Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Vayeishev / Chanukah Volume 21, No. 9 25 Kislev 5767 December 16, 2006 Sponsored by the Gottlieb family on the yahrzeit of father and grandfather Ron Lipman (Chuna Reuven ben Moshe Chaim a"h) Rabbi and Mrs. Sam Vogel on the yahrzeit of mother Miriam bat Yehuda Leib a"h (Mary Kalkstein) Today's Learning: Nedarim 4:6-7 O.C. 630:2-5 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Rosh Hashanah 11 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Shabbat 44 Last week's parashah ended with a list of Esav's descendants and their family groupings. Our parashah opens (37:1): "Yaakov settled in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan." Rashi writes: "After the Torah has described the settlements of Esav and his descendants in a brief manner . . . it explains clearly and at length the settlements made by Yaakov and his descendants and all the events which brought these about, because these are regarded by the Omnipresent as of sufficient importance to speak of them at length. Thus, too, you will find that in the case of the ten generations from Adam to Noach it states, `So and so fathered so and so,' but when it reaches Noach it deals with him at length; Similarly, of the ten generations from Noach to Avraham it gives but a brief account, but when it comes to Avraham it speaks of him more fully. This may be compared to the case of a jewel that falls into the sand; a man searches in the sand, sifts it in a sieve until he finds the jewel; when he has found the jewel, he throws away the pebbles and keeps the jewel." What is Rashi adding with the parable about the lost jewel? Moreover, couldn't the Torah have told us the history of Yaakov's family without telling us the history of Esav's family? R' Tzaddok Hakohen z"l (1823-1900; rebbe in Lublin) explains: Yaakov's family is discussed alongside Esav's family to allude to the Jew who is lost among the gentiles - the jewel lost in the sand. Even that "jewel" still sparkles with the glow leftover from the revelation at Har Sinai, Rashi is telling us. Even that Jew is not really lost, for he will someday return to us. (Quoted in Mi'gedolei Ha'chassidut Vol. VII, p.61) ******** "In another three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your post, and you will place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as was the former practice when you were his cupbearer. If only you would think of me (`ki im zechartani') with yourself when he benefits you, and you will do me a kindness, if you please, and mention me to Pharaoh, then you would get me out of this building." (40:13-14) Why did Yosef add the words, "as was the former practice"? Also, what did he mean by the words, "ki im zechartani" (commonly translated, "If only you would think of me"). R' Noach Rabinowitz z"l (Lithuania; late 19th century) explains: If someone was jailed and then obtained an early release without any conditions or restrictions, it typically is because the authorities have discovered that he is innocent and was, in fact, falsely imprisoned. However, if someone really is guilty - as was Pharaoh's butler - and he not only is released from prison but also is returned to his royal post, there must be something going on behind the scene. This is what Yosef meant: You will regain the same job that you had formerly, even though you deserve to be punished for your crime. Why? "Ki im zechartani" / Only so that you will remember me. It is for that purpose alone that Hashem is returning you to the palace. (Toldot Noach) ******** From the Haftarah . . . "[The angel] spoke up and said to those standing before him, saying, `Remove the soiled garments from upon him.' Then [the angel] said to him, `See, I have removed your iniquity from upon you and I have had you clothed in fresh garments'." (Zechariah 3:4) R' Chaim Vital z"l (1543-1620) writes: It is well-known that a person's body is not the essence of the person himself. Rather, the body is called the "flesh of man," as in the verse (Shmot 30:32), "[The anointing oil] shall not be smeared on the flesh of man." This concept also is found in Iyov (10:11), "You clothed me with skin and flesh; You covered me with bones and sinews." Rather, "man" is his penimiyut (literally, his "insides" - here, a reference to the soul). The body is only a garment in which the intelligent soul, which is the person himself, clothes himself while he is in the world. After one's death, this garment is stripped from him and he is dressed in a pure and clean spiritual garment, as alluded to by the verse [from our haftarah], "Remove the soiled garments from upon him. . . . I have had you clothed in fresh garments." R' Vital continues: Just as a tailor makes a person's garment a proper fit, so Hashem made the body, which is the garment for the