Today's Learning Rosh Hashanah 4:8-9 O.C. 104:2-4 Bava Batra 61 Yerushalmi-- Ta'anit 8 HAMAAYAN/THE TORAH SPRING edited by Shlomo Katz VAYECHI Vol. IX, No. 12 (396), 14 Tevet 5755, December 17, 1994 Chazal say that Yaakov wished to reveal when mashiach would arrive, but the Shechinah left him so he could not do so. Rav Shmuel Engel zatz'l explains that, while Hashem's knowledge of the future does not reduce our free will, once Hashem "speaks," the future cannot be changed. Yaakov was a prophet on the level of Moshe; unlike other prophets who had to interpret their visions, the Shechinah spoke directly from Yaakov's body. We are taught that mashiach can come at one of two times: the preordained date called the "End" or an earlier time, if we are deserving. However, had the Shechinah, through Yaakov, spoken the exact date of the End, than we would have lost our chance to bring mashiach earlier. Yaakov did not understand that this was the reason for the Shechinah's departure, and he thought that his sons were not deserving. In response, Chazal say, they said the Shema, proclaiming that "Hashem" and "Elokim" are one and the same. How was this relevant at that moment? "Hashem" represents G-d's mercy; "Elokim" represents His strict justice. Yaakov's sons meant to tell him, "What appears to you as an act of strictness (i.e., Hashem's not allowing you to say when the End will be), is in reality an act of mercy, so that mashiach can come sooner." (Siftei Maharash) ************************************ As noted on the front page, Yaakov wanted to reveal the "End," but Hashem stopped him. Rav Shaul Yedidyah Elazar Taub (the "Modzhitzer Rebbe") zatz'l explains that Yaakov wanted to indelibly teach his sons that everything that Hashem does is for the best, as will become clear at the End. However, Yaakov had to be stopped because if we could never forget this lesson, our free will would be lost. The midrash continues and says that Yaakov then began to speak of "different things"--"devarim acheirim." The Talmudic sage Rabbi Meir was nicknamed "Acheirim," and his nature was to never judge something by its cover. This is why he was able to study Torah from a heretic; he "ate the fruit and discarded the rind." So, too, Yaakov hinted to his sons, when events appear unjust, don't judge them superficially. (Yisah Berachah) ************************************ Although here the Shechinah left Yaakov, in general the Shechinah is "found" near the head of a sick person. Rav Chaim ben Bezalel zatz'l (brother of Maharal) explains that as man's body weakens, his spirit is better able to break the shackles which bind it and thereby attain spirituality. Also, sickness is a humbling experience, and G-d comes to those who are humble. (Sefer HaChaim 2:8) ************************************ "Reuven, you are my firstborn, my strength and my initial vigor, foremost in power. Water-like impetuosity--you cannot be foremost. . . Shimon and Levi are comrades, their weaponry is a stolen craft." (49:3-5) The midrash (Yalkut Shimoni  953) states that because Reuven, Shimon, and Levi accepted their father's criticism they merited to have their descendants enumerated in the genealogy of Moshe and Aharon (see Sh'mot ch. 6). Rav Henach Lebowitz shlita notes that from the fact that Chazal praised these men so, we can learn that it must have been difficult for them to be criticized. This is true even though they were tzaddikim and would want to know how to improve themselves. In Tanach, another great person is criticized--King David--and again we see that it must have been difficult to accept. Thus, the midrash says that Avigayil told David, "Don't think that because you are king you are above criticism. You should criticize yourself." This is a tool for our use when we find it difficult to accept criticism. If someone criticizes us, it is but a sign that that is a fitting time for introspection. And self-criticism is a most effective tool for self-improvement. (Chidushei HaLev) ************************************ "Then Yosef exacted an oath from the sons of Yisrael saying, 'When G-d will indeed remember you, then you must bring my bones up out of here." (50:25) Ramban writes that the Patriarchs and their families (who lived before the Torah was given) did not observe the Torah outside of Eretz Yisrael. (Thus, for example, Yaakov was able to marry two sisters.) What difference did it make then if Yosef's brothers took an oath, since the oath would not be binding? Rav Chaim Chizkiyah Medini zatz'l explains (in the name of Chida) that that which they did not keep the Torah was only if their sojourn outside of Eretz Yisrael was temporary. They did this so that they would not be attracted to life outside of Eretz Yisrael. [They missed doing mitzvot!] However, once Yaakov and his sons moved to Egypt, they knew that they would never return to Eretz Yisrael alive. Accordingly, they kept the Torah even in Egypt. (Shiyurei HaPe'ah 1:6) ************************************ Rav Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer (The "Ketav Sofer") born Rosh Chodesh Adar 5575 (1815) - died 19 Tevet 5632 (1872) The Ketav Sofer (as he is known after the title of his works) was the oldest son of Rav Moshe Sofer (the "Chatam Sofer"), and a grandson of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. The Chatam Sofer, one of the greatest luminaries of the 19th century, maintained that his son was greater than he. On the 25th of Tishrei 5600 (1839) the Chatam Sofer died and his son was crowned as Rabbi of Pressburg (Bratslava, Slovakia) and rosh yeshiva in his place. During his reign, the yeshiva in Pressburg was the jewel of the Hungarian Torah world, and nearly all of Hungary's great rabbis were Ketav Sofer's students or the students of his students. Similarly, Ketav Sofer was Hungary's leading rabbi and numerous halachic queries were addressed to him. When, in 1869, a conference was held in Budapest to strengthen Orthodox Jewry against the onslaught of reform, the delegates chose Ketav Sofer as chairman and keynote speaker. As a result of that conference, Emperor Franz Josef granted autonomy to the Orthodox Jewish communities of Hungary. At Ketav Sofer's instigation, the Emperor also decreed that students of the Pressburg yeshiva could obtain exemption from army service. In his Ketav Sofer on the Torah, the author addresses Chazal's statement that Parashat Vayechi is "closed," i.e., it begins in the middle of a paragraph, because, "The eyes [i.e., hopes] of the Jews were closed by their suffering." Why is this alluded to in the midst of verses which describe how happily Yaakov lived in Egypt? Ketav Sofer explains that Yaakov's children believed that the 400 years of exile began from Yitzchak's birth; all of Yitzchak's and Yaakov's tribulations were parts of the exile. However, when the Jews saw how happily Yaakov's years in Egypt passed, they feared that the 400 years had not yet begun. ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE ************************************ Now you can have the e-mail version of Hamaayan faxed to you on Tuesday night. Written requests only, please.