Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha contains one of the three places in the Torah where the phrase, “atem ra’eitem—you have seen,” is found. (Sefer Shemot 20:19)  The other instances are Sefer Shemot 19:4 and Sefer Devarim 29:1. One of the essential principles of Torah analysis is the singular import of every word and verse in the Torah’s text. This is particularly the case when a phrase, such as, “atem ra’eitem,” is repeated, which almost always indicates crucial significance.
 
The Torah utilizes atem ra’eitem in our parasha to urge Moshe to remind the Jewish people that Hashem had directly spoken to them from the heights of Heaven which, in turn, serves as the mandate for proscribing molten gods:

Hashem said to Moshe, “So shall you say to the children of Israel, ‘Atem ra’eitem that from the heavens I have spoken with you. You shall not make [images of anything that is] with Me. Gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.’” (20:19-20, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Sefer Shemot 19:4 and Sefer Devarim 29:1 utilize atem ra’eitem as a reminder of the wonders and miracles that Hashem performed for us in Egypt:
Atem ra’eitem what I did to the Egyptians, and [how] I bore you on eagles’ wings, and I brought you to Me…And Moshe called all of Israel and said to them, ‘Atem ra’eitem all that the L-rd did before your very eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land.
 
As we have seen, our three pasukim deploy atem ra’eitem to refer to two different actions of Hashem that were witnessed by our entire nation, namely, the Holy One’s verbal communication with the Jewish people during the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and the Eser Makkot against Pharaoh and his people. Why did the Torah specifically choose this expression to reference these pivotal events in our nation’s history? Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch zatzal (1808-1888) addresses this question In his Commentary on the Torah on Sefer Shemot 19:4. He begins by noting: “Atem Ra’eitem--The basis of your knowledge of God and of yourself does not rest on belief, which can, after all, allow an element of doubt. It rests solidly on the evidence of your own senses, on what you have seen with your own eyes, have yourselves experienced.” (This and the following quotations, The Pentateuch Translated and Explained by Samson Raphael Hirsh, translated from German by Isaac Levy, 2nd edition, The Judaica Press, New York, 1971.)
 
In Rav Hirsch’s view, experiential knowledge of the Exodus and the Revelation ensures that the Jewish people will forever recognize the unquestionable historical truth of these two pivotal events:

The two fundamental truths on which the whole of Judaism rests, the Exodus from Egypt and the Lawgiving on Sinai, stand firmly on the actual evidence of your senses, and as they were seen, heard, felt, and experienced simultaneously by so many hundreds of thousands of people, every possibility of deception is ruled out.
 
For Rav Hirsch, the foundation of Torah-true Judaism is built upon the incontrovertible knowledge that the Exodus and the Revelation were witnessed by multitudes of our ancestors in both Egypt and at Mount Sinai. As he emphasizes:
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Both these fundamental truths accordingly share the highest degree of certainty, are completely out of the realm of mere believing or thinking, are within the bounds of what we know with certainty, and are, accordingly, irrefutable facts which must serve as the starting-point of all our other knowledge with the same certainty as our own existence and the existence of the material world we see about us.
 
In sum, these shared transformative events, and the experiential knowledge they endow, are the shared legacy of the Jewish people that echoes until our own historical moment. With Hashem’s help, may this legacy infuse our thoughts and actions forevermore.

V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom

Past drashot may be found at my 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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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​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
This Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah,” after the song of exaltation in our parasha sung by our ancestors in response to the miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf:

Az Yashir—Then Moshe and b’nai Yisrael sang this song to Hashem, and they spoke, saying, “I will sing to Hashem, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.” (Sefer Shemot 15:1, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) 
 
In stark contrast, our ancestors did not sing a single verse of praise following Yetziat Mitzrayim. This notable difference led my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, to ask the following question:

…strangely at the time that the Jews left Egypt, neither Moses nor the people sang hymns of praise for the amazing miracle they had experienced. Only seven days later, after the splitting of the Red Sea, did Moses and the people sing Az Yashir. Why did Israel wait a week to give thanks? (Derashot HaRav: Selected Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, summarized and annotated by Arnold Lustiger, p.171, brackets and underlining my own)
 
According to the Rav, the answer may be found in the very different nature of these two nissim. Yetziat Mitzrayim was performed solely by Hashem and excluded the Jewish people’s participation: “…and you shall not go out, any man from the entrance of his house until morning. Hashem will pass to smite the Egyptians…” (12:22-23)  This idea is elaborated upon in Midrash Sifrei, Ki Tavo and underscored in the Haggadah: “I [Hashem] and not an angel, I and not a seraph, it is only Me and no other.” The Rav labels such a miracle, wherein Hashem acts exclusively on His own, a “yeshuah—an act of deliverance,” and notes; “The paradigmatic historical event signifying yeshuah was the Exodus from Egypt. No one—not an angel, not man—abetted God on the wondrous ‘night of watching.’” Our role on this amazing evening was severely circumscribed; we remained in our homes, ate the Korban Pesach and passively watched the unfolding of this miracle and the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise.
 
The miracle of Kriyat Yam Suf was very different. The entire Jewish people actively worked to save themselves from Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen, and the Almighty joined them in achieving this outcome. The Rav conceptualizes this type of nase (miracle) as “ezrah—help from the Master of the Universe.” Therefore, Kriyat Yam Suf was a time when:

…the Creator offered the Israelites a role in their own redemption. He required a leap of faith: a jump into the water prior to the parting of the sea (Sotah 36-37a). The shock of cold water, the fear of drowning thus became Israel’s minute “contribution” to the miracle. At that moment they became partners with God, and as a result Moses and the people full-throatedly sang the majestic Az Yashir in gratitude. (Page 171, underlining my own)
 
The Rav notes that on the surface, “one would assume that Hashem should be thanked more for yeshuah [Yetziat Mitzrayim] than for ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf],” since in the former He, and He alone, brought about the nase. Following this line of thinking, we should have had our “Az Yashir moment” when we left Egypt, rather than at the Yam Suf! Nothing, however, could be further from the truth:

We nonetheless arrive at the opposite conclusion: the more man participates in the effort needed [to achieve the Torah-sanctioned goal], the more he must thank the Creator. Our gratitude is increased in the case of ezrah [Kriyat Yam Suf], because we must bless God for the privilege of allowing us to be His partner. (Page 170, brackets and underlining my own)
 
In sum, we have the greatest obligation to praise the Master of the Universe when we join Him in bringing forth a nase. This is why we sang Az Yashir at Kriyat Yam Suf and refrained from so-doing following Yetziat Mitzrayim.
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May we ever be Hashem’s partners as we continue on the grand march of Jewish history toward our ultimate redemption. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Past drashot may be found at my 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The essence of the Pesach Seder experience is the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim, the recounting of the story of the Departure from Egypt. The 13th century anonymous author of the Sefer HaChinuch begins his discussion of this commandment with these words:

The commandment to recount the exodus from Egypt: To tell about the Exodus from Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan—each person according to his own 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, “And you shall tell your son--v’he’gaddatah l’vinchah…” (Sefer Shemot 13:8, translation with my emendations, https://www.sefaria.org/Sefer_HaChinukh.21.1?lang=bi)
 
The Sefer HaChinuch generally follows the approach of the Rambam (Maimonides, 1135-1204) in his presentation of the mitzvot. When we examine the introductory words in the Mishneh Torah concerning our mitzvah, however, we find that the Rambam utilizes a different proof text:

It is a positive commandment of the Torah to relate the miracles and wonders wrought for our ancestors in Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, as the Torah states: “Remember this day, on which you left Egypt--zachor et hayom hazeh asher y’tzatem m’mitzrayim” (Sefer Shemot 13:3) just as it states: “Remember the Sabbath day.” (Sefer Shemot 20:8, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Chametz u’Matzah 7:1, translation, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger with my emendations)
 
The Sefer HaChinuch’s citation of “v’he’gaddatah l’vinchah” as the source for Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim is in congruence with the position of nearly every commentator on the Taryag Mitzvot; if so, why does the Rambam cite “zachor et hayom hazeh asher y’tzatem m’mitzrayim” as his proof text? This question is particularly apropos, because the Rambam did adopt v’he’gaddatah l’vinchah as his source for the mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim in Sefer HaMitzvot (Positive Commandment 157).
 
In his exploration of this topic entitled, “The Conjunction of Sippur and Zechirat Mitzrayim,” Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, rosh hayeshiva at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, suggests the following answer to our question:

The Rambam's carefully crafted articulation of the mitzvah of sippur yetziat mitzrayim subtly, yet artfully, conveys that the singular focus of the actual night of Pesach is further enhanced by its wide and pervasive impact, as expressed in daily zechirat mitzrayim…it is the ubiquitous zechirah…that determines sippur’s ultimate significance even as a concrete commemoration of the historical event of the Exodus. (www.Torahweb.org)
 
Rav Rosensweig further elaborates on the symbiotic relationship that obtains between sippur and zechirat mitzrayim:

Thus, zechirat yetziat mitzrayim and sippur yetziat mitzrayim are mutually enhancing, even mutually dependent. Without the detailed, intense and more concrete sippur practiced once a year, the more amorphous and abstract zechirah would be compromised; absent the continuous outlet and impact provided by daily zechirah, the anniversary of the Exodus would be nothing more than a nostalgic memory.
 
Rabbi Rosensweig provides deep insight into the inextricable relationship that obtains between Zechirat Yetziat Mitzrayim and Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim. Each informs the other. Neither could reach their full potential without the powerful light of the other shining upon it.
 
May we be zocheh to intensify our focus on the significance of Zechirat Yetziat Mitzrayim in our daily tefilot, and may we infuse our Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim with new and dynamic meaning. 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

Rabbi David Etengoff

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The Eser Makkot (10 Plagues) are the highlight of both our parasha and Parashat Bo. Their miraculous Nature-changing power stirs our religious imagination and demonstrates Hashem’s omnipotence writ large. The Torah teaches us that the overarching purpose of the makkot was in order that “… the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth My hand over Egypt, and I will take the children of Israel out of their midst…” (Sefer Shemot 7:5, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
While each plague profoundly affected every aspect of Egyptian society, barad (hail) alone elicited such an admission from Pharaoh: “I have sinned this time (chatati hapa’am). The Lord is the righteous One (Hashem HaTzaddik), and I and my people are the guilty ones.’” (9:27) Pharoah’s words contain three separate ideas: recognition of his personal sin, acknowledgment of Hashem’s righteousness, and assertion of his and the Egyptian people’s guilt for acting cruelly toward our nascent nation.
 
Why did Pharaoh make this proclamation regarding this particular plague? Midrash Tanchuma Buber provides us with an intriguing insight:

[Let us learn the reason for Pharaoh’s behavior based upon the manner in which most people would act:] If someone desires to go to war against his fellow man, and be victorious against him, he attacks him in an unexpected [and stealthy manner]. He then kills him and takes every possession his enemy has. Yet, the Holy One blessed be He acted in an entirely different fashion toward Pharaoh and proclaimed to him: “And now, send, gather in your livestock and all that you have in the field; any man or beast that is found in the field and not brought into the house the hail shall fall on them, and they will die.” (9:19) [It was precisely as a result of Hashem’s warning that Pharaoh,] following his experience of the [forewarned] barad, exclaimed, “The Lord is the righteous One.” (Parashat Va’era 20, translation and brackets my own)
 
According to this passage, Pharaoh was completely overwhelmed by Hashem’s merciful warning regarding the mortal danger barad would entail. Nonetheless, because of his arrogance, Pharaoh ignored Hashem’s adjuration, and his people suffered untold death and destruction. When he ultimately recognized the dire consequences of his behavior, however, Pharaoh had little choice but to proclaim, “The Lord is the righteous One.”
 
The Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz, 1550-1619) takes a different approach regarding barad. In response to the question, “Why was this plague so pivotal to Hashem’s plan?” he emphasizes that the hail was accompanied by thunder: “… the Lord gave forth thunder and hail…” (9:23). For the Kli Yakar, thunder played an essential role in Pharaoh’s recognition of the Master of the Universe:
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The Plague of Hail and the thunder that accompanied it, came upon Pharaoh as a result of his refusal to listen to Hashem’s voice with the proper majesty (“b’hadar”) to which it was due. Therefore, Hashem forced him to hear thunder that was at once awe-inspiring and frightening. As a result, here, and here alone, he confessed to his sin and declared, “the Lord is the righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones,” since [until this point,] he had denied Hashem’s existence and verbally proclaimed His non-existence… Consequently, he was punished through the sound of thunder… [Once, however, Pharaoh confessed his sin, Moshe declared,] “The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, in order that you know that the earth is the Lord’s.” (9:29, Kli Yakar translation, brackets and underlining my own)
 
The concluding Hebrew phrase in 9:29, “l’ma’an taida ki l’Hashem ha’aretz—in order that you know that the earth is the Lord’s,” finds its parallel in Dovid HaMelech’s celebrated pasuk in Sefer Tehillim: “L’Dovid mizmor l’Hashem ha’aretz u’mloah, tavel v’yoshvei vah—Of David, a song. The earth and the fulness thereof are the Lord’s; the world and those who dwell therein.” (24:1)  In his Commentary on Sefer Tehillim on this pasuk, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) zatzal opines that, since “the earth and the fulness thereof are God’s, the world of men and its inhabitants are also His.” (This and the following quotation, The Hirsch Tehillim, second printing, 2016, page 207)  What does this mean? Rav Hirsch maintains that: “The earth and the fulness thereof belong to God Himself, Who is also Hashem, the God of the Torah, the God of history. The earth must serve His sovereignty which trains men how to fulfill His moral Law…”
 
Rav Hirsch’s analysis and the commentary of the Kli Yakar provide valuable insight into why Pharoah abruptly declared: “the Lord is the righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones.” For one bright shining moment, Pharoah and his nation realized that when “the thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail,” it will be because Hashem was, is, and always will be the Adon Olam—Master of the Universe. Perhaps no greater lesson could ever be taught to humankind.
 
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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.
 

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
 
Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman zatzal (1874–1941) was one of the greatest disciples of the saintly Chafetz Chaim zatzal (Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan, 1838-1933). In his eulogy for his beloved rebbe, he explained that the Chafetz Chaim at first wanted to change the world, then lowered his expectations to his community. After then directing his efforts toward his family, he finally settled upon changing himself. According to Rav Wasserman, the Chafetz Chaim was so humble, he failed to realize that his self-transformation ultimately did change his family, community and the entire world.
 
Our parasha contains a similar narrative of change regarding Moshe Rabbeinu. As the Torah attests, his youth was spent as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter and, according to Rashi, the head of Pharaoh’s household. (2:1) Most people in this situation would have embraced their opulent conditions and rejected their enslaved family of origin. Moshe, however, acted very differently. Although the Torah remains completely silent regarding the inner workings of his mind during this period, it is clear Moshe maintained a strong connection to his Jewish origins:

Now it came to pass in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man of his brothers. He turned this way and that way, and he saw that there was no man; so he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. (Sefer Shemot 2:11-12, this and all Bible translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Why did Moshe rescue his fellow Jew? Like any nobleman of his time, he could easily have ignored this all-too-common violence. Then, too, the very next day he again left the palace to continue to look after the welfare of his fellow Jews. When he discovered Datan and Aviram (Rashi 2:13) in the midst of a heated argument that threatened physical violence, Moshe immediately asked them to refrain from striking one another. Unfortunately, they rejected his intervention, and their harsh rebuke revealed to Moshe that his actions against the Egyptian taskmaster had become public knowledge:

He [Moshe] went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarreling, and he said to the wicked one, “Why are you going to strike your friend?” And he retorted, “Who made you a man, a prince, and a judge over us? Do you plan to slay me as you have slain the Egyptian?” Moshe became frightened and said, “Indeed, the matter has become known!” (2:13-14)
 
Moshe immediately fled Egypt and sought asylum in Midian, a wise plan, since when “Pharaoh heard of this inciden,t he sought to slay Moshe.” (2:15)  In sum, Moshe risked everything by identifying with, and defending his brethren.
 
