot 20:2, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In his Commentary on the Torah on this verse, the Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) notes that the phrase, Anochi Hashem Elokecha, is a mitzvat asah (positive commandment) that Hashem tasked Moshe to:

… teach and command them [the Jewish people], in order that they should know and believe that Hashem exists, and He is their [sole] Elokim. This means, He is, and He was, and everything stems from Him, according to His will and [unlimited] ability. [Moshe also needed to instruct them that] He was their Elokim, and they were therefore obligated to serve Him. (Translation my own)
 
In Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 1:1, the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) formulates the mitzvah of Anochi Hashem Elokecha in this manner: “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know (leida) that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.” (All Rambam translations, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger)  My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, expands upon the Rambam’s formulation and in so doing, helps us to attain a deeper appreciation of what it means to know Hashem—leida et Hashem:

To know (leida) means that our conviction of the existence of God should become a constant and continuous awareness of the reality of God, a level of consciousness never marred by inattention… the term “to know” (leida) the reference is to a state of continuous awareness—that the belief in God should cause man to be in a state of perpetual affinity, of constant orientation. God should become a living reality that one cannot forget even for a minute. This keen awareness of the existence of God should constitute the foundation of our thoughts, ideas, and emotions in every kind of situation and under all conditions. Everything else inevitably depends upon this supreme article of faith. (On Repentance in the Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, translated and edited from the Yiddish, Professor Pinchas HaKohen Peli, pages 145-146)
 
In sum, for the Rav, to know Hashem connotes “a constant and continuous awareness of the reality of God, a level of consciousness never marred by inattention.” This, in turn, strongly parallels the Rambam’s understanding of the love one should develop for Hashem: 
​
What is the proper [degree] of love? That a person should love God with a very great and exceeding love until his soul is bound up in the love of God. Thus, he will always be obsessed with this love as if he is lovesick. [A lovesick person’s] thoughts are never diverted from the love of that woman. He is always obsessed with her; when he sits down, when he gets up, when he eats and drinks. With an even greater [love], the love for God should be [implanted] in the hearts of those who love Him and are obsessed with Him at all times as we are commanded [Sefer Devarim 6:5: “Love God...] with all your heart and with all soul.” (Hilchot Teshuvah 10:3)
 
These ideas are reflected in the pasuk we recite at the conclusion of the first paragraph of the Aleinu: “And you shall know (v’ya’da’ta) this day and consider it in your heart, that the Lord He is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth below; there is none other (ain od melvado).” (Sefer Devarim 4:39)  With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may this guide and inspire us as we strive to draw near to Him, each and every day, v’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The protagonist of this week’s haftorah is the prophetess and judge Devorah: “Now Devorah was a woman prophetess, the wife of Lappidot; she judged Israel at that time.” (Sefer Shoftim 4:4, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Chazal teach us 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.” It appears, as well, that she had the additional distinction of being one of the Judges (Shoftim) of the Jewish people—if we take the phrase, “she judged Israel at that time” (“hi shoftah et Yisrael ba’eit hahi”) at face value.
 
It seems that the phrase, “she judged Israel at that time,” should be understood in its literal sense, as the next pasuk states: “And she sat under the palm tree of Devorah, 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)  There is a fundamental halachic problem with this interpretation, however, since the fourth century Talmud Yerushalmi, Yoma 6:1 (32a) states: “… a woman may not judge” (“ain haisha danah”). Although the Rambam (1135-1204) does not explicitly include this ruling in his Mishneh Torah, it is found nearly verbatim in the Arba’ah Turim of Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (1270-1340), 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 ask the simple and straightforward question: “Was Devorah really a judge?” The answer, as in many areas of halacha and hashkafah, is a resounding, “It depends on who you ask.”
 
Tosafot discuss Devorah’s status in a number of different tractates of the Talmud. One such source is Talmud Bavli Gittin 88b s.v. v’lo lifnei hedyotot. Initially, Tosafot opines that the phrase from Sefer Shoftim “she judged Israel at that time,” should not be taken literally, since it may very well mean “… perhaps she never rendered judgment at all, and [instead] she instructed [the judges] as to what the legal decisions ought to be.” (This, and the following Tosafot translation of this source, my own)  According to this view, although 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 approach is followed 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 her mandate to adjudicate cases came directly from the Almighty: “Alternately, perhaps they [the Jewish people] had accepted her judicial authority upon themselves because of [a Divine pronouncement] from the Schechinah (Hashem’s immanent presence).” 
 
