Commitment – Page 23 – Peninim on the Torah

Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. Assemble yourselves and hear, you sons of Yaakov and listen unto Yisrael your father (49:1,2)

The commentators raise a number of questions regarding the text of Yaakov’s command to his sons to prepare themselves for the final blessings which they were to receive from him: First, why must this message be conveyed in the presence of all the brothers assembled together? Second, what is the significance of the word, “hear/listen”? What else are they supposed to do, if not listen to Yaakov? Third, why does the pasuk begin by referring to the Patriarch as Yaakov and end by calling him Yisrael? Horav Eliyahu Schlesinger Shlita, cites Horav Baruch Epstein z.l., who, in his sefer Baruch…

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Sruly Schnair In 5756, Vayigash

“And he (Yaakov) sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen.” (46:28)

Rashi cites the Midrash which interprets the word,ruvk as “to teach.” This implies that Yehudah, the leader of the brothers, was sent ahead to prepare a place in which the family could study Torah. This first “yeshivah” in Egypt represents the essence of Klal Yisrael, setting the historical precedent for the primacy of learning. We are viewed as the Nation of the Book because the core of our lives is interwoven with Torah. Priority number one in every Jewish community has been the establishment of a Torah educational system. The Midrash concludes that wherever Yaakov went, he would study Torah,…

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Sruly Schnair In 5756, Vayigash

“And Yosef shall put his hand on your eyes.” (46:4)

The Ibn Ezra infers from this pasuk that it is customary for the living to close the eyes of the dead. Hashem was assuring Yaakov that Yosef would be there when he passed away. Yosef would arrange to take Yaakov out of Egypt to be buried in the Me’oras Ha’Machpeilah. The custom is that the eldest son closes the eyes of his father, as the parent takes leave from this world. The Yalkut Yehudah offers a poignant and meaningful foundation for this custom. Closing one’s eyes indicates peace of mind. When one sleeps, his eyes are closed. He is at…

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Sruly Schnair In 5756, Vayigash

“And he (Yosef) fell upon the shoulders of his brother Binyamin and wept, and Binyamin wept upon his (Yosef’s) shoulders.” (45:14)

Rashi comments that Yosef wept upon Binyamin’s shoulder because he foresaw the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash, which would be in Binyamin’s portion of Eretz Yisrael. It is interesting to note that Yosef also cried, falling upon his other brothers during his reconciliation with them, but there is no mention that he cried for the destruction of the Batei Mikdash. What was there about falling on Binyamin that inspired Yosef to mourn for the Batei Mikdash? The Eish Kodesh cites the Talmud Rosh Hashanah 20 which asserts that mitzvos were not given to us for the purpose of deriving…

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Sruly Schnair In 5756, Vayeishev

“And a certain man found him and behold he was wandering in the field and the man asked him, saying, ‘What are you seeking?'” (37:15)

As Yosef was searching for his brothers, he was met by a man who questioned his purpose in the field. Simply, the man wondered for what or for whom Yosef was looking. The Kotzker Rebbe, z.l., interpreted this question in a novel manner, assigning to these words a new meaning, as they teach us (and Yosef) a profound lesson. One must have clear goals. He must continually be prepared to redefine and reaffirm these goals as he is confronted with changing life situations. While he was at home, Yosef was involved in Torah scholarship. His environment was a spiritual utopia,…

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Sruly Schnair In 5756, Vayeishev

“And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, since he was a child of his old age.” (37:3)

Chazal offer a number of interpretations for the phrase, “ben zekunim,” child of his old age. Some of the commentators define “ben zekunim” as “bar chakim,” wise son, referring to Yosef’s remarkable Torah scholarship. Rashi cites the Midrash which comments, “All that he (Yaakov) learned in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever during his fourteen years there, he transmitted to Yosef.” This statement is ambiguous. Did Yaakov teach Torah only to Yosef and not to his other sons? Yaakov provided a Torah education for each of his twelve sons, emphatically raising them all to become tzaddikim. The Midrash in Shemos…

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Sruly Schnair In Vayishlach, 5756

“So you shall say unto my master Eisav, ‘So says your servant Yaakov, I have sojourned with Lavan and stayed until now.” (32:5)

Rashi explains that the numerical equivalent of the word h,rd is 613, which corresponds to the number of mitzvos in the Torah. Yaakov was proudly relating to Eisav that during his stay with Lavan he kept the entire Torah. His sojourn in the harmful environment of the crooked Lavan had no adverse spiritual effect upon him. A number of issues regarding Yaakov’s dialogue with Eisav should be addressed. First, what did Yaakov imply with his assertion, “And (I) stayed until now”? Did he owe Eisav an excuse for returning so late? Is Eisav his “brother’s keeper” that he must be…

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Sruly Schnair In Vayeitzei, 5756

“She said, ‘Here is my maid Bilhah, live with her, so that she may bear upon my knees and I too may be built up through her.” (30:3)

The precedent for Rochel giving her maidservant, Bilhah, to Yaakov for the specific purpose of having a child was set by Sarah Imeinu, who gave Hagar to Avraham. We must endeavor to understand what there is about transferring one’s maidservant to her husband for the purpose of childbearing that increases one’s “chances” of being blessed with a child. Horav Meir Bergman, Shlita, responds by first citing a Midrash, which recounts the dialogue between Michal bas Shaul and David Ha’melech. Michal criticized David Ha’melech for the manner in which he expressed his joy when the Aron Ha’Kodesh was brought through the…

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Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” (27:22)

Chazal imply that when the voice of Yaakov, the sound of Torah and tefillah, is strong and dominant the evil “hands” of Eisav are rendered powerless. Eisav’s strength is reinforced when we are weak in our commitment to Torah. This interpretation does not seem consistent with the text of the pasuk. The pasuk seems to suggest that it is possible for both the “voice of Yaakov” and the “hands of Eisav” to reign simultaneously. How are we to reconcile this apparent inconsistency? Horav E.M. Shach, Shlita, offers a novel interpretation. Hashem has established individual “borders” for Yaakov and Eisav. Yaakov’s…

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Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“These are the generations of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, Avraham begat Yitzchak.” (25:19)

The commentators address the apparent redundancy of the pasuk. Obviously, if Yitzchak was the son of Avraham, then Avraham begat Yitzchak. In his commentary on Chumash, the Tzemach Tzedek offers an explanation rooted in Chasidus. Avraham Avinu is a figure who serves as a paradigm for avodas Hashem, service of Hashem, through love and chesed. In contrast, Yitzchak is the model of fear and stringency. These two divergent approaches to serving the Divine have two levels. The lower level of fear is represented by yiraas ha’onesh, fear of punishment. The higher, more sublime sense of fear, yiraas ha’rommemus, is described…

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Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. Assemble yourselves and hear, you sons of Yaakov and listen unto Yisrael your father (49:1,2)

“And he (Yaakov) sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen.” (46:28)

“And Yosef shall put his hand on your eyes.” (46:4)

“And he (Yosef) fell upon the shoulders of his brother Binyamin and wept, and Binyamin wept upon his (Yosef’s) shoulders.” (45:14)

“And a certain man found him and behold he was wandering in the field and the man asked him, saying, ‘What are you seeking?'” (37:15)

“And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons, since he was a child of his old age.” (37:3)

“So you shall say unto my master Eisav, ‘So says your servant Yaakov, I have sojourned with Lavan and stayed until now.” (32:5)

“She said, ‘Here is my maid Bilhah, live with her, so that she may bear upon my knees and I too may be built up through her.” (30:3)

“The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” (27:22)

“These are the generations of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, Avraham begat Yitzchak.” (25:19)

YEARS

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