Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha by Rabbi Yochanan Zweig ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To sponsor an edition of the Rabbi Zweig on the Parsha e-mail list, go to https://wwws.projectgenesis.org/secure/torah/listDedicate.php?class1=83. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parshas Vayechi Capital Decision A lion cub is Yehudah; from the prey, my son, you elevated yourself... (49:9) When the brothers brought Yosefs bloody tunic before Yaakov, he exclaimed tarof toraf Yosef - Yosef has been torn apart. 1 The Midrash comments that Yaakov secretly suspected that Yehudah, who is compared to a lion, was responsible for Yosefs death. 2 However, in his blessings to Yehudah Yaakov lauded his son for being the driving force behind Yosefs rescue. 3 Although in retrospect Yehudahs actions spared Yosefs life, from the account in the verses his motivations seem less than altruistic. After the brothers agreed to kill Yosef, Yehudah stated mah betzah... - what profit is there in killing our brother...Come lets sell him to the Yishmaelites. 4 If Yehudah was interested in Yosefs salvation, why was it necessary to sell him rather than just give him away? Furthermore, from the simple reading of the text it appears that Yehudah was motivated by greed, not Yosefs welfare. Why did Yaakov see fit to praise Yehuda for his actions? If a person is given an item gratis, he will not guard it as carefully as he would if he had paid for it. If we do not have to spend money on an object our appreciation for it is diminished. Yehudah convinced his brothers that Yosefs becoming a slave would adequately supplant his death sentence. However, Yehudah wanted to insure that Yosef would be treated well as a slave. Giving Yosef away for free would not have insured this, for if those acquiring him did not spend a significant sum on doing so, they would not have considered his loss or mistreatment to be noteworthy. Therefore, Yehudah attached a price to Yosefs sale, ensuring that his buyer would consider him a commodity which is in their best interest to preserve. Yaakov deemed these actions of Yehudah worthy of praise. 1.37:33 2.Bereishis Rabbah 97:9 3.47:9 4.37:26,27 An Intricate Plot ...in my grave, which I have hewn for myself in the land of Canaan... (50:5) Rashi cites a Midrash which says that Yaakov Avinu did not want to benefit from the wealth which he had amassed in Lavans house. When Eisav made it known that he felt he had a claim to the burial grounds at Mearas Hamachpeila, Yaakov paid him off with these funds.1 If Yaakov was averse to benefiting from these funds, how could he use them to pay off Eisav? Was it not considered a benefit when he used the cave which he received in exchange for them? Although Yaakov did not want to benefit from this wealth, he also did not want to destroy it. This created a dilemma. If Yaakov would give it away as a gift, the recipient would owe him a favor, and therefore, Yaakov would be benefiting from the tainted money. If Yaakov would use the funds in a sale, he would benefit from the item which he received in exchange, and therefore, the tainted wealth as well. When Yaakov became aware that Eisav claimed to be the rightful heir to Mearas Hamachpeila, Yaakov had the opportunity to divest himself of these funds. Eisavs claims were based upon his delusional perception, not reality. There are two reasons why Yaakov had the sole rights to the burial plot at Mearas Hamachpeila; since Eisav had sold the bechorah - birthright to Yaakov, Eisavs claim to the cave by virtue of his status as the elder brother was invalid, and the land which Avraham possessed was to be used by the Patriarchs, who would continue the Abaramatic legacy leading to the establishment of the Jewish people. Clearly, Yaakov was the heir to Avrahams legacy. Yaakov did not give the money to Eisav in exchange for the land, which, by right was Yaakovs already, but to placate Eisav. Eisav did not consider the money to be a gift, for he maintained that he sold land which belonged to him. Therefore, Eisav felt no gratitude for the money he received. The land which Yaakov received in the sale could not be considered a benefit, for the land had always belonged to him. 1.50:5 1933 And Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt... (47:28) The manner in which Parshas Vayechi is recorded in the Torah scroll differs from the normal fashion, which allows for a minimum of a nine-letter space between two parshios. This deviation prompts Rashi to comment that Parshas Vayechi is a stumah - closed or sealed parsha, for once our Patriarch Yaakov died, the eyes and hearts of the Jewish people were sealed due to the hardship of the servitude to which they were subsequently subjected.1 The implication from Rashis words is that the servitude began with Yaakovs passing. This appears to contradict Rashis comments on Parshas Vaeira, where he teaches that the servitude began with the death of Levi who was the last of the brothers to die; as long as the sons of Yaakov were still alive, the servitude did not begin.2 How do we reconcile both of Rashis comments?3 In the third paragraph of Krias Shema we are enjoined not to stray after our hearts and our eyes. Rashi comments that the heart and the eyes are the spies which provide the opportunity for the body to sin.4 We cannot consider the heart and eyes to have only a negative purpose. Rather, a person chooses whether he will use the energies of his heart and eyes for sin or to facilitate his service of Hashem; the persons focus determines the path he will choose. If a person is focused on and motivated by the desires of his body, his limbs will function to fuel those desires. However, if his focus is on his soul and the fulfillment of the edicts of his Creator, his entire body will be harnessed to fulfill his desire for spirituality. A person who is driven to satisfy the basic pleasures of his body has his eyes blinded and his heart sealed by his incessant hedonistic pursuit. Since he focuses only upon that which he desires, he is completely selfish and unable to perceive the needs of others. In contradistinction, a person whose actions are driven by his desire to enhance his relationship with his Creator has his eyes and heart open to sensitivities which were previously dormant. Therefore, he is able to focus upon the needs of others. It is common that when a person perceives that he might be in danger, his natural desire for the preservation of his body is activated. Self-preservation leads a person to focus upon the needs of his body, very often causing the needs of his soul to be neglected. Although the actual servitude did not begin until after the death of Levi, Bnei Yisroel began to sense the imminent danger of oppression at the hands of the Egyptians immediately following Yaakovs demise. Sensing this activated Bnei Yisroels need for self-preservation, and since they were so strongly focused on their physical well-being, they became desensitized to their spiritual needs; their eyes and hearts became sealed. The physical servitude had not yet begun, but the fear of its impending doom sparked the beginning of the spiritual servitude. 1.47:28 2.6:16 3.See Daas Zekainim, Tosefos Hashlem, Maharal among the few who discuss this issue Bamidbar 39:15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To support Project Genesis - Torah.org, please visit torah.org/support/. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Join the Jewish Learning Revolution! Torah.org: The Judaism Site brings this and a host of other classes to you every week. Visit torah.org or email [email protected] to get your own free copy of this mailing. Permission is granted to redistribute, but please give proper attribution and copyright to the author and Torah.org. Both the author and Torah.org reserve certain rights. Email [email protected] for full information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Torah.org: The Judaism Site torah.org/ Project Genesis, Inc. [email protected] 122 Slade Avenue, Suite 250 (410) 602-1350 Baltimore, MD 21208 FAX: (410) 510-1053 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ Rabbizweig mailing list [email protected] https://lists.capalon/lists/listinfo/rabbizweig ------------------------------ End of Rabbizweig Digest, Vol 18, Issue 1
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 05:29:48 +0000
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