Recognizing Grandsons

 

Then Israel saw Joseph's sons, and he said, "Who are these?"                                                               Genesis 48:8

            At first glance, Jacob's question is strange, since he had already blessed Joseph's sons, proclaiming "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon." [Verse 5]

            This problem brought various Midrashim [Midrash Aggada, Sechel Tov and Lekaḥ Tov] to offer the homiletic interpretation that Jacob prophetically saw that the evil kings Jeroboam and Ahab will issue from Ephraim and Yehu and his sons from Manasseh, thus asking "Who are these," meaning "Where did they come from, these who are not worthy of blessing?" [Rashi's wording]

            While the reason for the homiletical interpretation is clear, the question which begs asking is how does Joseph's response, "They are my sons, whom God gave me here" address his father's reluctance to bless his sons?

            Rebbe Natan, the spiritual successor of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, explains that the content of Joseph's answer is that by virtue of being his descendants (and, of course, descendants of Jacob himself), the evil kings still have within them a spark of sanctity and are therefore worthy of Jacob's blessing. In Rebbe Natan's words:

Joseph responded: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here," showing his father that he sought and found a meritorious point even within these evil people who will descend from him. Immediately, Jacob agreed and instructed "Bring them to me that I may bless them."

            Despite the fact that Jeroboam, Ahab, Yehu and his sons were evil, they carried within themselves a spark of sanctity, since they are descendants of the Forefathers of the Nation of Israel, and due to those sparks, they are indeed worthy of Jacob's blessing.

Change of Biblical Venue

 

Chapter 46 of Genesis, which describes the descent to Egypt of Jacob and his family, presents a quantum change in the Torah. The venue for the Biblical events moves from the Holy Land to other lands. From this point until the end of the Torah, only four verses describe events which take place within the Land (the description of the mission of Moses' spies, Numbers 13:21-24).

It is significant that after the arrival in Egypt of Jacob's family, his sons mention the land of Canaan three times in conversation with Pharaoh.

Joseph told his brothers that he will inform his king that "My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me." [46:31] In the initial verse of Chapter 47, Joseph indeed conveys this information to his sovereign. The information that Joseph's family has come from Canaan is superfluous, as Pharaoh was aware of that fact [45:17]. Joseph's mention of Canaan hints at the fact that he and his family feel totally connected to their land and that he himself longs for his homeland.  

The brothers whom Joseph chose to present before Pharaoh, tell the ruler of Egypt "We have come to live in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants' sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe." [47:4] Joseph's brothers tell Pharaoh that they have left their own land only out of duress and that they intend to return as soon as practical.

Even as the stage for the events of the Torah shifts away from the Holy Land, the verses stress the primacy of the Land for Jacob and his family, conveying a significant message for their descendants throughout the ages.

The Sukkot Guests and the Land

 

Rebbe Natan, the spiritual heir of Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov, presents a detailed exposition of his thesis that the special days of the month of Tishrei: Rosh haShana, the Ten Days of Penitence, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, are all focused on "revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, to allow us to merit coming to the Land."

The sukka, which commemorates the Clouds of Glory, symbolizes the journey to the Land of Israel, since the Clouds of Glory led the Nation of Israel into its Land.

Concerning the ushpizin, "the seven shepherds who enter the sukka," Rebbe Natan writes that it is through those seven righteous people; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our forefathers, Moses and Aaron, Joseph and King David that Israel merited Eretz Yisrael.

Abraham was the first to reveal the sanctity of the Land of Israel. When God instructed Abraham to leave his land, his birthplace and his father's home [Genesis 12:1], He revealed to him "that there is a Land which is holier than all other lands," and that one who aspires to know the Holy One, blessed be He, and to cling to Him must reach that holy Land.

Isaac and Jacob are the links of continuity in the chain created by Abraham, and each was promised that the Land would be given to him and to his descendants.

Though neither was privileged to enter the Land of Israel, Moses and Aaron led the Nation out of Egyptian slavery to be brought to the Land, in fulfillment of the purpose of the exodus.

