Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Vayigash Volume XIII, No. 11 7 Tevet 5759 December 26, 1998 Sponsored by Today's Learning: Yadaim 5:5-6 Harriet and Ron Sheinson Orach Chaim 32:27-29 in honor of Shekalim 12 their daughter Atara's Bat Mitzvah Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 6 The Rutstein family in memory of father and grandfather Nachman ben Asher Halevi a"h (Nathan Rutstein) The Marwick family in memory of Samuel Sklaroff a"h Chazal teach that when Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers, their souls left them, so great was their shame. Let us not think, says R' Shalom Schwadron z"l (1913-1997), that the brothers had not examined their deeds many times during the 22 years since they had sold Yosef; of course they had, and they concluded that they had acted properly. If so, how subtle must their sin have been, and, nevertheless, look how embarrassed they were when they realized that they had in fact erred. To better understand how subtle this sin must have been, says R' Schwadron, imagine attending Yom Kippur services in the same shul as the Arizal. Nearby stand R' Yosef Karo z"l (author of the Shulchan Aruch and other works), R' Moshe Alshich z"l (the great Torah commentator), R' Shlomo Alkabetz z"l (author of the poem Lecha Dodi and other works), and many other great sages who graced 16th century Tzfat. Who would not pay a fortune for a High Holiday seat in that shul?! Yet, as awe-inspiring as services must have been in that shul, how many times more sublime must the prayers have been in the presence of Yitzchak, Yaakov, and progenitors of the twelve tribes. During twenty-two such Yom Kippurs, Yosef's brothers retrospected and confessed their sins - indeed, it is the custom among tzaddikim to examine one's deeds and confess one's sins every night - yet they never "discovered" the sin of selling their brother. Now, when they see Yosef before them, they realize that there must have been some minute error in their ways, so fine that they had never identified it before, and they are literally mortified by their sin. And what can we say for ourselves? (Lev Shalom p.415) *********** "I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt." (45:4) R' Simcha Zissel z"l (the "Alter of Kelm") asks: Surely Yosef's brothers were quite embarrassed when he identified himself. Why did he pour salt in their wounds by reminding them that they sold him as a slave? He answers: Yosef in fact did his brothers a favor, for he thereby lightened their burden. There is a Yiddish expression, "Don't fire your last gunpowder all at once," in other words, if you are engaged in battle with someone, save some of your ammunition for a later date. Yosef did not do this; he did not want his brothers to always look over their shoulders and wonder, "When will Yosef humiliate us for selling him?" Therefore, Yosef did fire all of his gunpowder at once, and, thereafter, his brothers would have no reason to avoid being in his presence. (Ohr Rashaz p.218) ********** "They took their livestock and their wealth which they had amassed in the Land of Canaan . . ." (46:6) Rashi writes: "But that which he amassed in Aram [while working for Lavan], he gave to Esav in exchange for Esav's share in the Me'arat Ha'machpelah. Yaakov said, 'The wealth acquired outside of Eretz Yisrael is not worth much to me'." R' Eliyahu Dessler z"l (see page 4) elaborates: Eretz Yisrael is a great gift, not only materially, but, primarily, the holiness of the Land gives a tremendous boost to one's spiritual growth. Thus, when Moshe Rabbenu was 120 years old and already had reached the highest levels of Divine service that man could reach, he still longed to enter Eretz Yisrael. Why? "Did he desire to eat its fruits?" Chazal ask rhetorically. It was only so that he could perform the mitzvot which are dependent upon the Land (for example, terumah). He wished to reach a new level of Divine service that one can never reach in the diaspora. As Chazal say, "There is no Torah like the Torah of Eretz Yisrael." Yaakov, although he had amassed a fortune through his dedicated service to Lavan, did not feel that the belongings that he had acquired in the diaspora were the proper tools for serving Hashem in Eretz Yisrael. R' Dessler continues: However, there is a great danger in Eretz Yisrael, as well, for somehow the Land can cause people to sin. Commenting on the verse (Devarim 11:17), "And you will be swiftly banished from the goodly land," Chazal say, "From the land which caused you to sin." Lest one say, "Then I will leave the Land," the Torah provides the answer to him (Devarim 4:28): "There you will serve gods, the handiwork