A thought on Parshas Vayechi
"...va'yar menucha ki tov...""...and he saw that rest was good..." (49:15)
On the one hand, at times it seems as if there is nothing as good as a good rest. Yet, when we consider in context that this is our patriarch Yakov blessing his son Yissachar, our symbol for devotion to Torah, it is hard to consider that he was extolling the virtues of a nap.
You may have often wondered about the words in the twelfth bracha of our daily Amida. The blessing says, "Hasheeva shofteinu...v'yoatzeinu...v'haser mimenu yagon v'anacha" -
"Restore our judges and counselors, and remove from us sorrow and woe." Is this all one long prayerful request, or is it two clauses, or is it a request followed by a separate thought?The explanation, writes Rabbeinu Bachya, rests within the correct meaning of our verse.
What makes Torah study different than other pursuits? Most forms of work require an active body and a calm mind. Torah, however, requires a calm body and an active mind. A person cannot immerse himself in Torah if his body is busy. He cannot delve into Torah if his heart is pressured and his soul distressed. This is why Yakov's blessing to those who devote themselves to Torah included the ideal that they would discover that "good" (as in lekach tov - Torah is the embodiment of good) rests on one's degree of tranquil menucha. When a person is free from distracting endeavors and demands, he is in a state of seeing that menucha ki tov. He is able to dedicate mind, heart and soul to learning.
This is the vision, then, of Chazal when they formulated that bracha in the Amida. We pray for the return of our Sanhedrin when Torah will once again flow from Tzion. The waters of Torah will again spring forth and our nation will turn with thirst to our sages and teachers. Yet, in order to immerse ourselves in its fountains, we will need to be free of distractions, worries, woe and anguish. Thus, we first pray that our judges and sages be returned. We then express our realization that we will need to ready ourselves for Torah, and so we beg that HaShem also "remove from us sorrow and woe". Only a tranquil and composed person can incorporate the dvar HaShem.
And now you know the story of the rest. Good Shabbos. D Fox
On the one hand, at times it seems as if there is nothing as good as a good rest. Yet, when we consider in context that this is our patriarch Yakov blessing his son Yissachar, our symbol for devotion to Torah, it is hard to consider that he was extolling the virtues of a nap.
You may have often wondered about the words in the twelfth bracha of our daily Amida. The blessing says, "Hasheeva shofteinu...v'yoatzeinu...v'haser mimenu yagon v'anacha" -
"Restore our judges and counselors, and remove from us sorrow and woe." Is this all one long prayerful request, or is it two clauses, or is it a request followed by a separate thought?The explanation, writes Rabbeinu Bachya, rests within the correct meaning of our verse.
What makes Torah study different than other pursuits? Most forms of work require an active body and a calm mind. Torah, however, requires a calm body and an active mind. A person cannot immerse himself in Torah if his body is busy. He cannot delve into Torah if his heart is pressured and his soul distressed. This is why Yakov's blessing to those who devote themselves to Torah included the ideal that they would discover that "good" (as in lekach tov - Torah is the embodiment of good) rests on one's degree of tranquil menucha. When a person is free from distracting endeavors and demands, he is in a state of seeing that menucha ki tov. He is able to dedicate mind, heart and soul to learning.
This is the vision, then, of Chazal when they formulated that bracha in the Amida. We pray for the return of our Sanhedrin when Torah will once again flow from Tzion. The waters of Torah will again spring forth and our nation will turn with thirst to our sages and teachers. Yet, in order to immerse ourselves in its fountains, we will need to be free of distractions, worries, woe and anguish. Thus, we first pray that our judges and sages be returned. We then express our realization that we will need to ready ourselves for Torah, and so we beg that HaShem also "remove from us sorrow and woe". Only a tranquil and composed person can incorporate the dvar HaShem.
And now you know the story of the rest. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 8:08 PM
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