Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Vayetze Volume VIII/Number 7 (342) 6 Kislev 5754/November 20, 1993 In this parasha, Yaakov is told, "And you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south" (28:14). Chazal say that this is a greater blessing than Yaakov's father and grandfather received, because this is a blessing with no boundaries. Chazal say that one who observes Shabbat is given "an inheritance without boundaries." This is the "neshamah yeteirah" - - the "extra soul" -- which a person is given on Shabbat, whose purpose is to make him capable of enjoying the weekdays. [This includes having a bigger appetite on Shabbat than during the week. (Rashi)] Eretz Yisrael during shemittah is also "an inheritance without boundaries." This is true, first of all, in a literal sense, because each field must be opened to all. In a deeper sense, it is the merit of shemittah which keeps the Jews in Eretz Yisrael, a land to which they first came after their slavery in Egypt. Slavery is the ultimate placement of boundaries or limits. In fact, the name "Mitzrayim" (Egypt) means "boundaries." The merit of shemittah, then, keeps us free of these limits and lets us live in an inheritance without boundaries. (Based in part on Sefat Emet, beHar 5661) ************************************ Our exile is referred to as a "day" -- "He made me desolate, lonely the whole day" (Eichah 1:13). Hashem will redeem us at the end of the day, but as long as we don't repent and learn Torah, Hashem repeats the verse from this parasha (28:7): "The day is still long, it is not time to gather in the flock, water the sheep" -- water is a metaphor for Torah -- "and go graze" -- stay in exile. (Shelah haKadosh) ************************************ If Yaakov married Leah by mistake (only because Lavan tricked him), why was he bound to remain with her? Usually, a "mekach ta'ut" -- a transaction undertaken based on mistaken assumptions -- is voidable! Also, when Yaakov asked Lavan why he cheated him and Lavan answered, "In our place the younger daughter is not married before the elder," how was he responding to Yaakov's question? Each of these questions answers the other. A person is expected to know the customs of each place where he goes to transact business. Therefore, Lavan said to Yaakov, "You cannot get out of this marriage based on your mistaken assumption. I only did what local custom expects." ************************************ R' Yosef of Salant notes several lessons that we can learn from Yaakov's experience with Lavan. Rashi states that Yaakov worked as faithfully during the second seven year period as he had during the first. He did not say, as lesser people might, "Since he cheated me, I will get even by taking it easy on the job." Rather, Yaakov accepted with equanimity all that befell him. He recognized that all that happened was Hashem's Will. What was the result? When Hashem wished to destroy the Jews for their idol worship, none of the patriarchs could save them. Only Rachel was able to mollify Hashem. What did she say? "Just as I shared my rightful husband with another woman, so You can overlook the strange gods that my children have brought into Your Temple." (quoted in Yalkut Lekach Tov) ************************************ We explained in an earlier issue how the pruzbul works to allow a loan to be collected after shemittah. We assumed in that discussion that shemittah today is only a rabbinic law, because most poskim do subscribe to that opinion. However, there is an opinion in the Gemara that pruzbul would work even when shemittah is in force under Torah law. This is because there is a principle in the Torah, "Hefker bet din hefker" -- "That which the court declares ownerless is ownerless." This gives bet din the right to transfer property from one person to another, and in order not to discourage lenders, bet din has done so with loans through the mechanism of pruzbul. (Gittin 36b) ************************************ The shemittah falls in years which are divisible by seven (e.g. 5754). However, this was not always the case. When the mitzvah of Yovel was observed, that year was outside the shemittah cycle. Thus, years 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 would be shemittot, but not year 56. Because year 50 was outside any cycle, the next shemittah would fall in year 57. (In all, there were exactly 14 shemittot per century.) The mitzvah of Yovel is in force only when the majority of Jews live in Israel, so today, we do not observe the Yovel. Why, however, do we not take the Yovel year into account for purposes of counting shemittot? R' Chaim Brisker explains this based on the verse (vaYikra 25: 8 & 10), "And you shall count seven sevens of years... and you shall sanctify the fiftieth year." Chazal teach that this is a command to bet din to count off the years towards Yovel, much as we count the Omer. Also, bet din is required to sanctify the Yovel, just as it does Rosh Chodesh. In the time when the Sanhedrin existed, if it did not sanctify the new moon, Rosh Chodesh was not observed on that day. Today, there is no Sanhedrin, and the Yovel cannot be sanctified. As a result, not only do we not observe Yovel, it is as if it does not exist. (Chidushei Rabbenu Chaim haLevi Al haRambam, Hil. Shemittah v'Yovel 10:5) ************************************ R' Shlomo Luria ("Maharshal") 5270 (1510) - 12 Kislev 5334 (1573) and R' Moshe of Przemsyl 5300 (1540) - 9 Kislev 5366 (1606) This week marks the yahrzeits of this teacher-student pair. Both were important links in the development of halacha among Ashkenazic Jews. Maharshal's most important work is Yam Shel Shlomo, a Talmud commentary. Maharshal's approach to halacha was unique in his generation in that he refused to accept the views of his predecessors without first tracing each subject to its source in the Talmud. As a result, Maharshal did not hesitate to disagree with his contemporary, R' Yosef Karo (author of Shulchan Aruch). Maharshal particularly disagreed with R' Karo's basing his halachic decision on the majority opinion from among three great sages ("Rif," "Rambam," and "Rosh"). Not only did this slight Ashkenazic authorities such as "Ba'alei Tosfot," Maharshal felt that it was overly mechanical and was not based on an independent evaluation of the merits of each case. Maharshal also wrote Chochmat Shlomo on many Talmudic tractates. This work is devoted in large measure to ascertaining the correct text of the Talmud and its principal commentaries, Rashi and Tosfot. Maharshal served as Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in three of the most prominent communities of his days, Ostroh, Brisk, and Lublin. His students included many prominent sages of the century. Surprisingly little is known of R' Moshe of Przemsyl, considering his importance. He was apparently born in Przemsyl; his father was one of twelve people from that city who died a martyr's death. It is also known that R' Moshe was Rabbi of Belz. R' Moshe's work Mateh Moshe, one of several that he wrote, is important for the many customs that it records. In particular, R' Moshe records many practices and "minhagim" of his teacher. Regarding the upcoming holiday of Chanuka, R' Moshe records the custom that the candle known as the "shammash" is placed higher than the other candles. As a mnemonic device, R' Moshe offers the verse (Yishayahu 6:8): "Serafim [a type of angel] stand above Him." "Serafim" literally means the burnt ones, and can allude to the Chanuka Shammash the word used by the verse for "Him" is "Lo," whose gematria is 36, the number of candles lit during Chanuka. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Terumot 11:1-2 Kitzur 46:27-31 Gittin 75 Yerushalmi -- Challah 19 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this weeks Hamaayan is sponsored by: Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Edeson and family on the yahrzeits of fathers Joseph Edeson (1 Kislev) and Nathan Salsbury (10 Kislev) Sponsored by Helen and Abe Spector in appreciation to Shlomo Katz for years of enlightenment through Hamaayan ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax deductible