Devorah as a judge in practice—based upon Divine mandate—finds further support in Talmud Bavli, Megillah 14a, in one of the explanations of the phrase, “And she sat under the palm tree of Devorah:” “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 (the Jewish people) took place precisely because the heart of the Jewish people was unanimously directed to avinu she’b’shamayim (our Father in Heaven).
 
Chazal’s use of the term, lev echad, is reminiscent of Rashi’s gloss in Parashat Yitro on a celebrated phrase that precedes Kabbalat HaTorah (the Receiving of the Torah). Therein the Torah states: “and the Jewish people encamped (va’yichan Yisrael) there opposite the mountain.” (19:2)  Rashi focuses on the word, “va’yichan,” and notes that it is in the singular, rather than the plural, even though it refers to the entire Jewish nation. Consequently, he suggests this term connotes: “K’ish echad b’lev echad—like one man with one heart—but [that is, even though,] every other encampment was marred by complaints and arguments.”
 
In sum, our ancestors were united, and stood shoulder to shoulder in anticipation of receiving the Torah in order to serve avinu she’b’shamayim, just as they would in the time of Devorah HaNaviah. The message is clear: When we have achdut (unity) and a desire to draw closer to the Holy One blessed be He, then there is nothing that we cannot accomplish as a people. 
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 ​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Parashat Bo continues the Torah’s emphasis on events leading up to Yetziat Mitzraim (the Departure from Egypt) that began in the prior two parshiot of Sefer Shemot. At this juncture, we are introduced to two mitzvot that portray the singular import of the Exodus: The first is the mitzvah of Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim (13:3), the obligation to remember and mention the Exodus, and the second is the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim, the recounting of the story of the Departure from Egypt (13:8).
 
The 13th century anonymous author of the Sefer HaChinuch, a work that analyzes the Taryag Mitzvot (the 613 Commandments), begins his discussion of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim with this formulation: 

The commandment to recount the Exodus from Egypt: To retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan—each person according to their power of expression—to laud and to praise Hashem, may He be blessed, for all the miracles He performed for us there, as it is stated, “V’he’gaddatah l’vinchah… (“And you shall tell your son,” Sefer Shemot 13:8),” translation with my emendations, https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaChinukh.21.1?lang=bi)
 
The Sefer HaChinuch does not discuss Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim, since it is nearly universally accepted among the Monei HaMitzvot (Compilers of the Taryag Mitzvot) that it is not counted among the 613 Commandments. In contrast, Rashi (1040-1105), in his gloss on the phrase, “zachor et hayom hazeh asher y’tzatem m’mitzraim (remember this day, on which you left Egypt, Sefer Shemot 13:8),” makes it clear that this statement represents a mitzvah of the Torah. Basing himself upon Midrash Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Parashat Bo 16, he explains “This teaches us that we have a daily [obligation] to mention the Exodus from Egypt.” My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, supports Rashi’s reading and notes that “regarding the truth of the matter, the mitzvah [that is, the daily obligation to mention the Exodus] was really stated in the verse, ‘zachor et hayom hazeh.’” (Shiurim l’Zacher Abba Mori, II, page 152, translation and brackets my own)  
 
It is clear that the mitzvot of Zechirat and Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim are firmly based upon pasukim in our parasha. Yet, if the Torah commands us to remember and mention Yetziat Mitzraim, why are we also obligated in the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim? To borrow from the language of the Haggadah: Mah nishtanah mitzvat Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim m’mitzvat Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim (What is the difference between the mitzvah of Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim and Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim)? The Rav states that his father, HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik zatzal (1879-1941) shared the opinion of his father, HaRav Chaim Soloveitchik zatzal (1853-1918) on this matter, and noted four differences between these two mitzvot:

1. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is obligatory twice a day in the morning and at night, whereas Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim is mandatory only on the first night of Pesach (15th of Nissan).
2. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is fulfilled by merely mentioning the event, while Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim must contain a recitation of the specific miracles and wonders that the Holy One blessed be He performed for us in Egypt.
3. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is, a private mitzvah, that is, a person need only mention the Exodus to themselves. Based upon the actual wording of the source text, however, Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim diverges from this approach and requires that the story be told to one’s children and others present at the Seder.
4. Zechirat Yetziat Mitzraim is not “a standalone mitzvah.” Rather, it stems from the mitzvah of Kriat Shema and the fulfillment of Kabbalat Ol Malchut Shamayim (Acceptance of the Yoke of Heaven). Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim, however, is its own mitzvah and is, therefore, included in the Taryag Mitzvot.

 
The Rav added another distinction: 
​
The obligation of remembering does not require a person to proclaim praise and thanks [to the Almighty,] whereas, Sippur Yetziat Mitzraim is not only [an act] wherein we recite the wonders and miracles that were done for us, rather, we have the additional responsibility to give praise and thanks [to Hashem] … (Shiurim l’Zacher Abba Mori, I, page 2, translation and brackets my own)
 
Whenever we recite Kriat Shema, we have the opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah of Zechirat Mitzraim. May the Almighty help us do so with kavanah (focus and intent) and may this spiritual awareness lead to a powerful recognition of the wonders and miracles He performed for us at that time, enabling us to praise and thank Him when we recount the story of Yetziat Mitzraim. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
Pesach, the most widely observed chag of the Shalosh Regalim, is preeminently the time when families and friends join together at the Seder and recite the Haggadah. One of the many highlights of this experience is the presentation of the Eser Makkot (Ten Plagues), which have become one of the most celebrated aspects of the Pesach story. Precisely because they are so well-known, however, there is a danger that some among us may lose sight of their miraculous nature. As we find in Pirkei Avot: “Ten nissim (miracles) were performed for our forefathers in Egypt… Ten makkot were wrought by G-d upon the Egyptians in Egypt.” (5:4, translation, Rabbi Yosef Marcus with my emendations)
 
The first seven makkot are found in our parasha, and the final three in Parashat Bo. As such, the time of these Torah readings is an ideal opportunity to ask ourselves, “Since the Master of the Universe could have visited any kind of plague upon the Egyptians, why did He choose precisely these ten?” A revealing answer is found in the midrashic work, Seder Eliyahu Rabbah:

The Holy One blessed be He brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians; and all were brought upon them solely as a result of what they planned to do, [and did against,] the Jewish people. This is the case, since the words [and deeds] of the Holy One blessed be He are absolute truth and operate with the principle of middah k’neged middah (measure for measure). Therefore, no evil action goes forth from Him, only good (that is, fitting) actions. Moreover, [seemingly] negative behaviors are actualized against people, [as in the case of the Eser Makkot,] as a result of their twisted and perverse actions … (7:8, this and the following translation and brackets my own)
 
In sum, each of the Eser Makkot is a middah k’neged middah response by the Almighty to the evil behaviors of the Egyptians against our people. A particularly telling proof of this concept is offered by this midrash (7:15) in its analysis of Makkat Barad (the Plague of Hail):
Why was barad brought upon them? This is because the Egyptians forced the Jewish people to plant gardens, orchards, [vineyards] and all manner of trees. [They forced them to undertake this activity] to prevent them from returning to their homes so they would be unable [to engage in marital intimacy and bring forth] more children. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He brought the Plague of Hail upon them that destroyed all the plantings in which the Jewish people had been engaged. As the texts state: “He destroyed their grapevines with hail…” (Sefer Tehillim 78:47) … “the hail struck all the vegetation of the field, and it broke all the trees of the field.” (Sefer Shemot 9:25)
 
The barad sent by the Almighty was completely beyond the Laws of Nature: “And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail, very heavy, the likes of which had never been throughout the entire land of Egypt since it had become a nation.” (Sefer Shemot 9:24, this and the following Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach).  Rashi (1040-1105), basing himself on Midrash Tanchuma 14:10, develops this theme by noting the nase b’toch nase (miracle within a miracle) composition of the barad: “[This was] a miracle within a miracle. The fire and hail intermingled. Although hail is water, to perform the will of their Maker they made peace between themselves [so that the hail did not extinguish the fire nor did the fire melt the hail].” In addition, Midrash Tanchuma brings a mashal (parable) to help us grasp the meaning of this unique double nase:

