A Thought On Parshas V'zos HaBracha
A Thought on Parshas V'zos HaBracha
"...vi'yihi misav mispar..."
"...and may his men be numbered..." (33:6)
Moshe salutes the tribes with his farewell blessing, offering words of praise and of hope as he alludes to their roles in centuries to come. The lead-off blessing to the tribe of Reuven is interesting at many levels. One feature of intrigue is the above clause - may his men be numbered.
We know that the Torah prohibits us from counting our ranks. We do not take a conventional census. If anything, numbering Reuven's men would be the opposite of a blessing. We like to think of our people as being innumerable as the stars and the sand. Why would Moshe set a limit on the members of this tribe?
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers a selection of ideas. First he suggests that the atypical word misav does not mean men (which it sometimes does) but comes instead from the word mais, a dead body. Moshe Rabbeinu is blessing this tribe with limited casualties. In other words, it is almost like what we would call a Jewish compliment - "he shouldn't have many deaths" which is intended to say "his tribe members should live long lives."
A second idea is that the preceding clause ("yichi Reuven v'al ya'mus" - may Reuven live and not die) contains the word v'al - "and not." Grammatically, this prefacing word can extend to both the ensuing clause and the one which follows it. Hence, we could understand our verse as "v'al ya'mus v'al ye'hi mispar" - may he not die and may his men not be numbered.
A third idea is that the word misav means warriors, as it is written (2:34) kol ir misim - all of the city's warriors. Our verse would then mean "when Reuven's warriors go to battle, the same number will return." It is a blessing that none of our soldiers will perish in battle.
With this trio of interpretations, the term "number" can mean "a limited number", "without number", or "the identical number." This is an example of the originality and versatility of our master Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel whose writings I have now completed for this year. I feel that this quality, his broad and original versatility, has been unparalleled and unmatched by any of the great Rishonim whose works I have studied to date. He is a master of elucidating pshat, the essential meaning of the verses; he introduces remez and sod - deeper allusions and profound essences within and beneath the words; and he also presents us with ample drash - homiletics drawn from the Torah lessons. He was bold in addressing some of the Christian misconstruing of Torah verses, engaging in subtle dispute with his oppressive host culture. Although I seldom addressed it, he also spends much energy on halacha in demonstrating how legalistic rulings can be traced to the wording of many passages. I shall miss Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel for he has fascinated me greatly, and I am struck by his relative anonymity within the yeshiva community.
Farewell, my master and teacher who has explained so much to me. I add you to my list of great Rishonim - the challenge for this new year of 5772 is selecting the next Rishon. We have merited the study of Rashi, Ibn Ezra (short version), Ibn Ezra (long version), Rav Saadia Gaon, Chezkuni, Rabbeinu Bachya, Rabbeinu Yona, Rabbeinu Avraham ben Rambam, Recanati, Radak, Seforno, Rashbam, Rabbeinu Efraim, Ralbag, Rosh, Rambam, Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel... Sadly, there are few remaining published rishonim whose writings might illuminate our study of Torah. Let us see what parshas Bereishis brings to our weekly parsha emails with the loving help of HaShem.
Good Shabbos and good yom tov. Gmar Chasima Tova. D Fox
"...vi'yihi misav mispar..."
"...and may his men be numbered..." (33:6)
Moshe salutes the tribes with his farewell blessing, offering words of praise and of hope as he alludes to their roles in centuries to come. The lead-off blessing to the tribe of Reuven is interesting at many levels. One feature of intrigue is the above clause - may his men be numbered.
We know that the Torah prohibits us from counting our ranks. We do not take a conventional census. If anything, numbering Reuven's men would be the opposite of a blessing. We like to think of our people as being innumerable as the stars and the sand. Why would Moshe set a limit on the members of this tribe?
Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel offers a selection of ideas. First he suggests that the atypical word misav does not mean men (which it sometimes does) but comes instead from the word mais, a dead body. Moshe Rabbeinu is blessing this tribe with limited casualties. In other words, it is almost like what we would call a Jewish compliment - "he shouldn't have many deaths" which is intended to say "his tribe members should live long lives."
A second idea is that the preceding clause ("yichi Reuven v'al ya'mus" - may Reuven live and not die) contains the word v'al - "and not." Grammatically, this prefacing word can extend to both the ensuing clause and the one which follows it. Hence, we could understand our verse as "v'al ya'mus v'al ye'hi mispar" - may he not die and may his men not be numbered.
A third idea is that the word misav means warriors, as it is written (2:34) kol ir misim - all of the city's warriors. Our verse would then mean "when Reuven's warriors go to battle, the same number will return." It is a blessing that none of our soldiers will perish in battle.
With this trio of interpretations, the term "number" can mean "a limited number", "without number", or "the identical number." This is an example of the originality and versatility of our master Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel whose writings I have now completed for this year. I feel that this quality, his broad and original versatility, has been unparalleled and unmatched by any of the great Rishonim whose works I have studied to date. He is a master of elucidating pshat, the essential meaning of the verses; he introduces remez and sod - deeper allusions and profound essences within and beneath the words; and he also presents us with ample drash - homiletics drawn from the Torah lessons. He was bold in addressing some of the Christian misconstruing of Torah verses, engaging in subtle dispute with his oppressive host culture. Although I seldom addressed it, he also spends much energy on halacha in demonstrating how legalistic rulings can be traced to the wording of many passages. I shall miss Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel for he has fascinated me greatly, and I am struck by his relative anonymity within the yeshiva community.
Farewell, my master and teacher who has explained so much to me. I add you to my list of great Rishonim - the challenge for this new year of 5772 is selecting the next Rishon. We have merited the study of Rashi, Ibn Ezra (short version), Ibn Ezra (long version), Rav Saadia Gaon, Chezkuni, Rabbeinu Bachya, Rabbeinu Yona, Rabbeinu Avraham ben Rambam, Recanati, Radak, Seforno, Rashbam, Rabbeinu Efraim, Ralbag, Rosh, Rambam, Rabbeinu Chaim Paltiel... Sadly, there are few remaining published rishonim whose writings might illuminate our study of Torah. Let us see what parshas Bereishis brings to our weekly parsha emails with the loving help of HaShem.
Good Shabbos and good yom tov. Gmar Chasima Tova. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 9:53 PM
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