Torah to Go - Parashat Vayeshev When Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ornamented tunic that he was wearing, and took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty, there was no water in it (Genesis 37:23-24). A cursory reading of this verse may not alert us to a seeming redundancy, but for those close readers of Torah, we see immediately what our sages saw as well. If the pit was empty, why bother adding, There was no water in it? Of course there was no water in it for empty implies that nothing was in the pit. Rashi, who usually offers great insight, seems at first glance to be rather unhelpful and in fact contradictory to the actual Torah text: There was no water in it; there were snakes and scorpions. What does Rashi intend by changing the meaning of the verse and saying it wasnt empty - rather it was filled with dangerous creatures? The Vilna Gaon comes to the rescue by adding, In a place where Torah is absent, something must occupy the human mind. Finally, Rabbi Elyse Frishman clarifies for us what the Vilna Gaon has in mind: Instead of water, there were dangerous creatures of the desert, snakes and scorpions. In the absence of Torah, what are the dangerous creatures? Ah! Water in our tradition often becomes the symbol or metaphor for Torah. When the text says the pit had no water, it meant there was no Torah there. But not having Torah doesnt mean there is nothing. For those without Torah, something else has to fill their minds. The human mind is never a vacuum. So what will take the place of Torah - snakes and scorpions or other dangerous ideas? How fitting that we read this parsha in preparation for the holiday of Chanukah. Living in Christian America, it is easy for us to feel the absence of Torah when surrounded by so much Christmas. But with a strong commitment to Torah, represented by Jewish wisdom, culture, language and behavior, we do not need to fill ourselves with anything else. We can enjoy our neighbors celebrations, confident that we have all we need within our own rich heritage. Where else and when else do you find that when lacking Torah, you seek out other truths? When are those truths dangerous ones? When have you felt that having more Torah would have served you well? How might you fill your life with a little more Torah? In what way can Shomrei Torah be an aid or guide to providing you with such Torah? Join the conversation and respond to these questions in the comments below! Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Richard Camras
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 19:54:41 +0000
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