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 - declares the Lord - be not dismayed, O Israel! I will deliver you from far 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 giving a drash on Scripture - They embalmed 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 in the land of Egypt before I came to Egypt will be mine, Ephraim and Menasheh will be for me as are Reuben and Simeon. And those 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 shall not pass from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from 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 war on every side against all his enemies, against the Moabites, Ammonites... 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, "Your father left this instruction before his death: 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. His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, "We are prepared to be your slaves." But Joseph said to them, "Have no fear! Am I a 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)

 

 

 

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $700
• English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.

In Israel, checks made out to Oz VeShalom may be sent to Oz VeShalom-P.O.B. 4433, Jerusalem 91043. Unfortunately there is no Israeli tax-exemption for local donations.

US and British tax exempt contributions to Oz VeShalom may be made through:

New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA

New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, Great Britain

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW ISRAEL FUND IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNDER $100.

PEF will also channel donations and provide a tax-exemption. Donations should be sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA

All contributions should be marked as donor-advised to Oz ve'Shalom, the Shabbat Shalom project.

 

About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students, educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious relevance.

5,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's educational forums draw people of different backgrounds, secular and religious, who are keen to deepen their Jewish knowledge and to hear an alternative religious standpoint on the subjects of peace and social issues.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills an ideological vacuum in Israel's society. Committed both to Jewish tradition and observance, and to the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is in a unique position to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians.