Parshat Vayechi

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. From the prey, my son, you withdrew. He crouched, rested like 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 death your father left this instruction: So shall you say to Joseph, 'Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.' Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept as they spoke 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? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me."[The Lord answered, "Take a 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 Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "Now that I am withered, am I to have 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)

 

 

 

 

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