of man . . ." If a person is liable to sin in Eretz Yisrael, certainly being in exile will cause him to fall to the lowest depths of idolatry. (Michtav M'Eliyahu, Vol. II, p. 55) *********** Excerpts from Lev Eliyahu by R' Elya Lopian z"l (see page 4) "Yosef said to his brothers, 'I am Yosef . . .'" (45:3) Yosef's brothers had many questions regarding the strange behavior of the Egyptian viceroy. First, he accused the brothers of being spies. Later, when they brought Binyamin to him, he made a feast for them. Later still, he accused them of being thieves, and so on. Yet, despite the apparent difficulty of the brothers' questions, all of those questions were answered with just two words, "Ani Yosef"/"I am Yosef." When the brothers heard those two words, everything that happened became clear. Similarly, there are many people who question Hashem's behavior. However, when Hashem will reveal Himself, all of those questions will immediately be answered. In the words of King David (in Tehilim 126:1), "When Hashem will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers." At that time, we will awaken from our "sleep" and realize that all the suffering that we perceived was but imaginary. (Vol. I, p.243) "Yosef harnessed his chariot and went to meet his father in Goshen. He appeared before him . . ." (46:29) Rashi writes: "'He appeared before him' - Yosef appeared to his father." What is Rashi adding? There are two emotions that Yosef could have felt as he prepared to meet his father for the first time in 22 years. First, Yosef's own excitement must have been greater than we can imagine. Second, Yosef had the opportunity to bring his father joy the likes of which few fathers ever experience. Rashi is telling us that Yosef suppressed his own joy and instead concentrated only on making the reunion as joyful as possible for Yaakov. In this way, he selflessly performed the mitzvah of honoring his father. (Vol. I, p.244) Said R' Lopian: "If you ask a person who has just completed Shemoneh Esrei whether he said Refa'enu/the blessing for health (or any other blessing), he will likely respond, 'I presume that I did. I don't remember.' This reminds me of the time that I rode a horse-drawn taxi, and the driver tied the reins to the wagon and went to sleep. I asked him, 'What are you doing?' "He answered, 'Don't worry. The horses know the way.' Sure enough, when we reached the next stop, the horses stopped the wagon and awakened the driver." So it is when the typical person prays; he knows when to bow, when to start, and when to stop, but he is paying very little attention. (Vol. I, p.297) ********* R' Chaim Shmuel Lopian z"l This coming week marks the shloshim of R' Chaim Shmuel Lopian, formerly rosh yeshiva in Sunderland, England. He passed away in Israel at the age of 90. R' Chaim Shmuel was a son of R' Elya Lopian (1876-1970), famed rosh yeshiva of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in London and later mashgiach/dean of students at Yeshivat Knesset Chizkiyahu in Kfar Chassidim, Israel. (The elder R' Lopian's mussar discourses are collected in Lev Eliyahu.) R' Chaim Shmuel was born in Kelm, Lithuania where his father headed a yeshiva. R' Chaim Shmuel studied under his father, and later studied in the Slabodka and Telz yeshivot. In approximately 1928, the elder R' Lopian accepted a position in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in London, and the family settled there. (A brother of R' Chaim Shmuel wrote that when the move from Lithuania was announced, R' Elya Lopian's father-in-law concluded that his son-in-law was no longer observant, and he demanded that his daughter leave her husband. She refused, and her children were thus saved from the Holocaust.) In 1936, R' Chaim Shmuel married Liba Bloch of Gateshead, and settled there. His two study partners there were his brother-in- law, R' Leib Grosnass, later Av Bet Din/Chief Rabbinical Judge in London, and R' Yehuda Zev Segal, later rosh yeshiva in Manchester. In 1941, R' Chaim Shmuel became one of the original members of the now-renowned Gateshead Kollel, founded by R' Eliyahu Dessler (the "Michtav M'Eliyahu"). In 1948, R' Chaim Shmuel served briefly as rosh yeshiva in Montreux, Switzerland, but his wife was unhappy there and the family returned to England. R' Chaim Shmuel then accepted a position in Sunderland, England, where he remained for approximately 30 years. In 1979, he retired and moved to Israel, where he later headed a kollel. R' Chaim Shmuel authored Ravcha D'shemyteta, a commentary on the 18th century work Shev Shemyteta. (Sources: Yated Ne'eman, 15 Kislev 5759; Lev Eliyahu, Introduction; The Manchester Rosh Yeshivah, pp. 77-84)