Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A thought on פרשת מקץ

"...k'chu mi'zimras ha'aretz...""...take some of the land's glory..." (43:11)

Yakov instructed his sons to bring gifts with them upon their return to Egypt. He advised that they take some of the treasured produce of the land.

The interesting word here is "zimra." This word shows up in a number of forms throughout the Torah and TaNaCh and can refer to a branch or vine, an animal, or a song. It is unlikely that Yakov suggested that they take an animal, in that the zemer (which some believe is a giraffe) is neither kosher nor native to Israel. It is also unlikely that he was recommending that his sons bring down some popular tunes and try to impress the Egyptians with Israeli music. It is more probable that he referred to some form of produce which branches from one or another tree. On the other hand, why the choice of words, given that zimra can be understood so ambiguously?The Ralbag sees in this verse an important lesson, which he classifies as a "to'el'es b'midos" - a values lesson. The gift which Yakov sent to appease the viceroy was produce. However, he referred to it with the more ambiguous term zimra precisely because it can also mean "a song." The song which Yakov had in mind was a prayer to HaShem, which is also a form of song. He was modeling to his sons that when faced with challenge, one must always make an effort, hishtadlus. The effort was in sending a formal gift. However, a mortal effort in isolation is meaningless. Every effort must be accompanied by a spiritual effort as well. This was the necessity of turning to HaShem with prayers that they succeed in appeasing the viceroy who had threatened them. Yakov instructed his sons to bring a gift but to pray, meanwhile, to HaShem that all turn out well.

To face a challenge with effort alone would be useless. Yet, says the Ralbag, to respond to a real threat with prayer alone, without demonstrating that we are meanwhile trying our best, can also be careless. Not everyone has the greatness and merit to rely on his or her tefilla alone. Of course, no one has the right to rely on their own ingenuity either.

We make our effort, with eyes and souls turned heavenward, understanding that it is not our effort which is the decisive factor, but rather that HaShem alone will determine our fate. We parallel our spiritual striving above with our motions below, as the Recanati taught us so many times last year.

Wishing you a good Shabbos. With HaShem's help, I will be singing my song the next few weeks in Jerusalem.

D. Fox

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

A thought on פרשת וישב

"...va'yehi birchas HaShem ba'kol asher yesh lo...""...and HaShem's blessing was found in all that Yosef did..." (39:5)

The Torah recounts the successes of young Yosef as he made a name for himself within the Egyptian kingdom. Time and again, he put his mind to a task and HaShem blessed him and his efforts. Moreover, as our verse suggests, that blessing was effusive and rampant, benefiting all who were around Yosef, whether his masters, his co-workers, the Pharaoah...

As we have learned in the past, the Ralbag takes interest in deriving "to'el'es b'midos" (values lessons), and "to'el'es b'dae'os" (conceptual lessons) from the saga within each parsha. What are we to derive from this facet of Yosef's life in Egypt?The Ralbag teaches us that the Torah introduces us here to the concept of infectious hashgacha. Yosef was not working for himself. He worked for his masters. Yet, he engaged in his responsibilities with a dedication, as befits a G-d fearing person. HaShem watched over him and blessed him with success, which is "hashgacha." What the Torah is adding is that this bracha "spread out" so that those associated with Yosef also succeeded. They reaped the benefits of his Divine bracha. Yosef was working for them, and his "success" was quantified by their prospering. This is "infectious hashgacha."

The mechanism, explains the Ralbag, is that HaShem responds to the efforts of those who seek Him, and who seek to follow in His ways. There is a halo effect, at times, and those who are close to the one who has been blessed, will also feel the bounty of that blessing.

The Ralbag concludes that with our understanding of this mechanism,

"we have removed the confusion over how one person's
prayers on behalf of another person can be effective."

When HaShem responds to a good person's prayers, He fulfills the desire of that person. If the one who prays seeks salvation, or healing, or other benefit for another person, then the Divine fulfillment of that desire will include the fulfillment of the other person's needs and desires.

