Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayechi

       With Parshas Vayechi comes the death of Yaakov and the ending of the era of the Avos. With Yaakov’s death, the focus of the Torah shifts to the children of these great men as they become the Nation of God. The parshah starts off with Yaakov preparing for his death by summoning his son, Yosef.

       Yaakov calls Yosef in and instructs him not to bury him in Egypt. Instead, he should take his body back to Eretz Yisrael and bury him in Chevron in the Me’aras Hamachpela together with his forefathers. Yosef says that he will but Yaakov asks for a stronger commitment. “וַיֹּאמֶר הִשָּׁבְעָה לִי וַיִּשָּׁבַע לוֹ” “He said, ‘Swear to me,’ and he swore to him” (Bereishis 47:31). Yaakov’s need for this swear is both puzzling and troubling. Yosef was his closest son and was most similar to him in many ways, both physical and spiritual; could it be that Yaakov did not trust his closest son to carry out his wishes? And so much so that he felt the need to make him swear that he would?

       The commonly given answer is that Yaakov definitely trusted Yosef to fulfill his request, but there were different factors at work. Yaakov was worried that Paroh would want him buried in Egypt in order that his merit would continue to protect the country even after his death. So Yaakov made Yosef swear to take him to Eretz Yisrael since he knew Paroh would honor this commitment. The Gemarah in Sotah (36b) explains that one of the requirements of being king was that he must speak all the seventy languages of the world and Yosef knew that Paroh did not speak Hebrew. Yosef had sworn to Paroh to protect this secret and if Paroh would now tell him to ignore the promise he had made to Yaakov, what was stopping him from ignoring his promise he had made to Paroh as well? So once Yosef had sworn, Yaakov felt comfortable that nothing could stop Yosef from fulfilling his wishes.

       The Kli Yakar gives another answer. When Yaakov tells Yosef to bury him in Eretz Yisrael, Yosef replies, “וַיֹּאמַר אָנֹכִי אֶעְשֶׂה כִדְבָרֶךָ” “And he (Yosef) said, ‘I will do as you say.” (47:30). The medrash says that Yosef was telling Yaakov that he too would instruct his children not to bury him in Egypt but rather in Eretz Yisrael as well. When Yaakov asked him to swear, he wasn’t asking him to swear to keep the instructions he had given Yosef, but to make sure Yosef kept his own commitment to be buried in Eretz Yisrael as well.

Chazak Chazak V’Nischazek!

Shabbat Shalom!

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayigash

       In this week’s parshah, we have the long-awaited, tearful reunion between Yaakov and Yosef. For Yaakov, this was the crowning moment of his life that his beloved son was still alive and his legacy was intact. But convincing Yaakov of this truth took some work.

       One of the ways which the Shevatim used to convince Yaakov was that Yosef sent wagons to carry Yaakov and the rest of the family down to Egypt. “וַיַּרְא אֶת הָעֲגָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח יוֹסֵף לָשֵׂאת אֹתוֹ וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם” “…And he (Yaakov) saw the wagons that Yosef had sent to carry him. And the spirit of their father, Yaakov was revived.” (Bereishis 46:27). Rashi explains that these wagons held a special significance to both Yaakov and Yosef. The last thing that they learned together before Yosef was sold was the laws of “עגלה ערופה”, the Beheading of the Calf. If a man is found dead in between two towns and no one recognizes where he is from, the Rabbanim in each town must bring a calf to the riverbank and break its’ neck. The word in Hebrew for wagon is “עגלה”, which shares the same root. Upon seeing the wagons, Yaakov made this connection and realized that only Yosef could have sent the wagons.

        The Kli Yakar points out that this explanation is completely the opposite of what would be considered the simple explanation of the pasuk, which is always Rashi’s goal when explaining the pesukim. Therefore, he gives a different explanation for why Yosef sent the wagons. One of the main parts of the mitzvah of Hachnasas Orchim, Inviting Guests, is escorting them out when they are ready to leave. The Gemarah in Sotah (10a) says that when Avraham Avinu did Hachnasas Orchim, he focused on three things: food, drink, and escorting them out. Says the Kli Yakar, when Yaakov sent Yosef to his brothers right before he was sold, he must have walked him out and while they were walking he would have explained the halachos of escorting a guest to him. The connection between Rashi makes is because the source of the mitzvah of escorting comes from “עגלה ערופה”. In order to understand this connection, we must explain exactly what “עגלה ערופה” is.

       If you find a dead body in between two towns, we suspect that this was a traveler who was denied hospitality in one of the towns. In order to figure out which town it was, we go and question each town if they recognize this man. If neither town recognizes him, then the Rabbanim in each town go to the riverbank and break a calf’s neck and declare that they are not responsible for this man’s death. But how come they are obligated for his death? The obligation of Hachnasas Orchim is only to invite a person into your house and this man died on the road? We see that part of the obligation of having a guest is to also escort them on their journey. This is what Rashi means when he makes the connection between the wagons and “עגלה ערופה”, the wagons were meant to escort Yaakov down to Egypt and the origin for the obligation to escort someone comes from “עגלה ערופה” which has the same root as the Hebrew word for wagon, “עגלה”.

       The obligation to escort someone has a very important reason behind it. In those days, the roads were full of dangerous people, some of whom were willing to kill those whom they robbed. When you escorted someone to the edge of the city, any potential thieves and murderers would see that this person had someone who cared about them, and who would potentially come looking for them if they harmed them. They would therefore leave these people alone as they didn’t want anybody chasing after them.

       This was the final proof for Yaakov that Yosef was the one who sent the wagons. Potentially, it could have been that the ruler of Egypt escorted the brothers out of the country from common sense. However, in that case there would be no need for wagons, after all, no one would attack anyone who was escorted by the king! Therefore, the wagons were there to make the connection to “עגלה ערופה” which would prove that whoever escorted them out was doing so since it was a mitzvah and not because of common sense, which meant that it must have been Yosef since he was the only person in Egypt who would do something for a mitzvah. After making this calculation, “וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם” “…and the spirit of their father, Yaakov, lived.” (Bereishis 46:27)    

      

Shabbat Shalom!

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Dvar Torah for Shabbos Chanukah

       In honor of Chanukah, AIMeM is taking this week off. This week's Dvar Torah was written by Lior Goldstein and previously posted for the Dvar Torah for Parshas Beha'aloscha, the parshah which discusses the lighting of the Menorah. We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a happy Chanukah!

       The first Rashi in this week’s Parsha, Beha’alotcha, asks why does the Torah juxtapose the Parsha of the menorah at the beginning of this week’s parsha with the Parsha of the Nesi’im from the end of last week’s parsha? Rashi answers that when Aharon saw the contributions of the Nesi’im to the Mishkan, he was saddened at the fact that he and the rest of Shevet Levi were not able to participate in the contributions. Hashem responds by telling him not to worry, his portion is greater than theirs because he will light and set up the candles of the menorah.

       The Ramban asks a question on this Rashi: Why did Aharon get so depressed? Isn’t he the only one that can do the service of Yom Kippur, the one who goes into the Kodesh Hakedoshim which is as close to Hashem as one possibly can get? Isn’t his tribe the one that was entrusted with leading the service of Hashem in the Mishkan and many other aspects? He had so many opportunities to serve Hashem, what made him so upset about this one Mitzvah? One may think the answer to this question would be that Aharon was upset because the contributions of the Nesi’im were voluntary, while his jobs were commandments. This cannot be true because then Hashem’s promise to him that he will light the menorah, which is also a commandment, would not appease him. The Ramban leaves this question unanswered, but explains based on a Medrash Rabba that Hashem was telling Aharon that his portion is significantly greater because korbanot are only brought when the Beit Hamikdash is still standing, while the candles will always be, “אֶל מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ “, shine towards the center of the Menorah.

       The Ramban then asks, isn’t the menorah also no longer lit since the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed? He answers that the candles that Hashem is referring to are the candles of the miracle of Chanukah which we light nowadays even without the Beit Hamikdash.

       The Kli Yakar asks on this point of the Ramban: Weren’t the candles of Chanukah also discontinued for a period of time after the Chashmonaim? He answers that the difference between the candles and the korbanot, is that when the candles return was brought about through miracles, unlike the korbanot which did not come back at all.

       Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman offers a possible answer to the Ramban’s unanswered question of what exactly upset Aharon. He brings down a story of the great Vilna Gaon who right before his death, grabbed onto the strings of his tzitzit and began to weep uncontrollably.  He explained to those around him that it pained him so deeply to think that once he left this world, he would no longer be able to fulfill any mitzvah in Olam Haba (The World To Come), even a simple one such as tzitzit. Rabbi Ruderman explains that so too Aharon loved every single mitzvah, and even though he had many other privileges that no one else received, he still could not stand that he was not able to fulfill this one mitzvah together with the Nesi’im. We see from Aharon HaKohen and the Vilna Gaon such an intense love for each and every Mitzvah, that their inability to fulfill even just one upset them.

