A thought on Parshas Vayeshev
"...va'yikra sh'mo Peretz...va'yikra sh'mo Zerach...""...and he called his name Peretz...and he called his name Zerach..." (38:29-30)
Two sons are born to Yehuda through his bond with Tamar. They are twins yet, like their grandfather Yakov and great uncle Esav, each son seems to vie for the chance to be born first, with a hand of Zerach emerging initially only to be pushed aside by Peretz. Zerach is given his name because it connotes "shining through," whereas Peretz is named because of the connotation "pushing past." Something deep and important appeared to happen at that birth.
The Recanati sheds light on this. Zerach is named because he is reminiscent of the sun. He appears early, shining forth. He represents the revealed world, the clearly visible side of life which follows the sun in clocking the passage of time. Peretz at first hesitates then later manages to push through. He is reminiscent of the moon, which appears to shine only after taking in the strong rays of the sun, and his role is more subtle, often hidden and concealed, only to emerge at night when the moon glows or fades in the darkened sky. Peretz is an emanation of the concealed world, the deeper dimension of mystique and hidden meanings. It is this world that is the profound realm of Torah, which clocks the passage of time by the moon.
It is Peretz who holds the spiritual genes which will later emerge as the power which drives the seed of Dovid HaMelech and the Davidic dynasty of kings, which had its earliest stirrings with Yehuda. The House of Dovid was slow to emerge, appearing, concealed, revealed, then hidden for centuries. When the verse (28) says, va'yiten yad - and he gave over his hand - this too alludes to Dovid, since the gematria of yad is 14 as is the gematria of Dovid. Moreover, the moon's phases peak after 14 days, with mid-month being the 15th day. From Avraham until Dovid there were 14 generations, with the 15th bringing Shlomo HaMelech and the building of the great Temple. After Shlomo, the dynasty continued through 14 more kings only to end with the 15th, followed by centuries of exile and the dark night of golus.
Dovid is known as "Partzi" - son of Peretz - and his descendant, the Moshiach, is known as "son of the Partzi", as we sing in Lecha Dodi "al yad ish ben Partzi." Each month, when the new moon is clear in the heavens and as the month is visibly under way, we recite the Kiddush HaLevana and further allude to the link between moon and Peretz, Dovid and Moshiach, and the Jewish nation, proclaiming "Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai v'Kayam."
We have already begun to sense the dawn of geula which grows brighter as more and more Torah is studied, and practiced, by our people. We look ahead for that day when the light of the moon will shine with the brightness which once lit up the sky and the heavens, when the levana will again be an Or Gadol which will radiate with warmth and majesty to all ends of the earth. We live beneath the warmth of the sun yet we are the spiritual moon of the world, slowly pushing through the darkness looking for a light of our ownGood Shabbos. D Fox
Two sons are born to Yehuda through his bond with Tamar. They are twins yet, like their grandfather Yakov and great uncle Esav, each son seems to vie for the chance to be born first, with a hand of Zerach emerging initially only to be pushed aside by Peretz. Zerach is given his name because it connotes "shining through," whereas Peretz is named because of the connotation "pushing past." Something deep and important appeared to happen at that birth.
The Recanati sheds light on this. Zerach is named because he is reminiscent of the sun. He appears early, shining forth. He represents the revealed world, the clearly visible side of life which follows the sun in clocking the passage of time. Peretz at first hesitates then later manages to push through. He is reminiscent of the moon, which appears to shine only after taking in the strong rays of the sun, and his role is more subtle, often hidden and concealed, only to emerge at night when the moon glows or fades in the darkened sky. Peretz is an emanation of the concealed world, the deeper dimension of mystique and hidden meanings. It is this world that is the profound realm of Torah, which clocks the passage of time by the moon.
It is Peretz who holds the spiritual genes which will later emerge as the power which drives the seed of Dovid HaMelech and the Davidic dynasty of kings, which had its earliest stirrings with Yehuda. The House of Dovid was slow to emerge, appearing, concealed, revealed, then hidden for centuries. When the verse (28) says, va'yiten yad - and he gave over his hand - this too alludes to Dovid, since the gematria of yad is 14 as is the gematria of Dovid. Moreover, the moon's phases peak after 14 days, with mid-month being the 15th day. From Avraham until Dovid there were 14 generations, with the 15th bringing Shlomo HaMelech and the building of the great Temple. After Shlomo, the dynasty continued through 14 more kings only to end with the 15th, followed by centuries of exile and the dark night of golus.
Dovid is known as "Partzi" - son of Peretz - and his descendant, the Moshiach, is known as "son of the Partzi", as we sing in Lecha Dodi "al yad ish ben Partzi." Each month, when the new moon is clear in the heavens and as the month is visibly under way, we recite the Kiddush HaLevana and further allude to the link between moon and Peretz, Dovid and Moshiach, and the Jewish nation, proclaiming "Dovid Melech Yisroel Chai v'Kayam."
We have already begun to sense the dawn of geula which grows brighter as more and more Torah is studied, and practiced, by our people. We look ahead for that day when the light of the moon will shine with the brightness which once lit up the sky and the heavens, when the levana will again be an Or Gadol which will radiate with warmth and majesty to all ends of the earth. We live beneath the warmth of the sun yet we are the spiritual moon of the world, slowly pushing through the darkness looking for a light of our ownGood Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 9:57 PM
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