Likutei Divrei Torah
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BS”D January 1, 2021 Potomac Torah Study Center Vol. 8 #12, January 1, 2021; Vayechi 5781 NOTE: Devrei Torah presented weekly in Loving Memory of Rabbi Leonard S. Cahan z”l, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Har Shalom, who started me on my road to learning almost 50 years ago and was our family Rebbe and close friend until his recent untimely death. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Devrei Torah are now Available for Download (normally by noon on Fridays) from www.PotomacTorah.org. Thanks to Bill Landau for hosting the Devrei Torah. __________________________________________________________________________________ Although I am writing my thoughts on December 31, the date on the Devrei Torah packet is January 1, 2021, not December 32, 2020. As we close Sefer Bereishis with Vayechi, we turn from a sefer devoted to individuals and a family to Shemot, the story of how a family becomes a nation. This change in focus seems to me to parallel another transition that should be very familiar to everyone, even though I do not have any references that discuss it. Throughout Bereishis, individuals have struggled with conflicts among family members. In Vayechi, Yosef reconciles with his brothers, and we have peace within the family. In Shemot, we turn to the question of how the thirteen shevatim (tribes) graduate from separate tribes into a nation, B’Nai Yisrael. There are thirteen shevatim, because Yaakov replaces Yosef with two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. (Rabbi Singer observes that, apparently for kabbalistic reasons, the number of shevatim is always listed as twelve by counting Yosef as one whenever including Levi in the count. For example, only twelve tribes gain territories in Israel, because Levi gains only cities, not its own territory.) As the thirteen shevatim work on becoming a nation, they have plenty in common. They share the same religion, language, land (promise of land), and heritage (history). Despite these aspects in common, the shevatim are really heterogeneous. They come from four different mothers. Two of the mothers come from Avraham’s family (Mesopotamia). The other two come from Bilhah and Zilpah, who were daughters of Lavan's concubines and half of unknown parentage. We have learned during the past Century that Jews presumably come from several different heritages and include inter-marriage with individuals with different genetic backgrounds. For example, Yemenite Jews have darker skin than European Jews. Ethiopian Jews are black and presumably have some different genetic material than European or most Sephardic Jews. For a timely example, see https://unitedwithisrael.org/israel-begins-2021-with- hundreds-of-jews-returning-from-the-lost-tribes/ Integrating tribes from different genetic backgrounds, especially after some generations of living separately and developing some different traditions, can generate conflict. In Shemot, we shall see some of these conflicts, both within a single shevat (such as Korach’s rebellion) and across tribes (such Reuven’s conflict with Moshe). We should be familiar with issues involved with combining thirteen different groups into one nation – that is how the colonies formed what became the United States. The thirteen colonies shared a common language and land mass. They all practiced freedom of religion, mostly Christian, but also provided religious freedom for Jews. Both the shevatim and the thirteen colonies shared a goal of establishing a nation based on moral laws as the foundation of unification. The founders of the United States were very familiar with the “Old Testament” and quoted it frequently. The struggles over the Articles of Confederation and later the Declaration of Independence and Constitution recall struggles of B’Nai Yisrael, but without the help of God intervening openly in human affairs. Even after establishing the United States, conflicts continued to emerge – large and highly populated states versus smaller and less populated states, north versus south, etc. These conflicts persist even now with very different political views among states along the coasts versus views in most of the interior states. A number of conflicts that have arisen among B’Nai Yisrael in Sefer Bereishis return as Torah laws later in the Torah. In the United States a number of conflicts end up in litigation, often going up to the Supreme Court for decisions. Creating a nation inherently requires compromise and dedication to elevating interests of a group over desires of individuals. As we 1 turn to Sefer Shemot, it could be useful comparing the tensions among B’Nai Yisrael with the conflicts of early Americans (as well as those of current Americans). My beloved Rebbe, Rabbi Leonard Cahan, z”l, always found ways to make the stories in the Torah relevant to current times. While I do not recall his having compared the struggles in Sefer Shemot to those of the American colonists, this parallel is consistent with what he brought to his Torah discussions every Shabbat. As we turn to a new (hopefully much better) year and a new Sefer, may the lessons in the Torah inspire us to become better citizens in the twenty-first Century. Shabbat Shalom, Hannah & Alan ___________________________________________________________________________________ Much of the inspiration for my weekly Dvar Torah message comes from the insights of Rabbi David Fohrman and his team of scholars at www.alephbeta.org. Please join me in supporting this wonderful organization, which has increased its scholarly work during the pandemic, despite many of its supporters having to cut back on their donations. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Please daven for a Refuah Shlemah for Nossan ben Pessel, Eli ben Hanina, Yoram HaKohen ben Shoshana, Gedalya ben Sarah, Mordechai ben Chaya, Baruch Yitzhak ben Perl, David Leib HaKohen ben Sheina Reizel, Zev ben Sara Chaya, Uzi Yehuda ben Mirda Behla, HaRav Dovid Meir ben Chaya Tzippa; Eliav Yerachmiel ben Sara Dina, Amoz ben Tziviah, Reuven ben Masha, Moshe David ben Hannah, Meir ben Sara, Yitzhok Tzvi ben Yehudit Miriam, Yaakov Naphtali ben Michal Leah, Ramesh bat Heshmat, Rivka Chaya bat Leah, Zissel Bat Mazal, Chana Bracha bas Rochel Leah, Leah Fruma bat Musa Devorah, Hinda Behla bat Chaya Leah, Nechama bas Tikva Rachel, Miriam Chava bat Yachid, and Ruth bat Sarah, all of whom greatly need our prayers. _____________________________________________________________________________ Hannah & Alan _____________________________________________________________________________ Drasha: Vayechi: Words Like Arrows by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky © 1998 [Please remember Mordechai ben Chaya for a Mishebarach!] There is an interesting Midrashic interpretation of two words in this week’s portion that seem to contrast starkly with their simple meaning. In fact, on the surface the interpretation seems even to contradict the simple meanings! Yaakov blesses Yoseph’s children and then tells Yoseph, “as for me, I have given you Shechem one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the Emorite with my sword and with my bow.” Rashi explains that after the brothers attacked the city of Shechem in response to the assault on their sister Deena, the Emorites, a neighboring country, tried to conquer Yaakov at his time of weakness, similar to Jordan’s joining against Israel in the Six-Day War. They, too, were miraculously defeated. So Yaakov tells Yoseph that he acquired those lands with his sword and bow. But Rashi and the Targum Unkeles, who is known for his almost literal translation of the Torah, deviate and translate the words bow and sword in a different light. Rashi explains they are wisdom and prayer, and the Targum explains the words as two forms of supplication. 2 The allegory is understandable. Prayer surely surpasses the pen in its might over the sword. And some prayers, like a sword, are strong and sweeping and affect all those they strike. Others, like an arrow, reach one specific point from a far distance. The question is: we know that Yaakov prayed. Of course, he prayed! Yaakov’s prayers are documented throughout the Book of Genesis. He prays throughout his encounters with his adversaries, yet this time he chose to talk about his battle prowess. Why then translate his expression of utensils of war as prayer? The Ponovezer Rav, Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman, of blessed memory, was renowned for his efforts in rebuilding Torah from the ashes of the Holocaust. He established the jewel in the crown of the Torah city of B’nai Berak by building the Ponovez Yeshiva and its myriad affiliate institutions. He built a Yeshiva for pre-teens, another for young men, and still a third for married scholars. He built the Batei Avos, a huge housing complex with hundreds of subsidized apartments for needy families. He built schools for orphaned boys and girls in B’nei Berak, Ashdod, and numerous cities across the State of Israel. Often, he would visit wealthy patrons in the United States, Canada, South Africa, and Europe, and appealed to them to contribute monies for the Ponovezer Institutions. The story is told, perhaps apocryphally, that one particular donor once confronted him in jest. “Why is it, Rabbi Kahaneman,” he wondered, “that all the other Rabbis and Roshei Yeshiva who visit me never mention money? All they talk about is Torah and mitzvos. But you come here and cut right to the chase. You don’t talk about Torah or mitzvos. Your appeal, however, is, direct and to the point. You come here and say that you need one hundred thousand dollars to finish a girls school in Ashdod. Why don’t you also give me a speech about Torah, mitzvos, and Jewish continuity?” Rabbi Kahaneman did not draw back. He took the man’s hand and looked him in the eye. Then he told him a profound statement. “You know me well. Many fund raisers talk, ‘Torah, Torah, Torah,’ but they mean money, money, money. I talk money, but I mean Torah, Torah, Torah.” Our Chazal, who understood the essence of Yaakov’s being; who saw his deep faith in running from Esav, fighting with the angel, and confronting the tragedy of Shechem; and who appreciated his travail with Lavan, understood quite well what his bow and sword were.