Hamaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Vayigash Volume VIII/Number 11 (346) 4 Tevet 5754/December 18, 1993 Our parasha concludes, "Yisrael stayed in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen." Mei haShiloach writes that "Goshen" is related to "vaYigash" - "drawing close." Yaakov was afraid to go to Egypt because Chazal say that there is a taint of idolatry in living outside of Israel. Hashem promised him, however, that the holiness of Eretz Yisrael would go with him; he would always be "close" to Eretz Yisrael. Of course, living outside Eretz Yisrael is not the same as living on the land. Yaakov observed the Torah before it was given, but even he did not observe its laws outside of Eretz Yisrael (Ramban). In fact, Rashi (Devarim 11:18) implies that even today, Torah observance outside of Eretz Yisrael serves only as a reminder, so that when we return to Eretz Yisrael we will know how to observe the laws. Interestingly, in the case of shemittah, Chazal did not even institute such a reminder. Rather, shemittah is observed only in Eretz Yisrael. Maharal explains that the concept of rest can apply only to Eretz Yisrael which is the perfect land. Somebody who is not perfect has no right to rest; the very concept of perfection implies that there is rest, i.e. some finite points at which the work is done. For the same reason, the Jewish people were given Shabbat, the day of rest, because perfection can be achieved through Torah observance. (Derech Chaim 5:9) ************************************ "He gave his voice to crying, and Egypt heard, and it was heard in Pharaoh's house." (45:2) Why does the Torah use the strange language, "He gave his voice to crying"? Why not say, "He cried"? R' Yosef Chaim of Baghdad relates that the Queen of Bohemia once ordered that the Jews be expelled from her land. One Jew went to the Interior Minister and broke into uncontrollable tears. "Why are you crying so?" the Minister asked him. "These are not my tears," the Jew answered, "but the tears of all present-day and future children who will suffer as a result of this decree." Similarly, says R' Yosef Chaim, Chazal say that when Pharaoh's daughter found Moshe in a basket among the reeds, "He looked like a child, but cried like a youth." What Pharaoh's daughter actually heard were the collective tears of all of the Jewish people. Yosef realized that the Jewish people would suffer for centuries because his brothers sold him to Egypt. In particular, the Ten Martyrs were killed as atonement for Yosef's ten older brothers. It was their tears which escaped from Yosef and were heard throughout Egypt. (Od Yosef Chai) ************************************ Rashi (45:24) writes that when Yosef sent his brothers from Egypt he instructed them not to become engrossed in Torah study on the road, lest they lose their way. Why, asks R' Chaim (the brother of Maharal), didn't Yaakov give them that instruction before their trip? R' Chaim explains that Chazal teach, "If there is no flour, there is no Torah." A scholar whose financial condition is uncertain is incapable of concentrating on his studies. When Yosef's brothers left home, they were concerned about the famine. Yaakov did not have to instruct them not to become engrossed in Torah study, because they would have been incapable of doing so anyway. However, after Yosef guaranteed their financial futures, then their ability to learn returned. (Sefer haChaim, Part I, ch.4) ************************************ Laws of Shemittah (based on R' Tikochinski's Sefer haShemittah; not for practical application) One of the tasks prohibited during shemittah is harvesting. This does not mean that nothing may be harvested; after all, the Torah says, "The sabbatical of the land will be yours to eat." We cannot eat without harvesting! Rambam writes that this mitzvah prohibits harvesting that way one ordinarily harvests. Therefore, one should harvest with a "shinui" (differently), e.g. harvesting smaller quantities than usual, or harvesting by hand instead of with a machine. Fruits which are ordinarily cut from the tree with shears should be plucked by hand or with a knife. One can, however, put his whole family to work harvesting these small amounts in order to obtain a larger share of the produce. In some communities in Israel today, the harvest is conducted without any shinui whatsoever. This is done through the mechanisms of "Otzar Bet Din" - "the treasury of the court." We have noted before that the institution of the bet din is exempted from the laws of shemittah. Rather than declaring their fields open to all, farmers can donate their produce to bet din. The court, in turn, can hire the farmer to harvest his own field and deliver the produce to the court, which then distributes it equitably within the community for free. The farmer not only gets a share of the food, but he received some payment for the work of harvesting. Pruning a tree is also generally prohibited during the shemittah. However, cutting down a tree for wood is permitted, even without a shinui. Mowing a lawn is also prohibited. ************************************ R' GERSHON HENACH LEINER OF RADZYN born 5599 (1839) - died 4 Tevet 5651 (1891) R' Gershon Henach Leiner was both a chassidic rebbe and an innovative posek and halachic researcher. He was the son of R' Yaakov of Izbica and the grandson of R' Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, who had been a disciple of R' Mendel Kotzker. (The best known chassid of the Izbica dynasty was probably R' Tzadok haKohen of Lublin.) When R' Gershon Henach was eighteen, he published the first volume of Sidrei Tahara, a sort of "Gemara" on certain tractates of Mishnah on which there is no Gemara. In that first volume, R' Gershon Henach gathered from the existing Talmudic tractates all discussions pertaining to the Mishnaic tractate "Kelim," and arranged them as if they were a Gemara on that tractate. He even composed commentaries in the styles of Rashi and Tosfot, and printed them in the margins. This work was widely acclaimed, except in the bet din of Vilna, which banned the work because of its misleading appearance. (The danger of such a work was demonstrated half-a-century later, when a previously unknown rabbi claimed to have discovered some missing tractates of the Yerushalmi Talmud, and succeeded in fooling many leading sages before he was exposed. Ironically, if that rabbi had presented his work as the original compilation that it really was, he might have received the acclaim which he sought.) R' Gershon Henach's second great legacy was his effort to renew the mitzvah of "techelet." (The Torah sates that some of the strings of the tzitzit should be dyed techelet - a certain shade of blue; however, the correct ingredients of the blue dye were lost, and Jews took to wearing tzitzit that were all white.) R' Gershon Henach found kabbalistic sources which suggested that the mitzvah of techelet would be renewed before Mashiach's arrival. He thus undertook extensive biological and zoological studies in the hopes of finding a "chilazon" (the creature out of which techelet was made). He also traveled to the large aquarium in Naples, Italy, and, some say, he visited the Vatican where he was allowed to examine garments which the kohanim had worn in the Bet haMikdash nearly 2,000 years earlier. Eventually, R' Gershon Henach concluded that he had found the chilazon, and he published his findings in Sefunei Temunei Chol and other works. Soon, 12,000 chassidim were wearing tzitzit with techelet. However, his "discovery" was not generally accepted. R' Gershon Henach also published his grandfather's Torah commentary Mei haShiloach which is quoted on page 1 of this issue. ************************************ The learning schedule for this Shabbat is: Ma'aser Sheni 1:7-2:1 Kitzur 143:14-18 Kiddushin 14 Yerushalmi -- Orlah 19 ************************************ The hard copy distribution of this weeks Hamaayan is sponsored by: the Rutstein family in memory of father and grandfather, Nachman ben Asher haLevi, A"H ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE