Today's Learning Sukkah 4:10-5:1 O.C. 77:2-79:1 Bava Batra 19 Yerushalmi-- Yoma 34 HAMAAYAN/THE TORAH SPRING edited by Shlomo Katz VAYETZE Vol. IX, No. 7 (391), 9 Kislev 5755, November 12, 1994 At the Pesach seder, we point out that Pharaoh planned to kill only the Jewish males, while Lavan sought to uproot Yaakov's entire family. Why do we use that occasion to downplay Pharaoh's evil? Rav Eliezer David Gruenwald zatz'l explains: Hashem has promised that the Jewish people will never be destroyed. Thus, for example, when Hashem told Moshe that He would kill Bnei Yisrael and rebuild the nation from Moshe's progeny, Moshe said, "Erase me from Your book." Moshe meant, "Kill me too, so there will be no one left." Moshe knew that Hashem could never do that, and would have to forgive Bnei Yisrael. In contrast, a decree against some--even most--of the Jews can succeed [as we have unfortunately seen]. Pharaoh knew this; Lavan did not. When Lavan attempted to uproot the Jews entirely, he could not succeed. Pharaoh, however, was more evil--he devised a plan that had a chance of success. (Chasdei David) ************************************ ". . .if He will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear. . . and Hashem will be an Elokim to me." (28:20-21) In one of the Shabbat zemirot we say, "Draw Your kindness to me, G-d Who is vengeful." The Ba'al Shem Tov used to explain, writes Rav Eliezer David Gruenwald zatz'l, that one way which Hashem punishes the righteous is with His kindness. The guilt which the tzaddik feels at receiving kindness of which he is unworthy is the greatest punishment. This is what Yaakov prayed here. "Elokim" is the Name of G-d which denotes justice. "When Hashem metes out justice to me, let it be through 'bread to eat and clothes to wear'." ************************************ "She bore a son and declared, 'This time let me thank Hashem'; therefore she called him Yehudah, then she stopped giving birth." (29:35) Why did Leah stop giving birth at this point? asks Rav Eliezer David Gruenwald zatz'l. Because she said, "This time let me thank Hashem." She thanked Hashem only for the present, but she did not pray for the future. (Leah did have more children later, but the Torah points out that there was a break here.) Not so Rachel. She said, "May Hashem add (yosef) another son to me." In light of this we may understand the verse in Hallel, "I will raise a cup of salvation and call out in G-d's Name." At the same time that one raises a cup of salvation in gratitude, one must call out to G-d for future assistance. [This idea is found also in Rav Chaim Eliezer Shapira's Divrei Torah in the name of the "Chozeh of Lublin."] ************************************ "If G-d will be with me, will guard me on this way that I am going (28:20) Why did Yaakov refer to "this way that I am going" rather than just "this way"? Rav Chaim of Czernowitz zatz'l explains that Yaakov was minimizing his request and emphasizing that his vow would take effect even if Hashem guarded him only a little bit. How so? Chazal say that at its earliest stage the yetzer hara is called "one who is going." When the yetzer hara becomes more entrenched in a person it is called a "visitor." We see that "one who is going" refers to a very short stay, even less than a "visit," and this is what Yaakov planned his trip to Charan to be. He said, "If Hashem will protect me, even if it is only during a very short stay , my vow will take effect and I will be indebted to Hashem." (Be'er Mayim Chaim) ************************************ "She ran and she told her father." (29:12) Rashi explains that Rachel ran to tell her father of Yaakov's arrival because Rachel's mother was deceased. Otherwise, it is the nature of a girl (especially in Middle Eastern societies) to run to her mother. Ramban writes that Rachel went to her father because Yaakov was his relative. Why would her mother care that Yaakov had arrived?! Which of these is p'shat, the "plain meaning" of the verse, of which Chazal said, "No verse ceases to have a p'shat"? Both, says Rav Isaac Sher zatz'l. There is not necessarily one p'shat; rather there are multiple plain meanings corresponding to the multiple levels on which readers may find themselves. To the uninitiated, who is not familiar with Chazal's system for understanding verses [including the fact that every nuance of the Torah's language suggests inferences that we should make], Ramban's p'shat is the simpler one. After all, the Torah does not say that Rachel's mother had died! But Rashi's statement is also p'shat--why would the Torah tell us to whom Rachel spoke, if not so that we could infer that her mother had died? Rashi's explanation is indeed superior to Ramban's because there is no reason for Rachel's mother to be disinterested that her husband's nephew was visiting! (Kuntres Talmud Torah in Lekket Sichot Mussar) ************************************ Rav Eliezer Lau born 23 Shevat 5599 (1839) - died 14 Kislev 5678 (1917) Rav Eliezer was a scion of a prominent Hungarian rabbinical family. His great-grandfather and namesake was a Galician rabbi of renown and author of numerous works. These included Shemen Rokeach (responsa), Torat Chessed (Talmudic principles), and Sha'ari Deah (halachah). Rav Eliezer's grandfather was Rav Binyamin Ze'ev, rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Verbau. He wrote Sha'arei Torah. The next generation was Rav Yirmiyah Lau, rabbi of Ohel. Until a decade before Rav Yirmiyah's arrival, that town had been the seat of a leading chassidic court (which today is Satmar). Its rabbis, however, including Rav Yirmiyah Lau, were fervent mitnagdim. Rav Eliezer was a child prodigy, and began to receive marriage proposals when he was 13 years old. (He married at 19.) After his marriage, he went into business while leading advanced Torah classes as well. Upon his father's death, he became rabbi of Ohel. Later he became rabbi of Ungvar. In Ungvar, Rav Eliezer established a yeshiva. He also was active on behalf of the poor of Eretz Yisrael. Particularly interesting was his lobbying the government so that Jewish students in public schools would be excused from writing on Shabbat. (He was successful.) In the eyes of most Jews of the time, a family which sent its children to public school did not deserve any assistance from the community. After Rav Eliezer's passing, his son published his Pekudat Eliezer. ************************************ DONATIONS TO HAMAAYAN ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE