A Thought On Parshas VaYigash

A Thought On Parshas VaYigash

"...ki toavas MItzrayim kol ro'eh tzon..."
"...for all sheep herders are abominable to the Egyptians..." (46:34)

The Torah describes how the clan of Yaakov, his sons and their families, were permitted residence in Goshen, the Province of Priests. This was apparently territory which was consecrated -terra sancta - and the priests of the land lived there, away from the populace. On the one hand, it seems honorable towards the family of Yaakov that they were allowed to reside along with the "holy men" of that pagan country. Moreover, in our later history, we know that the Levites of our nation remained in Goshen during the bondage which the other tribes endured as slaves.

Yet, this honor seems to be diluted by the words of our verse. The verse suggests that the Egyptians despised us. They regarded us as abominable, since we tended flocks of sheep, and "all shepherds are an abomination to the Egyptians." Were we regarded like priests, or like pariahs? Furthermore, we see from other passages in the Torah that the Egyptians revered sheep as deities. (Ibn Ezra, the great medieval Spanish scholar, actually compares this to how Hindus regard the cow as sacred). How could a shepherd be abominable if he took care of gods? Surely a god caretaker would be regarded as a person with a sacred mission. What does our verse mean, then, that shepherds were abominable? Holy cow!

The Bechor Shor addresses this, wrestling with some of the classic interpretations of this verse. He does not accept them. Rather, he suggests that the Torah uses the word to'aeva - abonimation - here, as a mockery. There are times when the Torah, or the sages, will refer to something by its opposite, frequently in wanting to denigrate its perceived or assumed importance. Here too, the Bechor Shor writes, the verse means that in reality, as we know, the Egyptians worshipped the sheep and regarded shepherds as holy men. The family of Yaakov tended sheep, which made them holy men too. This is why the were allowed to live in Goshen among their priests. That territory was consecrated, and just as priests lived there, sheep roamed there too. Just as sheep roamed there, shepherds resided there as well.

The use of the word toaeva is a negative reference to how the Egyptians viewed the sheep kept by our ancestors. They believed them to be holy animals, but the Torah is not going to endorse that idolatrous fallacy. So, the verse should be read as "the Egyptians had an abominable belief in the sanctity of sheep, which is why they sent our shepherds to live in their sanctified territory." As the card on the old Monopoly game said, "Bank error in your favor." This mistaken view, the Egyptian error ("from the Bank of the Nile") was in our favor, in that it allowed our early people to stake a claim in Goshen, far from the madding crowd and free to preserve our faith and practices.

Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas MiKetz

A Thought On Parshas MiKetz

"...omed al ha'ya'or..."
"...standing by the river..." (41:1)

Many references are made to the river of Egypt. It is mentioned in the dreams of Pharaoh which tells us that it was on his mind a lot. It is mentioned in describing the agriculture and economy of Egypt, and it shows up of course in the book of Shemos relevant to the plagues and the welfare of both Jewish slaves and Egyptian oppressors. The Nile is a major world water source.

It's meaning in our parsha, writes the Bechor Shor, is a subtle but significant one. Whereas we would be led to believe that the Nile sustained the farmlands and crops of Egypt, it apparently stopped working during the reign of Pharaoh. As his dream indicated, the land was due for a drought and a famine. When there is drought, rivers dry up. When a land that is water-dependant has no river to irrigate it, the crops dry and perish. So what happened here? The mighty nation of Egypt, food basket to a teeming populace and to the inhabitants of neighboring countries, was brought to a gasping halt. Only the intervention and planning of wise Yosef seemed to have staved off imminent starvation, as our parsha relates.

The deep and subtle lesson, writes the Bechor Shor, reveals something about HaShem's compassion for His world ---

"Any nation to which He delivers His people Israel will ascend. This is so
that no one can claim that "He has given over charge of His
children to a lowly people" (see Chagiga 13b)."

This is why the Torah shows how Yosef, administering the economy from behind the throne, facilitated the rise of Pharaoh and of Egypt as a world power, for a time. The Bechor Shor adds that we find this with the king Nevuchadnezzar of Bavel as well. During his reign, when the Jews were a captive presence under his power, he became a world force (see Yirmiahu 27:8).

He closes with the note that we see this with the Roman Empire as well. They destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem, appropriated the Jewish homeland and its people, and from then on, went on to continue as an ascendant force in world history (see Daniel 7:23).

