Toco Hills 2020 Shavuot-Night Print & Learn-Along Dear all,

Chag Sameach and Happy Zman Matan Torateinu to you and your families!

On most years many of us would be spending tonight together, learning Torah in the shul. Unfortu- nately we cannot be physically together again yet, but in the spirit of Har Sinai, where the Jewish people were k’ish echad b’lev echad, we wanted to try and recreate that experience as much as possible. Hence, the learn-along was born, a way for us all to learn together, even while apart.

In this packet please find six shiurim, prepared by community members, each in their own particular style and manner, just as they would have given them in shul if they were able. Just print them out before Yom Tov and learn-along at your own pace.

Feel free to only “attend” the ones you like, and to sneak out in the middle for some cheesecake and cof- fee. And the best part is, if you do fall asleep in the middle, no one will ever know :)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Residual Holiness of the Beth Jacob Parking Lot & Reflections On My Return to Minyan...... 3

By Rabbi Nachi Friedman

7 ...... כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו By Ari Leifer

One, Two, Skip A Few … Ninety-Nine, One Hundred...... 13

By Amir Shuster

Last Eight Pesukim of the Torah...... 15

By R. Ely Landman

Yehuda & Tamar: Why is the Mashiach found in such a strange place? A Look at Various Leadership Models...... 21

By Yoni Graber

Reflections on Corona and Shavuot...... 32

By Moshe Goldfeder

Does the Reward Fit the Crime?...... 39

By Matt Lewis The Residual Holiness of the Beth Jacob Parking Lot & Reflections On My Return to Minyan By Rabbi Nachi Friedman

individually), I attended my first minyan in our shul’s parking lot. As) ביחידות After many weeks of davening many of you know, the minyan followed the guidelines of the CDC to ensure the safety of the participants. The topic) of davening) סוגיא following question came up when davening in the parking lot. We will analyze the outside and the qualifications of what makes something into a shul to answer the question below. :(Question) שאלה Does davening in our Shul’s parking lot on a regular basis give our parking lot an elevated status with elements of holiness similar to a shul? Is it still ok to ride bikes in the parking lot or use it as a shortcut to go from Lavista to Beechcliff and vice versa? (See Mishna Megillah 3:3 for a small list of activities not allowed to do in a place that was formerly used as a shul.) Would these restrictions apply to our parking lot when we transition from outdoor minyanim to indoor (B’ezrat Hashem)? Before we can answer the question above, we must first analyze the topic of davening outdoors: Davening Outside: The Gemara Brachos 34b writes: ַוְָאמר ַר ִבּי ִחיָּיא ַּרב ָּאַאב ַָאמר ַר ִּיב ָיֹוחנָן: ַאל יִתְ ַפ ֵּל ָָאדם ֶא ָלּא ַבְּביִת ֶשׁיֵּׁש ָשׁם ַחּלֹונֹות. ֶשׁנֶ ַּאֱמר: ַ״וְכוִּין ִפְּת ָיחן ֵליּה ִבְּע ִל ֵּיתּה ָ)ל ֳק ֵבל( ]נֶ ֶגד[ .יְרּושְ ֶׁלם״ ַָאמר ַרב ָכּהֲנָא: ִחֲציף ַעֲלי ַמאן ִדּמְ ַצ ֵלּי ַבְּבקְ ָתּא And on the topic of prayer, Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: One may only pray in a house with windows, as then he can see the heavens and focus his heart, as it is stated with regard to Daniel’s prayer: “In his attic there were open windows facing Jerusalem” (Daniel 6:11). With regard to the appropriate place to pray, Rav Kahana said: I consider impudent one who prays in a field. Per the Gemara, it would appear we are not allowed to daven in our parking lot. In fact, the Shulchan Aruch rules like this: :לא יתפלל במקום פרוץ כמו בשדה מפני שכשהוא במקום צניעות חלה עליו אימת מלך ולבו נשבר One should not pray in an open place, such as a field, for one someone is in an enclosed place, the fear of the king falls upon him and his heart breaks [in prayer]. How can the Gemara rule against davening -וא”ת הכתיב ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה :Tosfot questions this ruling outdoors? Yitzchak Avinu prayed his historic mincha prayer in a field! This prayer is historic as it serves as the precedence for our mincha prayer. How can we make such a ruling? Chazal offers a number of answers to this question: Yitzchak was allowed to daven outdoors as – י”ל דהתם מיירי בהר המוריה -Tosfot Brachos 34b DH Chaztif (1 he was davening on Har Hamoria (a very holy place). This elevated presence of Hashem in this spot will surely instill fear of G-d in the person praying. Thus, one is allowed to pray outdoors in areas like the Kotel. Tosfot’s second answer – א”נ בקתא דהכא מיירי בבקעה במקום שרגילין שם בני אדם לעבור והולכי דרכים -Tosfot (2 states outdoor is not ideal location for prayer as there will be many distractors and people passing by that will כונהhurt your ability to pray. Yitzchak’s spot was unique as it did not have traffic, so he was able to have proper (concentration). -דבמקום המוקף מחיצות לית לן בה : A similar approach is taken by the commentary Shaarei Teshuva OC 101 a. In a place that is fenced off or gated it is permitted to daven outside. Like Tosfot, the reason for the prohibition appears to be about ensuring proper concentration. If this can be achieved outside with some precautions, it would be permitted. Thus, our parking lot would be permitted as it is gated and distractions have been removed. 3 3) Sefer Imrei Yosef offers a different distinction: Praying outdoors is similar to the prayer practices of non-Jews. Yitzchak’s time, this practice did not exist, so he was permitted to daven outside. מחדש בחי’ הריטב”א לפסחים דף ח’ סע”א וז”ל דרך חציפות הוא Kaf Hachaim 90:31 quoting the Ritvah writes (4 When the Gemara -להתפלל אדם בבקעה במקום שהרבים מצויים שם ואם היו מתפללים שם עשרה אין בו משום חציפות עכ”ל calls one who davens brazen, that is referring to someone davening alone in a field. If one davens with a minyan, it is permitted. So even if we had distractions, since there is a minyan we are allowed to daven outdoors. Based on the commentaries above, it would appear that we are allowed to have our minyan outside during this time. While we can all agree it is not ideal, it is not in violation of the Gemara and the Shulchan Aruch’s prohibition of outside prayers. However, we have not yet established that the parking lot would develop holiness based on our prayers.

Precedent for the Outdoor Prayers In fact, we have a source in our Gemara that discusses praying outdoors. The Gemara Taanis 15a writes the following procedure when increased prayers are necessary due to lack of rain:

מתני׳ סדר תעניות כיצד מוציאין את התיבה לרחובה של עיר ונותנין אפר מקלה על גבי התיבה ובראש הנשיא ובראש אב בית דין וכל אחד ואחד נותן בראשו What is the customary order of fast days? Normally the sacred ark in the synagogue, which was mobile, was kept in a locked room. However, on fast days they remove the ark to the main city square and place burnt ashes upon the ark, as a sign of mourning. And they also place ashes on the head of the Nasi, and on the head of the deputy Nasi, and each and every member of the community likewise places ashes upon his head The Rishonim offer two reasons as to why the street does not get an elevated holiness status despite it being used as a place of prayer: 1) Rambam in Hilchos Tefillah 11:21 writes: רְ ָחֹובּה ֶשׁל ִעיר ַאף ַעל ִפּי ֶש ָׁה ָעם ִמתְ ַפ ִיןּלְּל ּבֹו ַבְּתעֲנִּיֹות ַּובְמ ָעֲמדֹות ִמפְּנֵי ֶש ַׁה ִקּּבּוץ ַרב ֵוְאין ָב ֵּתּי כְּנֵ ִסּיֹות מְ ִכ ִילין ָאֹותן ֵיןא ּבֹו קְ ֻד ָשּׁה ִמפְּנֵי ֶשׁהּוא ַערְ ַאי וְֹלא נִקְ ַבּע ִלתְ ִפ ָלּה. ֵוְכן ָב ִּתּים וַ ֵחֲצרֹות ֶש ָׁה ָעם ִמתְ ַק ִבְּצין ָב ֶּהם ִלתְ ִפ ָלּה ֵאין ָב ֶּהם קְ ֻד ָשּׁה ִמפְּנֵי ֶשֹׁלּא ָקבְעּו ָאֹותם ִלתְ ִפ ָלּה ִב ַּלְבד : ֶא ָלּא ַערְ ַאי ִמתְ ַפ ִּלְּלים ָב ֶ ןּה ָכְָּאדם ֶש ִׁמּתְ ַפ ֵ ּלבְּתֹוְך ֵבּיתֹו The broadway of a town, though the people worship there on fast-days and at special services, the assemblies on such occasions being too large for the synagogues to accommodate—has no sanctity because its sacred use is casual and it has not been appointed for worship. Similarly, houses and courts where people meet for prayer have no sanctity, because they have not been set apart for worship but are only so used casually, just as a man prays in his own home. .It is frequently used as a prayer -רגיל להתפלל :Rashi Taanis 15a writes (2 Both Rambam and Rashi agree that the streets used for davening during a drought would not qualify as a place of prayer as it is either not frequently used or not established. How would this apply to our parking lots that are now being established and frequently used for prayers? Distinguishing between Kavua (Rambam) & Frequent (Rashi) For a long time, I had wondered what the argument above between Rambam & Rashi. I developed the following distinction during a softball game in Teaneck NJ. • My father and I used to play in a league called Old Farts Softball. This league consisted of very serious older softball players and their children. We met every Sunday to play pickup softball. (Special rules were made to bridge the gap between older and younger players. For example, if someone over 60 years old hit the ball into the outfield, the outfielder cannot throw the batter out at first base.) Members of this league took the game 4 seriously, despite many members’ physical abilities. One day, I was pitching and there were men on first and second base. The batter hit a pop fly ball weakly between home and third base. Both the third baseman and I lazily sundered over to catch the ball as we had assumed the batter was out no matter what due to the “Infield Fly rule”. (Infield Fly is a rule established when men are on base and a ball is hit within the infield. This deters players from dropping the ball on purpose and getting an easy double play. So the rule states that any pop fly hit within the infield while a teammate is on base is called out automatically) Suddenly, the umpire, a man named John who had a part time job as an umpire and took this league a little too seriously started yelling “it is not an infield fly!”. I instantly sprinted to make the catch. I followed up with him after the inning was over and asked why it wasn’t an infield fly. He replied that the ball was hit into a rare spot in the infield, so the infield fly rule did not take into effect. – I thought to myself, this is the difference between Rambam & Rashi. The infield is kavua, but the spot wasn’t frequent. A shul needs to be both a place that is established for prayer and used for prayer. We can apply this to our parking lot minyan. While we may frequent the parking lot and daven there many days, it is not kavua as a shul, so it does not attain the holiness of a shul. Establishing the parking lot as a place that is kavua has ramification in Halacha: ?on Friday night in a parking lot minyan מעין שבע Do we say the Bracha of • it doesn’t -אין תלויה בציבור אלא בבית הכנסת Rav Asher Weiss writes in his Kuntrus on Coronavirus writes • depend on a minyan but on the shul itself. Even though the parking lot is set aside as a place to pray for possibly the next few months, it is not considered a shul. (see below for a second answer proposed as to why we don’t say this prayer) Reflection on an Outdoor Minyan I’d like to offer another approach to what it means that a shul is kavua (established) based on my personal reflections of davening Mincha and Maariv with a minyan for the first time in a very long time. I had an idea as I looked up at Shul walls and realigned my mindset to properly daven at my first minyan in what felt like forever. I was lucky to be included in a small group of individuals allowed to daven in the shul parking lot. My Shemone Esrai was longer. My feelings were more intense. I felt more connected to Hashem than all of my previous individual prayers. Before the virus, I had organized my schedule around minyan. I set up a chavrusa in the morning at a specific time in order to end before shacharis. I would make sure my afternoon and night commitments; meetings and other scheduled events would not conflict with the shul’s scheduled afternoon minyan. When social distancing was established and shuls were closed, I didn’t prioritize davening times as highly. No longer did my schedule work around davening as davening was now flexible. I could fit mincha in my day when it was convenient, not when it was reserved. I davened Maariv usually before going to sleep and when very tired. make עושה תפילתו קבע Based on this, we can now understand kavua differently. When Gemara Brachos 29 says your davening set, it doesn’t just mean you need to do it every day or have a certain time you pray. Rather it a set seat in מקום קבוע .means davening is your priority of the day. You work your schedule around davening your shul doesn’t just mean that you have a chair you frequently sit in, but rather it is a place you make it your business to be there every day. You sit in that chair every day because you have prioritized your schedule to ensure you do not have conflicting events to deter your attendance. When making your davening set, you will be able to reach different levels of connection with Hashem in your davening. Our parking lot is not a kavua davening spot. Part of being a priority is that it is done in an ideal location. Rav Rubin in his published tshuvos on Coronavirus writes in response to the question of saying the prayer in an outdoor minyan on Friday night that kavua means an ideal situation. Praying outside is not מעין שבע of something we want to be doing. As soon as an indoor space is permitted, we will happily abandon the outdoor parking lot minyan. Thus, an outdoor parking lot cannot be a kavua. 5 In light of everything discussed above, it would appear that there are no residual holiness aspects in the parking lot. One can continue to use the parking lot as a short cut etc. However, because it is frequented during this time, it may carry some holiness as it has some elements of a shul (similar to Rashi above). May we continue to increase our communal services and speadily return to praying together in shul. Chag Sameach!

6 כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו By Ari Leifer

In this challenging year, as we unite together, separately, to celebrate the giving of the Torah, we remember the Shemos 19:2) “ And Israel camped there) וַיִּֽ ַח ׁ֥ ָן־שם יִשְ ָׂר ֵ֖אל ֶ֥נ ֶגד ָה ָ ֽהר .words of the Torah that have become famous in front of the mountain.” Rashi famously paraphrases the Midrash and states that the Jewish people were “like one person with one heart.” They were finally no longer disparate parts but united and joined as one. We celebrate the event of the unity of Klal Yisrael, even as we spend this yomtov physically separated, in our own homes. It is critical to remember that we unite despite our differences. We join together as a greater whole despite our inherent variability. These distinctions make us a stronger people and a more well rounded unit. The Gemara Menachos 27a teaches us: ד’ מינין שבלולב ב’ מהן עושין פירות וב’ מהם אין עושין פירות העושין פירות יהיו זקוקין לשאין עושין ושאין עושין פירות יהיו זקוקין “ לעושין פירות ואין אדם יוצא ידי חובתו בהן עד שיהו כולן באגודה אחת וכן ישראל בהרצאה עד שיהו כולן באגודה אחת “There are four species with the lulav. Two make fruits. Two don’t make fruits. The ones that don’t make any fruit are tied to the ones that make fruit… And you don’t fulfill your obligation until they are all brought into one unit. So too, Israel does not receive any forgiveness until they are together as one unit.1” The Gemara’s implication is that it is the union of our unique qualities that actually brings us closer to Hashem, actualizing our collective dream for forgiveness and connection to Him. By trying our best to unite, notwithstanding our differences, it is precisely because of those same disparities that we are granted forgiveness. So, why aren’t we all the same? Why don’t we try our best to unite completely, under one banner in one singular way to serve Hashem? The Chofetz Chaim zt”l was once asked this exact question: “Why does the world need chasidim and misnagdim? And even within the chasidim, there are so many subdivisions. These give preference to learning over prayer and these pray a lot and learn less. These sing and these dance. Would the world be missing something if there was only one type of Jew, all praying the same nusach, with the same guidelines and the same style? The Chofetz Chaim answered with sweetness on his lips: Before you ask me, ask the Russian Czar why and for what purpose we need all different types of soldiers. Infantry, cavalry, heavy artillery gunners, pilots and sailors. Would the world be missing something if we had only one type of soldier with one general for all of them? Rather, to defeat the enemy and go to battle we need many different types of strategy, each with its own benefits...So too we have different types of chasidim together with the misnagdim in Hashem’s battalion, to fight a mandatory battle against the evil inclination. Each [of the different types of Jews] help defeat the enemy, this one with his Torah and this one with his prayer, this with his songs and this one with his shofar blast, as long as they focus their hearts on their Father in Heaven.2 It is our differences, then, that make us stronger. It is our differences in our own Avodas Hashem that make us a greater whole. The things that make us unique are important. By each of us using our own unique approach to come close to God, we can help the greater whole come closer to God in kind. I would like to discuss two areas that warrant our individualization in our avodas Hashem. It is in these areas that we can dig deeper to find things that speak to us and to our soul.

1 See Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 30:12, where each of the minim are described as having different qualities of smell and taste representing different types of Jews with different proportions of Torah and Maasim Tovim. We need Jews without Torah and Maasim tovim to unite as well, to be considered a complete unit. 2 Chofetz Chaim Al HaTorah Parshas Re’eh (d”h Banim Atem LaHashem) 7 The first area that needs discussion is about utilizing your strengths. By being in touch with ourselves and our strengths we can better use them in serving Hashem. We generally do this in our daily life already. Some people are front office and some are back office. Some people are early risers and some night owls. Some people are introverts and some the life of the party. This is natural and normal, of course. We are all different after all and that’s why we don’t all have the same job. That would be ridiculous. The Gemara in Shabbos 156a explains that: האי מאן דבמאדים יהי גבר אשיד דמא אמר רב אשי אי אומנא אי גנבא אי טבחא אי מוהלא “One who was born under the influence of Mars (the planet) will be one who spills blood. Rav Ashi said: He will be either a blood letter, or a thief, or a slaughterer of animals, or a circumciser.” The Gr”a zy”a discussing this Gemara writes something almost shocking to hear in his commentary on Mishlei (22:6) on the pasuk חֲנֹ֣ ְך ֭ ַלנַ ַּער ַע ּ֣ ִל־פי ַדרְּכ֑ ֹו ּ֥ ַגם ִֽכּ ֝י־יַ ִזְק י֗ן ֹֽלא־יָס֥ ּור ִמ ֶֽמּנָּה ׃ “Train a boy according to his way; He will not swerve from it even in old age.” He explains that:

“The idea is that a person can not break his nature, meaning his mazal (luck/constellation) that he was born under. (Quotes Gemara in Shabbos)...These three jobs are mentioned because his astrological sign shows that he should be a murderer but through his free will he can choose to be of these three things. A mohel, if he is a tzaddik, who performs mitzvos, a butcher if he is a beinoni, or a thief, if he is a rasha, a murderer. This is what is written “Train the boy according to his way” according to the way of his constellation and nature teach him and guide him to do mitzvos and then “ when he gets old he will not swerve from it” BUT when you force him against his nature, he will listen now from fear of you, but when the yoke is removed from his neck he will veer from this, because it is impossible to break his constellation/nature. Now that is simply amazing. Besides for the discussion of nature versus nurture, the Gr”a is telling us something powerful about chinuch and human nature. It’s something we intuitively know to be true, but hearing it from the Gaon, it’s a knockout. We all have things that we are good at and things we arent as good at; 8 things that come easy to us and things that we have trouble with. We all have a certain nature, aspects of our personality that make us, us. We need to find ways to embrace these things, because otherwise would be to turn our backs on our essence. We must try to do the same for our children. By enhancing their strengths and focusing on the things they are better at, those strengths can be focused toward their own personal service of Hashem in a natural way. Rav Volbe zt”l (Alei Shur Volume 1 pg 133) turns this idea on its head and shows how the idea that everyone is unique is a double edged sword. He quotes the Maharal on his commentary on Pirkei Avos (Derech Chaim 3:9) which says: “(Quoting Pirkei Avos -Anyone whose fear of his sin precedes wisdom, his wisdom will endure.) The Mahaal wrote: It should have said anyone whose fear of sin precedes his wisdom. But this isn’t a problem because

every person is prepared to sin… and when it says Anyone whose fear of his sin-the sin prepared for him, the fear of his sin precedes wisdom.” Rav Volbe explains “This means that every person is prepared (connected to) from his very nature to specific sins, and it’s not enough to fear sin in general but for every man to fear his specific sins that he is connected to and only when fear of HIS own sin precedes wisdom, them wisdom will endure.” Rav Volbe is not only echoing a theme in the writing of the Maharal that man will sin and that’s a fact of nature3, but that we can have specific sins that are ours and that we can’t shake. There are sins that affect us and loom over us. We all have sins that can shape us and harm us more than others. At the same time, Rav Tzadok HaKohen MiLublin z”ya famously writes (Tzidkas HaTzaddik 49) that the areas where we struggle the most are the things that we can be amazing at. The sins that we struggle with and grapple with are the exact things that we can be most pure with regard to. Not only that, but each person was created to repair something specific; something specific to his soul which has no equal. We are built in a way that we, as humans, have strengths but we also have weaknesses. We can try and perhaps, in some metaphysical way, it is our duty on earth, to use our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. But for sure, it is important at least not to disregard our inner state and our natural tendencies, as long as they are benign. Rav Chanoch Henoch Leibowitz zt”l in Chidushei Lev (Parshas Lech Lecha) quotes the Yalkut Shimoni that at the Akedah, Avraham cried so much he completely soaked himself with his own tears. Rav Leibowitz quotes the Alter of Slabodka who asked why couldn’t Avraham control himself and follow this task with simcha? Why couldn’t he overcome his natural state to cry in pain over what he was about to do and follow God’s will biAhavah? The Alter answers that Hashem gave you normal emotions along with powerful feelings of love for your children. And Hashem doesn’t want you to remove those emotions and become a robot. We were created with emotional and physical tendencies. We need to try our best to embrace that which

3 Berachos 25b- The Torah was not given to the angels. In the worldview of the Maharal, sin is inevitable. If man didnt sin, he would be an angel. 9 makes us unique and not to sublimate the very things that make us human or ourselves, while at the same time trying to identify our weaknesses and try to use them to our advantage in life and in avodas Hashem The second area I want to speak about Limmud HaTorah. I think that besides the halachic considerations of when and what to learn, it is critical for someone who wants to continue lifelong learning to actually enjoy learning Torah. This may sound strange, but I assure you it isn’t. If you don’t already, you can actually enjoy learning Torah. There are so many different ways to learn Torah and so many different things to learn. I truly believe there is something for everyone to enjoy. If you can actually find the topics, authors or learning methods available in the “Sea of Wisdom” you will learn for the rest of your life Tahe Gemara Avodah Zara 19a states: כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו א”ר אין אדם לומד תורה אלא ממקום שלבו חפץ שנאמר )תהלים א, ב( כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו “But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord” (Psalms 1:2). Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: A person can learn Torah only from a place in the Torah that his heart desires, as it is stated: But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord, i.e., his delight is in the part of the Torah that he wishes to study. The Gemara gives us an imperative: Learn what you enjoy and you’ll enjoy what you learn. The Gemara continues: לוי ור”ש ברבי יתבי קמיה דרבי וקא פסקי סידרא סליק ספרא לוי אמר לייתו ]לן[ משלי ר”ש ברבי אמר לייתו ]לן[ תילים כפייה ללוי ואייתו תילים כי מטו הכא כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו פריש רבי ואמר אין אדם לומד תורה אלא ממקום שלבו חפץ אמר לוי רבי נתת לנו רשות לעמוד Levi and Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, were sitting before Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and they were learning the Torah portion. When they finished the book that they were learning and were ready to begin a new subject, Levi said: Let them bring us the book of Proverbs; and Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, said: Let them bring us the book of Psalms. He compelled Levi to acquiesce, and they brought a book of Psalms. When they arrived here, at the verse: “But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord,” Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi explained the verse and said: A person can learn Torah only from a place in the Torah that his heart desires. Levi said: My teacher, you have given us, i.e., me, permission to rise and leave, as I wish to study Proverbs, not Psalms. This is one of my favorite Gemaras and has had a profound effect on me. To realize that you have the ability to wade through the vast oceans of Torah and find the parts that speak to you the most, is something powerful. I wonder how many of us do this. How many of us can say we have a favorite masechta, religious author or type of learning style? The Shevet Mussar, Rav Eliyahu HaKohen zt”l, takes this a step further: והנני מוסר לך דבר אשר תרדוף אחריה, ויהיה חיים לנפשך וענקים לגרגרותיך, לעולם יהיה עיקר לימודך בדבר של תורה שליבך חפץ יותר, אם בגמרא גמרא, ואם בדרוש דרוש, ואם ברמז רמז, ואם בקבלה קבלה, ורמז לדבר כי אם בתורת ה’ חפצו, כלומר תורת ה’ תלויה בדבר שלבו חפץ לעסוק, וכמ”ש האר”י זלה”ה בספר דרושי הנשמות והגלגולים פרק שלישי, וז”ל: יש בני אדם שכל חפצם ועסקם בפשטי התורה, ויש שעסקם בדרוש, ויש ברמז, ויש גם כן בגמטריאות, ויש בדרך האמת, הכל כפי מה שעליו נתגלגל בפעם ההוא, כיון שהשלים פעם אחרת בשאר העניינים, אין צורך לו שבכל גלגול יעסוק בכלם, עכ”ל “Behold I will give you something to chase after (as a goal) and it will be life for your soul and a necklace for your neck. Really, your main learning should be in the topics within Torah that your heart desires most, if (that is) Gemara, (then go learn) Gemara; if (that is) Drush, (then learn) Drush, if (that is) Remez,(then go learn) Remez and if (that is Kabalah), (then go learn) Kabbalah. And a hint to this is “But his delight is in the Torah of the Lord” meaning The Torah of Hashem depends on what your heart wants to learn. Like the Arizal wrote in Sefer Gilgulim Chapter 3: There are people who all they want and learn is Peshat in Torah, and some learn Drush, and some learn remez, and some learn Gematrios, and some in the path of truth. This all depends on how they were reincarnated this time because since they may have already completed these other topics, there is not need in each gilgul to learn all them” 10 OK. So forget the reincarnation discussion for now. This is taking the idea to the next level. The Shevet Mussar doubles down on the words of the Arizal and says what you may never have heard your Rabbi say. Learn what you want. Just go and learn whatever it is you want to. You want to learn Gemara? Great! You want to go learn something else? Great!! More Torah learning is a good thing, in whatever form it may be. Let’s not stop there. Lets go a bit further. Lets look at Rav Kook in Orot HaTorah (9:6): ישנם שיצאו לתרבות רעה, מפני שבדרך למודם והשלמתם הרוחנית בגדו בתכונתם האישית המיוחדת. הרי שאחד מוכשר לדברי אגדה, ועניני ההלכה אינם לפי תכונתו להיות עסוק בהם בקביעות, ומתוך שאינו מכיר להעריך את כשרונו המיוחד הוא משתקע בעניני הלכה, כפי מנהג המורגל, והוא מרגיש בנפשו נגוד לאלה הענינים שהוא עוסק בהם, מתוך שההשתקעות בהם אינה לפי טבע כשרונו העצמי. אבל אם הי’ מוצא את תפקידו וממלאו, לעסוק בקביעות באותו המקצוע שבתורה, המתאים לתכונת נפשו, אז הי’ מכיר מיד שהרגשת הנגוד שבאה לו בעסקו בעניני ההלכה לא באה מצד איזה חסרון בעצמם של הלמודים הקדושים והנחוצים הללו, אלא מפני שנפשו מבקשת מקצוע אחר לקביעותה בתורה... אמנם כיון שאינו מכיר את סבת הרגשתו הנגודית בלמוד, והוא מתגבר נגד טבעו, תיכף כשנפתחים לפניו איזה דרכים של הפקר הוא מתפרץ ונעשה שונא וער לתורה ולאמונה “There are those who go off the derech (lit. bad culture) because the derech in learning and spiritual completion revolts against their personal unique character. If you have a person who is talented in Aggadah and Halachik works are not something that his character should be studying regularly, and since he doesn’t understand his own unique abilities he continues to study halacha, like the usual tradition, and he feels something in his soul opposed to these things that he’s learning, because immersing himself in them (halacha only) is not according to his unique nature. But, if he would find his special purpose and fulfill it, to learn consistently the topic within Torah that corresponds to his soul’s character, then he would realize that the negative feelings toward learning halacha are not from a shortcoming from the holy eternal study but from the fact that his soul wants a different Torah topic to learn consistently...Since he doesnt recognize the reason for his negative feelings toward learning and he overpowers his nature, immediately, when the pathways of hefker are opened before him, he will burst forth with hatred and become and enemy of Torah and Emunah.” Rav Kook not only feels that each person has a part of Torah that connects to their soul, but that when they aren’t afforded the opportunity to find that part of Torah and forced into a different part, it can actually lead to kefirah. The connection of a Jew’s soul to his portion in Torah is so strong that when the soul misses its counterpoint in Torah, it may rebel and revolt. You may feel distant. You may even dislike learning. But, it’s only because you haven’t found that part that speaks deeply to your heart. It is this portion in Torah that we daven for. It is this portion of Torah that we were created to learn, to complete our soul. The Piskei Teshuvos (155:3) even writes l’halachah that there is even a minhag to have a mesechta that you review over and over again, always, which is referred to as “Masechta Olam Habah.” As if, it is from this masechta alone that you can earn your portion in the world to come; this masechta is connected to your soul. The Chofetz Chaim also recommended having a masechta4 that becomes yours and that you can review daf by daf by heart in your free time5. In the end, you can choose to find areas of Torah that you connect to or you can choose not to. Some people enjoy learning halacha and shailos and teshuvos. Some people enjoy learning machshava and some mussar. Some people are all about Gemara only. Some people aren’t as connected to learning but serve Hashem with chessed, tefillah or in many other ways6. The Gemara (Taanis 31a) says:

4 The Gemara also comments on the minhag of the amoraim to be makpid in a single mitzvah above the rest. This became their unique mitzvah. See Shabbos 118b: “Rav Nahman said: May I receive my reward because I fulfilled the obligation to eat three meals on Shabbat magnificently. Rav Yehuda said: May I receive my reward because I fulfilled the obligation of consideration during prayer. Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: May I receive my reward because I never walked four cubits with my head uncovered. Rav Sheshet said: May I receive my reward because I fulfilled the mitzva of phylacteries magnificently. And Rav Nahman said: May I receive my reward because I fulfilled the mitzva of ritual fringes magnificently.” 5 Toras HaBayis. end of perek 6. The Piskei Teshuvos also notes the Menoras HaMaor which quotes an interesting midrash, which was made into a song by Aharon Razel called “Chagigah”. Worth a listen. 6 See Kedushas Levi Vayigash 21 11 אמר עולא ביראה אמר רבי אלעזר עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות מחול לצדיקים והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו שנאמ’ )ישעיהו כה, ט( ואמר ביום ההוא הנה אלהינו זה קוינו לו :ויושיענו זה ה’ קוינו לו נגילה ונשמחה בישועתו Ulla of the city of Bira’a said that Rabbi Elazar said: In the future, in the end of days, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will arrange a dance of the righteous, and He will be sitting among them in the Garden of Eden, and each and every one of the righteous will point to God with his finger, as it is stated: “And it shall be said on that day: Behold, this is our God, for whom we waited, that He might save us. This is the Lord; for whom we waited. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9) The Mei HaShiloach (1: Vzos HaBrachah 11 and 2: Taanis 30b) explains that the dance in this Gemara is a circle. Rav Dovid’l Weinberg in his masterpiece Birth of the Spoken Word explains (pg.263) that “circles have no beginning and no end-no first and last- and thus reflect a world without hierarchies. While this world may consist of a series of vertical relationships-parents and children, teachers and students, males and females, suns and moons, we are moving toward a time when this artificial top-down model will collapse (or rather) evolve into a dance.” The circle in this gemara represents the fact that in the future, it will be revealed that everyone was equidistant from Hashem at the center of the circle the entire time. In the end, it doesn’t matter what path you take, or what Torah you choose to learn, as long as it is for the sake of Heaven7.

