Living and Staying in the Land

 

The Lord appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live (sh'chon) in the Land that I tell you about; stay (gur) in this Land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these Lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham."                Genesis 26:2-3

            The above translation accurately conveys the difference in the verse's use of verbs: "sh'chon" and "gur." The classical commentators [Kli Yakar, Gaon of Vilna, Malbim, among others] note that the former implies permanence, while the latter refers to temporary dwelling.

            The verses refer to three geographic areas: Egypt, the land of Gerar ("this Land") and the land of Canaan ("the Land I will tell you about"). According to Rashi's comments, the status of the land of Gerar is neither that of the lands outside the Holy Land [comments on verse 2] nor that of the Land of the seven (Canaanite) nations; the land of Canaan proper. [Verse 12]

            Based upon the above, Rabbi Moshe Shternbuch notes that the verses use the different verbs meaningfully. In referring to the Land of the seven nations, the Land of Israel proper, God commanded Isaac that he is to live within it; he is to establish his permanent dwelling within this area, which has the full sanctity of the Land. However, in the land of the Philistines, the land of Gerar, which lacks the full sanctity of the Land of Israel, Isaac is to merely "stay as a foreigner," to dwell temporarily.

            We are taught that the events of the fathers are indicative of the experiences of the sons. Thus, what was true for our Father Isaac is true for us, his descendants who are enjoined to follow his path, as well. Rabbi Shternbuch writes "This instructs that Jews living in the diaspora must feel themselves as foreigners, realizing that their true permanent place is within the Land of Israel which has been sanctified for the Nation of Israel, and which is located opposite the Heavenly Land of Israel."

            Given that the above refers to the distinction between the Land of the seven nations and the remainder of the Promised Land, we may note that a fortiori it applies to the distinction between the Land of Israel and all other lands.      

Two Types of Old Age

And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was son of his old age (ben zekunim); and he made him a coat of many colors.

                                                                  Genesis 37:3

            Rebbe Natan, the spiritual successor of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, focuses attention on the fact that the word zekunim, which is translated as "old age," is in the plural, explaining that there are two types of old age: old age of holiness and old age of "the other side" (the satanic forces of evil). "Old age of the other side" acts to weaken a person's consciousness, as if he is truly old in his behavior and deeds. That is, "old age of the other side" is the feeling of physical and emotional old age which inclines one to accept his spiritual status with no aspirations to improve himself. Concerning this type of old age, Rebbe Naḥman commented that it is forbidden to grow old. In contrast, "old age of holiness" results from acquiring knowledge, as the Sages comment "'Old' refers only to one who has acquired wisdom." [Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 32b] This true type of old age can indeed overcome the "old age of the other side."

            The verse describes Joseph as the son of old age because, despite his youth, he had already reached the level of the true old age, the "old age of holiness," which endowed him with the ability to subdue and eliminate the aspect of "old age of the other side."   

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to a man who has achieved old age of holiness, Dov Landau, great-grandfather of our new niece Eliraz van Lueewen Leiter. Dov survived five years of ghettoes, forced labor and concentration camps, came on aliya and fought in Israel's War of Independence, where he was taken prisoner and spent eleven months in a POW camp in Jordan. As Dov himself says, he was privileged to start a new "tribe" which now numbers fifty (the number of members of his family who perished in the Shoah). My blessing to myself is to reach Dov's age in no worse shape and with his amazing joy of life. May he live in good health until one-hundred-twenty.

Ḥanukka: Divine Priority

 

What is (the reason of) Ḥanukka? The Sages taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislev the days of Ḥanukka, which are eight, commence. One may eulogize the dead and fasting is forbidden.  When the Greeks entered the Sanctuary, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean monarchy overcame and defeated them, they searched and found only one jar of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest, but which contained sufficient oil for one day's lighting only; yet a miracle occurred and they lit (the menorah) from it for eight days. The next year (the Sages) established these (days) as holidays with (the recital of) Hallel and thanksgiving.

                                                      Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 21b

            Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal [Mishne Sachir, Ḥanukka] notes that during the period of oppression by the Greeks which led to the Hasmonean revolt and hence to Ḥanukka, the Jews suffered greatly at the hands of the Greeks and thousand were martyred in God's name. God too, as it were, suffered because his nation was prevented from serving Him since the Greeks defiled the Temple, forbade the practice of mitzvot and wanted to cause the Jews to forget Torah. Thus, when the Hasmoneans triumphed over the Greeks, the salvation was double, not only for the Jews, but for the Shechina as well. Nonetheless, the Divine joy at Israel's victory was not God's personal joy, but His rejoicing over the salvation of His nation. Indeed, al haNissim, the thanksgiving prayer added to Sh’mona Esreh and the Grace after Meals notes that "The evil kingdom of Greece rose up against our people Israel to make them forget Your Torah and to force them to abandon the statutes of Your will." The continuation focuses upon God's salvation of Israel, "And You, in Your great compassion, stood by them in their time of distress … and took their vengeance." Rabbi Teichtal notes that the Sages who authored al haNissim spoke of God's vengeance for His nation, not for Himself. The great miracle of the Hasmonean victory over the Greeks is an expression of His immense love for the People of Israel.

            For this reason, there is no mention in al haNissim of the miracle of the jar of oil. That miracle was not connected to the physical salvation of Israel, rather to God Himself and the ability to serve Him properly within the Temple.

            Essentially, the message of al haNissim is praise of God, Who, as it were, ignored His own distress and focused on that of His nation. God's love of Israel is so great that He made their honor more important than His own.

            Rabbi Teichtal comments that Ḥanukka is not the first time that God demonstrated His priority. Though Moses was instructed to "Take revenge for the children of Israel against the Midianites, [Numbers 31:2], he instructed Israel to "Carry out the revenge of the Lord against Midian." [ibid. v.3] While the revenge against Midian was both for the desecration of God's name and for the deaths of Israelites caused by the Midianites, God instructed Moses to avenge the Israelites, not Himself. Moses' instructions indicated that for the Israelites, it was revenge of the desecration of God's name which was primary, not their own vengeance.

            Rabbi Teichtal cites Rabbi Levi Yitzḥak of Berditchev, who notes that the same point is demonstrated by the fact that Israel calls the holiday of its freedom from Egyptian enslavement "Passover" as a reminder of God's action in sparing the first-born Israelites [Exodus 12:27], while the Torah refers to the "holiday of matzot" as a reminder of Israel's actions. The Torah, God's word, prefers to praise the Israelites' readiness to follow God into the wilderness (see Jeremiah 2:2) over praise of God.

            The war against Midian and the names of the holiday of our freedom both demonstrate that Israel responds to God's priority of their salvation by giving Him priority. This is true of Ḥanukka as well. Though for God, the salvation of His nation is the primary aspect of Ḥanukka, the Sages instituted the holiday in commemoration of the miracle of the jar of oil, the spiritual aspect of Ḥanukka which allowed the Nation of Israel to continue to be faithful to the statutes of God's will. This fact demonstrates that "Our main joy is in being privileged to fulfill God's mitzvot, not in our physical salvation." 

 

 

 

A Single Soul

 

 

All the souls (the Hebrew is singular) who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob’s sons' wives, all the souls were sixty-six.                             Genesis 46:26

I found in vaYikra Rabba [4:6]: Esau’s family had six souls and the verse [Genesis 36:6] calls them “the souls (plural) of his household,” since they worshipped different deities, while Jacob’s seventy souls are called a single soul, since they all worshipped one God.                                                                 Rashi

            According to the Midrash which Rashi quotes, the factor which united the children of Israel as a single soul was the fact that they all worshipped a single God.

            Zohar [Leviticus, Parashat Emor 83b] expounds that Israelites are considered as one only when they are within the Land. Israel can truly be considered “one nation” [II Samuel 7:23] only when in its own Land. Based upon this, the Land of Israel is also a factor in relating to the children of Israel as a single soul.

            Indeed, the two factors which contribute to Israel’s unity, worshipping the same God and the Land itself, are inter-connected, as our Sages taught:

One who lives outside Israel is considered as one who has no God, and all who dwell within the Land are considered as having a God.

                                                          Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 110b

 

Mother Rachel

When I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way (derech), some distance from Efrat in the land of Canaan. I buried her there along the way (derech) to Efrat, which is Bethlehem.                                                      Genesis 48:7

            The simple meaning of the verse is that Jacob apologized to the first-born son of his beloved wife for not having brought her to burial in the family tomb, in the Machpelah Cave, nor even buried her within the town of Bethlehem, as Rashi comments (based upon Pesikta Rabbati):

“And I buried her there” – And I did not take her even to Bethlehem to bring her into the (inhabited region of the) Land, and I know that you hold it against me; but you should know that I buried her there by Divine command, so that she will be of assistance to her children when Nebuzaradan exiles them. They will pass by there and Rachel will emerge from her grave, weeping and pleading for mercy on their behalf, as the verse says: “A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel crying for her children.” [Jeremiah 31:14] And the Holy One, blessed be He, answers her “’There is reward for your work,’ says the Lord … “and the children shall return to their own border.’”  [Ibid., verses 15-16]

            Naḥmanides quotes Rashi’s comment, but apparently feels obligated to find a hint within the verse itself, suggesting that the double reference within the verse to “the way” hints at the way Rachel’s children will pass in the future, when they will be exiled from their Land.

            Midrash Sechel Tov has a small but extremely meaningful addition to the version Rashi presents:

“And I buried her there along the way to Bethlehem” – I buried her on the main road so when her children ascend to the Land of Israel, they will see her grave and remember her. And so we find that when Israel went into exile to Babylonia, when they passed the tomb of Rachel, her soul began to weep, as Scripture says “Thus says the Lord: ‘A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel crying for her children,’” and the Holy One, blessed be He, answers her and says to her “Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, etc.”

            Our Mother Rachel, as it were, stands ready on the main road which her children will pass not only on their way to exile, but also on their return to their Land; she is connected both to their exile and to their return.

            Perhaps the wording of the Midrash, “and so we find, etc.” teaches that it is specifically Rachel’s connection to her children’s return to the Land which connects her to their exile.

            Zohar [Breishit, Parashat vaYeḥi 215a] cites the comment of Rabbi Abba that God’s comforting words to Rachel “and the children shall return to their own border” are actually phrased in the present tense, indicating that the children can be considered as already having returned.

            Rachel, who weeps tears of sorrow for her children who are exiled from their Land will be privileged to cry tears of joy upon their return.

            As befits a good mother, Rachel remains close to her children both in times of their suffering and their times of joy.

 

 

Joshua Eldad and Medad

 

The lad ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of Moses since his youth, spoke up and said "My master Moses, incarcerate them."

                                                                  Numbers 11:27-28

            Rashi quotes the Sages' tradition that Joshua asked Moses to incarcerate Eldad and Medad due to the content of their prophecy: "Moses will die and Joshua will lead Israel into the Land."

            Midrash Tanḥuma [Tetzaveh, 9] states that Joshua should have lived one-hundred-twenty years, as did his master Moses, but he lost a decade of life [Joshua 24:29] because of the ten words he said to Moses, "My master Moses, incarcerate them." The question which begs asking is the fact that in the verse, Joshua spoke only three words (in the original Hebrew). Rabbi Ya'akov Ettlinger [Responsa Binyan Ẓion, 84] raises the question and resolves it by quoting Midrash Sifrei, which understood that the verse merely summarizes the content of Joshua's request of Moses, and presents the full sentence spoken by the student to the master, a sentence of ten words in length. The conclusion of Tanḥuma is: "A student may not speak in the presence of his master (without receiving permission), for anyone who teaches in the presence of his master has his years of life shortened."

            It is interesting and instructive that, according to a Midrash, we meet Eldad and Medad again. In Bemidbar Rabba, [3:7] Rabbi Berechya, son of Rabbi Ḥelbo, quoting Abba Simmukyad (in some versions, Abba Simmuka, a late 3^rd century – early 4^th century Sage), elucidates that the elders mentioned in the third to last verse of the Book of Joshua "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of God, that He did for Israel" are Eldad and Medad. Thus, Eldad and Medad were the elders to whom Joshua transmitted the Torah, as stated in the opening Mishna of Pirkei Avot: "Moses received Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders…"

            This Midrash teaches an important lesson: though Eldad and Medad, in a sense, deprived Joshua of a decade of life, he harbored no ill feelings because he understood that they were the ones worthy of continuing the tradition of Torah which he had received from his master.

            Joshua acted as a true leader, putting aside personal feelings and acting solely on behalf of his flock.

God's Firstborn

 

Then you shall say to Pharaoh: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son.’”                                                            Exodus 4:22

The Holy One, blessed be He, Himself referred to Israel as His firstborn son. Our Sages taught that when the Nation of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and declared “na’aseh v’nishma (we will do and listen),” God called them His firstborn son. [Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 89b] Though the appellation appears before Israel stood at Mount Sinai, He Who sees all of history at the outset knew that the Nation of Israel was destined to stand at Sinai and declare “na’aseh v’nishma,” accepting the yoke of God’s kingship and of His mitzvot lovingly as sons. [Rashi’s commentary on the Talmudic statement]

Ḥizkuni advances the origin of appellation of Israel as God’s firstborn to before the creation of the world, writing:

“Israel is My firstborn son” – all nations are My sons, however, Israel is more precious to Me than other nations and they are My firstborn, since I thought to create them prior to any other nation.

That is, before actively commencing creation of the world, God decided to create the Nation of Israel. It is likely that Ḥizkuni’s comment is related to the Talmudic statement we quoted, since the apparent reason for God’s decision to create Israel first was that it was destined to be the nation to accept Torah.

Meshech Ḥochma comments:

The firstborn receives a double portion of his father’s inheritance, since it was he who made him a father; similarly, as it were, Israel made God the Father of the World by recognizing His Providence and uniqueness in the universe. This is a simple truth.

That is, Israel is deserving of being called God’s firstborn since it is we who, as it were, made God the Master of the Universe when we accepted the yoke of His kingship and mitzvot, since “There is no king without subjects.” [Ẓiyun l’Nefesh Ḥaya, Pesaḥim 56a]

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch adds that the appellation “God’s firstborn” is forward looking as well, anticipating the time all nations will accept Torah, since “with Israel, the mother womb of humanity is opened; with Israel is commenced the list in which all nations should appear as My sons.” Thus, Israel has been God’s firstborn since before the creation of the world and will continue to be until the end of days.