Wednesday, December 29, 2010

A thought on Parshas Va'era

"...V'lo shamu el Moshe me'kotzer ruach u'me'avoda kashoh..."
"...and
they did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath and hard
work..." (6:9)

Despite Moshe's prophetic assurances that the redemption was near, and
despite the wonders and signs which might have convinced the Jewish
people that HaShem was with them, our verse tells us how this was not
enough for the enslaved nation. We could not accept his promises and
encouragement because we were "short of breath and overworked."

Now, that is one way to translate the words. It is possible to
understand that being oppressed is so discouraging and mind-dulling
that the slaves could just not work up the inspiration and enthusiasm
to believe that things would get better. However, there are other ways
to translate the words.

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers us an alternative interpretation. Kotzer
ruach can imply being out of breath, but the word 'ruach' can also
refer to the spirit rather than the wind or breath. Avoda kashoh can
mean hard work but it can also mean difficult service. He contends,
based on Chazal, that many of the Jews in Egypt had become so estranged
from their faith, and had become so tainted by the pagan atmosphere
around them, that they actually lacked faith in HaShem. They had
questions. They wondered about Who runs the world, and some of them
even courted ideas about pagan practices. We actually talk about this
every Pesach in the Hagada when we quote the words of the prophet
Jeremiah (16:7) who refers to the Jews in Egypt as being stripped bare
of their faith and connection with the Above.

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel suggests that the Jews did not listen to Moshe
because they had developed a cutting off of their spirit from its true
Divine Source. That was kotzer ruach. He suggests that the dulling of
the spiritual connection came about through avoda kashoh - engaging in
rituals and services which were primitive, heathen and strange
practices. When a Jew courts the practices of the nations, and mimics
their styles and modes of being, this interferes with his or her
alignment with what is truly spiritual. This had an effect in Egypt of
our devaluing and being impervious to the pure and inspirational words
of Moshe Rabbeinu. We were not moved by his holy words, and the words
of HaShem, because our spirituality had been diluted and tainted owing
to our swaying from the Pure Source.

This afternoon I was walking in Jerusalem and saw a Hebrew magazine on
the ground. In Hebrew letters, it announced that it was about "karma."
That is veering from our Torah source. Replacing our sacred values and
concepts with those generated by other cultures and their belief
systems deadens our spirit. There is no room for substitutes when it
comes to following the mitzvos in serving HaShem.Torah is the real
thing, and the only real thing.

The thirsty cobblestones of the old city are drinking up the rainfall
which greets us this cool evening. Wishing you a good Shabbos from
Jerusalem. D Fox

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

A thought on Parshas Shmos

"...ba'perech..."


"...hard labor..." (1:13)

Our slavery in Egypt was oppressive. The bondage involved many forms of
hard work and labor. We make mention of this each year in the Pesach
seder and haggada. We Jews still remember, in our collective tradition,
the slave labor of our ancestors in Egypt. How else do we remember it?

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers a series of elucidations on our parsha.
He begins with the midrash about how Moshe Rabbeinu advised Pharaoh in
Egypt to allow the slaves a day of rest each week. He had this coincide
with our holy Shabbos, so that we were able to have respite from
oppression while also secretly observing the Shabbos. He then adds that
this is why we proclaim in our morning prayers every Shabbos "yismach
Moshe b'matnas chelko" - "Moshe delights in his gifted portion."
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel suggests that this is a reference to that
midrash. The fact that Moshe orchestrated the observance of Shabbos in
Egypt made Shabbos his gift to the people. That is why Moshe rejoices
when we still observe the Shabbos centuries later. It is his gift and
legacy, matnas chelko. Even before the Torah gave us Shabbos, Moshe
gave us "Shabbos."

He then observes that further on (Devarim 5:15), the Torah links the
commandment to remember the departure from Egypt with a reference to
HaShem commanding us to keep the Shabbos. The connection or link
between the two topics is now clear to us. By observing Shabbos, which
was introduced to us in Egypt, we are commemorating the concept of
being able to rest from our weekday work and labor. So many of us feel
enslaved by our responsibilities, and these can ease up as we keep
Shabbos each week.

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel then points out that our verse's word "perech"
(hard labor) alludes to Shabbos also. In the kabbalistic encrypting
known as Aht Baash (where the first letter of the aleph-bais is
substituted with the last - tof replaces alef, shin replaces beis and
so on), "perech" becomes "39 forms of labor", which constitute the
number of forms of work which qualify as forbidden labor on the
Shabbos. "Work" in halachic terms incorporates those 39 forms of labor,
and the work we were forced to do in Egypt we were allowed to stop
doing on Shabbos. Each time we observe Shabbos, and when we mention
that Shabbos is a mode of remembering the departure from Egypt, we
allude to that parallel.

Lastly, Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel heads to the close of the parsha (5:9)
when Pharaoh demands "v'al yishu b'divrei sheker" - don't fool around
with your nonsense and get back to work. He writes that Amram father of
Moshe, the leader of the Jews in Egypt, would hold public drashos
during our days of rest in Egypt. He would speak words of comfort to
the slaves, encouraging them to anticipate the redemption. The "fooling
around" or having fun which angered Pharaoh were those encouraging
drashos. He notes that in Tehillim (94:19) Dovid HaMelech says
"tanchumecha yishashu nafshi" - your comforting words make me happy.
The word in the Psalm is the same as the word used by Pharaoh. Dovid
HaMelech was alluding to those drashos of Amram, which are the Shabbos
comforts of then and now. This is why, writes Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel,
people should be darshan, people should learn about Shabbos, on Shabbos.

