Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Mikeitz Volume 23, No. 10 30 Kislev 5769 December 27, 2008 Sponsored by The Vogel family on the yahrzeit of mother and grandmother Miriam bat Yehuda Leib a'h (Mary Kalkstein) Hyam & Noami Singer in appreciation to Hashem for all of their children and grandchildren. Today's Learning: Me'ilah 3:4-5 O.C. 254:4-6 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Kiddushin 80 **Begin Masechet Bava Kamma / Seder Nezikin on Tuesday** Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Gittin 17 King Shlomo writes in Mishlei (14:23), "In all eitzev / sadness there will be gain, but dvar sefatayim / talk of the lips brings only loss." R' Yaakov ben Chananel Sakly z"l (Spain; 14th century) offers several explanations of this verse: This verse is teaching that a person should rejoice at suffering, for all suffering that a person experiences brings in its wake reward, either in This World or the World-to-Come. "In all eitzev / sadness there will be gain." Indeed, it is not possible to earn a place in the World-to-Come without experiencing suffering. First, suffering cleanses a person. Also, suffering can cause a person to pay less attention to his material desires--for example, a person who is suffering has a reduced appetite-- and to focus more on what is important. Therefore, one should not complain about suffering; in King Shlomo's words: "Talk of the lips brings only loss." This is what our Sages allude to when they say (Berachot 5a) that Torah, Eretz Yisrael and Olam Haba can be acquired only with suffering. The connection between suffering and Olam Haba was just explained. Torah and Eretz Yisrael are the means to reach Olam Haba; therefore, they too are acquired through suffering. R' Sakly continues: No figure in our early history suffered more than Yosef. Why? To atone for the lashon hara that he spoke about his brothers. "In all eitzev / sadness there will be gain." Once Yosef achieved atonement, he rose to the heights of power. One might ask, however, why Yosef was in prison for *12* years, since he only spoke lashon hara about *ten* of his brothers. The answer is that he was punished with an additional two years after he asked Pharaoh's butler to remember him and help him be paroled. "Talk of the lips brings only loss." (Torat Ha'minchah) ********* "Behold! Out of the River there emerged seven cows, of beautiful appearance and robust flesh, and they were grazing in the marshland. Then behold! -- Seven other cows emerged after them out of the River -- of ugly appearance and gaunt flesh." (41:2-3) R' Eliyahu z"l (1720-1797; the Vilna Gaon) asks: Why are the cows described by so many adjectives? He explains: There are two terms in Hebrew for famine. "Ra'av" refers to an absence of produce. "Kafan" refers to a time when there is an abundance of food, but it does not satisfy people's hunger. The ugliness of the second pair of cows refers to the absence of food, while their thinness refers to the fact that whatever food there will be will not be satisfying. Conversely, the beauty of the first set of cows and their robustness indicates that both blessings will be found in the first seven years: the food will be both plentiful and satisfying. (Aderet Eliyahu) ******** "The food will be a reserve for the land . . ." (41:36) R' Baruch Kossover z"l (Ukraine; died 1779) writes: This verse alludes to the good deeds which we perform, the reward for which is reserved for the World-to-Come. Like an insignificant seed, the holiness of a good deed that one performs in this world is tiny. Yet, as the puny seed yields produce many times its own weight, so a mitzvah grows in Olam Haba into an unfathomable light, which is held in reserve until the one who performed the mitzvah arrives to collect his reward. R' Baruch continues: The actual performance of a mitzvah plants a seed. First, however, one must plow the soil. This alludes to the kavanah / thought and concentration which precedes and accompanies the act. Just as plowing turns over the soil so that what was on top is now underneath, and vice versa, so a mitzvah performed with kavanah pushes aside G-d's anger, which is only superficial, and reveals His hidden mercy. (Yesod Ha'emunah) ******** "Pharaoh said to his servants, `Could we find another like him - - a man in whom is the spirit of G-d'?" (41:38) R' Shlomo Kluger z"l (1784-1869; rabbi of Brody, Galicia) asks: What difference does it make if there was someone else as wise as Yosef? Would that affect Yosef's ability to implement his plan for preparing for the famine? He explains: We read in Bemidbar (11:16-17), "Hashem said to Moshe, `Gather to Me seventy men from the elders of Yisrael, whom you know to be the elders of the people and its officers; take them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you. I will descend and speak with you there, and I will increase some of the spirit that is upon you and place it upon them . . . .'" We see that when a prophet prophesies, his spirit can overflow onto other people. Therefore, Pharaoh feared that maybe Yosef was neither wise nor a prophet. Maybe Yosef's ability to interpret Pharaoh's dreams was merely the result of someone else