THEN JOSEPH ORDERED THE PHYSICIANS IN HIS SERVICE TO EMBALM

HIS FATHER, AND THE PHYSICIANS EMBALMED ISRAEL.

(Bereishit 50:2)

"Literal"

Truth and the Truth of "Drash"

Rav Nahman

and Rabbi Yitzhak sat to eat. R. Nahman said to R.

Yitzhak: "Sir, relate some words of Torah."

…He

told him, "This is what

Rabbi Yohanan said: ‘Our

father Jacob did not die.'"

He

said to him: "Could it be that they eulogized him,

embalmed him, and buried him in vain?"

He

answered: "I learn this from a biblical verse, for it says (Jeremiah 30: 10) But you, have no fear, My servant Jacob –

away, your offspring from the land of their captivity. We learn about him

from his offspring. If his offspring will be alive – then he will be alive as

well."

(Ta'anit 5b)

In

vain – Was there no reason for eulogizing him and embalming him, as

it is written, [the physicians] embalmed him (50:2), [they] eulogized him (50:10).

I am

him – thinking that he was dead. If his offspring are alive – when

He gathers Israel together from the lands of their captivity – he will gather

up the living, who are captives, since the dead are

not captives. Then

he will also be alive – He will take him to the Diaspora, in order

to redeem his children before his eyes, as we found in the case of Egypt: And

Israel saw [the wondrous power that the Lord had wielded against the Egyptians],

and we made the drasha: [That was] Grandfather Israel.

They imagined he was dead – but

he was actually alive.

(Rashi on Ta'anit 5b)

Annulment

or Reinterpretation?

Shlomo Fischer

I think that the parasha of VeYehi as a whole is characterized by two elements. The

first is the description of the personal, emotional and family relationships

between the characters. These give rise to domestic, warm, and even intimate

images. The second element emphasizes matters of structure, authority and

hierarchy.

The first element finds expression in the scenes involving

Joseph and Israel in the beginning of the parasha,

and in the dialogue between Joseph and his brothers at the end of the parasha. This dialogue is quite human, despite its

suspicious tone. Fearing his vengeance, Joseph's brothers "lied about the

matter for the sake of peace."

Jacob's blessing belongs to the second element, making hierarchy

and formality more salient. Not only does the very occasion emphasize the

hierarchy within the family – the use of the high language of poetic prophecy

distinguishes it from human and intimate situations.

Not only is the parasha as a whole

stretched between these opposing elements; its constituent sections are as

well. The parasha opens with an intimate conversation

between Jacob and Joseph. Jacob confesses that he did not bury Joseph's mother

Rachel in the land of Canaan (according to Rashi),

and he is amazed that he is seeing his son (I never thought I would see your

face, and now God shows me your children as well). The narrator adds human

details: Jacob's eyes were made heavy with age, and he could not see. He

describes how Jacob hugs and kisses his grandchildren. In his painting Jacob

Blesses Joseph's Sons, Rembrandt emphasizes these human and emotional

elements: Joseph looks at his father lovingly while Jacob blesses his

grandsons. The painter even inserts a character – Joseph's wife – that is not

mentioned by Scripture in order to complete the family picture.

Despite all of its familial warmth, the scene leads up to a

formal occasion: Jacob's blessing of his grandsons. This act is not a mere

expression of a grandfather's affection towards his grandsons. Rather, it has a

quasi-legalistic significance and authority: And now, the two sons born to you

which you begot after them will be yours. The act of blessing grants

Ephraim and Menasheh a new status – they take their

places amongst the twelve tribes. Just as Jacob's sons receive his blessing, so

too Joseph's sons receive a blessing, thus becoming like the sons of Jacob. Of course, the blessing

itself is formulated in the language of poetic prophecy, just as are all of the

blessings in the book of Bereishit.

However, an element slips into the heart of the text of the blessing

that undermines it own assumptions. Jacob crosses his hands, placing his right

hand on the younger boy, Ephraim, and his left on the firstborn, Menasheh. Joseph disapproves of this and tries to correct

his father; the hierarchical-patriarchal logic of the text demands that the

firstborn receive the superior blessing. The firstborn's status is structural

and biological: he is his father's first potency, and

therefore he receives the essence of his power and the patriarchal status. Jacob's

deed – which is, of course, intentional – injects alien considerations into the

hierarchical-patriarchal status of the blessing, human considerations of

rationality, suitability, and choice – considerations of who is more worthy to

take the lead and should be granted superior status and power.

Of course, this is not the only instance of such an occasion

in the parasha. On the contrary; the move from the

structural-biological firstborn to merited status is a recurrent theme throughout

the parasha and, indeed, throughout the book of Bereishit as a whole. Officially, Reuben should have been

granted the status of firstborn, it is even mentioned that he was Jacob's first

potency, but Joseph and Judah overtake him. Joseph receives one portion more

than your brothers, while Judah becomes the most important of his

brothers – your father's sons will bow down to you and the scepter

between his feet. An explanation is given: Reuben is not fit to serve as

first born since he defiled his father's bed.

In other words, not only does the patriarchal-hierarchical

element coexist with the human element in the parasha

– the human-rationalist element conquers the hierarchical-patriarchal element "from

within"; it undermines it and takes it over completely.

In this sense, parashat VaYehi makes a fitting coda to the Book of Bereishit as a whole. One of the main themes of the book is

the replacement of the structural-hierarchical firstborn by a worthy chosen

person: Cain by Abel, Ishmael by Isaac, Esau by Jacob.

This ending even marks progress in the area. In the beginning of the book the

replacement was characterized by violent struggle and murder – Abel is murdered

and later Ishmael is banished, and even Joseph is almost murdered and then sold

into slavery. The transition from the structural firstborn to a worthy chosen

leader takes place and is accepted more naturally in the end of the book. True,

Joseph did not look favorably upon Menasheh's

replacement by Ephraim. However, after receiving an explanation he acquiesced,

as Jacob's sons acquiesced to Judah's status.

I would like to contemplate this structure that appears in VaYehi, and throughout the entire book. The calculations of

human reason do not entirely cancel the earlier structural-biological

principle, but rather drain it of content and instill it with new content. The

institution of the firstborn and the blessing continues to exist, but its

content has been changed from within and in the end of the book of Bereishit it reflects a human and rational content.

It seems that the Sages continued to grapple with value

changes in a similar fashion. In the early days of the Second Temple period,

the structural-biological status of priesthood served as the source of Torah

and religious authority; For the lips of the priest guard knowledge and

Torah shall be asked from his mouth, for he is an angel of the Lord of Hosts

(Malachi

9:7). The Sages

instituted egalitarian criteria that granted religious status to the worthy

sage ("A bastard Torah scholar takes precedence over an ignorant High

Priest"). However, they did not entirely abolish the priestly status, but

rather reinterpreted it and infused it with new meaning – "That is to say,

that only the priest can declare impurity and purity. How does it work? An

Israelite sage inspects the blemishes and tells the priest – even if he [the

priest] is a fool – "Say [he is] impure," and he [the priest] says "Impure";

or he says "Say [he is] pure," and he says "Pure" (Sifra Vayikra 13:19). The priest is transformed from

a decision-maker into a mere functionary of ritual technique.

It seems that we are called upon today to continue this

struggle with the tradition. The modern approach sets up serious challenges to

the normative system of the Torah tradition. One mode of coping completely abolishes

the structural and collective structures of the tradition in the name of human

ideals, the rationalism and the humanism of modernity. However, both Scripture

and the Sages teach us that these structures are valuable and should not be

completely abolished, rather they should be given new interpretations

and new contents. I believe that Scripture does not intend us to remain

faithful to tradition out of inertia, "we maintain our forefathers'

customs." Rather, it intends to say that we should remain faithful to

tradition because it expresses and embodies truths about the human condition,

alongside the truth of human and rationalist values. As is known, one of the

things that became clear over the past generation is how hard it is to base a

society on liberal-individualistic values alone. Such societies suffer from alienation,

indifference, and a lack of political and social involvement. Our parasha and the book of Bereishit

as a whole teach us that family and collective structures – with their internal

hierarchies – must be preserved, while being reinterpreted in a manner more

fitting to human and rational values. The application of this lesson to our

generation and to our state is a significant challenge for religious Judaism.