The Torah is alluding to this feature of the world and of the universe. Nations which take in Jews, even those which take over the Jews, will tend to prosper, as a shield against misperception. It is not as we material people might view it, that Jews bring prosperity to their host culture. It is not us. It is a far more sacred dynamic at work. HaShem protects His people and His hallowed Name. The sanctification of HaShem is magnified when the world sees how He cares for those who host His scattered people. The discerning and unbiased mind, when there is one, can see that HaShem does not give up on the Children of Israel.

Good Shabbos. Joyous Chanuka. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas VaYeshev

A Thought On Parshas VaYeshev

"...va'yimkaru es Yosef la'Yishmaelim..."
"...and they sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim..." (37:28)


The commentaries puzzle over the names of those who brought Yosef down to slavery in Egypt. The Torah calls them Madanim, Midyanim, Yishmaelim, leaving us with no clarity as to who was driving that fateful caravan. Why might the Torah leave us with this trail of tribal names, rather than present the event with precision?

The Bechor Shor offers that in his opinion, all other explanations aside, there was only one single people or nation who led Yosef away. They were the Yishmaelim. They are called, however, by different names in the Chumash because in different times and circumstances, they may take on different identities.

He compares this to our own nation. Sometimes we are called Jews (Yehudim), sometimes Hebrews (Ivriim), sometimes Israelis (Yisraelim) and sometimes Yeshurun - people of integrity. During our travels and our exiles, indeed we have taken on different names, and somewhat different identities and reputations. That may be a product of our dispersion, and it also may be a skill which emerges as we adapt to varying host cultures and environments without losing our core identity.

The Torah alludes here to this fluid and transitory property of our name and identity by telling us that other nations, such as Yishmael, also acquire varying names and identities. It does not seem admirable that we share this quality with that nation. The Bechor Shor hastens to add that this parsha, that of the brothers selling Yosef as a slave, was also not our nation's highest point. This may explain why this lesson is shared here. The name which we make for ourselves as Jews has something to do with the way we conduct ourselves and how we lead our lives, in exile and always.

This is the season for our people to pull together, to correct our alienating ways. May we find the motivation to be loving brothers and sisters once again. Good Shabbos. D Fox

A Thought On Parshas VaYishlach

A Thought On Parshas VaYishlach

"...ki sham niglu elav HaElokim...b'makom asher diber ito..."
"...for the Lord had been revealed there to him...
...in the place where He spoke to him..." (35:7-11)

The Torah references Yaakov's encounters with the Divine Presence, both while he was en route to the house of Lavan and as he returned from his confrontation with Esav. The second verse above refers to his latter Divine encounter as having been in "the place where HaShem spoke with him." That sounds redundant, at first: if I tell you something in this parsha email, I don't type the words and then type that I am typing them in the place I have typed them. When HaShem spoke to Yaakov, we know, as did Yaakov, that the speaking took place in the place where it took place. What does the latter verse mean?

As for the first verse, the word "niglu" is in the plural. HaShem is One, and even when He is referred to by the name Elokim, His Oneness does not change. What is the message here in stating that Elokim had been revealed (plural) to Yaakov? Rashi and other commentaries wonder about this as well.

The Bechor Shor offers an interpretation which addresses each of the concerns which I have raised. The use of a plural verb regarding the Divine revelation is to incorporate the cosmic reality that when Yaakov met up with malachim, with messengers who presented him with inspiration and guidance, those events were also Divine encounters. So often, we are quick to marvel at the coincidental happenings which seem to guide or enlighten our way, yet are slow to see the Yad HaShem - the Heaven-sent nature of those moments. Our verse is quick to inform us that the events which Yaakov experienced, both at the hands of the messengers and through prophetic illumination from Above ka'va'yachol - were all signs that HaShem was revealed (in plural, to include the malach-sightings) to him there.

As for the second verse and its seeming redundancy, the Bechor Shor enlightens here as well. This recent encounter of HaShem's Presence being revealed to Yaakov (ma'ara - a vision) took place in that spot, but the Torah reminds us that "that place" was the same place where HaShem had already spoken to him. If we go back to last week's parsha, we will recall the dream which Yaakov had. The Bechor Shor explains that this dream also proved to be a Divine encounter. It was not a vision or a messenger, but a chalom - a vision-message which occurred as he dreamt. That too was a form of Divine encounter.

This is why the second verse repeats that the ma'ara vision took place in the place where HaShem had spoken to him, namely, when HaShem had spoken to Yaakov years before in a dream-message. This showed Yaakov that there was a special quality to that place: in one form or another, people might experience the word of HaShem there.

Ki malachav yitzaveh lach --------- May we recognize that HaShem cares for us.
Good Shabbos. D Fox