Today's Learning Zevachim 14:1-2 O.C. 447:5-5 Sponsored by Chullin 122 the Rutstein family Yerushalmi-- in memory of father and grandfather Sanhedrin 44 Nachum ben Asher Halevi a"h (Nathan Rutstein) The Marwick family in memory of Samuel Sklaroff a"h Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Vayigash Vol. XI, No. 11 (494), 11 Tevet 5757, December 21, 1996 In this parashah we read that Yaakov and his household descended to Egypt at Yosef's invitation. The Torah states that 70 people in all -- including 33 descendants of Leah -- traveled with Yaakov. Yet, when their names are spelled out in chapter 46, only 32 descendants of Leah are listed. Chazal explain that the missing person was Yocheved, the mother of Moshe, who was born to Levi and his wife on the road. If this is the case, then Yocheved would have been 130 years old when Moshe was born. Why is this miracle not mentioned in the Torah? The answer, says Ramban, is that everything that happens is a miracle. For example, the Torah says that the punishment for planting during the shemittah year is drought. How do the clouds know that people are planting during the shemittah? Similarly, the Torah says that the punishment for eating cheilev (certain animal fats--see page 2) is death. How does this come about naturally? Why then are some miracles mentioned in the Torah and others not? Ramban explains that when a miracle is foretold by a prophet or an angel, then it is mentioned in the Torah. However, many miracles surround us and help us all the time and are barely noticed. ************************************ Parashat Vayigash In Halachah None of the 613 mitzvot appears in this parashah. (Sefer Hachinuch) "Bring your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the cheilev/fat of the land." (45:18) Rambam writes that although the Torah prohibits eating cheilev/fat, not everything that the Torah calls cheilev is forbidden. An obvious example is the usage in our verse. The word "cheilev," Rambam explains, simply means "the choicest part." Thus, the part of the animal which is burnt on the altar as a sacrifice to G-d is called "cheilev" in the Torah. Similarly, the Torah refers to Terumat Ma'aser (the gift which the levi gives to the kohen out of the tithes which the levi himself receives) as "cheilev." "And he [Yaakov] came to Be'er Sheva where he slaughtered sacrifices to the G-d of his father Yitzchak." (46:1) Rashi writes in the name of the midrash: From the fact that Yaakov sacrificed to the "G-d of his father Yitzchak" more so than to the "G-d of his grandfather Avraham," we see that the obligation to honor one's father is greater than the obligation to honor one's grandfather. [Ed. note: Perhaps one might have thought the opposite was true, since one could argue that if one must honor his father, how much more so must one honor the person that his father must honor!] We can also learn from here, writes Rema (Y.D. 240:24), that a person is obligated to honor his grandfather. The obligation to honor one's father is greater than the obligation to honor one's grandfather, but there exists an obligation to honor both. A by-product of the above discussion is the lesson that it is more important to learn Rashi's commentary on the Torah than it is to learn midrash. How so? As noted above, Rema writes that a person is obligated to honor his grandfather. Rema cites the dissenting opinion of Maharik and disproves it from the midrash which Rashi quotes. The Turei Zahav (a commentary on Rema) also cites Maharik and cites Rashi himself to disprove Maharik. Why? Because, says Rav Shabtai Cohen, one can be excused for not knowing a midrash, but cannot be excused for not knowing Rashi. (Nekudot Hakessef) ************************************ "It was to be a provider that G-d sent me ahead of you." (45:5) Clearly, Yosef had a very important role to play in the survival of the Jewish people. Nevertheless, observes Rav Yerucham Halevi Levovitz z"l, Yosef was taken to task by G-d for such minor "sins" as paying too much attention to his appearance (see Rashi 39:6) and asking Pharaoh's butler to rescue him from jail. This demonstrates how exacting G-d's punishment is. Some people think, Rav Yerucham writes, that the greater the mitzvot they do, the more "slack" they may allow themselves in their observance. For example, they may believe that the more poor people or yeshivot they support with their money, the fewer mitzvot they themselves must observe. The truth, however, is that "A mitzvah does not extinguish an aveirah/sin." All of a person's deeds, good and not good, must be accounted for in the end. (Da'at Chochmah U'mussar) ************************************ "Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin's neck and he wept, and Binyamin wept upon his neck." (45:14) Rashi explains that Yosef cried for the First and Second Temples which would be built in Binyamin's territory and would be destroyed, while Binyamin cried for the Tabernacle at Shiloh which would be built in Yosef's territory and would be destroyed. Adds Rav Yitzchak Arieli z"l (Mashgiach of Yeshivat Merkaz Harav): Look at the greatness of these men, whose first thoughts after a 22- year separation are not for themselves but for the well-being of the Jewish people. (Midrash Ariel) ************************************ From the humor of our sages . . . "And to his father he sent the following: ten donkeys laden with the best of Egypt . . ." (45:23) Rashi writes that "the best of Egypt" refers to aged wine, which, the gemara says, old men appreciate. Why do old men particularly appreciate wine? Because it is one of the few commodities in the world which improves with age. (Chiyuchah Shel Torah) ************************************ Rav Yisrael Zalman Alexanderovsky z"l died 8 Tevet 5647 (1887) Rav Yisrael Shlomo Zalman Aharon Hakohen of Sherashov, Lithuania, never held a rabbinic post, although he was surely qualified for one. He was the expert shochet and bodek in Lithuania in his lifetime, and his works on the halachot pertaining to these professions were required study for those seeking a kabbalah/license to practice. (A bodek is one who examines slaughtered animals for blemishes that would render the animal non-kosher.) He corresponded on these subjects with the leading scholars of his time and he was held in great esteem by sages such as Reb Chaim "Brisker" Soloveitchik. Rav Yisrael Zalman was a chassid of the Lechovitz-Kobrin-Slonim rebbes, and was an eloquent defender of chassidut in general. (Lithuania, where he lived, was the center of anti-chassidic feeling in Eastern Europe.) One of his works is Iggeret Hachaim, a letter to his younger brother to dissuade him from listening to those who asked him to abandon his chassidic roots. It is said that a day's conversation with Rav Yisrael Zalman turned a grandson of Rav Chaim of Volozhin into a chassid. (Rav Chaim of Volozhin was the leader par excellence of the opponents of the chassidic movement.) The origin of the name "Alexanderovsky" is noteworthy: Tradition records that all kohanim born in the first year after Alexander the Great conquered Judea (approx. 330 B.C.E.) were named for the Emperor in gratitude for the kindness which he had shown to the Jewish people. It is said that Rav Yisrael Zalman's grandfather had had a family tree extending back to one of the kohanim named Alexander who had served in the Second Temple. ************************************ Answer to last week's question: The second rarest haftarah is that of Parashat Kedoshim. The reason will be explained in the issue for that parashah later this year. The rarest haftarah is that of Parashat Pinchas, which is read only in those unusual years when the parashot, Matot and Masei are separated. ************************************ back issues at: http://acoast.com/~sehc/hamaayan/ send mail to: ajb@acm.org Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible