Wednesday, November 25, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Vayishlach

Yakov's wrestles with the heavenly emissary, known as "Saro shel Esav" - the celestial entity which embodies and represents all that will be enacted in our embedded and fated historical encounters with Esav's descendants. The Torah depicts this struggle and is quite graphic in portraying the fight, the treachery, as Yakov clutches the malach who can barely fend him off. ibn Shu'aib hastens to assert that this actually happened, and was not a vision. Citing midrashic support, ibn Shu'aib also finds allegorical lessons in the martial combat: it occurs in the evening, which symbolizes the dark exiles wherein we will square off against Esav. There is an attempt to impair Yakov from proliferating, which is history's attempts to annihilate all traces of Jewish people. The coming of the dawn is the period prior to the Geulah, when plots will intensify against us. Injuring the thigh or leg represents the frightening fact that our enemies so often go after our righteous ones (the "legs" that our nation stands on), and so often, it is those who uphold the faith and preserve its practices who are targeted. Even as Yakov is struck in his leg and injured, he continues to pin his adversary down, who begs him to let go "for dawn has arrived." It is hard to discern who is the victor at that moment - Yakov who can barely walk, or the assailant who pleads to be released. And then, Yakov declares (32:27) "I will not let you go unless you bless me." Why does Yakov need a blessing from an enemy, even if it is an angelic one? ibn Shu'aib suggests, somewhat cryptically, that this is the deeper nuance contained in a halachic statement (Gitin 22b) "ain kiyum ha'get ela b'chosmav" - a bill of divorce is only effective when it is signed. He explains: it is the will of HaShem that His children be blessed by their opponents. Bilaam ended up blessing us, and Esav needs to bless us too. It is a signal that they acknowledge that HaShem's covenant is with us. It represents Esav's final submission to the fact that Yakov fully and rightfully "owns" the brachos which were given to him by Yitzchak. Esav's blessing is "the signature on the document" that he will no longer contest the role of the Jews in HaShem's world. He will ultimately divorce himself from prior claims to inheriting the "birthright." This is why Yakov insists on wresting a bracha from archetypal Esav, setting the stage for later history. ibn Shu'aib closes by noting that our Haftorah is the Book of Ovadia. Ovadia was a ger tzedek - a sincere convert to Judaism - from the nation of Esav. Ovadia's recognition that the true faith, the real mode of just and righteous life, could only be found among the descendants of Yakov - the Jewish people - sealed that document. This was the ultimate attestation that Yakov had prevailed as the real victor in the ancient struggle. Ovadia's conversion and siding with the Jewish people was a sublime manifestation of the bracha which Yakov took from Saro shel Esav. Good. Shabbos. D Fox

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Vayatzae

"...Va'yaetzae Yakov ... va'yelech..." (28:10) '...and away went Yakov ... and he traveled..." I am sitting shiva for my father R' Gershon ben Nachman z'l. Although I had considered that al pi halacha I might be able to write out my Thought on the Parsha blog this week, in that I might have a halachic status of a melamed Torah, for which there are heterim to continue teaching despiteshiva (plus I had formulated this week's Thought prior to my father's petira), I discussed the matter with HaRav Elazar Muskin shlit'a, who is my parent's Rav, and he suggested that I not do the Parsha Thought this week. Instead, I am consigning this avodas hakodesh to my daughter Penina, who is often my chavrusa and at times my morah. We worked on the words together, the idea is ours, the source is ibn Shu'aib, and the effort should be a zechus for the neshama of my dear late father. *** Our Parsha this week describes the frightening exile of Yaakov Avinu. The miserable years spent living in the home of Lavan forced Yaakov into an environment that completely contradicted all that he’d gleaned from life as a child of Yitzchak and Rivka, and had learned during his time in the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever. The dangers, both physical and spiritual, were truly life threatening. From his conniving hosts, to living on the run, and even his fight with an angel, Yaakov never seemed to have a moment’s respite. All of his challenges and perils foretold the threats that we, his descendants, have faced during 2000 years of galus. This is the classic example of how "maasei Avos" - the events affecting the life of our father Yakov - symbolize the future lives of our nation during exile. For over 2 centuries we have barely survived inhumane and dangerous nations. Whether they tried to destroy us physically or spiritually, our host cultures have been consistent in their brutal attempts at hastening our downfall. This is the Va'yatezae Yakov, the exile that Yaakov went in to. Yet, the maasei avos siman le'banim has a second dimension: ibn Shu'aib teaches us that the positive outcome of Yakov's travails is that we can expect redemption from this dark exile. Learning from our ancestor Yaakov Avinu, we can look at challenging times on the journey of life as a reassurance that we are yet one step closer to being in our Home! The pains of exile will turn into joy, into a world with no weapons, no illness and a total awareness of HaShem Echad A "happy ending" awaits us! Our avoda is to remember this as we experience the bumps on the road. The twists and turns are perfectly placed by HaShem to guide us and prepare us for our redemption! *** The preceding approach to taking perspective on galus and its yisurim - exile and suffering - has meaning for me in my retrospective of my father's life and of the ordeal which he endured these past 33 months. One can dwell on the agony of the moment, and on the reality, or one can look ahead at the bigger picture. I know that my father z'l did not complain as his sight faded, and he could no longer read; as his digestion stopped and he could no longer eat; as his bones weakened and he could no longer walk; as his voice ended and he could no longer talk........ He saw the bigger picture, he knew where he was headed - where we all are headed - and as ibn Shu'aib writes, the descendants of Yakov learn to accept all things b'sever panim yafos. May his memory continue to inspire and bless us. Good Shabbos. D Fox Rabbeinu Yehoshua ibn Shu'aib was a 14th century Spanish rishon. More pirushim presented by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox athttp://thoughtonparsha.blogspot.com/

Monday, November 09, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Toldos

"...v'yiten lecha...mi'tal ha'Shomayim u'mi'shmanei ha'aretz v'rov dagan v'tirosh..." "...and He will give to you... dew of Heaven, richness of earth, abundant grain and wine..." (27:28) The brachos which Yitzchak blesses Yakov are beautiful and picturesque. It is tempting to understand them literally, which would center on the promise of bountiful lands, fertile fields, and the rich produce for which the land of Israel has at times been famous. One has only to meander the shuk at Machneh Yehuda or view the fields near Teveria to savor the magnificent fruits and vegetables which one associates with the land of our people. On the other hand, there have been centuries when the land did not yield such richness, times when we did not merit the promise which seems explicit in the blessings of Yitzchak. Are there other manifestations, other ways in which these brachos might be understood, and be actualized, among the Jewish people? Ibn Shu'aib finds a medrash which helps us here. The medrash asserts that the theme of "mi'tal haShomayim u'mi'shmanei ha'aretz" - we are blessed with the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth - denotes a "higher heaven and a higher earth" - namely, the sublime parallels of what we regard as heaven and earth, the metaphoric dew and lushness. That is, the "dew" of the "heavens" does not refer to the moisture which descends from the sky, and the "richness" of the "fields" is not referring to the crops which we grow. Rather, as ibn Shu'aib explains, the "dew of the heavens" means "the written Torah." The dew which descended from heaven was the Torah given to us at Sinai. The "richness of the field" means "the Mishnah." The field which we grow through the moisture of the written Torah is the codification of its rules and lessons, the Oral Torah. The "rov dagan" - abundant grain - is the Talmud, which threshes the Mishnah in drawing out all of its halachic nuances, every kernel of practical and structured chachmah, which defines our religious sustenance. The "tirosh" - the fruit of the vine - means the Aggadata - the lore and the allegory which are woven within our traditional sources, offering spirit, insight, and enchantment in portraying many deeper and loftier facets of our faith. Ibn Shu'aib reminds us that this midrashic approach has its linguistic roots in the words with which Matan Torah itself is depicted (Devarim 4:36) - min haShomayim hish'miacha es kolo - from Heaven He made you hear His voice. That mention of Shomayim, writes ibn Shu'aib, is the same as the word form in our verse. This teaches us the that bracha of Yitzchak is all about our receiving the Torah, which is the "tal" of Heaven. Now, we do know that the giving of the Torah took place at Sinai, yet the revelation and the compilation of Mishnah, Talmud and Aggadata came about at later, and varied, stages of our history. Elements of Mishnah circulated from the time of Sinai yet the era of the Tanaaim was much later. The Talmud emerged after the Mishnah. Elements of Aggada or what we call "the Aggadata" cover a span of centuries, if we examine our history. How does that fit with this bracha, which seems to capture everything at once in its use of the "dew and produce" metaphor? ibn Shu'aib discovers another midrash about that. Chazal look at the word "va'Yiten" - and He will give, as having an "unnecessary" vov. The bracha could have been "Yiten" - G-d will give. From the fact the Torah states "and He will give", the message is "He will give, and He will give" in different stages. This way, reasons ibn Shu'aib, we can follow how the verse alludes to a number of events and processes - the giving of the Written Torah, the emergence of an Oral Torah, the cultivation of the Talmud, the "wine of tradition", and the fertile and productive yield of all of our holy labor to unite Heaven and earth. Good Shabbos from the friendly skies, as I traverse the earth below, flying from east to west. D Fox

Thursday, November 05, 2015

A Thought on Parshas Chayei Sarah

"...lo tikach isha l'bni mi'banos ha'Kanani..." (24:3) "...you may not take a wife for my son from the daughters of Kanan..." The Torah shows us the lengths that Avraham went to in assuring that his son Yitzchok only marry a descendant of Shem. He would not even allow his son to marry a daughter of Eliezer, his trusted disciple and servant. Eliezer was a descendant of Cham. We know that Eliezer had been circumcised. We infer this from the fact that Avraham uses the bris milah as a symbol that both he and Eliezer can respect in forming a covenant together. We can also conclude that Eliezer underwent a bris from the fact that all of Avraham's household were brought into the covenant of milah (17:27). We also know that Avraham himself took Hagar (and later Katura) for himself, which means that he married a descendant of Cham himself. We also see that when he circumcised his clan, in his zeal to perform that mitzvah, he waited until the end before performing his own circumcision. What is the meaning of that delay, and the meaning of Avraham having a standard for his son that differed from his own personal standard? And, for that matter, why is it that the very mitzvah of milah was given to him after he had fathered his first son, Yishmael, rather than earlier on? If it was important to perform milah on his family, and seemingly more important to do so to them than on himself, why was he given Yishmael as a son prior to being given the mitzvah of milah? Ibn Shu'aib perceives a theme within these observations. He suggests that one point that the Torah is teaching here is that tzadikim - righteous holy people - do not live for themselves, but rather they live to enact HaShem's will in bringing kedusha to the world. In essence, they serve HaShem by serving others. This is why Avraham gave bris milah to his clan before performing the covenant on himself. This is also why he did not pray to HaShem that Sara have children and instead settled for a maid servant/concubine from Cham, whereas he insisted that his son, Yitzchok (whom ibn Shu'aib calls "the Pure Offering Who Had Been Sanctified on the Altar") only marry a wife from Shem. He concerned himself with caring for his son's sanctity more than he appeared to focus on his own. Avraham refrained from praying that HaShem alter Sara's status from barren to fertile, "not wanting to ask HaShem to make miracles for him". In contrast, he insisted that his son have descendants only from a Shemite woman, which is why we find that Yitzchok did pray to HaShem that a miracle bring Rivka from barren to fertile. As for Avraham being given the mitzvah of milah only after he had borne his son, Yishmael, from Hagar, ibn Shu'aib offers an insight: Avraham was aware that his son Yishmael was the product of a concubine through the "Arur" Cham. Had Avraham fathered Yishmael after he himself was circumcised, this would have meant that Yishmael, though still the offspring of an "Arura" (the child of a shifcha is born with her status, even if fathered by a Yisrael), then Yishmael would still have come from 'tipa kedosha' - a trace of holiness. Therefore, Avraham was not commanded to have milah until after Yishmael was born. Having a bris milah would have elevated Avraham in kedusha. It would not be proper to fuse arur with kadosh. Avraham took care of the familial milah before tending to himself. He took care of Yitzchok's matrimonial needs before his own, and he insisted on a higher standard for his son than that which he had accepted for himself. These are the ways of the tzadik. Wishing you a Good Shabbos. D Fox