soul, a proper fit. The body has 248 aivarim (limbs and organs) and 365 gidim (tendons, sinews and arteries), just as the soul has 248 spiritual aivarim and 365 spiritual gidim. Due to this perfect fit, the soul can use the body as a tool, just as a hand can hold and manipulate an axe. Like the body, the soul needs sustenance. The "food" for the 248 spiritual aivarim and 365 spiritual gidim - 613 parts in all - are the 248 affirmative commandments and 365 negative commandments - 613 mitzvot in all. Thus we read in Mishlei (9:5), "Come and partake of My food," a reference to Torah. In fact, each of the 248 aivarim derives its sustenance from a specific mitzvah. If a certain mitzvah is not performed, the corresponding aiver (singular of aivarim) will starve. This is why our Sages say (Berachot 18b), "The wicked are considered dead even when they are still alive." Spiritually, they have already starved to death. (Sha'arei Kedushah 1:1) ******** Chanukah Ramban z"l (1194-1270; Spain and Eretz Yisrael) writes in his commentary to Bemidbar (8:2) that the command to Aharon Hakohen to light the menorah is an allusion to the "lights of the dedication by the Chashmonaim, which will continue to be lit even after the destruction [of the Temple], when we are in exile." R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach z"l (1910-1995) observed that it appears [from Ramban's statement that the lights of the dedication by the Chashmonaim continue to be lit every year] that the Chashmonaim somehow invested every person's Chanukah lights, each in his own home, with a quality equivalent to the Temple service. We find a similar concept regarding the Korban Pesach that was offered by Bnei Yisrael in Egypt, regarding which the Gemara (Pesachim 96a) says that every person's doorposts and lintel were his altars. An additional observation: The lighting of the menorah in the Bet Hamikdash was permitted to be performed even by a non-kohen. Why? R' Auerbach explained that this alludes to the fact that Torah - to which the menorah alludes - is accessible to every person. (Halichot Shlomo Ch.13, note 2) ******* Diaries This week we present an excerpt from Eleh Masei, subtitled "A Journal of the Journey of the Rabbis, Members of the Committee to Raise the Crown of Judaism in Our Holy Land, Who Toured All the Settlements of Shomron [Samaria] and Galil [Galilee] in the Winter of 5674 [1914]." Best known among the tour participants were then-Chief Rabbi of Yaffo, R' Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, and the future rabbi of the Yerushalayim Eidah Chareidis community, R' Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld. The author of the journal was R' Yonatan Binyamin Halevi Horowitz. He writes: We rode horses and donkeys until we arrived in Tzfat [on the 11th of Kislev]. We visited the elderly rabbi and head of the bet din, Rabbi Rephael [Zilberman], may his light shine, and he made a feast in our honor. Teachers from a branch of the "Teacher's Center" came there, together with the director of the Anglo-Palestine Bank, Mr. Karniel. They brought a letter to the rabbis and to the rabbi of Yaffo [R' Kook], and asked them to reveal their opinion regarding the controversy surrounding the Technion [i.e., whether the language of instruction at this university in Haifa should be Hebrew or German.] The rabbi of Yaffo wrote a response in the name of the committee of rabbis, and the teachers left satisfied. [This was his response:] In answer to your question of today, regarding our opinion about the language of instruction at the Technion in Haifa, we are honored to inform you of our basic opinion according to our understanding. So long as those who promote the rejuvenation of the Hebrew language pay no attention to reviving all that is holy in Yisrael, promoting the banner of Hashem, the G-d of Israel, and His Torah, which is the foundation of our national life (as it is the foundation of each person's life), there is no hope that the language alone, naked of a life of holiness, can serve as the foundation of our national life in the land of the Patriarchs. However, together with the other improvements in our way of life and education, which must be begun without delay, particularly in Eretz Yisrael which is being rebuilt by a younger generation - [improvements that include] returning to the Holy Hashem, elevating the faith, loyal Judaism, and the legacy of our fathers - we hereby express our opposition to the reign of a foreign language as the basic language of the polytechnic institute. We hope that German will not be the primary language, but rather our holy, national language, the Hebrew language. Signed: The rabbi of Yaffo, in the name of the rabbis of the committee that is traveling to raise the crown of religion and Judaism in the settlements of the Holy Land.