Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Vayechi Volume XIII, No. 12 14 Tevet 5759 January 2, 1999 Today's Learning: Uktzin 2:5-6 Orach Chaim 32:48-50 Shekalim 19 Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 13 This parashah describes the Yaakov's final days and his burial, and then relates that after Yaakov's death, his sons were afraid that Yosef would take revenge on them for selling him. The Torah relates that the brothers therefore said to Yosef (in Yaakov's name), "Anah/Please, kindly forgive the spiteful deed of your brothers and their sin, for they have done you evil . . ." The midrash (Yalkut Shimoni) quotes Hashem: "Because you prayed using the word 'Anah,' the Kohen Gadol will, in the future, enter the Holy of Holies and say, 'Anah Hashem'." Why? R' Moshe Schwab z"l (1918-1979; Mashgiach of the Gateshead Yeshiva) explains that the above verse from our parashah represents the first time that Yosef's brothers recognized that they had sinned by selling Yosef. (Although in Parashat Miketz they had blamed their troubles with the Egyptian viceroy on their hardheartedness toward their brother, they still believed that they were correct in selling him.) Thus, in the continuation of their plea to Yosef, the brothers refer to themselves as "the servants of your father's G-d," as if to say, "How did we succeed in recognizing our sin? Because we employed the Divine spark that is within us and raised ourselves above our prior level." (Yosef responded, "Am I in place of G-d?" - as if to say humbly, "I do not have a Divine spark equal to yours; I am but a tool in G-d's hands, and I could never harm you.") When the Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur and pleaded for the Jewish people, he similarly said, "We have raised ourselves from our prior level and therefore recognize that we have sinned. Please respond by forgiving us." (Ma'archei Lev IV p.159) ************** "For I will lie down with my fathers . . ." (47:30) R' Zalman of Volozhin z"l (see page 4) taught that this brief statement - only three words in Hebrew - alludes to two fundamental beliefs of Judaism. First, by referring to his impending death as "lying down," as one lies down for a short nap, the patriarch Yaakov alluded to the eventual resurrection of the dead. Second, by saying that he would be with his fathers after his death, Yaakov alluded to the immortality of the soul, for if the soul did not live on, how would he be with his fathers? R' Zalman added that this demonstrates the importance of reading every word of the Torah correctly. Since every word of the Torah is so pregnant with meaning, one loses so much if he does not read the words carefully. (Toldot Adam, Ch.4) ************ "Yaakov was told, 'Hinei/Behold! Your son Yosef has come to you.' So Yaakov exerted himself and sat up on the bed/hamitah." (48:3) The Vilna Gaon z"l observes: Chazal say that (in certain cases) one who visits the sick causes 1/60 of the illness to depart. In the above verse, the gematria of the word"hinei" is 60, alluding to Yaakov's illness before Yosef visited him. The gematria of "hamitah" is 59, alluding to the effect that Yosef's visit had on Yaakov's health (i.e., it removed 1/60). (Kol Eliyahu) ************ "I have given you Shechem - one portion more than your brothers - which I took from the hand of the Emorite with my sword and my bow." (48:22) Onkelos translates: ". . . which I took from the hand of the Emorite with my prayer and my pleading." How did Onkelos know that the verse is not to be taken literally? R' Yechezkel Abramsky z"l (died 1976) explains that if Yaakov were referring to an actual battle, he would have said, "with my bow and with my sword," not "with my sword and with my bow." Such is the nature of war - first one shoots arrows from his bow from a distance, and only later does he move forward and use his sword. In Yehoshua (24:12) we read: "I sent the hornet-swarm ahead of you, and it drove them out before you - the two kings of the Emorite - not by your sword and not by your bow." There, says R' Abramsky, the sword precedes the bow as if Hashem says, "Not only did you not need to fight the Emorites with your swords (which is very dangerous), you did not even need to shoot arrows at them (which is safer because it is done from a distance)." (Kovetz Ma'amarim