When good things happen, it is important to see the birchas HaShem which is operating. With the Ralbag's lesson, we also need to consider that the bracha may not be in our own merit. We may be the fringe beneficiaries of a deserving person whose prayers or efforts may have been answered in a way which happens to incorporate us. A humbling thought.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A thought on פרשת וישלח

"...va'yikra lo El Elohei Yisroel...""...and he called the altar God the Lord of Israel..." (33:20)

True to his word, Yakov returned to the place where he had rested while running from home (see last week's parsha email), and he again consecrated that spot upon returning. From the verse, it appears that he gave a name to this altar. This is puzzling, for a pillar of stone is seldom named, even if the place around it is named. Besides, the Torah tells us (last week) that the place already had a name, Luz, and was renamed Beis El by Yakov. It seems as if the name in our verse is indeed the name of the altar. What is more puzzling is that the name employs two Sacred Names of HaShem. The thought of utilizing Sacred Names in referring to an object, even a consecrated object such as a mizbeach, seems foreign to us.

A number of the mefarshim Rishonim offer interpretations as to what Yakov intended, or what he declared, at this place. The Ralbag offers an alternative which seems singular and unique:

The verse, technically, does not reveal who "he" is. It says va'yikra, he called. We assume that the pronoun refers to Yakov. It does not. The Ralbag writes that the "he" of the verse is actually "He." The thought here is that Yakov built the altar and when he did that, HaShem called out to Yakov asserting that He was the Lord of Yisroel (which is the name Yakov acquired once he had ascended to the role of Patriarch and father of the twelve tribes of Israel.)

The Ralbag has a premise that the function of the Patriarchal altars was different than that of the mizbeach in our subsequent history. In the mishkan, in the Temple, an altar was a place where we brought offerings to HaShem. It was a sublime level of our reaching and beckoning, symbolically, to Him. The function of each altar built by the Avos, though, was almost the reverse. Their intention was to select a place where they could commune with the Above in order to garner Divine inspiration and obtain prophecy. This is what happened when Yakov returned to the place where he had had a dream-vision (last week). This time, he had a full nevuah prophecy there. This is when HaShem called to him.

The verse reads, according to the Ralbag. "... and Yakov built an altar there and HaShem, the Lord of Yisroel, spoke to him in prophecy..."

It is a great moment when a person calls out to HaShem. It is a phenomenal moment when HaShem calls out to us.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

A thought on פרשת ויצא

"... va'yifga ba'makom va'yolen sham...""...and he arrived at a place and spent the night there..." (28:10)

Yakov alights in a strange place and rests there, only to discover that this spot is a gateway to kedusha. He has "chanced" upon a sacred place, destined to serve a hallowed role for his nation. HaShem speaks to him there, and Yakov pledges to return there with praise and offerings.

The Ralbag, whose insights address both the meaning of each passage and the lessons we are to take from them, sees in Yakov's encounter a profound message for each of us. He writes that the Torah relates this episode to educate us about how to deal with Divine hashgacha. To be precise, how must we respond "when good things happen to good people?" !

The Ralbag writes that it is not enough that we recognize those moments when HaShem appears to be guiding us towards good things and sheltering us from danger. We surely are meant to spot His grace and compassion, and to give praise and show awe. But there is more than that: the Torah is teaching us that when good things happen, we need to wonder about them. Why might HaShem be showing us kindness? What am I supposed to gain from this? How can I strengthen my faith and crystallize my belief in Him? What is the personal purpose of my being spared, or my being successful or my being healed at this time?

The good things do not happen by chance, and they do not happen without a plan in motion. Yakov arrived at that spot and discovered that it was not a random place at all. He was in awe of this, but he also went further. He used this hashgacha sign to fortify his belief in HaShem's Presence, and he used it as a prod to pledge a statement of faith, namely, that he was meant to consecrate this spot and to return to it with offerings and supplication.

There are many times when rough stresses befall people, yisurim, and people begin to ask, "why me?" People often get focused on "why is this happening", a mystery which we tend to ruminate over if we are the ones experiencing the plight, and obsessing when it is some other person who is in peril. We try to find the "cause" for those hardships and we try to blame them on something that we, or the other person, did. That type of thinking often leads nowhere and is generally not helpful (a topic I have written about in earlier parsha emails over the years.)

But the Ralbag is showing us something related but more useful and spiritually sound. When good things befall us, that is when we are meant to obsess and ponder, searching for the message beneath the bounty. "Why might this be happening to me?" "What am I meant to see within this which will guide me to be proactive and grow closer to HaShem?"

There are no random acts of kindness in HaShem's plan. We are meant to feel the joy, express the awe and then plot our path on the basis of the loving gift which is waiting to be opened and put to good use.

Good Shabbos. D Fox