Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Miketz Volume 21, No. 10 2 Tevet 5767 December 23, 2006 Sponsored by Milton Cahn in memory of Felice Cahn (Fayga Sarah bat Naftali Zev a"h) Today's Learning: Nedarim 6:6-7 O.C. 691:6-8 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Rosh Hashanah 18 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Shabbat 51 Maharal asks: Why did Chazal see fit to establish a new holiday (Chanukah) to thank Hashem for our being able to light the menorah in the Bet Hamikdash? We can understand making a holiday to thank Hashem for our personal salvation, but the mitzvot are performed for Him, so- to-speak! Why should we thank Hashem for letting us perform them? The essence of the war between the Jews and the Greco-Syrians, Maharal explains, was a spiritual battle between Greek wisdom and the Torah. The Greeks sought to establish that their wisdom and their way of life were supreme. The Torah was the competitor to their wisdom, and this required them to try and distance us from the Torah. Our Sages teach that the world was created on the condition that the Jews receive the Torah. Had the Greeks succeeded in uprooting the Torah, the entire world literally would have come to an end. Thus, the fact that a miracle occurred and the Jews were able to perform a mitzvah signifies the victory of the Torah over Greek wisdom, and therefore signifies that the Jews, and the world, would continue to exist. This, surely, is a reason to thank Hashem. Alternatively, Chanukah actually commemorates the military victory of the Jews over the Greeks. However, the Jews were not sure whether their victory really was a miracle; after all, sometimes the underdogs win because of circumstances or luck. The miracle of the oil was merely a sign from Hashem that He had been with the Jews. (Ner Mitzvah) ******** "All of us, sons of one man are we; we are truthful people; your servants have never been spies." "He [Yosef] said to them, `No! But the land's nakedness have you come to see'." (42:11-12) What was the meaning of this exchange? Seemingly Yosef is just accusing his brothers again in verse 12 of the same thing that they just denied in verse 11! R' Yehonatan Eyebschutz z"l (1690-1764; rabbi in Germany and prolific author) explains: Yosef's brothers argued that they could not be spies, for they are the sons of one man. Why can't brothers be spies? Their argument was two-fold: First, "Our father is an `Ish' / an important man." Spies are not drawn from the noble class but from a lower class, whose members are more willing to risk their lives for money. Moreover, they argued, we, "your servants, have never been spies." Spying is dangerous work, and we have no experience doing it. A father might send all of his sons to spy, but what father would risk all of his sons at one time on something so dangerous at which they are inexperienced? Yosef replied, "I don't doubt that you are not hired spies. Nevertheless, you have come to see the worst of Egypt (`the land's nakedness') for your own reasons." (Tiferet Yehonatan) ******** "They said to one another, `Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us and we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has come upon us.' "Reuven spoke up to them, saying, `Did I not speak to you saying, "Do not sin against the boy"? -- but you would not listen'." (42:21-22) These verses describe the reaction of Yosef's brothers when the Egyptian viceroy (i.e., Yosef) charged them with spying. R' Aharon Kotler z"l observes that Yosef's brothers did not express regret for condemning Yosef to death or to slavery. They had believed, and continued to believe, that Yosef posed a threat to the developing Jewish nation. Thus, selling him was justified. However, Yosef's brothers did regret their callousness when Yosef had pleaded for mercy. They viewed their present troubles as a punishment for that hardheartedness. Reuven alone thought that the brothers were wrong about Yosef. Ironically, it was Reuven who had the most to lose if Yosef lived, because Yosef (the firstborn of Rachel) was destined to claim the birthright in place of Reuven (the firstborn of Leah). Yet, the very dream that so angered Yosef's brothers was precisely what caused Reuven to love Yosef. Specifically, Yosef dreamed that eleven stars - his eleven brothers - bowed down to him. Most of his brothers resented this, but to Reuven this was good news. Previously, Reuven had been distanced by Yaakov because of a sin (see Bereishit 35:22 and Rashi), but the fact that Yosef saw eleven stars in his dream meant that Reuven was still counted among the brothers. Why did Reuven reach a different conclusion about Yosef than did his other brothers? R' Kotler explains that this happened because they started their analyses from different