Once in Midian, Moshe’s focus on justice and righteousness expanded to include the needs of non-Jews:
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… so Moshe fled from before Pharaoh. He stayed in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well. Now the chief of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew [water], and they filled the troughs to water their father's flocks. But the shepherds came and drove them away; so Moshe arose and rescued them and watered their flocks. (2:15-16)
 
At this point in in the narrative of Moshe’s life, we see him undertaking several crucial steps toward becoming a consummate leader. First, he refused to be corrupted by the life he had led as a palace prince. Next, he grew in his love of his fellow Jews to the extent that he placed his own life in danger. Lastly, in a true test of moral rectitude, he actualized his desire for universal justice and fought to protect the non-Jewish daughters of the chief of Midian. With righteousness, conviction of purpose, and singular bravery, Moshe became a true representative of the Master of the Universe. Little wonder, then, that the Almighty chose him to be the leader of our nascent nation.
 
With Hashem’s help, may we strive to emulate Moshe Rabbeinu and bring forth positive changes in ourselves, our nation, and ultimately, our world. 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
 
Parashat Vayechi is the final sidrah in Sefer Bereishit and the bridge to Sefer Shemot. Until the time of this narrative, our forebears were a small family comprised of 12 tribes. Yet, within the first chapter of Sefer Shemot, Pharaoh utilizes fear-mongering and rabble-rousing rhetoric in his proclamation to his nation:

… “Behold, Am B’nai Yisrael — the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and stronger than we are. Get ready, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase, and a war befall us, and they join our enemies and wage war against us and depart from the land.” (1:9-10, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)
 
Suddenly, we have become an am, a people and a recognized “nation within a nation” that, in Pharaoh’s twisted and hate-filled mind, threatens the very being of the Egyptian people.
 
I believe that Ya’akov Avinu was well aware that his family of 70 individuals was destined to become an am: “…Hayasfu—Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days. Hekabtzu—Join together and listen, sons of Ya’akov, and listen to Yisrael, your father.” (Sefer Bereishit 49:1-2, with my emendations)  While hayasfu and hekabtzu have slightly different meanings, both suggest the idea of banding together into a singular entity—in this case, the Jewish people.
 
What is the essence of Am Yisrael? What makes us a unique nation? How, against all the “laws of history,” have we managed to not only survive, but to thrive? These are questions to which my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993) returned time and time again. During some of the darkest days of the Holocaust, the Rav penned, “U’vikashtem Misham--And from There You Shall Seek,” his most personally beloved theological work. Therein, he identifies and analyzes the idea of Knesset Yisrael:
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Knesset Yisrael—the Community of Israel—its definition: the inextricable connection between the first and last generations of prophet and listener, of Torah scholar and student, of the Revelation of G-d’s Divine Presence in the earliest lights of dawn, and the eschatological vision on that day to come. (Translation my own)
 
At first blush, one might imagine that Knesset Yisrael is a homogeneous entity that is linked together by like-minded people and universally agreed upon concepts and patterns of thought. Yet, in his analysis of the term, “hekabtzu—join together,” the Rav Soloveitchik presents an entirely different notion that helps account for the continuation and greatness of Knesset Yisrael: “Jacob here [in his blessings to his sons] expresses the essence of Knesses Yisrael. According to Nachmanides, Knesses Yisrael connotes a community of contradictory, mutually exclusive ideas and people. … [with] many traits of character.” (Public lecture, Boston, 1979, cited in, Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Bereishis, page 357)
 
I believe that Ya’akov Avinu profoundly understood this constitutive aspect of the Jewish people, as demonstrated by his differentiated brachot to each of his sons. In a very real sense, his brachot represented the key to the Jewish future in which our many differences would become a dynamic source of strength, enabling us to survive the seemingly endless trials and tribulations of our storied history.
 
May the Master of the Universe ever encourage us to embrace our myriad differences so that we may join together and proclaim as one, “Am Yisrael chai!” 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

​Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha begins with the dramatic encounter between Yehudah and Yosef: “Vayigash aluv--then Yehudah approached him [Yosef]...” These simple words conceal far more than they reveal. Yehudah is the spokesman for his family; Yosef is the second-in-command of Egypt, the most powerful nation in the world. As we know, this asymmetrical power dynamic undergoes a radical shift in succeeding millennia of Jewish history when Yehudah’s descendants, rather than Yosef’s, become the kings of Israel.
 
My rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, notes that “Joseph wanted to be king, to combine political and economic power with spiritual leadership. He dreamt of sheaves and he also dreamt of stars.” In contrast, “Judah was not a dreamer. Yet, apparently there was something in his personality which commanded respect and obedience…And now Judah is in the forefront; he is the one who argues with Joseph…He was a very strong and powerful personality who radiated authority.” (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Vision and Leadership: Reflections on Joseph and Moses, David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler editors, page 40)
 
Why did Hashem choose Yehudah instead of Yosef to lead the Jewish people? In order to answer this question, the Rav analyzes the dual nature of the covenantal community (the Jewish people), and the differences that obtained between Leah and Rachel:

The covenantal community that God established with Abraham displayed two characteristic moral streaks, two tendencies which prima facie are contradictory and mutually exclusive. First, the covenantal community does not shrink from power…Without power one cannot be majestic and dignified. Majesty and dignity are not sinful, they are moral virtues.
 
The pursuit of power in the service of majesty and dignity is counterbalanced by the second constitutive element of the covenantal community, namely, sacrificial action:

…the covenantal community displays another trait as well: sacrificial action, the ability to give away and to renounce basic inalienable rights for the sake of a great vision, an ideal, or for the benefit of another human being or community…Covenantal man knows when to act like a warrior—majestic, dignified and proud—and when to part with everything he has. (Pages 41-42)
 
According to the Rav, these two essential qualities were exemplified by Leah and Rachel:

Leah and Rachel were not merely people. Leah was the personification of middat ha-gevurah, of dignity and majesty…She symbolized the strength of Jewish character and the unshakable will of the Jew throughout the ages and millennia. It is because of that persistence, that stubbornness and tenacity, that we still remain a living people after thirty-five hundred years of persecution and massacres. (Page 43)
 
In stark contrast, Rachel epitomized great sacrificial action:

Rachel is the opposite of Leah. She is the tragic heroine who lives for others and not for herself. She gave up her most precious possessions and her elementary rights in order to make it possible for others to find the happiness denied them…She helped her sister take Jacob away from herself. She brushed aside all her own hopes and cherished wishes because her sister was also entitled to the same happiness which Providence had showered upon her, but denied to her sister. (Page 44)
 
As is the Rav’s wont, Leah and Rachel are presented as archetypes. Within this conceptual construct, Leah is gevurah (power) and Rachel is tzimtzum (withdrawal) and sacrificial action. Moreover, each mother endows their respective sons (in this instance, Yehudah and Yosef) with their most powerful personality trait: “Leah represented gevurah, and Judah was a son of Leah. Judah’s personality radiated power, authority, and prestige…Judah is self-asserting, valiant, and fearless; he personifies dignity and majesty.” In contradistinction:

Joseph was the son of Rachel, to whom was assigned a mission to sacrifice, to retreat from positions won with blood and tears…He retreated many times, thus sacrificing himself, but his real sacrifice was the way he treated his brothers when they were at his mercy: “Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here.” (Sefer Bereishit 45:5)  He was not the least bit vindictive.
 
How could Yosef, the second most powerful person of his time, nullify himself in such a manner before his brothers? As the Rav explains:

Only a son of Rachel could have done that. Only the son of Rachel, who had sacrificed her love for Leah’s sake, could down-grade his own self and offer friendship and kindness to his brothers who were responsible for all the misery and agony he had experienced. Joseph was the representative of hesed (kindness) and kedushah (holiness; page 45).
 
We are now ready to ask our question once again, “Why did Hashem choose Yehudah over Yosef to lead the Jewish people?” The Rav suggests this response:
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Who then should be the king: the representative of gevurah or the representative of hesed and kedushah? The problem was submitted to the Almighty, and He decided in favor of gevurah. The king is the trustee and the leader of the people; he must possess all facets of gevurah: the ability to acquire, to defend, to possess and to protect. Sacrificial life is good as far as the individual is concerned. But the king cannot be a sacrificial type at the expense of the nation. (Page 45)
 
Based upon the Rav’s trenchant analysis, we may now better understand why Hashem chose the tribe of Yehudah for kingship and, ultimately, messianic leadership. Our kings must represent the highest aspects of gevurah if they are to lead and protect. Only Yehudah and his descendants could fulfill this role.
 
May the time come soon and in our days when we will witness the return of our nation’s kingship in the person of the Mashiach and the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash. 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
This week’s haftarah contains a famous verse: “…This is the word of Hashem to Zerubbabel, saying: ‘Lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach ki im b’ruchi amar Hashem Tzivakot—Not by force and not by physical strength, but by My spirit,’ says the L-rd of Hosts.” (Sefer Zechariah 4:6, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  In some ways, it is as cryptic as it is renowned, as there is little consensus among our classic meforshim as to the content of this prophecy and its point of reference. This is particularly the case, since the preceding verse states:

And [there were] two olive trees near it [that is, the golden Menorah]; one on the right of the bowl, and one on its left. So I [Zechariah] answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel who spoke with me answered, and he said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” (4:3-5)
 
Even a cursory reading of our passage leads to the conclusion that lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach ki im b’ruchi amar Hashem Tzivakot does not answer the angel’s question posed to Zechariah regarding the mashal of the two olive trees.
 
In his collection of responsa entitled, Beit Yitzchak, Rabbi Yitzchak Yehudah Shmelkis zatzal (1827-1905) suggests that the olive trees symbolize the two inclinations within humankind, the yetzer tov (the good inclination. to the right of the Menorah) and the yetzer harah (the evil inclination, to the left of the Menorah). Moreover, in his view, the malach was really asking Zechariah, “Do you know why the Holy One blessed be He created human beings and placed within them two possible approaches [to life]and two inclinations?” To this the angel answered:

“Lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach ki im b’ruchi amar Hashem Tzivakot”—for if the Holy One blessed be He had not created the evil inclination, humankind would have been forced to perform each of their actions and there never would have been a place or an opportunity for schar—reward based upon their righteous and just [behaviors]. This, then, is the meaning of lo b’chayil v’lo b’koach, regarding all of humankind’s actions [that would have been devoid of free choice], but rather, ki im b’ruchi amar Hashem Tzivakot”—that is, solely through the G-d-endowed spirit of habechirah hachafshite —free choice—will a person plan and implement their actions… (Responsa Yoreh Deah II, Petach HaBayit, translation, brackets and underlining my own
 
Rav Shmelkis’ analysis is an exegetical tour de force. In relatively few words, he places Zechariah’s nevuah squarely in the context of one of Judaism’s most fundamental theological principles, namely, bechirah chafshite, that is the basis for the doctrine of schar v’onesh—Reward and Punishment.
 
We must always remember that while bechirah chafshite has great power, it carries with it great responsibility. In other words, it is crucial to recognize that each of our free-willed choices affects not only ourselves, but in a very real way, the entire world. Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon gave powerful voice to this idea when he declared:

Since the world is judged after the majority of its deeds, and the individual is judged after the majority of his actions, if he does one mitzvah, he should rejoice, for he has tilted the scales of justice for himself and the entire world l’kaf zechut—toward the side of merit. [Unfortunately, however,] if he does one aveirah—sin, woe unto him, for he has tilted the scales of justice for both himself and the entire world to the side of guilt. (Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 40b, translation my own)
 
With Hashem’s help may we ever be vigilant in our exercise of bechirah chafshite and recognize the power with which it is endowed. Moreover, may we ever be counted among those who bring the entire world l’kaf zechut. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach!
​
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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.
 

Rabbi David Etengoff

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ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Parashat Vayeshev begins with the pasuk: “Ya’akov dwelt (vayeshev) in the land of his father’s sojournings (b’eretz megurei aviv), in the land of Canaan.” (Sefer Bereishit 37:1, this and all Tanach citations with my emendations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  At first glance it seems unnecessary, since the Torah previously stated: “So Rachel died, and she was buried on the road to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem…And it came to pass when Yisrael dwelt in that land…” (Sefer Bereishit 35: 19 and 22)  If so, what is our parasha’s initial verse coming to add?

A 1974 Boston public lecture by my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zatzal (1903-1993), helps us understand the singular import of this pasuk. He notes that “vayeshev” signifies the sense of permanent settlement: “This verse strongly emphasizes that it was Jacob’s intention at this point to attach himself to the Land of Israel.” Why was this the case? The next phrase, “b’eretz megurei aviv,” provides the answer: “The words b’eretz megurei aviv connote not merely a geographical location, but a love for the land that was both his father’s and his grandfather’s home.” (Chumash Mesoras HaRav, Sefer Bereishit 37:1, page 273) 

Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (1075-1141) was one of the greatest exponents in Jewish history of Ahavat Tzion (Love of the Land of Israel). Little wonder, then, that his celebrated line of poetry, “libi b’mizrach v’anochi b’sof ma’arav—My heart is in the East, and I am at the edge of the West,” has come to epitomize his powerful affection for Eretz Yisrael. In so doing, he emulated the very same devotion for the land that was demonstrated by the Avot. In passage after passage of his classic sefer on Jewish thought, The Kuzari, he underscored the singular significance of Eretz Yisrael. Here is one telling example:

The Rabbi said: “Eretz Yisrael was established to rectify the entire world…Avraham himself was designated for cleaving to Divinity and for making a covenant with Hashem only after he was living in the land at the time of the Brit Bein HaBetarim (Covenant of the Pieces). How much more then, when discussing the entire chosen nation, were they worthy of being called the ‘Am Hashem Aleh—These are the People of Hashem’ (Sefer Yechezkel 36:20) only when they were living in the specially designated land called the ‘nachalat Hashem—the heritage of Hashem.’” (Sefer Shmuel I:26:19)  (The Kuzari, translation with my emendations, Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin, page 163, underlining my own)
 
May all of klal Yisrael soon be zocheh (merit) to once again live in nachalat Hashem as “Am Hashem Aleh.” As we wistfully say in the weekly Shemoneh Esrei: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the banner to gather our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who gathers in the dispersed of His people Israel.” (Translation, The Complete ArtScroll Siddur, page 106)  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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.

Rabbi David Etengoff


ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל, בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Our parasha contains one of the most dramatic moments in Tanach: the encounter of Ya’akov and Eisav. It begins with a well-known pasuk: “Ya’akov lifted his eyes and saw, and behold (vayisa Ya’akov ainav va’yare v’hena), Eisav was coming, and with him were four hundred men…” (Sefer Bereishit 33:1, this and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach). This is not the first time we have encountered the phrase “vayisa ainav va’yare v’hena.” Regarding Avraham Avinu, the second pasuk of Parashat Vayera states: “Vayisa ainav va’yare v’hena three men were standing beside him, and he saw, and he ran toward them from the entrance of the tent, and he prostrated himself to the ground.” (18:2)  In addition, one of the concluding verses of the Akeidah reads: “Vayisa Avraham et ainav va’yare v’hena there was a ram, [and] after [that] it was caught in a tree by its horns…” (22:13)  Perhaps no better example of the midrashically-inspired phrase, “ma’aseh avot siman l’banim—the actions of the fathers foreshadow those of their children,” can be found in Tanach.  
 
Midrash Tanchuma (Warsaw, Parashat Vayeshev 6) suggests that in addition to the Avot looking up and seeing the scenes before them, this action raised them to a higher level: “atah motzai sh’hatzaddikim mitrommanin b’ayneihem—you find that the righteous ones were raised up through their eyes.” (Translation my own)  In my estimation, this higher level refers to the pursuit of the holy; by looking upward, the Avot were able to connect to Hashem in a new and powerful manner. As such, vayisa ainav va’yare foreshadows Dovid HaMelech’s stirring words in Tehillim 121, 1-2: “Easa ainei el heharim ma’ayin yavo ezri--I shall raise my eyes to the mountains, from where will my help come? My help is from Hashem, the Maker of heaven and earth.” In his Commentary on Sefer Tehillim, the Rashbam (1085-1158) explains that the phrase, “to the mountains,” connotes “heavenward,” that is toward, “the Maker of heaven and earth.”
 
May we ever join the Avot, Dovid HaMelech, and countless other tzaddikim in casting our eyes heavenward, for there, and there alone, will we find true salvation. 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 would like to be added, please contact me via email: mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: Tefilah and Tanach
 
*** 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.