There is a full moon tonight in old Jerusalem. The sky is clear, the
city is beautiful, the Jewish people are magnificent, and we can all
enjoy Shabbos. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Thought On Parshas VaYechi

A Thought On Parshas VaYechi

"...Yehuda ata yoducha achecha..."
"...Yehuda, to you shall your brothers submit..." (49:8)

As Yakov our Patriarch bestows his visions and blessings regarding each of his sons, he declares that the brothers will acknowledge Yehuda with praise and with submissiveness. The Torah does not indicate which event, or which quality associated with Yehuda would have garnered the collective allegiance of the other tribes.

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel cites a midrashic interpretation (his source is unknown to us): the tribes of Israel, with the passage of time, learned to accept the error of having plotted against their brother Yosef years before. Ultimately, they recognized that it was the intervention of Yehuda that saved Yosef from certain death. One can only marvel at the merit which Yehuda earned in the World to Come for having saved his brother's life.

But there was more to come! Yakov envisioned a time in history when the Jewish people would recognize the vital importance of Jews reaching out to other Jews. They would see that the survival of our nation can hinge on our being there for each other. The archetype of the Jew engaging in hatzalos nefashos was the example forged by Yehuda.

Yakov declared that in centuries to come, it would be that mechanism which distinguished the Jews from other nations. Our people integrated the Yehuda dynamic, and in that sense, "the brothers submitted to Yehuda." They became like him. They adopted his dynamic. This was a reward or gift to Yehuda which was manifest in this world. This is the true reason, says Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel, that Jews around the world are called Yehudim - Jews. Our very name "Jew" or Yehudi proclaims our awe for the mighty deed of Yehuda.

The defining quality of a Jewish life is dedication to klal Yisroel. When we are moser nefesh for one another, we are Jews. We are leading our lives like Yehudim.

I am off to Jerusalem b'H and hope to keep these parsha thoughts coming. Good Shabbos. D Fox

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

A Thought On Parshas VaYigash

A Thought on Parshas VaYigash

"...va'yar es ha'agalos..."
"...and he saw the wagons..." (45:27)

Many of us know the interpretation cited by Rashi that Yosef selected agalos to signal to his father Yakov that he was indeed his long lost son. Rashi says that the last time Yakov had learned with his son, he had taught him the law of egla arufa. The words are homonyms and agala was to hint at egla. This hint would show Yakov that it could only be Yosef, who still remembered learning about egla arufa.

In a brilliant sequence of inductive reasoning, Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers us the broader background that makes Rashi's cryptic interpretation exciting! Follow his sequence of logic:

He asks, "how could Yosef assume that the agala would be incontrovertible evidence? Yakov was the patriarch and the Torah scholar of his generation. Any lecture which he might have given on any topic, such as egla arufa, would have been attended by crowds of students and followers! Something that an entire audience learned in public would not be a convincing sign that the sender of the wagons must be Yosef."

Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel then observes: earlier on, when Yakov instructed young Yosef to go find his brothers (parshas VaYeshev), he advised him that they were shepherding out past Shechem (37:13). Now, we know that Shechem was a dangerous place. Yakov had to leave there after the incident involving the abduction of Dina and the massacre which followed. The only way that he could have sent Yosef towards a place of potential danger would be to accompany him there. Chazal have told us that when one escorts someone, this is a means of protecting both the host and the traveler from danger (Sotah 46b). Yakov would have accompanied his young son Yosef part of the way towards Shechem.

Now, ultimately he would have had to part ways with Yosef. Yosef was on a mission which required further travel, and Yakov had to return to his camp. Chazal have told us that when one parts ways with someone, he should be careful to depart only after sharing a halacha, a Torah law (Brachos 31a; Eruvin 64a).

Yosef would have urged his father to return home, and Yakov would have first shared a word of halacha. He must have said to Yosef that accompanying someone on the way is not just a nice gesture. He would have explained that one day, the Torah will emphasize the great importance of being me'lava a wayfarer. We will learn it from the declaration made when a murdered corpse is found on the highway, and the leaders will have to assert that they did not fail to accompany a traveler as he left their town (Devarim 21:7). Yakov must have taught Yosef the pertinent law of accompanying a traveler. He told it to him privately en route to Shechem.

That law is found in the parsha of egla arufa! Only Yosef would have known of that lesson. He remembered it and used it as a signal to identify himself to Yakov. Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers a midrashic remez to support his analysis: we read in Tehillim (135:4) "For Yakov has chosen HaShem." In Hebrew this is ki Yakov bochar lo Koh. The wording is unique, with the phrase meaning literally that Yakov chose lo (for himself) Koh (spelled yud hae). We have then the letters lamed vov yud hae. They spell levaya - to accompany. What Yakov chose for his lesson to Yosef was the law of accompanying. This is what Yosef hinted to him, and his hint was a success.

Good Shabbos. Chodesh Tov. Chanuka Sameach. D. Fox