points. The brothers (other than Reuven) saw themselves as Yosef's equals. They were humble people, but they took pride in their ability to serve Hashem (see Divrei Hayamim II 17:6). Therefore, when it appeared to them that Yosef possessed the trait of haughtiness, when it appeared that he considered himself a better servant of Hashem than they were, it offended them. Reuven, however, did not consider himself his brothers' equal, for he knew he had sinned. Since he considered himself less worthy than Yosef, he was not offended by Yosef's dreams. To the contrary, he was able to see good in the dreams (as explained above). We, too, can learn a lesson from this, R' Kotler says. There are two ways of looking at events. Often, the conclusions one reaches are determined by where one starts. In particular, recognizing that another person may be greater than oneself can influence an entire chain of events. (Mishnat Rabbi Aharon I, p.235) ******** "Then Reuven told his father, saying, `You may slay my two sons if I fail to bring him [Binyamin] back to you. Put him in my care and I will return him to you'." (42:37) The Midrash records that Yaakov answered Reuven: "You fool! Are your sons not my sons?" What was Reuven thinking? R' Eliezer Papo z"l (1785-1827; author of the classic mussar work, Pele Yoetz) writes that he will defend Reuven. He explains: Reuven meant, "I am so committed to bringing Binyamin back to you that, if it were conceivable that you would kill my two sons, I would be willing to take the risk." Alternatively, Reuven meant, "I recognize that your pain upon losing Binyamin would be equal to my pain if I lost my two sons and I would deserve to lose them if I caused you such pain; therefore, I will protect Binyamin with great care." R' Papo adds that one of the verses of Hallel can be explained in a vein similar to the first explanation above. We recite in Hallel (Tehilim 115:1), "Not for our sake, Hashem, not for our sake, but for Your Name's sake give glory, for Your kindness and Your truth." In fact, when Hashem brings us salvation, He does so in a way that brings glory to us. [For example, Hashem caused the Maccabees to defeat the Greeks in battle, even though Hashem could have defeated them on his own as He had done to the Egyptians and some of the Canaanite nations.] We know that Hashem wants the Jewish People to be glorified in the eyes of the world. Nevertheless, we say, "Even if it were conceivable that You would save us only for Your own glory, please save us." (Elef Ha'maggen) ******** Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg z"l This past week marked the shloshim / thirty days since the passing of one of the foremost halachic authorities of recent decades, R' Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, author of Tzitz Eliezer. R' Waldenberg was born in Yerushalayim in 1917 and lived there his entire life. He authored more than 20 volumes of she'eilot u'teshuvot / correspondence on questions of Jewish law, and also served on Yerushalayim's Supreme Rabbinical Court. As the rabbi of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Yerushalayim, he was at the forefront of addressing the halachic implications of developments in modern medicine, including issues of fertility, abortion, organ transplantation, euthanasia, autopsies, and medical experimentation. He also helped Shaare Zedek set the standard for Shabbat observance by hospitals, while at the same time emphasizing that preserving human life take precedence over all Shabbat restrictions. R' Waldenberg also was one of the first halachic authorities to prohibit smoking. While some of his rulings were not widely accepted, his views are generally considered in any serious discussion of these issues. Eulogies for R' Waldenberg also noted his complete detachment from politics and controversy and his ability to live in near anonymity except to those who studied his rulings. Although R' Waldenberg was known almost exclusively as a halachic authority, his few published derashot demonstrate his wide ranging knowledge of homiletic works. In a derashah delivered at Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Chanukah 5738 (1977), he asked: Why do we recite Hallel for all eight days of Chanukah? It would seem that we are thanking Hashem for enabling us to perform the mitzvah of lighting the menorah. However, there is no other precedent for reciting Hallel over a mitzvah, rather than over a salvation. He answered: Our Sages say that the oppression that preceded the Chanukah miracle occurred because our ancestors became lax in their dedication to the Temple service. What Chanukah commemorates is not the re-institution of that service per se, but rather our gratitude to Hashem that He accepted our ancestors' repentance. (Tzitz Eliezer Vol. 21, ch. 17)