HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Vayechi Volume V, Number 12 (197) 12 Tevet 5751 / December 29, 1990 Parasha Overview Rashi writes: Why does this Parasha not begin a new paragraph as does every other Parasha in the Torah? He explains that because Yaakov died, the hearts and minds of Bnei Yisrael became "closed" by the suffering of their subjugation to Egypt, and thus the Parasha is "closed" as well. R' Zvi Elimelech of Dinov notes that the physical subjugation of Bnei Yisrael did not begin until many decades after Yaakov's death. However, the above Rashi refers to mental subjugation, and this began immediately after the Patriarch's passing. This is because Yaakov always reminded his children that all that G-d did was for their own good. Unfortunately, after Yaakov's death this lesson was forgotten, and Bnei Yisrael felt abandoned in their exile. ************************************ "Reuven, you are my first-born.... Quickly, like water, you poured out your anger..." (B'reishit 49:3-4) Rashi (Devarim 1:3) writes that Moshe did not rebuke Bnei Yisrael until near the time of his death, having learned from Yaakov who did not rebuke his children until just before his own [Yaakov's] passing. What was Yaakov's reasoning? He said, "Reuven, my son, if I had rebuked you earlier, you might have left me and joined forces with my brother, Esav." How are we to understand this? asks R' Yehuda Horowitz of Dzikov (1905-1989). Is it really conceivable that Reuven, the progenitor of one of the "Shivtei-Kah" ("Tribes of G-d"), would abandon Yaakov and choose Esav?! This demonstrates, explains R' Yehuda, the principle enunciated in Avot (2:5), "Do not trust yourself until the day that you die." In other words, do not assume that just because you are righteous today, you will continue to be so tomorrow. Something might change your behavior. Yaakov understood that even a most righteous person (e.g. Reuven) could conceivably lose all his spiritual accomplishments, all because of the bias that he would feel against a parent or teacher who shamed him. (Zecher Tzaddik L'Vracha: Chapters in the Life of Our Teacher [etc.] R' Yehuda Horowitz of Dzikov, p. 121) [See R' Chaim Shmuelevitz, Sichot Mussar 5731, No. 13 ("From a High Peak to a Deep Pit") who writes similarly that the reason that Kayin fell to the level where he denied G-d's existence and killed his brother, Hevel, was that he had been hurt by Hashem's refusal to accept his sacrifice. The only way for Kayin to save face was to deny that G-d exists and to kill Hevel, Kayin's "competitor" for G-d's attention.] ************************************ "And [Yaakov's] sons carried him to the land of Canaan." (B'reishit 50:13) Rashi writes: His sons and not his grandsons, for thus Yaakov commanded, "You shall carry my body, but the Egyptians should not and neither should my grandsons for they are children of Canaanite women." And together with [the funeral procession] went wagons and horsemen." (50:9) [In the early 19th century, the community of Tarnopol, Poland, sought to introduce the use of horse-pulled hearses in place of the ancient custom of carrying the deceased on the shoulders of the Chevra Kadisha members. The following excerpt from a responsa of R' Zvi Hirsch Chayot ("Maharitz Chayot") deals with this subject. The letter is addressed to R' Shlomo Kluger.] The questioner [the Rabbi of Tarnopol] had suggested, based on the Midrash quoted by Rashi, that if Yaakov's grandsons were not permitted to carry Yaakov's body, then certainly horses should not be allowed to do so. Furthermore, said the questioner, since Yosef had many horses and wagons, and Yaakov's sons nevertheless carried their father on their shoulders, apparently this is the proper way to transport the deceased. [Maharitz Chayot responded:] My friend, this is no proof! Yaakov's only concern was that Egyptians and Canaanites should not carry his body, as is evident from the Midrash which records Yaakov's statement, "Let no uncircumcised person touch my body so that the Shechina will not abandon it." His only concern regarded the people who would touch his body, and even if in your town [i.e. Tarnopol] the hearse is pulled by horses, certainly the Chevra Kadisha members or the family will wash the body and bury it. Furthermore, regarding your assertion that Yaakov's sons carried their father's body on their shoulders, there is no support for this. The verse, "And Yaakov's sons carried him," is no proof, for "carrying" need not be done on the shoulder. [In Hebrew, the word "Nasah" can mean either "carried" or "drove".] Earlier, Yosef had said to his brothers, "Take wagons for your children and wives and drive [or 'carry'] your father [to Egypt]" (B'reishit 45:19). Another verse says, "Yaakov saw the wagons which had come to carry him" (B'reishit 45:27). Finally [continued Maharitz], even if we could prove that Yaakov's sons did carry their father on their shoulders, we do not learn Halachot from incidents that occurred before the Torah was given. Thus we find that even though Yosef mourned his father for seven days (B'reishit 50:10), the Rambam credits Moshe with instituting the Rabbinic Mitzvah of observing a seven-day mourning period. [Editor's note: As Maharitz himself notes, it is not universally accepted that Halacha may not be learned from Sefer B'reishit. The interested reader can find proofs for both viewpoints in this responsa of the Maharitz.] (She'elot U'Tshuvot Maharitz, No. 6) Reminder: As always, nothing in HaMaayan should be relied upon in actual practice. This discussion is presented only to demonstrate the interpretation of verses in a Halachic context. All Halachic questions should be referred to a competent Rabbi. ************************************* "Shivchan Shel Chachamim" The Tannaim and Their Styles of Learning Just as we find differing pedagogical philosophies and styles of learning among sages of our own time, so too were there such differences among the Tannaim - the sages of the Mishnah. These will be discussed in the coming weeks. In Gittin, (67a; and with variations in Avot D'Rabbe Natan, ch.18) we read: Issi ben Yehuda used to enumerate the praises of the sages ("Shivchan Shel Chachamim")...R' Tarfon is a mound of stones; R' Yishmael, a well-stocked store; R' Akiva, a compartmentalized storehouse; R' Yochanan ben Nuri, a peddler's trunk; R' Elazar ben Azaryah a spice merchant's trunk. The teachings of R' Eliezer ben Yaakov are in small measure ("kav"), but pleasant ("naki"). R' Yossi has his reasons with him... The Talmud and commentaries explain: "R' Tarfon is a mound of stones," meaning that any question that was presented to him was answered with a long string of wide-ranging proofs, analogies, and examples, from both the Written and Oral Laws. This is similar to a mound of stones which will collapse if one stone is removed, causing all the stones to roll away, one after the other. By contrast, "R' Akiva is a compartmentalized storehouse; R' Yochanan, a peddler's trunk; R' Elazar by Azaryah, a spice merchant's trunk." Unlike R' Tarfon, each of them kept his knowledge compartmentalized and responded to his students' questions only with answers that were directly relevant. (Binyan Yehoshua) How did R' Akiva differ from those of his colleagues who also stored and transmitted their knowledge in carefully distinguished categories? The distinction was in how they acquired their knowledge. Whereas R' Yochanan ben Nuri and R' Elazar ben Azaryah studied only one subject at a time, and did not move-on until they had mastered the first subject, R' Akiva took advantage of every educational opportunity that was available, whether he was then learning that subject or not. In the words of Avot D'Rabbi Natan: To what is R'Akiva comparable? To a worker who took his basket and went out-of-doors. If he found wheat kernels, he collected them. Barley kernels, he collected them. Peppers, he collected them, etc. When he arrived home, he made one pile of the wheat, one of the barley, one of the peppers, etc. Rashi (Gitten 67a) explains that R' Akiva acquired and reviewed all of his knowledge in a jumbled fashion, but once he became an accomplished scholar, he arranged it in an orderly fashion so that he could transmit it to his students more neatly. "R' Yishmael is a well-stocked store" means, according to Rashi, that all a person could want was there. Like a merchant who is well-supplied and does not keep a customer waiting while he puts in a special order, so R' Yishmael's knowledge was readily available to answer any question that might be asked.