To what may this be compared? To two powerful legionaries who have despised each other for a long time. When their king became involved in a war, he made peace between them so that they would go forth together to fulfill the king’s command. Similarly, though fire and hail are hostile to each other, when the time for war with Egypt came, the Holy One, blessed be He, made peace between them and they smote Egypt. Hence it is said: “The fire flashing up amidst the hail.” When an Egyptian was seated, he would be pummeled by hail; when he arose, he would be scorched by fire in conformity to the punishments meted out to wicked men in the netherworld… (Translation, Samuel A. Berman, with my emendations)
 
The miraculous nature of the Eser Makkot represented the perfect vehicle for teaching the greatness of Hashem. The Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194-1270) gives powerful voice to this idea in his Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Shemot 13:16:

Now when G-d is pleased to bring about a change in the customary and natural order of the world for the sake of a people or an individual [that is, a miracle], then the voidance of all these [false beliefs] becomes clear to all people, since a wondrous miracle shows that the world has a G-d Who created it, and Who knows and supervises it, and Who has the power to change it…This is why Scripture says in connection with the wonders [in Egypt]: “in order that you know that I am Hashem in the midst of the earth” (Sefer Shemot 8:18), which teaches us the principle of providence (hashgacha), that is, that G-d has not abandoned the world to chance, as they [the heretics] would have it; “in order that you know that the earth is Hashem’s” (9:29), which informs us of the principle of creation, for everything is His since He created all out of nothing; “in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth” (9:14), which indicates His might, that is, that He rules over everything and that there is nothing to withhold Him. The Egyptians either denied or doubted all of these principles, [and the miracles confirmed their truth]. Accordingly, it follows that the great signs and wonders constitute “trustworthy witnesses” (Sefer Yeshayahu 8:2) to the truth of the belief in the existence of the Creator and the truth of the whole Torah. (Translation, Rabbi Dr. Charles B. Chavel, with my emendations)
 
For the Ramban, the Eser Makkot emerge as one of history’s greatest heuristic devices, as they are exemplars of nissim that teach us Hashem created (bara et HaOlam) and runs the world (hashgacha), that “He rules over everything,” and that there is nothing beyond His control. With Hashem’s help and our fervent desire, may these essential principles of emunah (belief) guide our thoughts and actions each and every day. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The final three pasukim of Parashat Shemot are difficult to understand, as they seem to portray a disheartened Moshe Rabbeinu complaining to Hashem:

So, Moshe returned to Hashem and said, “O L-rd! Lamah haraota l’am hazeh--Why have You harmed this people? Why have You sent me? Since I have come to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed this people, and You have not saved Your people.” And Hashem said to Moshe, “A’tah teireh--Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.” (Sefer Shemot 5:22-23, 6:1, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, with my emendations)
 
In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi (1040-1105), following Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Va’era 6, states that Moshe was, indeed, protesting Hashem’s apparent harm to His people: Lamah haraota l’am hazeh? “And if You [Hashem] ask, ‘What is it to you?’ [I answer,] ‘I am complaining that You have sent me.’” He follows this approach, as well, in his gloss on “a’tah teireh,” wherein the Almighty takes Moshe to task for rejecting the manner in which He runs the world:

You have questioned My ways [which is] unlike Avraham, to whom I said, “For in Yitzchak will be called your seed” (Sefer Bereishit. 21:12), and afterwards I said to him, “Bring him up there for a burnt offering” (Sefer Bereishit 22:2), yet he did not question Me. Therefore, a’tah teireh--now you will see. What is done to Pharaoh you will see, but not what is done to the kings of the seven nations when I bring them [the children of Israel] into the land [of Israel]. (Based on Talmud Bavli, Sanhedrin 111a and Midrash Shemot Rabbah 5:23)
 
In sum, according to Rashi, although Moshe will bear witness to the Makkot and Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus) his question, lamah haraota l’am hazeh, permanently barred his entrance to Eretz Yisrael.
 
A completely different interpretation is presented by Rabbeinu Chananel ben Chushiel (980-1055), a great 11th century North African Torah commentator:

For the expression, “lamah haraota l’am hazeh,” is not an expression of complaint and insolence, but, rather, a question that was asked before the Holy One blessed be He: “Why does the middah (action-based characteristic) of tzaddik v’rah lo, v’rasha v’tov lo--the righteous one to whom evil transpires and the evil one who receives that which is good— [exist in the world?] For Moshe saw the Jewish people in the midst of great and powerful servitude coupled with unending misery, while the evil Egyptians, who rejected Hashem’s very existence, he saw in the midst of great success and tranquility… (Cited in Rabbeinu Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa’s Commentary on the Torah, this, and the following translations my own)
 
For Rabbeinu Chananel, lamah haraota l’am hazeh is not an impudent declaration, but rather a question regarding the existence of tzaddik v’rah lo, v’rasha v’tov lo in the world. He extends his line of reasoning by underscoring Moshe’s concern that Hashem had allowed Pharoah’s evil to stand against the Jewish people:

Therefore, when Moshe saw from the day he came to Pharoah as Hashem’s representative, Pharoah made his yoke heavier upon them (the Jewish people) … he asked Hashem, may He be blessed, “Why have You allowed this evil to befall this people, is it not within Your power to save them? Yet You have not saved them!” … So, too, with [the question,] lamah haraota, which we can now understand as meaning, why have You allowed this evil to stand? For I [Moshe] am afraid lest he [Pharoah] will increase his evil [upon Your people].
 
At this juncture, Rabbeinu Chananel provides a novel elucidation of a’tah teireh that differs markedly from Rashi’s presentation:
​
And this is what a’tah teireh connotes, namely, the success and tranquility that Pharoah [and his nation enjoy] only serves to double the punishment on their punishment, this is why the text states, “what I will do to Pharaoh,” that is, I [Hashem] have already prepared the Makkot for him. Moreover, this is precisely the reason that I [Hashem] have allowed the servitude to become more noisome since the day I sent you, in order to redouble their punishment, and to increase and amplify the Jewish people’s reward when they stand firm and bear these trials and tribulations in love [and devotion to Me].
 
In Rabbeinu Chananel’s view, Hashem is explaining to Moshe that the ultimate purpose of His actions will be understood the moment He strikes the Egyptians with the 10 Makkot, for then, their punishment will be doubled according to the ever-increasing burdens they placed upon our people. Moreover, our forebears’ reward will expand, in kind, for having borne these trials in love and devotion to the Almighty.
 
May Hashem continue to guard us from all evil. As Dovid HaMelech proclaimed so long ago:
 
Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Hashem is your Guardian; Hashem is your shadow; [He is] by your right hand. By day, the sun will not smite you, nor will the moon at night. Hashem will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. Hashem will guard your going out and your coming in from now and to eternity. (Sefer Tehillim 121:5-8)
 
V'chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
Please contact me at rdbe718@gmail.com to be added to my weekly email list.
 
*** 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

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
Dedicated to the sacred memories of my mother, Miriam Tovah bat Aharon HaKohane, 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, Tikvah bat Rivka Perel, Gittel Malka bat Moshe, Alexander Leib ben Benyamin Yosef, the Kedoshim of Har Nof, Pittsburgh, and Jersey City, the refuah shlaimah of Mordechai HaLevi ben Miriam Tovah, and the health and safety of our brothers and sisters in Israel and around the world.
 
The passing of Ya’akov Avinu is the most poignant theme in our parasha: “And Ya’akov concluded commanding his sons, and he drew his legs [up] into the bed and expired and was brought unto his people. Yosef fell on his father's face, and he wept over him and kissed him.” (Sefer Bereishit 49:33-50:1, all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach with my emendations)  In his Commentary on the Torah on this verse, Rashi (1040-1105) states the following: “But no mention is made of death in his regard, and our Rabbis of blessed memory said: ‘Our father Ya’akov did not die.’” This gloss is based on the following passage from Talmud Bavli, Ta’anit 5b:

After they had eaten, Rabbi Yitzḥak said to Rav Naḥman that Rabbi Yoḥanan said as follows: “Ya’akov Avinu lo mate--Our patriarch Ya’akov did not die.” Rav Naḥman asked him in surprise: “And was it for naught that the eulogizers eulogized him, and the embalmers embalmed him, and the buriers buried him?” Rabbi Yitzḥak replied to Rav Naḥman: “I am interpreting a verse, as it is stated: ‘Therefore do not fear, Ya’akov My servant, says Hashem, neither be dismayed, Yisrael, for I will save you from afar, and your descendants from the land of their captivity.’” (Sefer Yirmiyahu 30:10) This verse juxtaposes Ya’akov to his descendants: Just as his descendants are alive when redeemed, so too, Ya’akov himself is alive. (Translation, Koren-Davidson Talmud, Rav Adin Steinsaltz zatzal editor, with my emendations)
 
In his Commentary on the Talmud, Rashi elaborates on the statement, Ya’akov Avinu lo mate and maintains: “[That is,] he lives forever.” Moreover, “when the Egyptian embalmers embalmed him, they did this because they [erroneously] thought he was dead.” As such, Rashi suggests that Rabbi Yitzḥak’s interpretation of the pasuk in Sefer Yirmiyahu, “just as his descendants are alive when redeemed, so too, Ya’akov himself is alive,” should be taken at face value. (Rashi translations and brackets my own)
 
A markedly different approach to understanding our talmudic passage is found in Perush HaAggadot by Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet (the Rashba, 1235-1310): 

How is it remotely possible to suggest that Rabbi Yoḥanan or Rabbi Yitzḥak based their understanding of what happened to Ya’akov Avinu more upon a midrashic interpretation of the verse in Sefer Yirmiyahu, with its hidden hints in the text, rather than upon explicit pasukim in the Torah that clearly explain that Ya’akov died, was eulogized, was embalmed, and was buried? Without a doubt, this is something that logic eschews and repudiates. (This and the following translations my own)
 
Rejecting Rashi’s gloss based on straightforward textual analysis, the Rashba instead suggests:
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Rabbi Yitzḥak responded to him (Rav Naḥman) not in regard to the death of Ya’akov’s physical body, but rather in reference to [his ongoing spiritual presence among the Jewish people. As such, Rabbi Yitzḥak states]: “But, I am giving a midrashic interpretation to this text [in Yirmiyahu], and concluding, just as his (Ya’akov’s) descendants are alive [physically], so, too, is he alive [spiritually].” At that point, Rav Naḥman understood the allusions inherent in the essential principle Rabbi Yitzḥak was attempting to convey, and he was silent.
 
In my estimation, the Rashba’s interpretation of Rabbi Yitzḥak’s drasha is congruent with a well-known pasuk in Parashat Vayigash: “And Yosef said to his brothers, ‘I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?’” (Sefer Bereishit 45:3)  It is impossible to explain Yosef’s “question” as a question in the literal sense. After all, in the verses leading up to this pasuk in Parashat Vayigash alone, Yehudah refers to av (father), aviv (his father), avi (my father) and avinu (our father) no less than 14 times! I believe, therefore, that Yosef is speaking b’ruach hakodesh (with Hashem’s Divine Spirit resting upon him) and proclaiming to his brothers that no matter what they have done, no matter how great the emotional pain they had inflicted upon Ya’akov through their errant actions: My father is alive, and will be so forevermore! (See the Abarbanel’s Commentary on the Torah, Sefer Bereishit 41:1, for other examples of Yosef acting b’ruach hakodesh)
 
Today, anti-Semitism has once again has reared its ugly head throughout the world. As a result, there is no better time to focus on the spiritual lesson contained in Rabbi Yitzḥak’s drasha, and remember the stirring phrase, “Ya’akov Avinu lo mate.” As Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach zatzal taught us all, “Am Yisrael chai! Am Yisrael chai, od Avinu chai—The Jewish people live, the Jewish people live, and our Father [Ya’akov] continues to live!”
 
Shabbat Shalom 
 
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org.
 
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*** 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