Shlomo Fischer is the

director of Yesodot – The Center for the Study of

Torah and Democracy.

Until and Spoils:

In War, Too, There Is Necessary Violence and Needless Violence

Binyamin, a

wolf that tears-to-pieces – He prophesized that in the future they would be snatchers. [For instance, it says] in the

story of the concubine from Giv'ah let each of you

seize a wife (Judges 21),

and he prophesized about Saul who would be victorious over all his surrounding

enemies, as is written (I Samuel 14) After Saul had secured his kingship over Israel, he waged

and wherever he turned, he worsted them.

(Rashi, Bereishit, 49:27)

In

the morning he devours prey, and then, in the evening divides up the spoil [Translator's note: The first

clause of this verse defies definitive plain translation; the Hebrew work ad

– translated in English versions of the Bible as foe or prey –

is problematic. Usually it means until or forever and the latter

is the meaning which the Kli Yakar has in mind]. Everything that is essential for

man, i.e., sufficient food in order to satiate his

family's hunger, is granted with a smiling countenance, and he will never lack

his bread forever [la'ad], for

eternity. All

luxuries which man requests beyond his needs will eventually become wealth left

to others and shared with others. Perhaps it will go to whoever marries his

widow, while he will be despoiled and distanced from those luxuries taken by

him in the evening. That is why it says in the morning, which refers to that which is

granted him with a smiling countenance; only that which he eats to

simply fulfill his needs is given him with a smiling countenance and is given to

him forever. Even though ad also connotes prey, here the Torah uses the

term ad to mean eternity. And in the

evening – [refers

to] that which is given him with a dark countenance, [wealth] which he will have to

share with others and of which he will be despoiled, for the word shallal [spoils] also implies removal, [as in the verse]

the ax-head slips off the handle

(Devarim 19:5).

This

above verse was juxtaposed to the blessing A wolf that

tears to pieces to

admonish the judges of Israel not to seize more than is necessary in war, as is

written: The officials within her are roaring lions; Her judges are wolves

of the steppe, they leave no bone until morning (Zephaniah 3:3). The prophet accuses them of

seizing more than is necessary, therefore he calls them wolves of the erev [steppe, or alternatively, evening], and

said they leave no bone until morning because they did not ask only for

the essentials given in the morning. Similarly, the prophet accuses Benjamin's

descendant, Saul, [saying] you swoop down on the spoil [and do what was evil

in the Lord's eyes] (I Samuel 15:19); Saul did not remember Jacob's blessing to Benjamin. But

with regard to Abraham, it is written that he took only that which the lads

have consumed (Bereishit 14:24), not giving them of the

excesses of the spoils. Thus he [Jacob] drew a parable from the wolf who seizes

as needed for his consumption, but who occasionally seizes and

destroys without benefit. This is a precious commentary.

 (Kli Yakar, Bereishit 49:27)

So they sent this message to Joseph,

Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the

substitute for God?

(Bereishit

50:15-19)

Am I a substitute for God? [Joseph

is saying:]The Holy One blessed be He sees into hearts and kidneys [also

thought to be a seat of thought], and He judges a person not only on the basis

of his actions, but also according to his thoughts. However, a human being only

knows what his eyes see. Therefore, I cannot judge you for your intentions, but

only for your actions. If you had intended to do me evil, your thoughts were

not realized; instead, God's thoughts, which were good, were realized. Now

there is no reason for you to lower yourselves before me and ask for my

forgiveness and pardon because I only see you as the agents of Providence

acting for the good of a multitude of people. This is one of the great benefits

of belief in God and His providence; a person controls his actions, but the consequences

of his actions are not in his hands, but rather in God's hands. If a wicked man

schemes against a righteous man, wishing to harm him, God will not relinquish

him to his control. The wicked man's hate will become a cause of the righteous

man's success. One who believes this shall never be angry at any person nor

hate any person.

(R. Shmuel

David Luzzato [ShaDaL] ad

loc)

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