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Vayeira 5785

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Dust and ash[1]

ויען אברהם ויאמר הנה-נא הואלתי לדבר אל-אדנ”י ואנכי עפר ואפר
Avraham answered and said, “Behold, now I have begun to speak to the Lord. I am but dirt and ash”[2]

Our Sages tell us[3] that in the merit that Avraham called himself “but dirt and ash”, his descendants were given the mitzvos of the dirt of the Sotah procedure[4] and the ash of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer[5]. Now, it’s true, we see that Avraham said dirt and ash, and these two mitzvos are with dirt and ash. Still, is there any deeper significance with this reward?

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Lech Lecha 5785

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Proclaiming the greatness of Hashem[1]

ויאמר אברם אל-מלך סדם הרמתי ידי אל-יקוק קל עליון קנה שמים וארץ: אם-מחוט ועד שרוך-נעל ואם-אקח מכל-אשר-לך ולא תאמר אני העשרתי את-אברם
Avram said to the king of Sedom: “I raise my hand to Hashem, the Supernal G-d, the Owner of Heaven and Earth. I will take neither a string nor a shoe strap, nor anything that is yours, so you will not say that I made Avram rich”[2]

Avraham heroically rescued his nephew Lot who was kidnapped by the mightiest kings of the time. Simultaneously, Avraham rescued the king of Sedom. The king offered Avraham the spoils of the war, but Avraham vehemently refused. He announced he wouldn’t even take a string or a shoe strap from the spoils. Our Sages teach us[3] that in the merit of this proclamation, his children merited the mitzvah of the string of techeiles on their tzitzis, and the mitzvah of the strap of tefillin. How can we understand the midah k’neged midah, the measure for measure of this reward? Meaning, why did Hashem find these mitzvos to be an appropriate response to this act of piety? Rashi clarifies[4] that part of the merit was that Avraham didn’t want to benefit from theft, but what theft was there here? Avraham was the victor of the battle…

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Vayechi 5784

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Donations, lifespans, and mummies[1]

ויצו יוסף את-עבדיו את-הרפאים לחנט את-אביו ויחנטו הראפים את-ישראל
Yosef commanded his servants, the doctors, to mummify his father. The doctors mummified Israel[2]

The Torah tells us something, which to our 21st century eyes is quite surprising. Yosef commanded the Egyptians[3] to mummify his father, Yaakov. We view mummification as an ancient tribal ritual of the Egyptians; not something that Judaism usually promotes. In fact, our Sages[4] say that Yosef was punished for mummifying his father. Even though he was one of the youngest in his family[5], he died before all of them. This seems like a rather harsh punishment. Why was this considered to be such a terrible crime, worthy of premature death[6]?

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Vayigash 5784

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Parental priority punishment[1]

וישלח את-אחיו וילכו ויאמר אלהם אל-תרגזו בדרך
[Yosef] sent off his brothers and they went. He said to them: “Don’t quarrel on the road”[2]

After finally revealing himself to his brothers, the long-thought dead or enslaved Yosef had reunited with his family. Yosef told them to return to Canaan to bring their father to Egypt, where there was salvation from the global famine. Before they left, Yosef cautioned them not to quarrel on the road. The simple explanation is[3] that he was telling them not to argue about whose fault it was that Yosef was sold as a slave in the first place, as Hashem had engineered everything to bring Yosef to political power.

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Mikeitz 5784

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Clever collateral incarceration[1]

‏…ויקח מאתם את-שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם
…[Yosef] took Shimon from them and imprisoned him in front of their eyes[2]

Yosef, disguised as the viceroy of Egypt, demanded from his brothers that they bring their remaining brother Binyamin to Egypt. Yosef wanted to see if they would abandon Binyamin just as they abandoned him[3]. The brothers, knowing their father Yaakov would never let Binyamin out of his sight, pleaded with the viceroy to spare their brother. As collateral to ensure their compliance, Yosef imprisoned Shimon, and set the others free to fetch Binyamin.