       R Shniur Kotler asks that according to this, what was Hashem’s response to Aharon to make him feel better? He answers that Hashem explains to Aharon that he was given a portion in every mitzvah. The Pasuk says, “כי נר מצוה ותורה אור” “for the candle is the mitzvah and the Torah is the light” (Mishlei 6:23). We see a clear comparison of a candle to a Mitzvah and the Torah to light. Therefore, when Hashem commanded Aharon in the lighting of the menorah he was in essence giving over to him the role of leadership in terms of Torah learning. This can also be seen from the pasuk “כִּי שִׂפְתֵי כֹהֵן יִשְׁמְרוּ דַעַת וְתוֹרָה יְבַקְשׁוּ מִפִּיהוּ” “for the lips of the Kohen should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek teaching from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7). Each and every mitzvah is represented by a candle, and each and every candle must be lit from the fire of the Torah. Through this, we see that Aharon really did take part in every mitzvah, and furthermore, Hashem tells Aharon that he will get the Mitzvah of the Menorah which represents Torah and will last forever.

       We should all be zoche to value and enjoy each and every mitzvah like our great ancestors and understand the power that Torah has on our lives as well.

Shabbat Shalom and Chanukah Sameach!

Lior Goldstein lives in Boca Raton, Florida. He studied in Yeshivas Derech Etz Chaim in Jerusalem for two years and is currently studying in Lander College for Men in New York.

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Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayeishev

       Parshas Vayeishev brings us to the story of Yosef and his brothers. The story of how the brothers sold Yosef as a slave to Egypt is well known, as are the events leading up to and following the sale. This story is very hard to understand on many levels for obvious reasons, how could anybody, let alone the sons of Yaakov, sell their sibling into slavery? One thing is certain though, Yosef’s journey to Egypt began his journey to greatness. The main catalyst to it is what we will talk about this week.

       When Yosef is brought to Egypt, he is sold to the house of Potiphar, a minister of Paroh, and eventually works his way up to become the head of the household. The Torah tells us that Yosef was a good-looking guy and he soon drew the attention of Potiphar’s wife. Despite her constant advances, Yosef was able to maintain his distance. One day the entire household was out celebrating an Egyptian holiday and she used this opportunity to once again entice Yosef. Even with the Evil Inclination at its strongest, Yosef was once again able to resist and ran out of the house. “וַתִּתְפְּשֵׂהוּ בְּבִגְדוֹ לֵאמֹר שִׁכְבָה עִמִּי וַיַּעֲזֹב בִּגְדוֹ בְּיָדָהּ וַיָּנָס וַיֵּצֵא הַחוּצָה” “She grabbed him by his garment saying, ‘Lie with me!’ But he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside.” (Bereishis (39:12). Because of this incredible act of self-control, Yosef was given the title Yosef HaTzaddik, Yosef the Righteous.

       The commentaries point out that this pasuk seems a little wordy. Why do we need to know that he both fled and went outside, shouldn’t one suffice? Chazal tell us an interesting idea on a pasuk we say in Hallel, “הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס” “the sea saw and fled” (Tehillim 114:3). This is referring to the time of Krias Yam Suf, the Splitting of the Red Sea. Chazal explain that when the sea saw the coffin of Yosef which Bnei Yisrael had brought with them out of Egypt, it immediately fled, the same way that Yosef fled from Potiphar’s wife (Tanchuma 9). What is it about Yosef’s act that caused the sea to split?

       The Gemarah in Kesubos (30b) explains that nowadays, since we do not have courts that can carry out capital punishment, a person who would be deserving of death will die a similar death to the one he would have been given. For example, the punishment for purposely desecrating the Shabbos is Stoning, so nowadays this person would perhaps die by falling off of a rocky cliff. The punishment for illicit relations is Strangulation which could be accomplished nowadays by drowning in the ocean and being strangled by the waters.

       We can now understand the connection between Yosef and the sea. When Yosef fled from Potiphar’s wife and the potential punishment of Strangulation, he gave Bnei Yisrael the merit which enabled them to travel safely through the waters which would have otherwise suffocated them. Furthermore, by fleeing the scene, Yosef went against basic human nature, so therefore the sea also went against its’ basic nature and split. As a final proof to this, we have mentioned several times that the Egyptian nation was known for its’ licentiousness. It is for this reason that the sea did not stay split for them but instead came crashing back down upon them, drowning them all.

       We see a very powerful idea from this story, that any one of our actions can have ever-reaching consequences. When Yosef fled from the scene, there was no way he could have imagined the future millions of Bnei Yisrael standing on the beach, staring in amazement as the sea split in two. While we might not have to picture the results of our actions 200 years down the line, let us at least try to view all our actions in how they will affect our family, friends, and ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom!

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