Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Vayechi Volume VIII/Number 12 (347) 11 Tevet 5754/December 25, 1993 We read of Yissachar in this parasha (49:15), "He saw that rest was good, and the land pleasant, [so] he turned his shoulder to bear it and he became an indentured laborer." R' Leibele Eiger notes that the beginning and end of the verse are inconsistent. If Yissachar saw that rest was good, why did he become an indentured laborer? True rest or contentment, R' Leibele explains, is that which comes from never-ending spiritual toil. The Torah says (and we recite in Kiddush), "Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it, for six days you shall work..." It is the hard spiritual work of the first six days of the week which allows man to taste the true spirit of Shabbat rest. The above verse suggests that the same concept applies to shemittah -- resting for toil on the land. A person whose focus during the six years of work is on the material benefits which come from working the land will probably find no rest during the shemittah. He will be too concerned about the income which he thinks he is losing. However, if one's focus while working the land is on the mitzvot which are involved, then the opportunity to perform yet another mitzvah -- leaving the land fallow -- will likely be very fulfilling. ************************************ "He blessed them on that day... and he placed Ephraim before Menashe." (48:20) The Da'at Zekeinim says, "When did this blessing come true? When the princes of the tribes brought sacrifices to the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and Ephraim preceded Menashe." R' Chaim Elazary, zatzal, writes that the Da'at Zekeinim is teaching us that it is worthwhile to receive the blessing of a tzaddik, even if it will be fulfilled only once. Look how much time and effort Yaakov and Yosef spent debating the propriety of this seemingly small blessing. Not only that, but the one time when this blessing was fulfilled was hundreds of years after the lifetimes of both Yaakov and Ephraim. Tzaddikim's outlook on life transcends their own lifetimes and eras. Their view encompasses future generations and centuries. (Netivei Chaim) ************************************ The midrash says that after Yaakov died, his sons were afraid of Yosef and Esav. Specifically, they were afraid that Yosef would now take revenge for what they did to him. In fact, once Yaakov died, Yosef stopped inviting his brothers to eat at his house. R' Moshe Gruenwald writes that it is impossible for one person to observe the whole Torah, but when the Jews are united, Hashem views the merits of each one as belonging to the others as well. In this way, the entire Torah is kept. Yaakov missed the opportunity to honor his parents during the 22 years that he was away. Esav was not lacking that merit. However, Yaakov assumed that he would live peacefully with his children, and the merit of their honoring their parents would be counted for Yaakov as well. Thus, the whole family would be safe from Esav. Instead, Yosef's brothers sold him as a slave. Not only was this an act of disunity, but it was contrary to the honor due Yaakov. Yosef also lacked the opportunity to honor Yaakov for the 22 years they were separated. Now Esav would have the merit to overcome Yaakov. Yosef wanted to demonstrate that there was no need to fear Esav. He thus stopped inviting his brothers to his home, as if to say, "The only reason that I invited you all of these years was in order to honor our father." (Arugat haBosssem) ************************************ Laws of Shemittah (based on R' Tikochinski's Sefer haShemittah; not for practical application) Any produce of Eretz Yisrael which is of a species that people normally plant and which was not planted in violation of halacha (but grew during the shemittah) is called "sefichin" and may not be eaten. This includes that which grew from seeds that fell and from roots which remained in the ground. All of these are prohibited by rabbinic law, as a decree lest a person plant during shemittah and claim that it grew in the wild. As a result, the only produce which may be eaten during the shemittah is fruit from trees (which do not grow fast enough to allow the type of deceit that Chazal feared), grasses which most people do not plant, and produce which grew in places where people do not ordinarily plant. Also, produce which began to grow in the sixth year may be eaten during the shemittah. Any produce of shemittah which may be eaten, must be eaten with "Kedushat Shevi'it" - "the sanctity of the seventh year." That means that they must be eaten, not wasted. Also, food which is fit for human consumption may not be given to animals or pets. However, humans may use the produce for any ordinary purpose, for example, to make oil. Fruits of shemittah may not be used in commerce, nor may they be exported from Eretz Yisrael. Finally, they must be destroyed if they are not eaten before a certain time (as will be discussed in a future issue.) Some say that there is a positive commandment to eat the fruits of shemittah. This means that if one has such fruits in his house, he would be prohibited from fasting a voluntary fast. ************************************ R' Shlomo Eiger born 5546 (1786) - died 5612 (1851) R' Shlomo Eiger was the son of the renowned R' Akiva Eiger. Originally, R' Shlomo lived in Warsaw, where he was among the wealthier merchants. His business brought him in touch with the highest levels of government, and government ministers were his frequent house guests. Nevertheless, R' Shlomo was a consummate scholar in all aspects of Torah, and many students gathered around him. At some point, R' Shlomo lost his entire fortune, and he reluctantly entered the rabbinate. He first turned down an offer to become Rabbi of Frankfurt am-Main, and he eventually settled in Kalish. In 1840, he succeeded his father as rabbi of Posen. There, R' Shlomo fought vigorously against reformers and assimilationists who had made major inroads into German Jewry. R' Shlomo left many unpublished works. Best known are his glosses on the Talmud, now published in the back of the standard edition of the Talmud. He also wrote Sefer haIkkarim, an encyclopedia of Talmudic principles. R' Shlomo explains, for example, that perhaps the reason that the sage Rava holds that any act which is contrary to the Torah is void is because Chazal say, "Nobody sins unless a spirit of lunacy has entered into him." It is generally accepted that the acts of a lunatic are void. R' Shlomo's youngest son, R' Yehuda Leib Eiger, became a chassid of R' Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica and others. His contemporary, the first "Gerrer Rebbe," commented that the opponents of chassidism were being punished by their sons and grandsons becoming chassidim. A "d'var Torah" from R' Leib's Torat Emet appears on page 1 of this issue. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Ma'aser Sheni 3:4-5 Kitzur 145:18-22 Kiddushin 21 Yerushalmi -- Bikkurim 6 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this weeks Hamaayan is sponsored by: The Marwick family in memory of Samuel Sklaroff, A"H ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE