Original Torah: Ancient Words in a Modern Light

Shabbat Shalom-

As happens, people fall behind. In the meantime, this link is similar
to what I was going to write. http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/5762/vayiggash.shtml

Have a caring week!

Va-Yehi 5762, Genesis 47:28-50:26

Shabbat Shalom-

“Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the days of
Jacob, the years of his life, were seven years, and forty and one hundred
years.” (47:28). It is interesting that Jacob lived with Joseph 17
years before Egypt and 17 years in Egypt. The sages (2-6th CE) comment
that these 34 years were the only truly happy years of Jacob’s life, as hinted
at by the phrase “And he lived, VaYeHI”, numerically signifying
34 in the Hebrew. That leaves him 113 years without Joseph, or perhaps
“BaL MiLVeH, without loans” to pay. Of course, we know parents
prefer having their children around than paying their loans.

Anyhow, I thought that since this week’s portion is the last in the book of
Genesis it would be appropriate to talk about the book as a whole and what it’s
trying to do. Genesis is a microcosm of biblical literature. It
contains the seeds for all of biblical literature, appropriate for a book of
beginnings. What Genesis does is set the stage for the book of Exodus and
the covenant at Sinai. On a grander scale, Genesis is a treatise on
knowing who we are. A Jew need merely look at the book of Genesis and he
sees that his ancestors walked with God, made covenants with God, and ultimately
how God came to form a special relationship with his people.

But Genesis is not a history book. It contains variant accounts,
contradictions, and anachronisms without any attempt to harmonize them.
That makes it more a book of traditions faithfully recorded, preserved for their
value to subsequent generations than a straight history. Ever since Jews
left Babylonia in the 5th century BCE and accelerating in the last 200 years,
people of the book have been searching for their past, for that lost
relationship with God so gloriously portrayed in the Five Books of Moses.

Current opinions in archeology tend to see the biblical account somewhat
sympathetically. Geography, language, customs, motifs, and even literary
styles are preserved in many of the stories. Archeology has induced the
history of the near east, the wars, conquests, jewelry, and foods of
kings. But history is only relevant insofar as we learn from it. We can
learn where we came from and maybe understand ourselves a little better. But in
the end, archeology just paints political and social stories. Archeology
is a dead thing. The Biblical narrative, for all its difficulties and lost
nuances, leads us to a sense of identity and how to be a better person in a way
no archeology text can.

Joseph the man lived only once some 3300 years ago. He died at the
Egyptian’s ideal age of 110 (50:26) and was mummified. His body, however,
could not return to the resting place of his fathers until his lessons had been
learned, the narrative tells us. In exchange for selling the Egyptian
people into slavery (47:23), his bones must await the slavery of his people
before they receive their land and take him to his heritage (Exodus 13:19,
Joshua 24:33). Only then could he return. The historical ownership
of Egypt has long since passed, but its lessons await discovery anew every day.

For some brief articles on the topic, see the links below.

Historicity of Exodus
On Biblical History
On Biblical Archeology

Have a caring week!

Benjamin Fleischer

Mi-Ketz 5762, Genesis 41:1-44:17

Shabbat Shalom-

There is an hermeneutic principle that the Torah speaks in
the language of Men, preserving the nuances in human speech (BT Berakhot 31b, ad
loc.). Now, Pharaoh dreamt of fat and skinny cattle arising from the Nile
(41:2-4). In Egyptian, the word for cow is RNPT. The dream is
interpreted to mean one year of plenty or famine for each cow. Coincidentally,
the Egyptian word for year is also RNPT, adding support to an Egyptian origin of
the story. I guess that means that if you told an Egyptian ‘have a good
RNPT’ they might think ‘have a good cow’, that you want to be invited to their
barbeque. Similarly, if you told an Egyptian “Don’t have an RNPT,
man”, they might think you meant “Don’t have a year, man” and
become upset. I wonder if the English word ‘year’ was the basis for the
story about the ears of corn, hmmm.

Hey, guess what? A skinny cow (my sister loves
those) is at first called ‘Dakot Basar’ in 41:3-4 then ‘Rakot Basar’ in
41:19-20, first meaning thinly-fleshed and then meaning lacking or
empty-fleshed. I wonder if that applies to supermodels who might be thin
but are in some ways lacking.

And here comes the meat, pardon the expression, of this writing.

When things happen, there are two ways of viewing them
that are not mutually contradictory, but have different effects upon one’s
conduct. One view sees God as cause of everything as the brothers did. “And each brother said to the other,
‘But (surely) we are guilty on (account) of our brother whom we saw in his
mortal trouble, and he pleaded to us, and we did not hearken– Therefore, this
trouble has come upon us.’”(42:21) On opening the sacks with money in them, “And he said to his brothers, ‘My silver has been returned, and
here is it in my sack.’ And their hearts went out and they shuddered each to the
other saying, ‘What is this God did to us?’” (42:28) Lastly, Judah pleads
“What shall we say to my lord, what shall we speak, and in what shall we be
vindicated? God found out the iniquity of your servant. Behold, we are
slaves to my lord, also ourselves, and also he in whose hand the chalice was
found.” (44:17)

The other view, Jacob’s, sees the tragedy of his children as
their own doing. “‘You have made
me childless! Joseph is absent, Simeon is absent, and Benjamin you will take
from me– that will be all of them!’.” (42:36) On their returning to
Egypt with the money, he instructs them, “And double
silver take in your hands, and the silver that was returned to the top of your
sacks, you shall return with your hands. Perhaps it was an error.” (43:12).

Certainly Jacob believed in providence as much as his sons
did, but he did not let that make him take a defeatist attitude. He
believed that though God might be ultimately the source of every action,
“All is in the hands of heaven except the fear of heaven.” (BT
Berakhot 33b) That is to say, we still have a share in the outcome of
events for whatsoever cause they occur to us.

To drive this point home, we see that the dream’s prophecy for disaster was
conditional. “And the satisfaction-of-plenty in the land will not be known
because of that hunger-of-famine afterwards, for it is very burdensome.”
(41:31). Immediately afterward Joseph gives instruction on how to avoid
this tragedious famine. Though the stage may be set and the curtain
raising, it is ultimately our actions which lead to divine redemption as is
said, “Return to Me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you,
said the Lord of Hosts.” (Zechariah 1:3). One may understand this to
mean “Return to Me with yourselves fully and I will return to you fully
with all that is good.”

Have a caring week!

Benjamin Fleischer

Shabbat Shalom-

The Rebbe is still busy this week making his living so these brief words and
texts to study follow.

Words play an important part in this week’s reading. Words convey not
only their simple meaning, but also layers below, an entire universe of
interpretations and hidden yearnings. After Joseph, the favorite son of
Jacob, dreams a dream, he feels compelled to tell it to his brothers. The
dream of the brother’s sheaves bowing down to his sheaves clearly imply his
sheaf’s supremacy. Was Joseph naive to this meaning? The text says they
began to hate him more. “And they hated him more for his dreams and his
words.” (Gen 37:8). He dreamed again and told his father as well, who
became livid by the implication of him and Rachel prostrating to their then
17-year-old son (37:10), whom the text calls “a lad” (37:2). His
brothers were jealous, but Jacob either kept his opinions to himself or alternately remembered
the dreams (37:11).

Regardless of weather Joseph’s dreams were prophetic omens or merely the subconscious
churnings of an over-nourished ego, the words were just as hated as the dreams
themselves (37:8). Joseph’s speaking the dreams without note of the
effects of his words nearly leads to his death, and only by the slimmest of
margins to his fortune. He might have been a talented and gifted young
man, but “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking
treachery” (Psalm 34:14) and “He who guards his mouth and his tongue
(from ill-speaking), guards his soul from troubles.” (Proverbs
21:23).

There is a story of a man who was a terrible gossiper. If he wasn’t
asking for gossip, he was giving it. One day, word got out that he had
been charged with stealing in a different town, though it was a false
charge. The man was a business man and his livelihood became threatened.
He went to his rebbe to ask advice. The rebbe said, “Take a pillow, one of
your nice goose-feather pillows, to the center of town, and hack away at it with
a knife”. The man did just that and, though impressed by the beauty
of all the flying feathers, didn’t understand how that would help his
business. He went back to the rebbe to ask what else he could do.
The rebbe said, “Collect all the feathers you have loosed.” That
man was flabbergasted, “That’s impossible; they have flown
everywhere! I cannot possibly collect them all!” The rebbe
smiled, “And so it is with your gossiping. Once you tell your tale,
you cannot take it back.” The man, needless to say, learned his
lesson.

After Joseph tells his brothers his first dream, they reply “and will you
reign, yes, reign over us, or rule, yes, rule over us?” (37:8). Do not read
‘mashal’ as ‘to rule’ but rather ‘to speak parables’. Thus, we must read the
sentence “and will you ultimately reign over us if you tell your
tale?” Words can so consume us that they destroy us and rule us, as
well as others. Do not be a slave to words nor enslave others with yours.

Follows are some relevant quotes:

Mishnah Avot 2:11 Rebbe Yeshoshua says: An evil eye, an evil inclination,
and hatred of fellow creatures remove a man from the world.

Mishnah Avot 3:9 Rebbe Hanina ben Dosa says: All whose fear of sin
precedes his wisdom, his wisdom is established (remains). And all whose wisdom
precedes his fear of sin, his wisdom is not established. He used to say: All
whose deeds are greater than his wisdom, his wisdom is established. And all
whose wisdom is greater than his deeds, his wisdom is not established.

Mishnah Avot 3:13 Rebbe Akiva says: Tradition, a fence to Torah. Tithes, a
fence to wealth. Vows, a fence to licentiousness. A fence to wisdom is silence.

Mishnah Avot 3:17 Rebbe Elazar ben Azaryah says: Without Torah, there is
no occupation. Without occupation, there is no torah. Without wisdom, there is
no fear (of sin). Without fear (of sin), there is no wisdom. Without
understanding, there is no knowledge. Without knowledge, there is no
understanding. Without grain, there is no Torah. Without Torah, there is no
grain. He used to say: All whose wisdom is greater than his deeds, to what is he
similar? To a tree whose branches are many and its roots few, and the wind comes
and uproots it and turns it on its face…. But, all whose deeds are greater
than their his wisdom, to what is he similar? To a tree whose branches are few
and whose roots are many, that even all the windows in the world may come and
blow at it but they do not move it from its place….

Have a caring week!

Va-Yishlach 5762, Genesis 32:4-36:43

Shabbat Shalom-

The Rebbe is a bit busy this week making his living and will thus send out a
dvar torah he liked along with some thoughts and links.

A quick thought: Upon meeting for the first time after more than 20
years, Jacob offers his brother Esau gifts to appease his still smoldering anger
of the stolen birthright and blessing. Esau at first declines “I have
much” (33:9) to which Jacob counters and insists “I have all”
(33:11). The Sage Ben Zoma says “Who is rich? He that is happy
with his portion” (Mishnah Avot 4:1). And so may we all be.

Another critical thought: Many in the list of Esau’s descendents in 36:31-43
can be identified as king that lived long after Moses passed away. This is one
of the stronger sections advocating for a post-Mosaic editing of the text.

Lastly, it’s never to late to change, even your clothes: Before Jacob
makes his pilgrimmage to Beit El (Bethel) he says “Remove from yourselves
the alien gods which are among you, then purify yourselves and change your
garments” (35:2).

From Iyunei Shabbat, http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp

The complexity of Jacob’s character is demonstrated once again in this

parashah [portion -BF]. Following his successful encounter with his brother Esau, he

settles in the land of Canaan, near the city of Shechem. His proximity to a

major center of Canaanite population brings about tragedy, for it leads to

the rape of his only daughter, Dinah who was drawn to ”the daughters of

the land” and therefore ventured unprotected into an area where she was

forcibly kidnapped and raped by the prince of the city. When Jacob hears of

this he remains silent, waiting for the return of his sons from the field

(Gen.34:5). This may have been a prudent thing to do – indeed the midrash
[homily -BF]

praises him for it, quoting Prov.11:12: A prudent man keeps silent.

(Bereshit Rabba 34:2). Nevertheless it is puzzling that he remains silent

during the entire matter. He never speaks until it is all over. When

Shechem and his father Hamor come with a proposition of marriage and of a

agreement for the tribes to intermingle, it is Jacob’s sons and not Jacob

who reply – as the text says – ”with guile” (34:13) as part of their plan

of rescue and revenge. Dina’s two full brothers, Simeon and Levi, carried

out the plan and, slew all the males and their brother finished the work by

plundering the town and taking the women and children as captives. Only

then does Jacob speak, castigating the two for bringing trouble upon him

since he fears the overwhelming numbers and might of the other Canaanites

who will take revenge. The brothers justify themselves by saying ”Should

our sister be treated as a whore?” (34:31). Jacob has no answer and

prudently moves his tribe somewhere else. Why did he do nothing himself to

save his daughter? Contrast this with Abraham’s military leadership to

rescue his nephew Lot and his family in Genesis 14. Why did he not protest

again his sons’ devious plan of which he obviously disapproved? There seem

to be no answers to these questions. Indeed the Jacob that we see from this

time to the end is a very different man than he was before. He is no longer

devious – a trait his son Simeon and Levi seems to have inherited from him

- but he is also no longer a strong leader, a planner, a visionary. He

plays a weak and passive role in his family, favoring one son above the

others, not seeing the consequences of this attitude. Perhaps the many

years of exile and servitude to Laban have worn him out and the fear of the

encounter with Esau, whom he had wronged, has drained him of strength and

initiative. He has had enough of strife and now seeks only quietude and the

avoidance of trouble. To his credit, it must be said that at the end of his

life he sees clearly the moral defect of the actions of his sons. On his

deathbed, he castigates Simeon and Levi – ”Their weapons are tools of

lawlessness…cursed be their anger so fierce and their wrath so

relentless” (49:5-7). It is not only that they brought danger to his

family, it is that they violated morality in the way in which they fought

Shechem. They led to the slaughter of innocent people and took booty for

themselves – something Abraham has studiously avoided (14: 22-24). We may

well ask why it took him so long to state a moral position, but at least -

for all his weakness and lack of decisive leadership – Jacob left his

children that legacy – the legacy that in modern times has been termed

purity of arms. It is a moral value, which we must treasure at all times.

It brings with it Kiddush ha-shem [sanctification of the divine name -BF] and a measure of self-pride that

gives us moral strength even in difficult times.

by Rabbi Reuven Hammer (see Legends
of the Jews for more homiletical sources)

Have a caring week!

Benjamin Fleischer