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Vayishlach 5784

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Angelic sightings[1]

וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל-עשו אחיו ארצה שעיר שדה אדום
Yaakov sent Malachim ahead of him, to his brother Eisav, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom[2]

Yaakov was finally returning home after his long asylum from his murderous brother Eisav. The problem was, Eisav seemingly hadn’t changed a bit. The Torah says that Yaakov sent Malachim ahead of him, to present gifts and tributes to Eisav. The hope was to avoid confrontation. These Malachim would seemingly be messengers, which is a valid translation of the term[3]. However, Rashi stresses[4] that he sent literal Malachim. The Term Malach is usually reserved for Angels. This means, according to Rashi, that Yaakov sent Angels ahead of him to Eisav. Why? What was the purpose?

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Vayeitzei 5784

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See, my son[1]

ותהר לאה ותלד בן ותקרא שמו ראובן כי אמרה כי-ראה יקוק בעניי כי עתה יאהבני אישי
Leah conceived and gave birth to a boy. She called his name “Reuven”, for she said: “Since Hashem saw (“Ra’ah”) my suffering, for now my husband will love me”[2]

Yaakov and his wives were in an uncomfortable predicament. Yaakov intended to marry Rochel, but was tricked by his father-in-law Lavan and ended up marrying her sister Leah. Afterwards Yaakov married Rochel as well. Rochel was Yaakov’s primary wife, and Leah felt rejected. At the same time, Rochel was barren, and Leah immediately conceived[3]. She gave birth to a son, and named him “Reuven”, a contraction of “Reu” (see) and “Ben” (son). She said the reason for this name is that Hashem saw (“Ra’ah”) her suffering, for now her husband will love her, having given him a child.

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Toldos 5784

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Fetal movements[1]

ויתרצצו הבנים בקרבה ותאמר אם-כן למה זה אנכי ותלך לדרש את-יקוק
The babies jostled within [Rivka]. She said: “If so, why did I pray for children?” [So] she went to seek [guidance] from Hashem[2]

When Rivka was expecting twins, Yaakov and Eisav, she had a difficult time. No, not the usual struggles of pregnancy. Our Sages tell us[3] that when Rivka would stand near shuls and study halls[4], Yaakov would try to “run”[5] out of her womb towards them. When Rivka would pass by houses of idol worship[6], Eisav would try to “run” out of her womb towards them. There are many difficulties with this Midrash. How could Yaakov and Eisav, fetuses in the womb, have a sense of good and evil? How could Yaakov be drawn to good, and Eisav drawn to evil?

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Vayeira 5784

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Angelic hospitality[1]

ויאמר שוב אשוב אליך כעת חיה והנה-בן לשרה אשתך ושרה שמעת פתח האהל וגו’ ותצחק שרה בקרבה לאמר אחרי בלתי היתה-לי עדנה ואדני זקן
[The angel] said: “I shall surely return to you, at this time next year, and behold! Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah overheard this by the entrance to the tent…Sarah laughed inwardly, saying: “After I have dried up, I would have youthfulness? And my husband is old!”[2]

The commentaries are bothered by Sarah’s lack of belief that she could bear a son. After all, it was an Angel of Hashem telling her that she would have a son, despite her old age. Now, some opinions[3] hold that she and Avraham didn’t realize that these were Angels speaking to them. Or, even if Avraham knew, perhaps she didn’t see who was speaking; she just overheard some stranger saying something that sounded crazy[4]. However, we still have a problem. Hashem Himself told Avraham in last week’s parsha that he and Sarah would have a baby boy. Why didn’t Sarah believe this supposed stranger then, who said the same thing?

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Lech Lecha 5784

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Meaningful gifts[1]

אמרי-נא אחתי את למען ייטב-לי בעבורך וחיתה נפשי בגללך
Please say that you are my sister, so that it will be good for me for your sake, and my life will be spared because of you[2]

Due to a severe famine in the land of Canaan, Avraham and Sarah journeyed to the land of Egypt. Knowing full well the morality of such a place, Avraham was very concerned. His wife was tremendously beautiful, and if the Egyptians knew they were a married couple, they would have no problem killing Avraham and taking Sarah for themselves. However, if the couple represented themselves as siblings, they would be safe. The Egyptians would assume Avraham, as Sarah’s “brother,” was her protector, and could be persuaded to give her away in marriage.

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