7 Talmud Berachos 5b. 12 One, Two, Skip A Few … Ninety-Nine, One Hundred By Amir Shuster

Did you play hide and go seek as children? I sure did. You go in a corner and count to 15 or 20 to give everyone a chance to hide, and then the search is on. Some people tried to be clever and made you count to 100, that’s when you would employ the ever popular, ‘one two skip a few, ninety-nine one hundred’ trick. This shortcut works not only for hide and seek, I’ll show you how to use this shortcut to get to the highest level of Yiddishkeit attainable.

The question is, what is the highest level we can strive for … Pinchas ben Yair spells out the steps in the Gemara (Avoda Zara, 20b): “Torah brings one to vigilance, vigilance to alacrity, alacrity to cleanliness, cleanliness to abstinence, abstinence to purity, purity to piety, piety to humility, humility to fear of sin, fear of sin to holiness, holiness to divine inspiration, divine inspiration to resurrection of the dead.” As you may know, this תחית) braisa was the basis of the monumental sefer, Mesilas Yesharim. The path to resurrection of the dead as spelled out in the braisa, is a life long journey, a walk up through the rungs until one finally gets, after ,(המתים much toil, to resurrection of the dead. Using the concept of one two skip a few, I’ll attempt, in the next few lines, !without the struggle, the easy way to the top תחית המתים to teach you how to get to

rosh yeshiva of Sh’or Yoshuv in Far Rockaway, has a problem with the following ,זצ״ל Rabbi Shlomo Friefeld gemarah, found in Nazir 23b. The gemara states, “Ein Hakadosh Baruch Hu mekapeach afili s’char sichah na’ah”, which means that Hashem does not overlook anything, even the reward for a pleasant conversation. Rabbi Freifeld asks the obvious question, the gemara must be telling us some sort of chiddush. It would not tell us that Hashem rewards us for wearing tefillin, that’s obvious. If that’s the case, what exactly is sichah na’ah, pleasant conversations? If the gemara meant learning, well, that’s a mitzvah, and it would be obvious we get rewarded for it. What about raising the spirits of a sick person or a mourner? That also, would be obvious. I would like to take Rabbi Freifeld’s answer, sprinkle it with my own idea, and present the following thought. Sicha na’ah, according to Rabbi Freifeld, is simply how you talk to someone. He gives an example when he was at the doctors for a procedure he was uncomfortable about, and the doctor spoke to him in a very gentle, soft tone of voice. He called him by name many times and asked him over and over again if he’s comfortable and if he has any questions. It is these types of conversations, posits the Rav, that Hashem does not overlook in rewarding. Humbly, I would like to present a variation of this answer, and I will introduce that variation with a story. When my wife and I were still dating, she was invited to a wedding for a friend and decided to bring me along. I didn’t know the kallah, or the chosson, or anybody else there for that matter. An obedient fiancé, I went along with a happy face. I sat at a table of men I didn’t know, and had no issues making conversations with the fine people at my table. 10-15 minutes into the wedding, a man taps me on the shoulder, and tells me that my table is many of his old friends he grew up with, and he would be really grateful if I would switch seats with him so he can catch up with them. I begrudgingly agreed, and moved to his table, which to say the least, was not so comfortable for me. I sat there alone for a few minutes, sulking in my misery, and decided to go tell my fiancé that I’m going to head out and I’ll pick her up when the wedding is over. As I was walking out, the chosson, on the biggest day of his life, when he is the king and the star of the show, must have noticed that I was walking out with a sour face. It was in the middle of the first dance of his own wedding, and he broke off from the circle, came to grab me, and danced with me in the middle for several minutes. I’ll remind you, I didn’t know him, he didn’t know me. As we were dancing he asked me how I am doing, and what my connection is to the wedding. He made me feel like a person again. That my friends, is sicha na’ah. It doesn’t quite fit into any particular mitzvah, but the Almighty most definitely will not overlook the reward for that.

13 What that chosson actually did that day was mechaye mes, he brought me back to life. There I was, lacking life and lacking energy, and he infused in me joy, hope, and life. This was, at least by my standards, a miracle resurrection of the dead. We all have this power to resurrect someone who’s in desperate ,תחית המתים of need of it. That person standing alone at the kiddush, the guy sitting by himself somewhere, the only person at the meeting who hasen’t opened their mouth … if you only give them the chance, you’ll be breathing into them life, an act that is synonymous with the Almighty himself. And the pain of not being resurrected, we’ve all been there. We’ve been the person who is the odd one out at a party. A very small act on our part can make but also a ,תחית המתים a very large impact on someone’s experience, thereby creating not only a scenario of tremendous kiddush Hashem. One two, skip a few … and now you know how to resurrect the dead.

14 Last Eight Pesukim of the Torah By R. Ely Landman

I have always found the last perek of the Torah (34) to be such a moving and poignant moment. Moshe is standing on Har Nevo overlooking Eretz Yisrael and although he knows he can’t enter, the Torah describes how Hashem shows him each section of the Land- “From Gilad to Dan, the land of Naftali, Efrayim and he dies and is buried , וַיָ ָּ֨מת ׁ֜ ָשם ׁ֧ ֶמֹשה Menashe…”. Moshe looks out but says nothing and the next thing we know (Rashi quotes Rebbe Yishmael that Moshe buried himself, whatever that means) and Yehoshua takes over. It is meaningful to reflect on what Moshe was thinking and feeling during these last moments, overlooking the Land he had dreamed about for the last 40 years. Anyway, I want to look at the Gemara that discusses the and talk about a fascinating Gra who comes up with a ( לד:ה last 8 pesukim (beginning with Moshe’s death in beautiful and creative approach. The Gemara in Menachos 30a (and also in Bava Basra 15a) brings the following: (the quotes and translations are from Sefaria) אמר רבי יהושע בר אבא אמר רב גידל אמר רב שמנה פסוקים שבתורה יחיד קורא אותן בבהכ”נ כמאן דלא כר”ש § Rabbi Yehoshua bar Abba says that Rav Giddel says that Rav says: With regard to the last eight verses of the Torah (Deuteronomy 32:5–12), a single individual reads them in the synagogue. The Gemara asks: In accordance with whose opinion is this said? It is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon. What does it mean that an individual (“Yachid”) reads these pesukim? And why is this part of the Torah any different than the rest? We’ll get to that in a moment. Let’s first see the rest of the discussion in the Gemara: דתניא )דברים לד, ה( וימת שם משה עבד יי’ אפשר משה חי וכתב וימת שם משה אלא עד כאן כתב משה מכאן אילך כתב יהושע בן נון דברי רבי יהודה ואמרי לה רבי נחמיה As it is taught in a baraita : The verse states: “And Moses the servant of the Lord died there” (Deuteronomy 34:5). Is it possible that after Moses died, he himself wrote: “And Moses died there”? Rather, Moses wrote the entire Torah until this point, and Joshua bin Nun wrote from this point forward; this is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. And some say that Rabbi Nehemya stated this opinion. אמר לו ר”ש אפשר ס”ת חסר אות אחת וכתיב )דברים לא, כו( לקוח את ספר התורה הזה ושמתם אותו וגו‘ Rabbi Shimon said to him: Is it possible that the Torah scroll was missing a single letter? But it is written that God instructed Moses: “Take this Torah scroll and put it by the side of the Ark of the Covenant” (Deuteronomy 31:26), indicating that the Torah was complete as is and that nothing further would be added to it. אלא עד כאן הקב”ה אומר ומשה כותב ואומר מכאן ואילך הקב”ה אומר ומשה כותב בדמע כמה שנאמר להלן ירמיהו לו, יח( ויאמר (להם ברוך מפיו יקרא אלי את כל הדברים האלה ואני כותב על הספר בדיו Rabbi Shimon explains: Rather, until this point, i.e., the verse describing the death of Moses, the Holy One, Blessed be He, dictated and Moses wrote the text and repeated after Him. From this point forward, with regard to Moses’ death, the Holy One, Blessed be He, dictated and Moses wrote with tears without repeating the words, due to his great sorrow. As it is stated there with regard to Jeremiah’s dictation of the prophecy of the destruction of the Temple to Baruch ben Neriah: “And Baruch said to them: He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll” (Jeremiah 36:18), but he did not repeat the words after Jeremiah. לימא דלא כר”ש אפי’ תימא ר”ש הואיל ואישתני אישתני The Gemara now states its inference: Shall we say that the ruling of Rav that the last verses of the Torah are read by only one reader is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, since according to Rabbi Shimon these verses are similar to all other verses of the Torah, as they were all written by Moses? The Gemara answers: You may even say that Rav’s ruling was stated in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon; since

15 they differ from the rest of the Torah in one way, as Moses wrote them without repeating the words, they differ from the rest of the Torah in this way as well, and they may not be divided between two readers. So to summarize- Rebbe Yehuda holds Yehoshua wrote the last 8 pesukim of the Torah, so it’s understandable why there would be a unique rule for reading it. But according to Rebbe Shimon- Moshe wrote these last 8 just like the rest of the Torah- so why should they be treated any differently? The Gemara answers (according to Rashi) that for the rest of the Torah, Moshe first repeated out loud what Hashem told him and then he wrote it down.(Unlike Sefaria above, which states Moshe wrote it down then repeated it, the girsa of our Gemara is . But for the last eight pesukim Moshe didn’t verbalize them because it was too painful for him to משה אומר וכותב do so- rather he just wrote the pesukim while he was crying. And since the way he wrote these last eight were different, there is a different halacha for them. So what is the meaning of this unique rule that “a Yachid (an individual) must read them”? Here are 5 explanations: Rashi explains this to mean that you can only have one person read this section- you can’t split it up into 2 separate Aliyos. The idea being that since these 8 pesukim either have a different author or were written in a different manner by Moshe- we keep them as one unit and don’t interrupt. Rashi’s approach is brought as the Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch. (Orach Chayim 428:7) Tosfos brings another explanation in the name of Rabbenu Meshulam- that the actual person getting the Aliyah must read it himself- the Baal Koreh doesnt read it. “Yachid” refers to one person participating in keri’as haTorah rather than the standard two. Why would this be the case? explains that this yachid refers to a distinguished person- that person ( תתקנה The Mordechai (siman specifically should be the one to read the last words of the Torah. This becomes a source for our minhag on Simchas Torah of Chasan Torah. The Ri Migash in Bava Batra (15a) says these pesukim are to be read ‘alone’ and not as a continuation of the previous section. ‘Yachid’ means that these pesukim must be read separately from the previous section. The Rambam (Hilchos Tefillah 13:6) learns the gemara to mean that these last eight pesukim may be read ‘be- yachid’ - in private- without a minyan! This is a big chiddush because why should we be more lenient for these pesukim than any others? *see below for an additional insight into this Rambam) ( hopefully we’re not still at home on Simchas Torah but if G-d forbid we are- according to this Rambam we could read these last 8 pesukim at home and fulfill Krias Hatorah at least for this section- just a thought, not a psak) So those are 5 approaches, which are not mutually exclusive except for the Rambam’s approach in not requiring a minyan. Going back to the Gemara’s argument about who wrote the last eight pesukim- Moshe or Yehoshua- I want to share the novel approach of the Vilna Gaon. The full text is found below. He points out that each opinion has a major problem. If you say Yehoshua wrote them- this contradicts a basic fundamental belief that Moshe wrote the entire Torah. (The Rambam includes this as one of the 13 Principles of faith.) And if you say Moshe wrote them- how is it possible for Moshe to write about his own death as if it already happened? As the Gemara says- this is a sheker- a falsehood. (You can argue that he was writing it as a prophecy like many of the prophets did- but the problem with saying that is that the prophets wrote in the future tense, as a prophecy; this is written in the past tense as if it already happenend). So how do you deal with this conundrum? 16 He begins by saying the Torah was actually written before the Creation of the world- but the form of that כל התורה הוא שמותיו של Torah was completely different than what we have today. He quotes the concept that the entire Torah is actually many forms of G-d’’s Names. I don’t really know what this means- but I find - הקב”ה it intriguing- it hints to the deeper aspect of Torah as an expression of G-d’s different manifestations in our world. He calls this a “nistar” form of the Torah. That original form is the same Torah we have- but in a different, “mixed up” order.( Not mixed up like confused, but mixed up as in out of order). When the Gemara says Moshe מְ ֵל ָא תְ ָך֥ ו ְִד מְ עֲ ָך֖ ֹל֣ א this word means not “tears” but “mixed up” (as it means in the pasuk ,” בדמע “ wrote the Torah interpreted as a mixture of terumah and chulin). So Moshe actually DID write the דמעך (Shemos 22:28) תְ ַא ֵ ֑ח ר last eight pesukim, but in the original form only. Then Yehoshua came and rewrote them in the form we have today. And this is indicated in the words of the gemara that for the rest of the Torah, Hashem said it and Moshe without expressing בדמע.” - said it and then wrote it”, but for these eight “Hashem said it and Moshe wrote it“ it verbally. The rest of the Torah Moshe could express out loud- so he did. But these eight were taught in a way that’s not expressible- the original form- so Moshe could only write the words down. So both opinions are actually correct! Both Moshe and Yehoshua wrote these words down, just in different forms. This is drush, granted, but very creative. Assuming Moshe actually was crying while writing these pesukim, I was just thinking- what was he crying over? Of course, he was crying over his impending demise and the end of his opportunity to lead Bnai Yisrael. And that he could not enter into Eretz Yisrael with the People which was his dream and goal for the last 40 years. But perhaps he was also crying tears of joy- that finally he had brought the People to the edge of the Land and was leaving them in capable hands with Yehoshua. And that the People were finally loyal and committed to following Yehoshua full heartedly, and excited to make Eretz Yisrael their home. And another possibility- that Moshe had joy for completing the Torah and handing it on its entirety to the Jewish People Thanks for reading this and have a wonderful Shavuos!

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18 19 *For more insight into the Rambam, here is Rav Moshe Taragin: ( https://www.etzion.org.il/en/reading-last-eight-pesukim ) The Brisker Rov in his commentary to Menachot provides an explanation that might justify the Rambam’s arresting halakha. Basing himself upon the aforementioned reading of the Shitta Mekubetzet he first cites a famous distinction drawn by Rav Chayim (his father) between Nevi’im and Ketuvim. The former contains prophecies that were conveyed to the prophets to be orally delivered. Only after their delivery were they transcribed. By contrast the books of Ketuvim were originally delivered by Hakadosh Baruch Hu (through Ru’ach HaKodesh) for immediate transcription. Most of Torah followed the pattern of Nevi’im in that Moshe first taught the Jewish people and only wrote the text afterwards. These 8 pesukim however were written immediately without any prior teaching (more similar to the protocol of Ketuvim). What The Brisker Rov does not sufficiently address is WHY this difference should account for the Rambam’s allowing them to be read without a minyan. Based upon the Brisker Rov’s explanation we might suggest a justification for the Rambam’s leniency. The Mishna in Megilla (24) lists Keri’at HaTorah among the devarim shebikedusha requiring a minyan. Evidently the Mishna viewed the public reading as some form of public study which qualifies as davar shebikedusha. Might this assignment only apply to the parts of the Torah which were actually taught in public by Moshe but not to the final 8 pesukim which were never taught. The Rambam might have claimed that the status of davar shebikedusha only applies to the parts of Torah in which our public keri’a can be seen as a reenactment of Moshe’s original teaching. If the method of that original transfer did not include a prior teaching than this text may be read without a minyan.

20 Yehuda & Tamar: Why is the Mashiach found in such a strange place? A Look at Various Leadership Models By Yoni Graber based on a shiur by Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

I. The (Quick) Yehuda & Tamar Story (With my Comments in Bold) Yehuda separates from his brothers and befriends a man from Adullam names Chirah. (Why do we need this background information?) Then Yehuda meets another local Canaanite man named Shuah and Yehuda marries his daughter. (Again, why do we need all this background information?) We find out that they have three children: Er, Onan, and Sheilah. (These are very strange names 1.) Er marries Tamar but is killed by HaShem. Onan marries Tamar and is also killed by HaShem. Yehuda refuses to give Tamar over to his third son, Sheilah, so he tells Tamar to go live at her father’s house until Sheilah grows up. Meanwhile, Yehuda’s wife dies, and he is looking for some company. (Why else would it matter if Yeshuda’s wife had died?) Tamar, in realizing that Yehuda never intended for her to marry Sheilah, makes her move and tricks Yehuda into sleeping with her by dressing up like a prostitute. Yehuda returns to pay her, but she disappears. Yehuda then sends a friend to try to find and pay her and he asks around the town. (Yehuda is obviously not ashamed of his actions or he would not have sent his friend or had him ask around the town.) Yehuda describes not paying her as a “disgrace.” (So, sleeping with a prostitute is not the disgrace but not paying her is? This whole thing seems odd.) Three months later Tamar is showing. Yehuda assumes that she has relations outside of the family and instructs that she be burned to death. When she is being taken out to be burned, she reveals that she is pregnant via Yehuda and Yehuda says that she is more innocent than him because he did not give her to Sheilah. (She’s more innocent because he refused to give her to Sheilah? What about sleeping with – what he thought – was a prostitute? This whole story is very weird.) II. Questions to Ask To sum it up, the Yehuda & Tamar story seems very strange for several reasons: (1) We get a whole backstory that does not seem relevant. (2) We get introduced to characters that come and go and are not part of the main story. (3) We do not get this type of information on any of the other brothers. (4) Yehuda seems not worried about the “prostitution issue” and much more worried about dealing honestly with the prostitute. (5) Yehuda also seems to indicate that his big failure was in dealing honestly with Tamar vis-à-vis Sheilah – again, not the “prostitution issue.”

Additionally, some “bigger picture” questions include: (1) Its placement in the Torah is a strange interruption to the Yosef story. To exacerbate this issue, the Yehuda & Tamar story likely took place before the Yosef story .2 (2) Is the point of the story to tell us about the royal lineage? If so, it’s strange because we have the royal lineages recorded elsewhere in Tanach 3

1 Er means “nothingness,” Onan means “mourning,” and Sheilah means “an illusion.” If you think about it, these names are exactly what happens to each of them: Er and Onan die and Sheilah remains an illusion to Tamar, as we will see.

21 (3) Is the point of the story to tell us about the power of teshuva? If so, it is strange because Yehuda’s “teshuva” is unclear. Was he doing teshuva for sleeping with (what he thought) was a prostitute? From the text, that does not appear to be the case. Was he doing teshuva for sleeping with his daughter-in-law (albeit without his knowledge)? Again, that does not appear to be the case from the text. To understand the Yehuda & Tamar story (and to answer our questions), we need to journey ahead to the critical family scene where Ya’akov “blesses” his children .4 III. Ya’akov’s “Blessings” Ya’akov is dying and his children are all gathered around. What is Ya’akov doing? Ya’akov is assigning tasks, positions and – perhaps – even land5. In assigning these things Ya’akov understands that his family – while large – is still one family and that, when they go back to the Land of Israel, they will need leadership since he will be gone. Remember that – from Ya’akov’s perspective – they are heading back to the Land of Israel quite soon! Ya’akov does not know about the many years of slavery, Moshe, the makot, or Yam Suf. Ya’akov is assigning who that leader will be in the not-too-distant future. This is why Ya’akov plows through Reuven, Shimon, and Levi before landing on Yehuda, while the rest of the family is not in birth order. So why was Yehuda chosen as the leader? Perhaps we need to ask the question: Why were Reuven, Shimon, and Levi passed over?

IV. Reuven Reuven, the oldest, should theoretically be in charge. However, Ya’akov is crystal clear 6 that Reuven cannot lead because of the “Bilhaa incident.” What happened? Back in Bereshit7 , Rachel dies. In the very next verse Reuven sleeps8 with Bilhaa, his father’s concubine (note Bilhaa’s description as a “concubine” – this is important). Why would Reuven do such a thing?

2 Consider that the most time from Yosef being sold to the brothers coming down to Egypt with Ya’akov was 22 years (it could have been less). The Torah mentions that Yosef was 17-years old in the beginning of the Yosef story (Bereshit 37:2). To calculate how Yosef’s age when the brothers came down with Ya’akov requires a little more (easy) math. The Torah tells us that (1) Yosef was 30-years old when he stood before Pharaoh (Bereshit 41:46) (2) the years of plenty started right away and lasted 7 years (Bereshit 41:47 and 53), and the brothers came down with Ya’akov in the 2nd year of the famine (Bereshit 45:6 and 11). Adding it all up, Yosef was 39 when the brothers arrived in Egypt with Ya’akov. Thus, 22 years was the maximum amount of time Yosef’s whereabouts where unknown. Bringing this back to the Yehuda & Tamar story, it’s highly improbable (although certainly not impossible) that – in a span of 22 years – Yehuda marries, has three children, the children become old enough to marry Tamar (including the youngest child, Sheilah), the whole Yehuda-Tamar dalliance happens, Tamar bears a child, and Yehuda’s grandchildren (via his relationship with Tamar) end up going down to Egypt with the brothers and Ya’akov (see: Bereshit 46:12). 3 Most notably, see Megillat Ruth (4:18-22) and Divrei Hayamim (chapters 2 and 3). 4 Bereshit, Chapter 49 5 See: 48:22, 49:7, 49:11, 49:13, and 49:20 6 Bereshit 49:4 7 Chapter 35 8 I am well aware of the famous Gemarah on Shabbos 56b. I do not wish to wade into whether Reuven actually slept with Bilhaa or just moved the beds as the Gemarah describes. The point is the same: Reuven messed with his father’s sexual life. 22 We’re accustomed to 12 stained-glass windows representing the 12 tribes of Yisrael. What we do not think about is how those 12 children were divided up at that very moment of Rachel’s death. Ya’akov has six children through Leah, two children through Rachel and four slave children through the maidservants, Bilhaa and Zilpah. Let that sink in. Ya’akov understands family dynamics far too well and understands that the only way to break up (or at least blunt) the hegemony of Leah’s children is to even the playing field with six on one side and six on the other. What is the best way to do that? Marry the slave children’s moms which will make the slave children full-fledged sons. We know that Ya’akov, in fact, did this as Bilhaa and Zilpah are described just a few chapters later as “wives ”9 (not “concubines”). Now, Bilhaa and Zilpah’s four plus Rachel’s two become six – an even playing field against Leah’s six. Reuven understood this too and – in an attempt to manipulate the power structure to his advantage – slept with Bilhaa as a statement of power: “I’m in charge now! 10” Reuven operated on his own and operated prematurely 11. Reuven was neither in charge then nor could he ever be in charge after that. V. Shimon and Levi If Reuven cannot be the leader, we turn to Shimon and Levi – the next in line. To understand why Shimon and Levi are disqualified we need to roll back to Avraham. Avraham does not sit off somewhere on a mountaintop to do kiruv. Avraham is interacting. He is cutting covenants (and upholding them!) with locals like Mamrei, Eshkol, and Aner,12hobnobbing with local Canaanite kings like Malki-Tzedek13 , hobnobbing with local Philistine kings like Avimelech (and his general, Pichol 14) , and even hobnobbing with Pharaohs 15. Avraham is well known throughout the land 16 and people generally like him. Yitzchak is not like Avraham. Yitzchak is the ultimate introvert meditating in the fields and shutting himself off from the outside world. In fact, the Torah records many times Yitzchak gets into fights with the locals as a result. Yitzchak is the opposite of Avraham. Yitzchak, seeing that his modus operandi of isolation is not the right move for his son, Ya’akov gives him “Avraham’s Blessing 17” and instructs Ya’akov to interact with the world around him. Ya’akov takes this message to heart and very much goes out of his way to talk to people (like by the well). In fact, after the ultimate encounter between Lavan and Ya’akov on Har Gilad, Ya’akov asks his “brothers” to gather stones 18. Who are Ya’akov’s brothers? It is a reference to Ya’akov’s treaty partners. The word “achi” can mean treaty partners. Ya’akov has been spending his whole life since leaving his parents building a name for himself by harnessing the “Avraham model” and interacting with the world around him.

9 See Bereshit 37:2. 10 See the stories of Avshalom and Adoniyahu, for example. 11 Incidentally, this is a hallmark of Reuven’s legacy: acting alone and prematurely. See Reuven’s actions when they throw Yosef into the pit and see Reuven’s actions when negotiating with Ya’akov to bring Binyamin to Egypt. 12 Bereshit 14:13 13 Bereshit 14:18-19 14 Bereshit 21:22-24 15 Bereshit 12:16 16 Bereshit 23:6 17 Bereshit 28:4 18 Bereshit 31:46 23 Then comes the Shechem incident. Ya’akov’s daughter, Dina, is kidnapped by the prince of the city and Shimon and Levi trick the entire population in order to decimate the city. It is no wonder why Ya’akov’s response to Shimon and Levi sounds timid – Ya’akov’s whole life’s work has been building bridges through influence and trust. Shimon and Levi evaporated that work in an instant. True, something needed to get done. But trickery does not move the needle forward. Shimon and Levi’s approach are decidedly not the Avrahamic approach. They, too, cannot lead. VI. Yehuda Yehuda has an established mode of leadership that: (1) Is centered around alliances and friendship. (2) Deals honestly with people. (3) When it turns out he’s not being honest he owns up to his error and repairs the situation. Yehuda is no Reuven. He does not act alone and act prematurely. Yehuda has friends and makes alliances. Yehuda is thoughtful and well-timed 19. Yehuda is no Shimon or Levi. Yehuda does not trick or deceive people and kick them when they are down. Yehuda deals honestly with people – even prostitutes! – and when he is called out on being dishonest, he makes repairs. It is no wonder that Ya’akov, in his blessing, tells Yehuda that his “brothers” will praise him. All my life I thought “brothers” were his real brothers. I don’t think so. I think “brothers” in this context means his alliances as we see with Ya’akov himself by Har Gilad. VII. Conclusion The story of Yehuda & Tamar is crucial to understanding why Yehuda is the chosen leader. It is there to show us that true leadership is not perfect. True leadership is about going out there, making friends, cutting deals, and being honest. And when you are not honest, it is owning up to your mistakes. It is no wonder that David HaMelech comes from the union of Yehuda and Tamar. In an almost true parallel, David’s life was all about going out, making tons of friends and alliances, and dealing honestly with everyone around him. The one time he did not deal honestly, he did teshuva and is held up by Chazal as the epitome of how one can bounce back from near failure. This is leadership. It is also no wonder why the Mashiach himself, may he be here speedily in our days, comes from these unions.

VIII. Ending with Questions

(1) Why was this story embedded in the Yosef story? (I never addressed this.) (2) Can we play other strange “Mashiach ancestors” into the mix? Think: Lot and his daughters and/or Boaz and Ruth. Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Bivracha, Yoni Graber

19 See Yehuda’s actions when they throw Yosef into the pit and see Yehuda’s actions when negotiating with Ya’akov to bring Binyamin to Egypt. Think about this in stark contrast to how Reuven responds. 24 בס”ד Yehuda & Tamar: Why is the Mashiach found in such a strange place? A Look at Various Leadership Models Source Sheet by Jonathan Graber based on a shiur by Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom

I. The (Quick) Yehuda & Tamar Story

The Main Text:

בראשית ל״ח Background to the Story: Yehudah’s Family א( ַוֽ ִיְה ֙י ָב ֵּ֣עת ַה ֔ ִהוא וַיֵ ֶ דּ֥ר ָ֖יְהּודה ֵמ ֵ֣את ֶא ָ֑חיו וַיֵּ֛ט ַע ִ֥ד־איׁש ֻעֲד ָל ִ֖ י ּמּושְׁמ֥ ֹו ִח ָ ֽירה׃ )ב( וַיַּרְ ם ָא־שׁ֧ ָ֛יְהּודה ַב ִּ֥ת־איׁש כְּנַ ִ֖י עֲנ ּושְׁמֹ֣וׁש֑ ַּוע) וַיִ ָּק ֶּ֖ח ָה וַיָּבֹ֥ א ֵא ֶ ֽל ָיה׃ )ג( וַ ּ֖ ַת ַהר וַ ּ֣ ֵת ֶלד ּ֑ ֵבן וַיִּקְ ָ֥רא ֶאת־שְׁמ֖ ֹו ֵ ֽער׃ )ד( וַ ּ֥ ַת ַהר ע֖ ֹוד וַ ּ֣ ֵת ֶלד ּ֑ ֵבן וַ ִתּקְ ָ֥רא ֶאת־שְׁמ֖ ֹו ָאֹונֽן׃ )ה( וַתֹּ֤ ֶסף ֙עֹוד וַ ּ֣ ֵת ֶלד ּ֔ ֵבן וַ ִתּקְ ָ֥רא ֶאת־שְׁמ֖ ֹו ֵש ָׁ֑לה ָוְה ָ֥יה ִב ִ֖כְזיב ִבְּלדְ ָ ּ֥ תּה ֽאֹתֹו׃ Tamar’s Marriage to Yehudah’s Children and their Deaths ו( וַיִ ח ַּקּ֧ ָ֛יְהּודה ִא ּׁ֖ ָשה ֵ֣לְער בְּכֹור֑ ֹו ּושְ ָׁ֖מּה ָת ָ ּֽמר׃ )ז( וַ ֗ ִיְהי ֚ ֵר עבְּכ֣ ֹור ֔ ָיְהּודה ַ֖רע ֵבְּע ֵ֣יני יקוק וַ ִיְמ ֵ֖תהּו יקוק׃ )ח( וַ ֶיֹּ֤אמר ָיְהּוד ֙ ה ֔ לְאֹונָן) בֹּ֛ א ֶא ֵ֥ל־א ֶ ׁתש ִָ֖אחיָך וְיַ ּ֣ ֵבם ָ֑אֹתּה ָוְה ֵ֥קם ֶ֖ז ַרע ִ ֽלְָאחיָך׃ )ט( וַיֵ ַ עּ֣ד ֔ אֹונָן ִּ֛יכֹלּ֥א ל֖ ֹו יִ ֶ֣הְיה ַה ּ֑ ָז ַרע ָוְה֞ יָה ִא ּ֨ ָם־בא ֶא ֵ֤ל־א ֶ ׁתש ִָאח ֙יו ִוְש ֵׁ֣חת ַא֔רְ ָצה ִלְב ּ֥ ִלְתי ָנְת ֶ֖ן־ז ַרע ִ ֽלְָאחיו׃ )י( וַיֵ ַּ֛רע ֵבְּע ֵ֥יני יקוק ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר ָע ׂ֑ ָשה וַיָ ֶּ֖מת ַג ּֽם־אֹתֹו׃ )יא( וַ ֶיֹּ֣אמר ָיְהּוד ֩ה ָלְת ֨ ָמר ַכ ָּלּת֜ ֹו שְ ִ֧ יׁב ַָאלְמ ָ֣נה ֵב ֗ ִית־ָאביְך ַעד־יִ ַגְדּל֙ ֵש ָׁ֣לה ֔ בְנִי י ִּ֣ כ ֔ ַָאמר ֶפּן־יָמ֥ ּות ַגּם־ה֖ ּוא ֶכְּא ָ֑חיו וַ ּ֣ ֵת ֶלְך ָת ֔ ָּמר וַ ּ֖ ֵת ֶשׁב ֵבּ֥ ית ִ ָֽאב ָיה׃ Yehudah’s (Unknowing) Dalliance with Tamar יב( וַיּרְ ִ ּ֙בּו ַהיָ ֔ ִּמים וַ ּ֖ ָת ָמת ַבּת־ׁש֣ ַּוע ֵ ֽא ֶש ָׁ֑ת־יְהּודה וַיִ ּ֣ ּנָ ֶ םח ֗ ָיְהּודה וַיַ ַּ֜על ַע ֽל־גֹּ ֵ֤יזֲז ֙צֹאנֹו ה֗ ּוא ִוְח ָ֛ירה ֵר ֵ֥עהּו ָה ֻעֲד ָל ִּ֖מי ִתּמְ ָנֽ ָתה׃ )יג() וַיֻ ּ֥ ַּגד ָלְת ָ֖מר ֵלאמֹ֑ ר ִה ּ֥ נֵה ָח ִ֛מיְך ֶ֥עֹלה ִתמְ ָ֖נ ָתה ָלגֹ֥ ז צֹאנֹֽו׃ )יד( וַ ָת ַּס ֩ר ִב ֨י ֵּגְדַאלְמְ ֜ ָנּותּה ֵ ֽמ ָע ֗ ֶל ָיה וַתְ ַּ֤כס ַב ָּצ ִּע ֙יף וַ ִתּתְ ַע ֔ ָלּף וַ ֵ֙תּ ֶש ׁ֙ב ֶ֣בְּפ ַתח ֵע ֔ ינַיִם ׁ֖ ֶאֲשר ַע ּ֣ ֶל־ד ֶרְך ִתּמְ ָ֑נ ָתה ּ֤ ִכי ָר ָאֲת ֙ה ִֽכּ ָי־ג ַ֣דל ֵש ֔ ָׁלה ֕ ִוְהוא ֹֽלא־נִתְ ָ֥הּנ ל֖ ֹו ִלְא ָֽשּׁה׃ )טו( וַיִּרְ ֶ֣א ָה ֔ ָיְהּודה ַוֽיַּחְשְ ֶׁ֖ב ָה ָ֑לְזֹונה ּ֥ ִכי ִכ ָ֖סְּתה ָפ ֶ ּנֽ ָיה׃ )טז( וַיֵּ֨ט ֵא ֜ ֶל ָיה ֶא ַל־ה ּ֗ ֶד ֶרְך וַ֙יֹּ ֶאמ ֙ר ָ ֽה ָבה־נָ ֙ ּאָאב֣ ֹוא ֵא ֔ ַליְִך ֚ ִיכּ ֹל֣ א יָ ֔ ַדע ּ֥ ִכי ַכ ָלּת֖ ֹו ִ֑הוא וַ ֙תֹּ ֶאמ ֙ר ַמ ִה־ת ֶּת ֔ ִּן־לּי ּ֥ ִכי ָתב֖ ֹוא ֵא ָ ֽלי׃ )יז( וַ ֶ ריֹּ֕אמ ִָ֛אנֹכי ַאֲש ּ֥ ַׁלח ִ ֽגְּד ִי־ע ּ֖ ִזים ִמ ַן־הצֹּ֑ אן וַתֹּ֕ ֶאמר ִא ִם־ת ּ֥ ֵּתן ֵע ָרב֖ ֹון ַ֥עד ָש ֶ ֽׁלְחָך׃ )יח( וַ ֶיֹּ֗אמר ָ֣מה ָ ֽה ֵע ָר ֮בֹון ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר ֶא ֶת ָּן־לְּך֒ וַתֹּ֗ ֶאמר ָ ֽחֹתמְ ֙ ָך ִּופְת ֔ ֶָךיל ַּומטְָּך֖ ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר בְּיָ ֶ֑דָך וַיִ ֶּת ָּן־לּ֛ ּה וַיָּבֹ֥ א ֵא ֶ֖ל ָיה וַ ּ֥ ַת ַהר ֽלֹו׃ )יט( וַ ּ֣ ָת ָקם וַ ּ֔ ֵת ֶלְך וַ ּ֥ ָת ַסר ִצְע ָ֖יפּה ֵמ ָע ֶ֑ל ָיה וַ ִת ַּ֖ ּלְבׁש ִב ֵּ֥גְדי ַאלְמְ ָ ֽנּותּה׃ Yehuda’s Search for the Prostitute כ( וַיִּשְ ֨ ַׁלח ֜ ָיְהּודה ֶא ִ֣ת־גְּדי ָ ֽה ִע ּ֗ ִזים בְּיַ ֙ד ֵר ֵ֣עהּו ָ ֽה ֻעֲד ָל ֔ ִּמי ָל ַ֥ק ַחת ָה ֵע ָרב֖ ֹון ִמיַּ֣ד ָה ִא ה ָשּׁ֑ וְֹל֖ א מְ ָצ ָ ֽאּה׃ )כא( וַיִּשְ ֞ ַׁאל ֶא ׁ֤ ֵת־ַאנְשי מְ ָקֹמ ּ֙ה) ֵל ראמֹ֔ ַאיֵּ֧ה ַהקְ ֵּד ׁ֛ ָשה ִ֥הוא ָב ֵע ַ֖יניִם ַע ַל־ה ּ֑ ָד ֶרְך וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔ ּו ָֹלא־ה ָ֥יְתה ָב ֶ֖זה קְ ֵד ָ ֽשׁה׃ )כב( וַ֙יָּ ָש ׁ֙ב ֶא ֔ ָל־יְהּודה וַ ֶ ריֹּ֖אמ ֹל֣ א מְ ָצ ִ֑את ָיה ֨ ַוְגם ׁ֤ ֵַאנְשי ַה ָמ ּ֙קֹום ָ ֽאמְר֔ ּו ָֹלא־ה ָ֥יְתה ָב ֶ֖זה קְ ֵד ָ ֽשׁה׃ )כג( וַ ֶ ריֹּ֤אמ ָיְהּוד ֙ה ִֽתּ ַֽקּ ֔ ָח־לּה ּ֖ ֶפן נִ ֶ֣הְיה ָלב֑ ּוז ִה ּ֤ נֵה ָש ַׁל֙ ִחְת ּ֙י ַה ִ֣גְּדי ַה ה ֶזּ֔ ה ָוְַאתּ֖ ֹל֥ א מְ ָצ ָ ֽאתּה׃ Yehudah’s Realization כד( וַ ִ֣יְהי ׀ ִכְּמשְֹׁל֣ ׁש ֳח ָד ׁ֗ ִשים וַיֻ ּ֨ ַּגד ִ ֽל ָ֤יהּודה ֵ ֽל ֙אמֹר ָזֽ ָנְת ֙ה ָת ָּ֣מר ַכ ָּל ֔ ֶּתָך ַ֛וְגם ִה ּ֥ נֵה ָה ָ֖רה ִל ִ֑זְנּונים וַ ֶיֹּ֣אמר ֔ הָיְהּוד ִהֹוציא֖ ָּוה ִוְת ָש ֵ ּֽׂרף׃) )כה( ִ֣הוא ֗ ֵמּוצאת ֨ ִוְהיא ָש ָׁ֤לְחה ֶא ָל־ח ִ֙מ ָ֙יה ֵלאמֹ֔ ר ִלְא ֙יׁש ֶאֲש ֵׁ֣ר־א ֶלּה ֔ ֹוּל ִָ֖אנֹכי ָה ָ֑רה וַ ֙תֹּ ֶאמ ֙ר ַה ֶכּר־נָ֔א ֞ ִלְמי ַה ֶ֧חֹת ֶמת ַוְה ִפְּת ִ֛ילים ַוְה ַמ ּ֖ ֶּטה ָה ֵ ֽא ֶלּה׃ )כו( וַיַ ר ֵּ֣ ּכ ֗ ָיְהּודה וַ֙יֹּ ֶאמ ֙ר ָ ֽצדְ ָ֣קה ִמ ּ֔ ֶמנִּי ִֽכּ ַי־ע ן ֵּ֥ ל־כ ַֹלא־נְת ּ֖ ִת ָיה ֵלְש ָׁ֣לה ִ֑בְני ֽוְֹלא־יָ ַ֥סף ע֖ ֹוד ַלְד ָֽעְתּה׃ The Birth of Peretz and Zerach כז( וַ ִ֖יְהי ֵ֣בְּעת ִלדְ ָ ּ֑ תּה ִוְה ּ֥הנֵ תְ ִ֖אֹומים ִבְּב ָטְנּֽה׃ )כח( וַ ִ֥יְהי ִבְלדְ ָ ּ֖ תּה וַיִ ֶּת ָּ֑ן־יד וַ ִת ּ֣ ַּקח ַהמְ יַ ֗ ֶלּ ֶדת וַ ִתּקְ שֹׁ֨ ר ַעל־יָד֤ ֹו ָשׁנִ ֙י ֵלאמֹ֔ ר ֶ֖זה יָ ָ֥צא) ִר ָאשֹׁנֽה׃ )כט( וַ ִ֣יְהי ׀ ֵכְּמ ׁ֣ ִשיב יָד֗ ֹו ִוְהנֵ ּ֙ה יָ ָ֣צא ֔ ִָאחיו וַתֹּ֕ ֶאמר ַמ ָה־פ ַּ֖ר ָצְתּ ָע ֶ֣ליָך ּ֑ ָפ ֶרץ וַיִּקְ ָ֥רא שְׁמ֖ ֹו ָֽפּ ֶרץ׃ )ל( ַוְַאח ֙ר יָ ָ֣צא ֔ ִָאחיו ׁ֥ ֶאֲשר ַעל־ (יָד֖ ֹו ַה ָש ִּׁ֑ני וַיִּקְ ָ֥רא שְׁמ֖ ֹו ָזֽ ַרח׃ )ס

25 II. List of Questions

To sum it up, the Yehuda & Tamar story seems very strange for several reasons: 1. We get a whole backstory that does not seem relevant. 2. We get introduced to characters that come and go and are not part of the main story. 3. We do not get this type of information on any of the other brothers. 4. Yehuda seems not worried about the “prostitution issue” and much more worried about dealing honestly with the prostitute. 5. Yehuda also seems to indicate that his big failure was in dealing honestly with Tamar vis-à-vis Sheilah – again, not the “prostitution issue.”

Additionally, some “bigger picture” questions include:

1. Its placement in the Torah is a strange interruption to the Yosef story. To exacerbate this issue, the Yehuda & Tamar story likely took place before the Yosef story. 2. Is the point of the story to tell us about the royal lineage? If so, it’s strange because we have the royal lineages recorded elsewhere in Tanach. 3. Is the point of the story to tell us about the power of teshuva? If so, it is strange because Yehuda’s “teshuva” is unclear. Was he doing teshuva for sleeping with (what he thought) was a prostitute? From the text, that does not appear to be the case. Was he doing teshuva for sleeping with his daughter-in-law (albeit without his knowledge)? Again, that does not appear to be the case from the text.

III. Ya’akov’s “Blessings”

The Text of Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Yehuda’s “Blessings”.

בראשית מ״ט:ג׳-י״ב ג( רְ ֵאּוב ֙ן בְּכֹ֣ ִרי ֔ ַא ָתּה ִ֖כֹּחי ֵוְר ִ ׁ֣ אשית ִ֑אֹוני ֶ֥י ֶתר שְ ֵׂ֖את ֶ֥וְי ֶתר ָ ֽעז׃ )ד( ּ֤ ַפ ַחז ַכ ַּ֙מּיִ ֙ ם ֔ ַַאל־ּתֹותר ּ֥ ִכי ָע ִ֖ל ָית ִמשְ ֵׁ֣כְּבי ִָ֑אביָך ָ֥אז ִח ּ֖ ַל ָ ּ לְת ִ֥יְצּועי) ( ָע ָ ֽלה׃ )פ

ה( ִשׁמְע֥ ֹון ֵוְל ִ֖יו ִַ֑אחים ֵ֥כְּלי ָח ָ֖מס מְ ֵכ ֵרֹת ֶ ֽיהם׃ )ו( ָבְּסֹד ֙ ם ַָאל־תּבֹ֣ א נַ ׁ֔ ִפְשי ִבּקְ ָה ָ֖ םל ֵַאל־ת ַּ֣חד ִ֑כְּבֹדי י ִכּ֤ ָבְַאפ ּ֙ם ָ֣הרְ גּו ֔ ִאיׁש ִּוברְ ָ֖צֹנם) ( ִעקְ ּֽרּו־שֹׁור׃ )ז( ָאר֤ ּור ַָאפ ּ֙ם ּ֣ ִכי ֔ ָעז ֶוְע ָבְר ָ֖תם ּ֣ ִכי ָק ׁ֑ ָש ָתה ַאֲח ֵ֣לְּקם בְּיַעֲקֹ֔ ב וַ ִאֲפ ֵ֖יצם בְּיִשְ ָׂר ֵ ֽאל׃ )ס

ח( ֗ הָיְהּוד ַָאת ֙ ּהיֹוד֣ ּוָך ֔ ֶַאחיָך יָדְָך֖ בְּעֹ֣ ֶרף ֶ֑אֹיְביָך יִשְ ַׁתּחֲּו֥ ּו לְָך֖ ֵ֥יבְּנ ִ ֽיָך׃ָאב )ט( ּגּ֤ור ַארְ יֵ ֙ה ֔ ָיְהּודה ִמ ּ֖ ֶט ֶרף ִ֣בְּני ָע ִ֑ל ָית ָכ ַ֨ ּרע ָר ַ֧בץ כְַּארְ ֵ֛יה) ָּוכְל ִ֖ביא ִ֥מי ִיְק ֶ ֽימּנּו׃ )י( ֹֽלא־יָס֥ ּור ֵ֙שׁ ֶב ֙ט ִ ֽמ ֔ הָיהּוד ּומְ ֵ֖חֹקק ִמ ּ֣ ֵבין ַר ָ֑גְליו ֚ ַעד ִֽכּי־יָבֹ֣ א שילה ִ]ש ׁ֔ילֹו[ וְל֖ ֹו יִקְ ַּ֥הת ַע ִֽמּים׃ )יא( ִ֤אֹסְרי ַל ֶ֙גּ ֶפ ֙ן (עירה ִ]עיר֔ ֹו[ ַוְל ֵשֹּׂר ָ֖קה ִ֣בְּני אֲתֹנ֑ ֹו ִכ ּ֤ ֵּבס ַב ּ֙יַּיִ֙ן ֻׁש֔ לְבֹו ַּובְדם־עֲנָ ִ֖בים סותה ֽ]סּותֹו׃[ )יב( ַח ִכְל ִ֥ילי ֵע ַ֖יניִם ִמיָ ןּ֑יִ ֶּולְב ִן־שׁנַּ֖יִם ֵמ ָח ָ ֽלב׃ )פ

Genesis 49:3-12 (3) Reuben, you are my first-born, My might and first fruit of my vigor, Exceeding in rank And exceeding in honor. (4) Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer; For when you mounted your father’s bed, You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted!

(5) Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are tools of lawlessness. (6) Let not my person be included in 26 their council, Let not my being be counted in their assembly. For when angry they slay men, And when pleased they maim oxen. (7) Cursed be their anger so fierce, And their wrath so relentless. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.

(8) You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes; Your father’s sons shall bow low to you. (9) Judah is a lion’s whelp; On prey, my son, have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, Like the king of beasts—who dare rouse him? (10) The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet; So that tribute shall come to him And the homage of peoples be his. (11) He tethers his ass to a vine, His ass’s foal to a choice vine; He washes his garment in wine, His robe in blood of grapes. (12) His eyes are darker than wine; His teeth are whiter than milk.

IV. REUVEN

Reuven’s Big Blunder:

Genesis 35:22 (22) While Israel stayed in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine; and Israel found out. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in number. בראשית ל״ה:כ״ב כב( וַ ֗ ִיְהי ִבּשְ ׁכֹּ֤ ן יִשְ ָׂר ֵאל֙ ָב ָּ֣א ֶרץ ַה ֔ ִהוא וַיֵ ֶּ֣לְך רְ ֔ ֵאּובן וַיִּשְ ּ֕ ַׁכ ֙ב ֶא ִת־ב ָּ֖לְה ֙ה ִפ ֶּ֣יל ֶגׁש ִ֔ ָ֑אביו וַיִּשְ ַׁ֖מע יִשְ ָׂר ֵ ֽא֑ל )פ( וַיִּֽהְיּ֥ו ֵבְנֽי־יַעֲקֹ֖ ב שְ ֵׁ֥נים ָע ָ ֽשׂר׃)

...(Similar to) Avshalom:

II Samuel 16:20-22 (20) Absalom then said to Ahithophel, “What do you advise us to do?” (21) And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Have intercourse with your father’s concubines, whom he left to mind the palace; and when all Israel hears that you have dared the wrath of your father, all who support you will be encouraged.” (22) So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom lay with his father’s concubines with the full knowledge of all Israel. שמואל ב ט״ז:כ׳-כ״ב כ( וַ ֶ ריֹּ֥אמ ַָאבְשׁל֖ ֹום ֶא ִל־אֲחיתֹ֑ ֶפל ָהב֥ ּו ָל ֶ֛כם ֵע ָ֖צה ַ ֽמה־נַ ֶ ּֽעֲשׂה׃ )כא( וַ ֶיֹּ֤אמר ִאֲח ֙ית ֹ ֶפל֙ ֶא ָל־ַאבְש ֔ םֹׁל ּ֚בֹוא ֶא ִל־פ ַּל י ֵ ׁ֣ גְש ֔ ִָאביָך ׁ֥ ֶאֲשר) ִהנִ ַּ֖יח ִלשְׁמ֣ ֹור ַה ּ֑ ָביִת ָוְש ַׁ֤מע ָכּל־יִשְ ָׂר ֵאל֙ ִֽכּי־נִ ַ֣בְאשְ ָׁתּ ֶא ֔ ִת־ָאביָך ָ֣וְחזְק֔ ּו ֵ֖יְדי ָכ ׁ֥ ֶּל־אֲשר ִא ָֽתְּך׃ )כב( וַיּּט֧ ַּו ָלְַאבְשׁל֛ ֹום ָהאֹ֖ ֶהל ַע ַל־ה ּ֑ ָגג וַיָ אּבֹ֤ ַָאבְש ׁ֙לֹום ֶא ִֽל־פּ ַל י ֵ ׁ֣ גְש ֔ ִָאביו ֵלְע ֵ֖יני ָכּל־יִשְ ָׂר ֵ ֽאל׃

...(Similar to) Adoniyahu:

I Kings 2:22 (22) The king replied to his mother, “Why request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Request the kingship for him! For he is my older brother, and the priest Abiathar and Joab son of Zeruiah are on his side.” מלכים א ב׳:כ״ב כב( וַיַ ַּע ֩ן ַה ּ֨ ֶמ ֶלְך שְ ֹׁלמֹ֜ ה וַ ֶיֹּ֣אמר ִלְאּמ֗ ֹו ָוְל ָמ ֩ה ֨ ַאתְ ּ ֜ ֶשֹׁא ֶלת ֶא ִת־אֲב ׁ֤ ַישג ַה ֻשּׁנַ ִמ ּ֙ית ַלאֲדֹ֣ נִיָּ֔הּו ַ ֽוְש ִׁאֲל ֙י־לֹו ֶא ַת־המְ ֔ ָּלּוכה ִּ֛י כה֥ ּוא ִָ֖אחי) ( ַה ָגּד֣ ֹול ִמ ּ֑ ֶמ ּינִ ֙וְלֹו ֶּולְאבְיָ ָ֣תר ַה ֔ן ֵכֹּה ָּ֖ולְיֹואב ֶב ָּן־צְרּויֽה׃ )פ

27 How are Bilhaa and Zilpah described here??

Genesis 37:2 (2) This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father. בראשית ל״ז:ב׳ ב( ֵ֣א ֶּהל ׀ תֹּלְד֣ ֹות יַ בעֲקֹ֗ ֞ ֵיֹוסף ֶבּן־שְ ַ ֽׁב ֶע־עשְ ֵׂ֤רה ָשׁנָ ֙ה ָהיָ֨ה ֶ֤רֹעה ֶא ֶת־א ָח ֙יו ַבּצֹּ֔ אן וְה֣ ּוא ֗ נַ ַער ֶא ֵ֥ת־בְּני ִב ָ֛לְהה ֶוְא ֵ֥ת־בְּני ִז ּ֖ ָלְפה ׁ֣ ֵנְשי) ִָ֑אביו וַיָ ֵ֥ אּב ֵ֛יֹוסף ֶא ִת־ד ָּב ָּ֥תם ָר ָ֖עה ֶא ִל־אֲב ֶ ֽיהם׃

Reuven always acts alone, prematurely, and no one really takes him seriously.

Example #1: When they are throwing Yosef into the pit.

Genesis 37:22 (22) And Reuben went on, “Shed no blood! Cast him into that pit out in the wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves”—intending to save him from them and restore him to his father. בראשית ל״ז:כ״ב כב( וַ ֶיֹּ֨אמר ֵאֲל ֶ֣ םה ׀ רְ ֵאּוב ֮ ן ִַאל־ת ָּשְׁפְּכּו־דם֒ ַהשְ ִׁ֣ליכּו אֹת֗ ֹו ֶא ַל־הּב֤ ֹור ַה ֶז ּ֙ה ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר ַב ִּמּדְ ּ֔ ָבר ָ֖דוְי ִַאל־תּשְ ׁלְחּו־ב֑ ֹו ֗ ַלְמ ַען ַה ִּ֤ ציל ֙אֹתֹו) ִמיָ ֔ ָּדם ַל ִהֲשׁיב֖ ֹו ֶא ִ ֽל־ָאביו׃

Example #2: When the brothers are trying to convince Ya’akov to bring Binyamin to Egypt.

Genesis 42:37-38 (37) Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” (38) But he said, “My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If he meets with disaster on the journey you are taking, you will send my white head down to Sheol in grief.” בראשית מ״ב:ל״ז-ל״ח לז( וַ ֶיֹּ֤אמר רְ ֵאּוב ֙ן ֶא ִ֣ל־ָאביו ֵלאמֹ֔ ר ֶאת־שְ ֵׁ֤ני ָבנַ ֙י ָת ֔ ִּמית ִאם־ֹל֥ א ִאֲב ֶ֖יאּנּו ֵא ֶ֑ליָך תְ ָ֤הּנ ֙אֹתֹו ַעל־יָ ֔ ִדי וַ ִ֖אֲני ִאֲש ֶׁ֥יבּנּו ֵא ֶ ֽליָך׃ )לח( וַ ֶיֹּ֕אמר) ֹֽלא־יֵֵ֥רד ִ֖בְּני ִע ָמ ֶּ֑כם ִֽכּ ֨ ִי־ָאחיו ֜ ת ֵמ וְה֧ ּוא ַלְבּד֣ ֹו נִשְ ֗ ר ָׁא ּוקְ ָר ָ֤ הּוא ָ֙אסֹון ַב ֶּ֙דּ ֶר ְ֙ך ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר ֵֽתּ ֔ ּה ָלְכּו־ב ַוְהֹורדְ ּ֧ ֶתם ֶא ֵת־ש ָׂיב ִ֛תי בְּיָגֹ֖ון שְ ֽׁא ָֹולה׃

V. Shimon and Levi

What is Avraham’s mission?

Genesis 12:2-3 (2) I will make of you a great nation, And I will bless you; I will make your name great, And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you And curse him that curses you; And all the families of the earth Shall bless themselves by you.” בראשית י״ב:ב׳-ג׳ ב( ֶ ֽוְא ֶעשְ ֙ ָׂךלְג֣ ֹוי ָגּד֔ ֹול וַ ָ֣אֲב ֶרכְָך֔ וַ ַאֲגדְ ָּ֖לה שְ ֶׁ֑מָך וֶ ֵ֖הְיה ָבְּר ָכֽה׃ )ג( וַ ָ ֽאֲברֲ ָכ ֙ה מְ ָ֣ברְ ֶכ֔יָך ּומְ ַק ֶל ּלְָך֖ ָאאֹ֑ ר וְנִבְרְכ֣ ּו בְָך֔ כֹּ֖ ל ִמשְׁפְּחֹ֥ ת) ָהאֲ ָד ָ ֽמה׃

28 He’s cuts a brit with Mamrei, Eshkol, and Aner...

Genesis 14:13 (13) A fugitive brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was dwelling at the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, these being Abram’s allies. בראשית י״ד:י״ג יג( וַיָ ּ֙בֹא ַה ָפ ֔ ִּליט וַיַ ד ֵּגּ֖ ָ֣לְַאבְרם ָה ִע ִ֑ יבְר ֩וְהּוא ֨ ֵשֹׁכן ֵ ֽבְּא ֜ ֹלנֵי ַממְ ֵ֣רא ָה ִ֗ אֱמֹרי ִ֤אֲחי ֶאשְ ׁכֹּל֙ וַ ִ֣אֲחי ָע ֔ נֵר ֵ֖וְהם ַב ֵּ֥עֲלי ִבְר ָ ֽית־ַאבְרם׃)

...and upholds it!

Genesis 14:24 (24) For me, nothing but what my servants have used up; as for the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre—let them take their share.” בראשית י״ד:כ״ד (כד( ִב ָּלְע ֗ ַדי ֚ ַרק ׁ֣ ֶאֲשר ָ ֽאכְל֣ ּו ַה ָנְּע ִ֔ רים ֵ֙וְח ֶל ֙ק ָ ֽהאֲנָ ׁ֔ ִשים ׁ֥ ֶאֲשר ָהלְכ֖ ּו ִא ּ֑ ִתי ָענֵ ֙ר ֶאשְ לׁכֹּ֣ ַּוממְ ֵ֔ רא ֵ֖הם יִקְח֥ ּו ֶח ָ ֽלְקם׃ )ס)

Avraham is hobnobbing with Canaanite Kings!

Genesis 14:18-19 (18) And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. (19) He blessed him, saying, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. בראשית י״ד:י״ח-י״ט יח( ַּומ ִלְכ ֶּ֙י־צ ֶד ֙ק ֶ֣מ ֶלְך ָש ֔ ֵםׁל ִ֖הֹוציא ֶ֣ל ֶחם וָָ֑י ןיִ וְה֥ ּוא ֵ֖כֹהן ֵ֥לְאל ֶעלְיֹֽון׃ )יט( ַוֽ ָיְברְ ֵ֖כהּו וַ ַ֑יֹּאמר ָבּר֤ ּוְך ַָאבְר ֙ם ֵ֣לְאל ֶעלְיֹ֔ון ֵ֖קֹנה ָש ַׁ֥מיִם) וָ ָ ֽא ֶרץ׃

Avraham is hobnobbing with Philistine Kings!

Genesis 21:22-24 (22) At that time Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. (23) Therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my kith and kin, but will deal with me and with the land in which you have sojourned as loyally as I have dealt with you.” (24) And Abraham said, “I swear it.” בראשית כ״א:כ״ב-כ״ד כב( ַוֽ ִיְה ֙י ָב ֵּ֣עת ַה ֔ ִהוא וַ ֶיֹּ֣אמר ִאֲב ֗ ֶימ ֶלְך ִּופיכֹל֙ ַש ָׂר־צְבא֔ ֹו ֶא ָל־ַאבְר ָ֖הם ֵל ראמֹ֑ ִ֣אֱֹלקים ִעמְָּך֔ בְּכֹ֥ ל ֶאֲש ּ֖ ָׁר־ַאתה ֶ ֽעֹשׂה׃ )כג( ַוְע ּ֗ ָתה) ִה ּׁ֨ ָש ָבְעה ּ֤ ִלי ֵ ֽב ִאֹלק ֙ים ֔ ֵהנָּה ִא ִם־תּשְ ׁקֹ֣ ר ֔ ִיל ּולְנִ ִ֖יינ ּולְנֶ ּ֑ ִכְדי ַכ ֜ ֶּח ֶסד ֶאֲש ָׁר־ע ׂ֤ ִש ִיתי ִעמְ ָּ֙ך ַת ׂ֣ ֶּעֲשה ִע ָמ ֔ ִּדי ִוְע ָם־ה ָ֖א ֶרץ ֶאֲש ַׁר־גּ֥רְ ָתּה ָֽבּּה׃ )כד( וַ֙יֹּ ֶאמ ֙ ר ַָאבְר ֔ ם ָה ִָ֖אנֹכי ִא ָש ֵ ּֽׁב ַע׃

Avraham is a known entity throughout the land and among the population.

Genesis 23:6 (6) “Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.” בראשית כ״ג:ו׳ ו( שְ ָׁמ ֵ֣ענּו ׀ ֗ אֲדֹנִי ִ ׂ֨ נְשיא ִ֤אֱֹלקים ַָאת ֙ ּה ֔ ֵבְּתֹוכנּו ִבְּמ ַ֣בְחר קְ ָב ֵר֔ינּו קְ בֹ֖ ר ֶא ֵת־מ ֶ֑תָך ִ֣איׁש ִמ ֶמּ֔ ּנּו ֶא ִת־קבְר֛ ֹו ֹֽלא־יִ ֶ֥כְלה ִממְָּך֖ ִמקְ ּבֹ֥ ר) ֵמ ֶ ֽתָך׃ 29 Yitzchak is not like Avraham. Perhaps this is why he gives Ya’akov the blessing of Avraham. I.e. Do not be like me - be like Avraham (see S’forno, below).

Genesis 28:4 (4) May He grant the blessing of Abraham to you and your offspring, that you may possess the land where you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham.” בראשית כ״ח:ד׳ ד( ִוְיֽ ֶת ּ֙ן־לְָך ֶא ִת־בּרְ ת ַכּ֣ ַָאבְר ֔ם ָה לְָך֖ ַּולְזרְ עֲָך֣ ִא ָ ּ֑ תְך ִלְרשְׁתְ ָּ֙ך ֶא ֶ֣ת־א ֶרץ מְ ֻג ֶ֔ ריָך ֶאֲשׁר־נָ ַ֥ ןת ִ֖אֱֹלקים ָלְַאבְר ָ ֽהם׃)

ספורנו על בראשית כ״ח:ד׳ א( ויתן לך את ברכת אברהם כאמרו והיה ברכה וזה בלמדו דעת את העם ובזה תהיה ברכת האל ית’ לך ולזרעך אתך) לרשתך. כי כשיהיה גם הזרע מורה צדק יהיה ראוי לירש ויהיה בזה קדוש יקוק לא הפכו. כענין ישראל אשר בך אתפאר :כי בזה ישמח יקוק במעשיו: )ב( ארץ מגוריך ארץ כנען שאתה דר בה עכשיו

Sforno on Genesis 28:4 when He had said (12,2) “become a source of blessing!” This involves his teaching ,ויתן לך את ברכת אברהם (1) people about monotheism, the acceptance of which would result in tangible blessings for those people from לך .G’d. This in turn would make the people regard Avraham as responsible for the blessings they receive if the children would also be following in the footsteps of their parents acting as spiritual ,ולזרעך אתך לרשתך instructors to the people around them, their claim to this land would be reinforced. This would become an ישראל אשר בך:irreversible sanctification of the name of the Lord. Isaiah 49,3 described this as G’d saying Israel in whom I am glorified.” This is also an example of what David had in mind when he said in“ ,אתפאר the land of Canaan in which you dwell at the ,ארץ מגוריך (Psalms 104,31 “G’d delights in His handiwork.” (2 present time.

Ya’akov: Following in Avraham’s footsteps.

“Brothers” can mean different things:

1. It can be real brothers - but who are Ya’akov’s real brothers? 2. It can be a colloquial term for Ya’akov’s sons - but they are referred to many times in this very story as “Bnei.” 3. It’s likely referring to treaty partners - people whom Ya’akov brought along with him that are his partners.

Genesis 31:46 (46) And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a mound; and they partook of a meal there by the mound. בראשית ל״א:מ״ו מו( וַ ֶיֹּ֨אמר יַעֲקֹ֤ ב ֶלְא ָח ֙יו ִלקְט֣ ּו ָאֲב ֔ נִים וַיִּקְח֥ ּו ָאֲב ִ֖נים וַיַּֽ ָ֑עֲׂשּו־גל וַיֹּ֥אכְלּו ׁ֖ ָשם ַע ַל־ה ָֽגּל׃)

Perhaps the Radak alludes to this here:

30 רד”ק על בראשית ל״א:מ״ו א( לאחיו, לאנשיו ואע”פ שיעקב אמר לאחיו לבן גם כן עם אנשיו לקטו אבנים ועשו כולם גל אבנים ואכלו שם ביחד, יעקב) עם אשר עמו, ולבן עם אשר עמו, אכלו יחד על הגל. או יהיה פירש לאחיו גם על אנשי לבן, כי כולם היו בכלל אחיו אחר .שהיה שלום ביניהם

Radak on Genesis 31:46 to his companions. Although Yaakov used the expression “to his brothers,” in telling them to ,ויאמר... לאחיו (1) collect stones for the monument, Lavan and his men did likewise and between them they built them into a pile before sharing a meal together. Yaakov ate a meal with his men, Lavan with his, both near the heap of stones -includes also the men traveling with La לאחיו they had erected. It is also possible that the meaning of the word van, as they were all included in that term now that their war had been settled peacefully. The meal then would be similar to placing a seal on the newly concluded covenant between them.

This view perhaps explains Ya’akov’s “timid” response to the “Dina Incident.”

Genesis 34:30 (30) Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my men are few in number, so that if they unite against me and attack me, I and my house will be destroyed.” בראשית ל״ד:ל׳ ל( וַ ֶיֹּ֨אמר יַעֲקֹ֜ ב ֶא ִל־שׁמְע֣ ֹון ֶוְא ֵל־לוִ֮י ַעֲכרְ ּ֣ ֶתם ִאֹתי֒ ַלְה ִבְא ֵ֙ישׁנִ ֙י ׁ֣ ֵבְּיֹשב ָה ֔ ָא ֶרץ ַֽבּכְּנַ ִ֖יעֲנ ַּוב ִפְּר ּ֑ ִזי וַאֲנִ ֙י מְ ֵ֣תי ִמ ּ֔ ָסְפר וְנֶ ֶאסְפ֤ ּו ָע ַל ֙י ִוְהּכ֔ ּונִי) וְנִשְ ַׁמדְ ּ֖ ִתי ִ֥אֲני ֵּוב ִ ֽיתי׃

VI. Yehuda

Genesis 49:8 (8) You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes; Your father’s sons shall bow low to you. בראשית מ״ט:ח׳ ח( ֗ הָיְהּוד ַָאת ֙ ּהיֹוד֣ ּוָך ֔ ֶַאחיָך יָדְָך֖ בְּעֹ֣ ֶרף ֶ֑אֹיְביָך יִשְ ַׁתּחֲּו֥ ּו לְָך֖ ֵ֥יבְּנ ִ ָֽאביָך׃)

Source Sheet created on Sefaria by Jonathan Graber

31 Reflections on Corona and Shavuot By Moshe Goldfeder To say that this year has been different would be the understatement of a lifetime. Right when the virus started spreading, and perhaps because we were headed into the Pesach season, a lot of people began comparing Covid-19 to the makkot, the biblical plagues, but for me there was always another comparator that stood out as more apropos; a seismic worldwide event that forever changed the way we live, do business, and interact with one another; a cataclysm that forced people to shelter in place, lock their doors to the outside world, and stock up on toilet paper. For those who are culturally literate there was even a famous episode with a giant exotic cat that bit someone. After a while the lockdown was gradually lifted, (even though the bar was reopened prematurely with devastating results) and the world slowly recovered. I am speaking of course, about Noach and the Flood. I think it is important to find the right framework through which to think about this year because the Gemara tells us that when suffering comes we are supposed to examine our deeds and ask questions. I do not believe that we can ever understand why bad things happen; instead I subscribe to the approach of Rav Soloveitchik in Kol Dodi Dofek, where he writes that the Talmud is not instructing us to answer the question “Why did this happen?” but rather “Given that this did happen, what then are we supposed to do?” And so I’d like to explore with you my thought process in trying to frame what is happening. Parshas Noach begins with a descriptive line about who Noach was as a person. Noach Ish tzaddik, Noach was a righteous man, tamim haya bdorosav, he was perfect in his generation. Many of us are familiar with Rashi here, who quotes the disagreement between Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish in Sanhedrin 108. R’ Yochanan says that bdorosav, in his generation, is a limiting word. It means that in his generation he was considered righteous, but in other generations -Rashi says for instance in Avraham’s generation - he would not have been considered so great. Reish Lakish says no, if Noach was great in his generation, he surely would have been even better in another generation, where there were more tzadikkim, and he would have had more people to learn from. Now the obvious question is this- the Torah just went out of its way to call Noach righteous, and so what would make us think that he was anything but good? And also, why did Rashi add on the particular example of Avraham’s generation as one in which Noach might not have been so great? The traditional answer seems to be that R. Yochanan was pointing out the main failing in Noach, the difference between Noach and Avraham. Avraham went out and preached and made converts, while Noach, on the other hand, did not. Noach built an ark, and shut himself in, but Avraham had a four-cornered tent, with doors open for everyone to come in and learn. That was the difference between Noach and Avraham. Where Avraham reached out, Noach retreated. And this was so great a failure in Noach that, had he lived in a generation with Avraham, had there been a direct head to head comparison, he simply could not have measured up. That is the traditional answer, but the question still remains- is that really a fair comparison? Noach lived in a generation that was so evil it had to be destroyed. Who says that preaching would have helped? And maybe, just maybe, he had lived in a generation that wasn’t quite so bad, a generation like Avraham’s, maybe he WOULD have tried a little harder to reach out more to his neighbors? On the flipside, Avraham is never questioned. We are absolutely certain and 100% sure that had he lived in Noach’s generation he would have done a better job of kiruv, of bringing people in. The question is, how do we know that? I’d like to suggest an approach that begins in the Gemara in Zevachim. Zevachim 116 describes a scene that occurred at the time of Matan Torah, some distance from Har Sinai itself. The Gemara is actually explaining additional levels of interpretation behind Tehillim 29, Mizmor LeDavid Havu LaHashem Bnei Ailim, which we say 32 every week by Kabbalat Shabbos. R’ Elazar Hamodai says that שכשניתנה תורה לישראל היה קולו הולך מסוף העולם ועד סופו When the Torah was given to Israel, the sounds were heard across the world. (Remember there were Kolos and brakim, thunder and lightning). וכל ]מלכי[ עובדי כוכבים אחזתן רעדה בהיכליהן ואמרו שירה And the kings of all the nations were seized with fear in their palaces, and sang praises to G-d. Like the passuk says שנאמר: +תהלים כט+ ובהיכלו כולו אומר כבוד And each one in his palace gave honor. (But they were scared, so the Gemara tells us) נתקבצו כולם אצל בלעם הרשע They all ran to Bilaam, the prophet. ואמרו לו And they said to him. (Bilam! Whats that noise?) מה קול ההמון אשר שמענו What are these terrifying sounds that we’re hearing ?שמא מבול בא לעולם Is there perhaps another flood coming to destroy the world? (אמר להם) He said to them, (no, it cant be. He quotes the next passuk ) ה’ למבול ישב וישב ה’ מלך לעולם, כבר נשבע הקב”ה שאינו מביא מבול לעולם G-d already swore that he wouldn’t bring another mabul. ?אמרו לו ומה קול ההמון הזה ששמענו Okay then they said, what are these sounds that we’re hearing? ?he said to them you know what that is :אמר להם חמדה טובה יש לו בבית גנזיו G-d has a special treasure in his storehouse שהיתה גנוזה אצלו תתקע”ד דורות קודם שנברא העולם That he’s been saving up since 974 generations before the world even began ,וביקש ליתנה לבניו , And he wants to give it to his children. (Bilam says hmm, that can’t be a mabul. Aha! that must be the sound of G-d giving the Torah to His people. ) ה’ עוז לעמו יתן ,as it says :שנאמר G-d gives strength to his people. Lets take a look at his analysis. Apparently, there are only two events in creation that could make that kind of cosmic noise; either a purely destructive act, like a mabul, a flood, or a purely constructive act, like the giving of the Torah. Apparently, those are the two opposite extremes. Bilam reasons that it couldn’t have been the mabul 33 making that noise because G-d said he wouldn’t bring another mabul, so it must have been the Torah being given. But at first they thought it was the mabul. And that has to make you wonder. The Jews at that time were at the holiest point in their existence. And everybody KNEW that, the whole world had heard about the Exodus and the splitting of the sea. Was it really conceivable that it could have been a mabul making that noise? What were those other nations thinking? Now, Chazal do tell us in Sukkah that Kol hagadol maichaveiro yitzro gadol haimenu, however great and holy a person or a nation is, they have a correspondingly greater yetzer hara to do evil. But could a nation so high, like the Jews at Har Sinai, really have been capable of suddenly destroying the world again? From the story in Zevachim with Bilaam, it seems like the answer is yes, theoretically it could have been another mabul, or some other form of destruction. And the Gemara in Shabbos seems to prove it. Shabbos 88 records a comment of Reish Lakish, that when G-d was creating the world, שהתנה הקדוש ברוך הוא עם מעשה בראשית G-d stipulated with the works of creation, and he said to them:ואמר להם , אם ישראל מקבלים התורה - אתם מתקיימין if the Jews decide to accept the Torah, then you will continue to exist .ואם לאו - אני מחזיר אתכם לתוהו ובוהו , And if not, I will return you to a state of tohu vavohu, emptiness and nothingness. So If Israel had said no at Har Sinai, then there would have been another destruction, right then and there! Everything would have gone back to tohu vavohu! Even at the highest point in our spiritual history, Har Sinai, Matan Torah itself, the potential for utter destruction was right there! (To be fair, it was more than just potential; one of the greatest tragedies in our nation’s history, the cheit haeigel, the sin of the Golden Calf happened almost immediately after). Bilaam was apparently correct, there only are two extremes. It could only have been complete destruction, like a Flood, or the acceptance of the Torah, which brings complete order and complete harmony. And so G-d says Israel, either you accept the Torah or the world reverts back to nothingness, an act of total destruction. That’s fascinating to think about, but here is perhaps the most important point to consider: If it is true that the dor hamidbar, the generation in the desert, was faced with two opposite extremes at that moment, and that because of their vast potential they could have either destroyed the world or brought the Torah down from heaven, then the opposite must also be true. The dor hamabul, a generation that was capable of bringing the flood, must have also been capable of actually receiving the Torah from Heaven. Now that’s an incredible finding, and it also sheds light on what at first glance seems like a very strange Gemara in Chullin 139. The Gemara in Chullin asks an interesting question. It says ?משה מן התורה מנין What reference can we find to Moshe Rabbeinu in the Torah ? What reference? First of all, Moshe is mentioned by name in the Torah 594 times! And second of all, listen to the source it gives! At the end of Bereishis, by the dor hamabul, the passuk says bshagam hu basar (Man is only flesh and blood) and bshagam is equal in gematria, numerical equivalence, to Moshe.

34 What kind of source is that? What is a reference to Moshe Rabbeinu doing in the generation of the mabul? Well now it makes perfect sense. If they had the potential to receive the Torah, and Moshe Kibbel Torah Misinai, it means that they also would have needed the potential for a Moshe Rabbeinu. The Zohar, in Parshat Pinchas 216:2 confirms this; that generation, the generation of the flood, possessed the potential for a Moshe Rabbeinu but directed their energies in the wrong ways. Instead of enriching their existence by diving into Torah, which is compared to life giving water, they instead lost their lives in a torrential waste of opportunity. In regards to this last point I once heard Rav Meir Goldvicht say that this is the meaning behind Moshe’s name. The passuk says “and she called his name Moshe, Ki Min Hamayim Mishsihu,”- because she pulled him out from the waters. From which waters? From the waters of the mabul and, from that generation. As Rabbi Elazar Melamed points out, remember that Pharaoh originally decreed that all of the Jewish boys should be drowned in the river, and that at one point in the story the entire nation seemed destined to be pushed into the sea. The potential for a watery death hung over this generation of the Exodus as well, but each time Moshe Rabbeinu was there to pull them out. But getting back to where we started. Getting back to Noach himself and his comparison to Avraham. When the Midrash records the disagreement about Noach and his greatness it gives a couple of examples of generations in which Noach might not have been so great. One of the examples is the generation of Moshe, which now makes sense, and also the generation of Shmuel, which without diving too much into a tangent, also makes a lot of sense. The pesukim in Yirmiyahu 15:1 and in Tehillim 99:6 both explicitly compare Moshe and Shmuel; per the Radak he was considered the next greatest prophet after Moshe, and as it relates to this particular aspect, while Shmuel’s generation did not build the Mikdash itself and bring the redemption, they did start the process, and per the Yerushalmi in Megillah Shmuel was the one who literally wrote the plans for the physical building of the Temple, the ultimate act of construction. But the example of Avraham is not there. Why then did Rashi add a third example, of Avraham? And why do we assume that Avraham would have done a better job of preaching in Noach’s generation then Noach did? And why do we assume that Noach might not have tried harder and, done a better job, in a better time and place? Which brings us to the counting of Sefirah. Recall that when they left Mitzrayim, per the Zoahar Hachadash in Parshat Yisro 31a, the Jewish people were on the 49th level of tumah, impurity. They were barely hanging on. But per the Zohar in Parshat Emor, by the time they got to Har Sinai, a mere 49 days later, they had climbed to the 49th level of taharah, purity. The point is that had you looked at them on day one, wallowing in filth, you might have easily missed their potential for greatness. But Moshe Rabbeinu didn’t. He saw through the grime. Maybe Noach’s mistake was just that he gave up hope too soon, that he didn’t look inside of them and see all of that hidden potential. And that is why Rashi brings up Avraham Avinu. You see Avraham’s generation was not destroyed. They weren’t as bad, but that means that they also didn’t necessarily have the corresponding potential to be as good. It seems they didn’t have the potential to bring the Torah, like Noach’s generation did. And yet Avraham still saw the potential that they did have, and he worked with it, and he developed it. That’s why Avraham is never questioned-if he could develop a generation with less potential, then surely he would have had no problem with Noach’s generation. But if Noach missed the boat, so to speak in his own generation, with that much stored up potential, then he surely would not have seen anything worth saving in a lesser generation like Avraham’s. So who are we? As a nation, we are called the children of Avraham and not the children of Noach. Why? Because we are not allowed to give up hope, in any generation. How then do we make sure that we keep hope alive in ourselves and keep seeing hope in others? What exactly was the sin of the dor hamabul in the first place? What led them ot destruction and caused Noach to give up? Rashi and Ralbag among others explain that they did not respect each other’s boundaries, in 35 particular in terms of personal property and marriage. There was selfishness and fighting, and disunity. What exactly did the generation of the desert do during their 49 days of transformation? For the most part, they sheltered in place. They did not work, plow or harvest; their food was delivered to them (free of charge!), and they took a step back from the world. And what did they work on during this time? Unity. As the passuk says in Shemot 19;2 Vayichan sham Yisrael neged ha’har -- “and the Jews encamped (singular) opposite the mountain.” Rashi says that despite the fact that when they got there they were all acting like individuals, by the time they were ready for Matan Torah the entire nation was k’ish echad bileiv echad, like one man, with a single goal, and a singular desire. They achieved greatness and merited the giving of the Torah. But when the moment passed, they fell again. As the Gemara in Sanhedrin 7 explains, the first time there was a challenge, when they weren’t sure how to act in a new reality with Moshe away, they panicked. Someone (Chur) gently tried to give them tochacha, reproval, but the unity was broken, the respect was gone, and they killed him. The Malbim in Shemot 17:12 explains that Aharon and Chur were the two people who most epitomized the idea of Achdus, of unity. In their moment of panic, emerging from the sacred space of temporary unity in the face of a common unifying goal back into a more confusing world with more complexity and nuance, they killed Chur, and then they broke Aharon, making him complicit in their sin. It is hard to reconcile life in and out of the quarantine, because you lose some clarity when you come back down from the mountain or out of the cave. In those periods of adjustment it is easy to lash out at others. Just ask Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, whose Torah we celebrate at this time of year. The Gemara in Shabbos 33b-34a (attached here as appendix A) tells us the story of how Rabbi Shimon and his son hid in a cave from the Romans for 12 years. When they emerged they could not deal with the realities of the mundane world around them, they could not believe that the people around them were not as spiritually developed, and they gave up hope immediately. The two of them started to destroy the world and to cut down other people. They had to go back in the cave for another year before they could try coming out again. This time around, the second time, Rabbi Shimon played the part of Avraham instead of Noach. He (and eventually his son) saw the good in the people around them, despite their differences in approach, and they set out to make the world a better place. That to me, is the takeaway from this entire experience. A mabul happened, yet we have also been given the quarantine of the desert to reflect. We have done a fairly good job of maintaining unity in and across communities, from finding new ways to be together via Zoom and other formats, to joint rabbinical statements that have now become the norm instead of the exception. There is a danger though as we start attempt to emerge. Will we slip back into old patterns like the Jews of the desert the minute things get complicated and someone expresses an opinion we don’t like, or will we give up hope in the world like Rabbi Shimon did at first when we realize that not everyone is processing the same? Or will we live up to Avraham’s ideal of seeing light in the darkness, will we use the time we have been given, to unlock the clearly incredible potential of this generation, to do what Rabbi Shimon did on second thought, to continue to see the good in people and to heal the world, so that we can then be like Shmuel, and build the Mikdash. The key, in my mind, is to pick one thing to work on as a take away, and I suggest we look at sefirah one more time. The Gemara in Yevamot 62b tells us that we mourn during sefirah because Rabbi Akiva’s students died in a plague for 33 days. And why did they die? Because they did not treat each other with respect. On whatever level they were holding they saw difference as problematic, and hence someone different as worthy of destruction, not a valuable person with a valid expression that could very well have constructive potential. Over the course of this pandemic, united against a common enemy, we have come a long way in our achdus, in 36 our respect for one another. We need to make this last if we want to rebuild stronger than ever. Why do I think this, that is above all the takeaway? The Gemara in Yoma tells us that the second Beis Hamkdash was destroyed because of sinas chinam, baseless hatred of other people. Chazal also tell us that any generation that doesn’t bring the mikdash is considered as if they destroyed it. Now, our generation has not yet brought the mikdash back, which means that in some way, and on some level, we are just like those who destroyed it. But if we have within us the potential to destroy it, then, as demonstrated above, that means that we also do really have the corresponding potential to rebuild it. Doing so requires us to emerge from quarantine the same way the Jews did on that first Shavuot, ki ish echad bilev echad, in continued perfect harmony. May we be zoche to emerge soon back into our Mikdashei Me’at, our mini-Temples, the shuls, and may we use this crisis as an opportunity to speedily rectify our shortcomings and rebuild the real Beis Mikdash once and for all.

37 Appendix A

ישבו רבי יהודה, ורבי יוסי ורבי שמעון, וישב יהודה בן גרים אצלם. פתח רבי יהודה ואמר: כמה נאים מעשיהן של אומה זו: תקנו שווקים, תקנו גשרים, תקנו מרחצאות. רבי יוסי שתק. נענה רבי שמעון בן יוחאי ואמר: כל מה שתקנו לא תקנו אלא לצורך עצמן: - תקנו שווקין להושיב בהן זונות, - מרחצאות לעדן בהן עצמן, גשרים - - ליטול מהן מכס. הלך יהודה בן גרים וסיפר דבריהם, ונשמעו למלכות. אמרו: יהודה שעילה יתעלה, יוסי - ששתק יגלה לציפורי, שמעון שגינה - - יהרג. הלכו הוא ובנו, התחבאו בבית המדרש. כל יום היתה מביאה להם אשתו לחם וקנקן מים והיו אוכלים. כאשר התחזקה הגזירה, אמר לו לבנו: נשים דעתן קלה עליהן, שמא יצערו אותה ותחשוף אותנו. הלכו ישבו במערה. התרחש נס נברא להם חרוב – ומעיין של מים. והיו מורידים בגדיהם, והיו יושבים עד צוואריהם בחול. כל היום למדו בזמן תפילה לבשו, התכסו והתפללו, ואח”כ הורידו בגדיהם – כדי שלא יתבלו. ישבו שתיים עשרה שנה במערה. בא אליהו ועמד לפני פתח המערה,אמר: מי יודיע לו לבר יוחאי שמתהקיסר ובטלה הגזרה?יצאו.ראו אנשים שחורשים וזורעים.אמר: מניחין חיי עולם ועוסקין בחיישעה!כל מקום שנותנין עיניהן מיד נשרף. -יצאה בת קול ואמרה להם:להחריב עולמי יצאתם?חיזרו למערתכם!חזרו והלכו.ישבו שתים עשרה חודשים.אמרו: משפט רשעים בגיהנם שנים -עשר חדש.יצאה בת קול ואמרה: צאו ממערתכם!יצאו.כל מקום שהיה מכה רבי אלעזר –היה מרפא רבי שמעון.אמר לו: בני, די לעולם אני ואתה.בהגיע פני ערב שבת,ראו את אותו זקן שהיה מחזיק שניענפים של הדס, ורץ בין השמשות.אמרו לו: אלה למה לך?אמר להם: לכבוד שבת .ולא מספיק לך אחד? אחד כנגד זכור, ואחד כנגד שמור.אמר לו לבנו: ראה כמה חביבין מצותעל ישראל! התיישבה דעתו.

R. Yehuda and R. Yose and R. Shimon [bar Yohai] were sitting, and Yehuda b. Gerim was sitting beside them. R. Yehuda opened and said: How pleasant are the acts of this nation: They established (tiknu) markets! They established bathhouses! They established bridges! R. Yose was silent. R. Shimon [bar Yohai] answered and said, “Everything they established, they established only for their own needs: They established markets - to place prostitutes there; bathhouses - to pamper themselves; bridges - to take tolls.” Yehuda b. Gerim went and retold their words, and it became known to the [Roman] government. They said: “Yehuda who extolled - let him be extolled. Yose who was silent - let him be exiled to Sepphoris. Shimon who disparaged - let him be killed.” He (R. Shimon) went with his son and hid in the Beit Midrash. Each day his wife brought him bread and a jug of water and they ate. When the decree became more severe he said to his son: “Women are easy-minded. They may abuse her and she will reveal [us].” They went and hid in a cave. A miracle happened – a carob tree and a spring of water were created for them. They took off their clothes and sat up to their necks in sand. All day they sat and studied, and when the time came to pray they got out of the sand, dressed [their bodies], covered [their heads] and prayed and again took off their clothes – all in order that they not wear out. They dwelled in the cave for twelve years Elijah came to the opening of the cave, saying: “Who will inform Bar Yohai that the emperor died and the decree is annulled?” They went out. They saw men plowing and sowing. R. Shimon said, “They forsake eternal life (olam) and busy themselves with temporal life?!” Every place they turned their eyes to – was immediately burned. A heavenly voice (bat kol) came out and said to them: “Did you go out to destroy my world? Return to your cave!” They returned. They dwelled for twelve months, saying: “The sentence of the wicked in Hell is twelve months.” A heavenly voice went out [and said], “Go out from your cave.” They went out. Wherever [his son] R. Elazar smote – R. Shimon healed. He said, “My son, you and I are sufficient for the world.” When the eve of the Sabbath arrived, they saw a certain old man who was holding two bunches of myrtle running at twilight. They said to him, “Why do you need these?” He said to them, “To honor the Sabbath.” [They said] “Would not one suffice for you?” He said, “One for “Remember [the Sabbath]” (Exodus 20:8) and one for “Observe [the Sabbath]” (Deut. 5:12). R. Shimon said to him (his son), “See how dear is a commandment (mitsva) to Israel.” R. Elazar’s mind was set at ease.

38 Does the Reward Fit the Crime? By Matt Lewis To my dear friends: it is unfortunate that we cannot be together physically during the chag of Shavuos, where we commemorate the event that was the pinnacle of unity, where the Jewish people gathered together, to receive the Torah. I am grateful, however, to those who organized this project, which will ,אחד כאיש אחד בלב connect us spiritually during these special days. The thoughts I am going to share are based on an idea that Rabbi Shkarovsky shared with me several years ago, that I have built upon over the years as this idea seems to be a theme that recurs throughout the Torah and other sources. Though it has no direct connection to Shavuos, it does connect to next weeks parsha. Through the zechus of our Torah learning, may we merit to be together physically and spiritually in Yerushalayim! 1) There is a peculiar ruling regarding a Sotah (Bamidbar 5:28): ִוְאם־ֹל֤ א נִטְמְ ָ֙אה ָ ֽה ִא ה ָשּׁ֔ ָּ֖וטְהֹרה ִ֑הוא וְנִקְ ָּ֖תה וְנִ ֳזְר ָ֥עה ָזֽ ַרע :(ונקתה) Rashi :ממים המאררים, ולא עוד אלא ונזרעה זרע, אם היתה יולדת בצער תלד בריוח, אם היתה יולדת שחורים יולדת לבנים This Rashi is based on the gemara in Sotah 26a. There the gemara has an even longer list of potential benefits for the accused Sotah who did not actually commit adultery. The question is, why reward the Sotah in the first place? It’s true that she did not commit the grave sin of adultery, however, she still sinned! She secluded herself with another man! It’s reasonable that she should not receive the punishment designated for a sotah, but why reward her? 2) We find a similar peculiarity with regards to Tzaaras that comes upon the home. Rashi on Vayikra 14:34 writes: בשורה היא להם שהנגעים באים עליהם, לפי שהטמינו אמוריים מטמוניות של זהב בקירות בתיהם כל ארבעים שנה שהיו ישראל במדבר, ועל ידי הנגע נותץ הבית ומוצאן Yet the Rambam writes in Hilchos Tuma’as Tsara’as (16:10): “This change that affects clothes and houses which the Torah described with the general term of tzara’at is not a natural occurrence. Instead it is a sign and a wonder prevalent among the Jewish people to warn them against lashon hora, “undesirable speech.” When a person speaks lashon hora, the walls of his house change color.” Here too, a condition that came about through sin results in a reward! 3) Devarim 30:18: ֚ ִכּי ַה ִמ ָּ֣צְוה ַהזֹּ֔ את ׁ֛ ֶאֲשר ָ ֽא ִ֥נֹכי מְ ַצוְָּך֖ ַהּי֑ ֹום ֹֽלא־נִ ֵ֥פְלאת ִה ֙וא ִמ מְָּך֔ ֽוְֹלא־רְ ָ֖חֹקה ִ ֽהוא The Ramban and other rishonim learn from this verse that teshuva is a positive commandment. And we know a basic tenet of Judaism is the concept of reward and punishment. We receive reward for every mitzah we do. When and how this reward is given is not always clear, but there is definitely reward. (see pirkei avos 2:19, also the brachos and klalos at the beginning of bechukosai). So teshuva should be no different. If it is a mitzah, then we must be rewarded for doing it. But why? Had we not sinned, we would not be doing teshuva! Again, we are being rewarded for our bad behavior. How are we to understand this? 4) There are some difficulties in the story of the sin of Adam harishon. Bereishis 2:17 states: ֵּומ ֗ ֵעץ ַה ּ֨ ַד ַע ֙ תט֣ ֹוב וָ ָ֔ער ֹל֥ א ַ֖תֹאכל ִמ ֶמּ֑ ּנּו י ִכּ֗ בְּיֹ֛ום ָאֲכלְָך֥ ִמ ֶמּּ֖נּו מ֥ ֹות ָת ּֽמּות Man is warned that if he eats from the tree, he will die on that day. But what happens after man actually eats from the tree? Rather than being struck down after sinning, God seeks out man and asks (Bereishis 3:9) “Ayeka?” Rashi explains:

39 Where are you: He knew where he was, but [He asked him this] in order to enter into conversation with him, lest he be frightened to answer if He should punish him suddenly (Tanchuma Tazria 9). So with Cain, He said to him (below 4:9): “Where is your brother Abel?” And so with Balaam (Num. 22:9): “Who are these men with you?” for the purpose of entering a conversation with them, and so with Hezekiah, in regard to the emissaries of Merodach Baladan (Isa. 39:3) (Gen. Rabbah 19:11). What was the point of ‘entering into conversation with him?’ Furthermore, when it comes to the actual punishment, it is greater than what was originally stated. Not only is death introduced to the world, but women were given the punishment of painful labor and delivery, and man now has to work for his sustenance. These punishments are in addition to now being mortal beings. Why were these extra punishments added? 5) Similarly (as the previously discussed Rashi mentions), we find that God behaves similarly with regards to Kayin after he kills Hevel. Instead of immediately punishing Kayin for committing murder, God asks (Bereishis 4:9), “Where is Hevel your brother?” Why the need for conversation. 6) Lastly, the gemara in Yoma 86b brings two statements in the name of Reish Lakesh. In one statement he says ‘How great is teshuva, in that intentional sins are turned into unintentional sins.’ In the other statement he says ‘How great is teshuva, in that intentional sins are turned into merits.’ The gemara explains that it depends if the teshuva was done out of love or fear. Either way, why should this work? Why isn’t the sinner fully accountable? The answer to these questions is based on the following. God does not reward us for our sins. The treasure in the walls and the blessing that the sotah receives for not having fully sinned are not in response to the sin. And so to with teshuva. The reward for doing teshuva is not for the sin. The reward is for how the person behaves afterwards. For better or worse, we are human and we are flawed. We are going to make mistakes. Moshe rabbeinu sinned! But what do we do afterwards? Do we deny? Do we rationalize? Do we blame others? Do we spiral into further sin or depression? Or do we acknowledge our mistakes and take responsibility for them? In each of the three first cases above, taking responsibility is not easy. The sotah has to go through an incredibly humiliating experience. She could have fled or refused to take part in the sotah ritual. But instead, she took responsibility for her actions. That’s why she is being rewarded. So too with the tsara’as on the house. The person made a mistake, they spoke ill of others. But when the tsara’as came, they could have covered it up with a piece of furniture or art. But they didn’t. At great cost, they removed part of their wall. They took responsibility for their actions. And that is worthy of reward, even when the initial cause was sin. And the same is true for teshuva in general. Its not easy to sincerely repent. God knows we will make mistakes. But when we own up to them, we deserve to be rewarded. And that is where both Adam and Kayin failed. God did not punish Adam immediately. He started a conversation. Giving Adam a chance to repent. But how did Adam respond? ‘The woman you gave me made me do it.” And how did Chava respond? She blamed the snake. The punishments they received were greater than initially described, because their sin was greater. The sin itself of eating from the tree was an issue, but it was compounded when they refused to take responsibility for their actions. And the same is true of Kayin. When confronted by God, his response was denial. All God wanted from him was to take responsibility (that’s not to say there would not have been a punishment, but perhaps it would have been less). This is actually explicit in Rashi to Bereishis 4:9: “Where is Abel your brother: To enter with him into mild words, perhaps he would repent and say, “I killed him, and I sinned against You.” And perhaps this is why our more serious sins can be lessened with teshuva. As we live our lives, and continue to stumble, let us strive to take responsibility for our actions. And may the merit of Torah learning and teshuva be a zechus for ourselves and for all of klal Yisrael. Chag Sameach!

40 Chag Sameach!

חג שמח!