Joseph held the Land of Israel dear and insisted that the Children of Israel bring his remains to burial within the Land, which Zohar teaches (Rebbe Natan does not cite the specific source) was instrumental in Israel's redemption.

King David "fought God's wars and liberated the Land of Israel in her entirety." It was only during the reigns of David and Solomon that the Land of Israel reached herideal borders, "From the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates." [Genesis 15:18]

Thus, each of the seven ushpizin had a share in revealing the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael and "these seven shepherds therefore enter the sukka, since it is through them that we merit entering the Land."

Beyond this, the ushpizin at the end of Sukkot, if you will, the pinnacle of the holiday, Hoshana Rabba, is King David, "since it was through him that we merited the complete conquest of the Land of Israel, and for this reason the sukka is named for King David, as Scripture states 'On that day I will restore David’s fallen sukka,' [Amos 9:11] and indeed the essence of the sukka is comparable to the conquest of the Land of Israel, which was accomplished by King David."            

 

 

Repentance Upon Repentance

 

Rebbe Naḥman of Breslov teaches that a person must always strive to repent before God. Even one who has repented should do so again because his earlier perceptions of God were limited to his understanding of God at the time of his initial repentance. A second repentance represents an admission that God is greater than one had originally thought. Hence, when one attains a higher degree of spirituality, his acknowledgment of God becomes stronger as well. Additional repentance is necessary since one's perception of God has been advanced. This process of increased spiritual awareness accompanied by additional repentance is called "repentance upon repentance."

            This concept is implied by two halachot, codified by Maimonides:

Teshuva (repentance) is great for it draws a man close to the Shechinah as the verses state: "Return, O Israel, to God, your Lord;" [Hosea 14:2] "`You have not returned to Me,' declares God;" [Amos 4:6] "`If, you will return, O Israel,' declares God, `You will return to Me.'" Jeremiah 4:1]. That is, if you will return in Teshuva, you will cling to God.

                                                                           Laws of Teshuva 7:6

Repentance, which brings one to cling to God, is a dynamic and ongoing process; the more one clings to God, the greater his perception of God's awesomeness and the more one strives to cling to Him.

Sins which were confessed on one Yom Kippur should be confessed on another Yom Kippur even though one remains steadfast in his repentance, as [Psalms 51:5] states: "I acknowledge my transgressions and my sins are always before me."                                                                          ibid., 2:8

Since teshuva is a dynamic and ongoing process, the level of one's confession on a previous Yom Kippur is lower than that on subsequent Yemei Kippur, hence the subsequent confession should be based upon a deeper understanding of how one's sins distanced him from God and Godliness.   

            Essentially, the process of teshuva is an ascending spiral.

 

 

 

The State of Israel and the Redemption of the Shechina

 

Earlier we presented a summary of Professor Eliezer Berkovits' eloquent elucidation of the connection between Jewish messianism and the Nation of Israel's return to its Land (based upon the final chapter of his book Faith After the Holocaust).

We now present parallel comments of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (taken from the article Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina, Tradition Magazine, 53:1).

Given that Torah expresses a unitary truth, it is not surprising that the philosopher and the Talmudist present the same thoughts.

Rabbi Soloveitchik writes that Torah can reach its complete fulfillment only within the Jewish homeland:

Piety in countries where one is a minority means being pious only in his private personal life – Shabbat, family purity, kashrut, etc. – surrounded by the curtains of one's home-sanctuary. It is completely impossible to represent such a life as an embodiment of a full and complete Torah. My social-economic existence is linked to the general political-economic structure, which is based upon other principles. As such, it does not embody my social, political, or legal relationships with society. … The entire complex of my external interactions with society is divorced from Judaism. 

Thus, it is clear that Torah Judaism can be fully realized exclusively within the Land of Israel and in accordance with the mitzvot.

            Further, Torah requires the Land because it "is not a literary trove of documents and books. Torah means learning and realizing an organic Torah society – concrete Torah actualization. Only when the vision is total – not only of laws of kosher meat and prayer-book, but also of the Hilchot Melakhim (Laws of Kings), Sanhedrin (Supreme Religious Court), financial law concerning corporations and the employment of workers, the individual and public Torah, at home, the street, and the factory – does the whole Torah reveal itself."