p.126) ********* "Zevulun shall settle by seashores . . ." (49:13) Rashi writes: Zevulun engaged in trade and supported the tribe of Yissachar, which engaged in Torah. Thus it is written (Devarim 33:18), "Rejoice, Zevulun, in your excursions, and Yissachar in your tents." Even today, an arrangement by which one person learns Torah full-time and is supported by another person, who, by agreement, shares in the Divine reward of the one of who studies full-time, is called a "Yissachar-Zevulun partnership." Regarding such partnerships, R' Chaim of Volozhin z"l (1749-1821) wrote as follows: The gemara (Berachot 8a) teaches: One who lives by the toil of his own hands is greater than one who possesses fear of Heaven, for regarding one who lives by the toil of his own hands it is written (Tehilim 128:2), "You are fortunate and it will be good for you" - you are fortunate in This World and it will be good for you in the World-to-Come - whereas, regarding a person who possesses fear of Heaven, it is written only (Tehilim 112:1), "Fortunate is a man who fears G-d." It does not, however, say (regarding the one who possesses fear of G-d), "It will be good for you." R' Chaim asks: In what way does a person who lives by the toil of his own hands stand in contrast to one who fears G-d? Also, are we to understand from this teaching that a person who fears G- d but does not toil with his hands has no share in the World-to- Come? That cannot be true! He answers: "One who lives by the toil of his own hands" refers to a person who works just enough to eke out a meager living, and the rest of the day he studies Torah. Such a person wants to study, but he does not want to become a public charge. Regarding such a person, Chazal say, "It will be good for him in the World- to-Come" because he will not have to share his portion with anyone else. On the other hand, the person who is completely G-d- fearing, i.e., who studies Torah all of the time, and who therefore must be supported by others forfeits a part of his share in the World-to-Come because that part is given to his "Zevulun" partner. (Ruach Chaim 2:4) ********** R' Yechezkel Feivel z"l (The "Maggid of Drohiczyn") R' Yechezkel Feivel ben Ze'ev Wolf, who was born on 10 Tamuz in approximately 5517 (1757), is best known as the author of Toldot Adam, a biography of R' Zalman of Volozhin (see below). R' Yechezkel Feivel knew R' Zalman personally from the time they both spent in Vilna. Early in his career, R' Yechezkel Feivel was a traveling maggid/ preacher. His sermons were very well received; R' Yosef Teomim, author of the halachic work Pri Megadim wrote of him (beginning with a quote from Yechezkel 1:3, and paraphrasing verses in Shir Hashirim and elsewhere): "The word of Hashem came to Yechezkel." He gave him a skilled tongue. The words of his palate are sweet and he is all delight. Valuable and honorable sermons - how well spoken are his statements?! Sweetness drips from his lips, as he [demonstrated] wondrously and with power in a number of sermons in the study halls and the large shuls in our community . . . In his sermons, R' Yechezkel Feivel often chose to emphasize the importance of performing acts of kindness. When speaking to students of Torah, he often quoted the words of the medieval sage Rabbenu Chananel, who wrote (in his commentary to Avodah Zarah 17b): "If one only studies Torah and does not engage in mitzvot and in elucidating the halachah, his Torah study is worthless." R' Yechezkel Feivel died between 1833 and 1836. One of his sons was R' Velvele, the maggid of Vilna. (Source: Gedolei Hadorot 528) ************ R' Zalman (R' Shlomo Zalman ben R' Yitzchak) of Volozhin (1757- 1785) was a younger brother of the famed R' Chaim of Volozhin. Despite his early passing, R' Zalman was said to be the greatest and the favorite student of the Vilna Gaon. When R' Zalman was six years old, he asked his eldest brother, R' Simcha z"l: The gemara (Bava Metzia 85a) teaches that if a family produces three consecutive generations of Torah scholars, the Torah will always "return to that inn" (i.e. that family). If so, the boy asked, since all Jews are descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, why aren't all Jews Torah scholars? R' Simcha answered: If you return to an inn and the innkeeper has closed the door, you leave. (Avi Ha'yeshivot p.27)