Shimeon and levi,

the brothers –

Weapons of violence their

trade.

In their council never let me set foot,

Their assembly my presence shun.

For in their fury they slaughtered men,

In their self-will they maim bulls.

(Bereishit 48:5-6)

Weapons of

violence – This profession of murder is stolen goods in your hands. It was

given to Esav in his blessing. It is his profession and you stole it from him. (Rashi ibid. ibid)

I have already

explained above (34:13)

that Yaakov was furious with Shimeon and Levi when they killed the inhabitants

of the city because they performed an act of wrongdoing, for they had not

sinned against them at all, and entered into a covenant and were circumcised,

and perhaps they would have returned to God and would all have been included

among the members of Abraham's household, part of the 'souls that they made in

Harran', and it angered yet more lest they claim that the deed was committed

upon his advice, and that would have a desecration of the Name – that the

prophet should sanction violence and robbery, and this is reason for 'in their

council never let me set foot' – denial of guilt in that he was not part of

their plot and their deceitful answer, and he 'shunned their assembly' – he did

not participate when they came upon the city and killed then, so therefore he

cursed their fury and self-will…

…And the proper

understanding, in my opinion, is a literal one. Scripture says that they in

their wrath murdered men – in their uncontrollable fury, and 'in their

self-will' – meaning after their anger had abated through their slaughter of

the humans, they maimed every ox, an allusion to their livestock and all their

household possessions and all that was in the field, and he mentioned these to tell

us that he had no part in their conspiracy, not even to maim their cattle and

plunder their spoils…

(RaMBaN ibid. ibid.)

'Gather around, assemble, and hearken'

Nahem Ilan

In Chapter 49, Yaakov takes leave of his sons with trenchant words,

some positive, some negative. Earlier (48:5,20), he had already parted with Menashe and Ephraim,

sons of Yoseph, elevating their status: 'Ephraim and Menashe

shall be unto me as Reuven and Shimon' (v. 5).

Three imperative verbs appear at the beginning of his words, the final one

repeated: 'And Yaakov called his sons and said, "Gather round that

I may tell you what shall befall you in the days to come. Assemble and

hearken, O Jacob's sons, and hearken to Israel your father' (Bereishit 49:1-2).

What is the nature of this verb-laden call? What is the purpose of this

departure peroration? Let us study the commentary of Rav Shmuel ben Hofni Gaon

(RaSHBaH) on these verses.

RaSHBaH (died 1013) was one of the last – and most outstanding – Gaonim of Surah, Recent research increasingly reveals his

influential halachic activity. His non-halachic legacy includes a commentary on

the second half of the Book of Bereishit, composed in Jewish-Arabic and published

by Aharon Greenbaum in 5739.

In form and method, it is similar to Rav Saadya Gaon's commentary on the first half of Bereishit, and there

are indications that RaSHBaH was completing Rav Saadya's

commentary on this volume. The primary characteristics of the two commentators

is a determination to read the plain meaning of the text, paying close

attention to every word, to every phrase, to the inner organization of the passages

and to the structure of the total literary unit.

How, then, does RaSHBaH explain the three words 'Gather, […] assemble

and hearken'? The following is a Hebrew translation. Basically it is Greenbaum's translation, although I have made changes

according to my understanding and taste. Although in the original there is no

parenthetical division, I have so divided the commentary for the sake of easier

reading.

A.   He opens with a term of convocation

('called his sons') because there are numerous convocation words particular to

admonitions, such as […]. [The reason for] his saying 'gather round […] assemble',

I say, is: What was the reason for their gathering together, did he not speak

to each one separately? My answer is that there are advantages to assembly. One

is that assembly glorifies the speech and elevates the speaker, as is written […].

And also, that those present remind each other of the content, and what one

forgets the other will recall. And another, that each will be ashamed before

the other and not repeat that for which he was reprimanded.

B.   His intent in saying 'in the

days to come" – at the end of the servitude in Egypt.

C.   If he had already said 'Gather

around', what is the meaning of the repetition 'assemble and hearken'? I say, he

said these three words – i.e., gathering, assembly, and hearkening – as

suitable for the three issues in which his address is divided: admonition, revelation

of the future, and blessings. 'Gather around' relates to hearing the rebukes

which anger the hearts, for example […]; 'assemble' is related to the

announcement of the convocation and the ascent to the land which will occur at

the end, as is written […]; 'and hearken' relates to the hearing of the

blessings, such as […].                                                                          He castigated some tribes and praised others. He

censured Reuven because he succumbed to his passion and condemned Shimon and

Levi for succumbing to their rage, and he praised Yehuda for overcoming his

anger and Yosef for controlling his passion. I shall explain these briefly when

dealing with each of them.

In the beginning of his commentary, RaSHBaH

explained the value of a public meeting, with all sons present, and suggested

three advantages:

A. The prestige of speaker and speech are enhanced in public.

B. Utilitarian – inasmuch as people have a tendency to forget details,

those present can remind the forgetful of forgotten details.

C. Transparency, which will lead to shame, and prevent lapses.

The three explanations are anchored in social psychology and reveal a

bit of the inner world of the narrative's characters. This tendency is seen in

many explanations offered by Rav Saadya and RaSHBaH.

Then he explains the phrase "end

of days". Precisely because the intuitive tendency is to understand it as

referring to the distant future, to the end of history, RaSHBaH was careful to clarify that it refers to the end of

the stay in Egypt.

The proof he adduces is from comparative study of the prophecies of Yaakov,

Moshe and Yehoshua. RaSHBaH bases his argument on the

assumption that there are no superfluous repetitions in the Bible, and what

seems to be a repetition poses for the reader a challenge, to identify the

specific significance of that 'coincidence'.

In conclusion, RaSHBaH suggests that the

three terms of command are intended to call the reader's attention to the fact

that in Yaakov's address were three categories which serve as a basis for

different contents: rebuke, foreseeing the future, and blessings. He considered

this differentiation to be critical, for one who does not properly identify the

category is liable to miss the content of the words and their meaning.

Careful perusal, such as that of RaSHBaH,

elicits from the Bible many fine distinctions – of style, content, structure,

psychology and ideas – which enable the reader to extract from the text much

more than would seem from a hurried and superficial reading.

 (Prof. Nahem Ilan teaches in the Masters

programs for Jewish Studies in the Lander Institute in Jerusalem

(founded by Touro

College).

A cub [and] a grown lion is judah.

a lion, and like a lion, who will rouse him?

(Bereishit 49:9)

A cub [and] a grown lion is Judah.

You combine within yourself the valor of youth (a cub)

and the sobriety of old age (a grown lion). You do not seek war and

booty for their own sake. You are not a wolf

or a hyena; you are a lion. Base murder for the sake of booty is beneath you.

He crouched, rested – Judah's

strength is not in the din of war and battle and not in blazing power that

inspires awe in the hour of danger but is later extinguished. Such is not your

character; even when he rests, he remains a lion. He inspires awe in times

of repose, and thus he provides outward security. Under his

leadership peace is assured that allows for development of the inner mission.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch ad loc)

There is no such thing as a "fighting nation" or

a "fighting army," and the terms "brave nation" and brave

army" are meaningless. The point of such expressions is that the nation

referred to contains many human beings who fight courageously

or that many of the soldiers belonging to the army in question fight

courageously. Any courage is an individual quality.

I repeat myself and claim that the courage of the battlefield is the cheapest

form of courage. It is found in many people of all nations, in all

societies and cultures. Generally speaking, it does not indicate human worth – be

it moral or intellectual – in those who possess it. Just as upright and wise

people can be war heroes, so can scoundrels and fools. In contrast, the courage

of one who passes a test when seduced by acquisitiveness, or by the passion for

honor and power, or by lust is sure evidence of human worth, and it is very

rare.

(From a response written

by Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz in his book, Ratziti Lishol Otkha,

Professor Leibowitz, pg. 38).

Shimon and Levi, the brothers… Cursed be their fury so

fierce… I will divide them in Yaakov, disperse them in Israel.

Jacob –

the Galut aspect of the Jewish People, oppressed

and persecuted.

Israel – the

"God won" victorious aspect of the Jewish People.

Accordingly: the danger to the general weal by Shimon and

Levi's excessive impetuosity and choleric disposition is only present at a time

when the nation is flourishing, when it forms a powerful body of a people who

could easily be influenced by two compact tribes filled with glowing feelings

of strength and power and of the unity and brotherhood of the whole nation.

Therefore in Israel: I

will scatter them. In a flourishing state of Israel they are to be

scattered. As actually happened. Levi

received no province at all when the land was divided up, and his existence

was, through tithes, made entirely dependent on the good-will of each

individual. For the Jewish tithe, in contrast to the later and present-day

tithe of the Church and landlord, was absolutely "property that no one

could claim," a tax which it was certainly the duty of the occupier of the

land to pay, but to which no particular Levite had any direct claim. The one

who had to pay it could give the tithe to any one of the tribe of Levi that he

pleased and none had the right to demand it from him…

But in Galut, where the pressure of our fate bows

everything down and the nation itself torn asunder, there the danger lies, that

all feelings of one's own importance becomes lost, and the sense of oppression

kills all spiritual force and energy. That even the wandering Jew, peddling

through Europe, still looked down on the street boys of the various countries

with proud feeling of his own value, and he, downtrodden and driven all over

the world still keeps the feelings of the importance of his own person and the

sense of belonging to his people, for that I shall divide them among

Jacob, it was of the greatest benefit that the tribes of Shimon and Levi

were scattered amongst the other tribes, which had the natural result that,

when the state collapsed and the nation scattered in all directions, in this

dispersion, Shimonites and Levites would be found everywhere, who,

with their fiery and proud dispositions would keep alive the energy and the

courage, the fire and the noble Jewish pride of the Jewish spirit, outliving

the loss of the state.

(R. S.R. Hirsch

on Bereishit 49:7, Levi translation)

The Rabbi: I see you reproaching us with our degradation and

poverty, but the best of others boast of both. Do they not glorify Him who

said: He who smiles you on the right cheek, turn to him the left also; and he

who takes away thy coat, let him have your shirt, too. He and his friends and

followers, after hundreds of years of contumely, flogging and slaying, attained

their well-known success, and just in these things they glorify. This is also the

history of the founder of Islam and his followers who eventually prevailed, and

became powerful. The nations boast of these, but not of these kings whose power

and might are great, whose walls are strong, and whose chariots are terrible. Yet

our relation to God is a closer one than if we had reached greatness already on

earth.

Al Khazari: This might be so, if your humility were voluntary; but

it is involuntary, and if you had power, you too would slay your enemies.

The Rabbi: You have touched our weak spot, O King of the Khazars.

If the majority of us, as you say, would learn humility towards God and His law

from our low station, Providence

would not have forced us to bear it for such a long period. Only few among us think

thus. Yet the majority may expect a reward, because they bear their degradation

partly from necessity, partly of their own free will. For

whoever wishes to do so can become his friend and equal of his oppressor by

uttering one word, and without any difficulty. Such conduct does not

escape the just Judge. If we bear our exile and degradation for God's sake, as

is meet, we shall be the pride of the generation which will come with the

Messiah, and accelerate the day of the deliverance we hope for. Now we do not

allow any one who embraces our religion theoretically by means of a word alone

to take equal rank with ourselves; we demand actual self-sacrifice, purity,

knowledge, circumcision, and numerous religious ceremonies.

 (Yehudah Halevi, The

Kuzari, Part One, 113-115, translated from the Arabic by Hartwig Hirschfeld,

with slight changes by Kadish Goldberg)

Love Truth and Peace – Justification of

Lying and the Motivation of Lies

So they sent this message to Joseph, "Before his

to him.

(Bereishit 50:19)

And Joseph wept: He

understood that his brothers had sent the messengers, telling them what to say,

and that Jacob had not commanded any of it. Had he wanted to, he [Jacob] would

have told him while he was still alive. He cried because he saw how troubled

his brothers were, fearing for their lives, forced to invent ploys to save

themselves from his wrath.

 (ShaDaL on the Torah, as quoted in

Prof. Nehama Leibowitz's Iyyunim le-Sefer Bereishit)

Rabbi Eliezer said in the name of Rabbi Shimon:

One is allowed to lie for the sake of peace, for it is said: your

father left this instruction: So shall you say to Joseph, etc.

Rabbi Natan said: It is a commandment [to lie for

the sake of peace], for it is said: Samuel replied, "How can I go?

heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord."] (I Samuel 16:2).

The school

of Rabbi Yishmael taught:

Great is peace, for even the Holy One blessed be He lied for it; first it says: [And

enjoyment] with my husband so old?" (Bereishit 18:12), but later it

says, [Then the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh,

saying, 'Shall I in truth bear a child,] old as I am?'" (18:13).

(Yevamot 65b)

If one has before him [sufficient money] for either a

candle for his house [for Shabbat eve] or a candle for Hanukkah, or [sufficient

money] for either a candle for the house [for Shabbat eve] or wine for Kiddush,

a candle for the home takes precedence, because of peace in the home, for the

Holy Name may be erased in order to make peace between husband and wife. Great

is peace, for all the Torah was given in order to make peace in the world, as

is written: (Mishlei 3) "It ways are the ways of pleasantness and all its

paths are peace.

(Mishneh Torah

of Rambam, Laws of Megilla and Hanukkah, 4:14)

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)

About us

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