The challenge of the State of Israel is to be not merely a state of Jews but a Jewish state in the full sense:

The social-political economic life of Israel needs to be expressed via the seal of Judaism, of Jewish law and morality. The various phases of state life must be permeated with the Jewish spirit, understood and interpreted by Torah and spiritual giants. Our treasure of halakha regarding laws between man and his fellow man, from the laws of damages to the laws of kings, must be built and transformed into action and facts. ... I am convinced that when the Israeli social-political institutions embody the Torah's ideal civil code, we will be the most advanced state in regard to social justice and truth.

            The sweet singer of Israel composed a song of ascents in which Israel sings "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were as dreamers." [Psalms 126:1] The dream of the return to Zion must be "a dream about Torah life, about 'And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?' [Deuteronomy 4:8]."

            Realization of Torah within the Land can be achieved only as the result of Israel's actions within her:

The Torah will find its realization in Israel … only through participating in building the Land, by hewing stones and draining swamps, defending cities and colonies, by working devotedly.

            For the state to fulfill herself, the collective Israel must differentiate between means and goal:

As vital and historically important as the state may be … (it) is important not as a goal, but as a means. The goal transcends statehood, time, and history. The objective is to create a Torah nation.

            Rabbi Soloveitchik's article is taken from an address he delivered at the Mizrachi of America convention, the month after the State of Israel came into existence. Rabbi Soloveitchik masterfully articulated the challenge which still stands before the State of Israel, seventy-four years later.

           

Am I Under God's Supervision?

 

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in God's place (hataḥat [literally "under"] Elohim), Who has withheld children from you?"                                                 Genesis 30:2

            The translation conveys the simple meaning of the verse, and follows the exposition of Rabbi Avraham ibn Ezra (c. 1090 - 1165).

            Shel"a (Rabbi Yeshaya haLevi Horowitz, 1558 - 1630) offers a more literal translation of Jacob's words: "Am I under God's supervision?" In Shel"a's words "'Am I under God?' We are not within the portion of God, which is the Land of Israel."

            Our Sages taught that God entrusted the supervision of all lands to His ministering angels, while maintaining for Himself direct supervision over the Holy Land. [Zohar, Breishit 108b] Based upon this, Shel"a explains the exchange between Jacob and his beloved wife. Rachel requested that Jacob pray that she be blessed with children, knowing that God desires the prayers of the righteous, and for this reason the Matriarchs were barren. [Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 64a] Jacob's response was "Am I under God's place?," - I am outside the Land, under the influence of the ministering angel of Aram, not under direct Divine supervision, and under such conditions God does not desire the prayers of the righteous. (It should be noted that the Sages' comment in Yevamot refers specifically to Isaac praying for Rebecca within the Land of Israel.)

            Based upon this approach, Shel"a explains the continuity of Jacob's words to Rachel, "Who has withheld children from you" to mean since God does not desire the prayers of the righteous outside the Holy Land, the reason for your fertility problem cannot be His desire for my prayers, but (for some other reason, which has to do with you) He has withheld children from you.

Mankind's Existence: God's "Need"

 

And God (Elohim) said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying. … "And I will establish My covenant with you, and never again will all flesh be cut off by the flood waters, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth."                   Genesis 9:8,11

            It should be noted that the verse uses the name "Elohim," which denotes the Divine attribute of strict justice (midat hadin), indicating that God's promise to never destroy the entire world flows from the attribute of justice, not from the attribute of mercy.

            We may suggest that the existence of mankind serves God's "needs." God's angels are His yes men, having no choice but to fulfill the Divine dictates. When God decided to create the world, He chose to create man, the pinnacle of creation, as a creature who will be able to do His will out of free choice rather than of necessity. The risk God took in creating man was that he could choose to ignore the Divine will. As such, the attribute of justice indeed requires the continued existence of the world.

            Perhaps the above is the intention of Rabbi Shmuel bar Mata's comment:

From the first day on which God created the world, He wished to dwell among His creatures in the lower world.                                        Pesikta Rabbati 7