prophesying. He therefore asked his servants to confirm that this was not the case. One must ask, however: Was Yosef a greater prophet than Yaakov? Yes, writes R' Kluger. He explains that a prophet achieves greatness based on the collective merit of his contemporaries. Yaakov, like Avraham and Yitzchak before him, had no contemporaries; all of them were loners in their generations. Yosef had his brothers as contemporaries. (Chochmat Ha'Torah p.184) ******* "Anyone among your servants with whom it [Yosef's goblet] is found shall die, and we also will become slaves to my lord." "He replied, `What you say now is also correct. The one with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be exonerated'." (44:9-10) How could Yosef's servant say to Yosef's brothers, "What you say now is also correct," and then go on to contradict them? R' Noach Rabinowitz z"l (late 1800s) explains: In a close case, a judge may consider evidence of the accused's character to help him decide whether to convict or acquit. In contrast, when the police are investigating a crime, they are interested solely in the evidence. The police do not refrain from following a lead just because it leads to a person who has an impeccable reputation. Yosef's brothers argued that they should not be investigated on suspicion of stealing Yosef's goblet. After all, they said in the immediately preceding verse, "The money that we found in the mouth of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we have stolen from your master's house any silver or gold?" They were not suggesting that the one who had the goblet should die and the others should become slaves; they were expressing their fear that that would be the result. Therefore, they asked to be excluded from the investigation on the basis of their proven honesty. Yosef's servant said, "What you say is correct!" Your good character will be taken into account when you are judged, and your sentences will be reduced or commuted. "The one with whom it is found shall be my slave, but the rest of you shall be exonerated." However, you must still be investigated. (Toldot Noach) ******** Chanukah "Al h'anissim / For the miracles, and for the salvation, and for the mighty deeds, and for the victories, and for the battles . . ." It is understandable that we thank Hashem for miracles, salvation, etc., but why do we thank Him for the battles? R' Baruch Mordechai Ezrachi shlita (a rosh yeshiva in Israel) explains: Part of Hashem's kindness to us is that He not only takes care of us, He does so in a way that makes us feel accomplished. Hashem could have rained stones from the heavens on the Greeks just as He did to the Canaanites, but He wanted us to feel as if we had defeated the Greeks. This is what we acknowledge when we thank him for "the battles." (Birkat Mordechai p.191) ******** This Week in History, Halachah, and Minhag Shabbat Parashat Miketz: In Turkey, it was customary to give children new clothes this week in commemoration of the verse in our parashah (41:14), "[Yosef] changed his clothes." (Luach Davar B'ito p.418) Shabbat Chanukah / Rosh Chodesh: Today we recite the longest Birkat Hamazon of the year. Therefore, the person leading the bentching is permitted to hold the cup with two hands, instead of using his right hand only. (Tosafot to Berachot 51a) 30 Kislev: This date does not occur every year, as Kislev sometimes has only 29 days. Therefore, one who has a yahrzeit on one of the final days of Chanukah should be careful to observe the precise date and not the "xth day of Chanukah." (Be'ur Halachah 684) 8th day of Chanukah: In the time of the Bet Hamikdash, this was the last day for bringing Bikkurim to the Temple, because by this day no produce is left in the fields. (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:6 and commentary of R' Ovadiah of Bartenura there.) December 31, 1888 (27 Tevet): Death of R' Samson Raphael Hirsch z"l, rabbi of Frankurt am-Main, Germany and noted Torah commentator. The significance of his passing on the last day of the secular year is that he used to be paid by his community on a quarterly basis in advance, and he had previously expressed concern that when he died he would not yet have earned his salary and would be stealing. (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch p.315) January 1: One of the early chassidic rebbes, R' Avraham Yehoshua Heschel z"l of Apta (the "Ohev Yisrael; died 1825) is reported to have said on this secular date, "May today be the beginning of a good year for the Jewish People." In more recent times, the Tolner Rebbe z"l of Bayit Vegan, Yerushalayim was heard to make similar statements. (Luach Davar B'Ito p.444) It is reported that when R' Moshe Sofer z"l (the Chatam Sofer; died 1839) needed to write the secular date on a letter, he first would sign his name and then write the date in order not to be endorsing the secular date (which has religious significance to others). R' Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam z"l (the Klausenberger Rebbe; died 1994) would write after the secular year the initials "lamed-reish0ayin" -- short for "[years] since the birth of Rabbi Akiva" (see Seder Ha'dorot). (Luach Davar B'Ito p.444)