Thoughts on the Weekly Parshah by HaRav Eliezer Chrysler
Formerly Rav of Mercaz Ahavat Torah, Johannesburg

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Vol. 7   No. 9

Parshas Vayeishev

Ya'akov's Legacy
(Part II)

Ya'akov Ovinu was an extremely wealthy man, yet he went back across the river in the middle of the night to retrieve a few earthenware barrels. A tzadik views everything in his possession as a Divine gift, to be used in the service of G-d, and not to be squandered.

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The commentaries give two explanations for the fact that the Angel of Eisov was able to wound Ya'akov in the thigh. Some say that the thigh was his weak spot, because his one 'sin' was marrying two sisters (which the Torah would later forbid). Whereas according to others, the thigh supports the body, in which case, the dislocation of Ya'akov's thigh symbolised the strategy that the Yeitzer ho'ra would adopt during the golus to try and prevent Ya'akov's children from learning Torah (Ya'akov's special characteristic). Knowing that he cannot dampen a Jew's enthusiasm to learn Torah directly, what does he do? He interferes with the support of Torah, making sure that there are not sufficient funds for Torah-study. He knows that 'If there is no flour, there is no Torah'!

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We can learn a number of lessons from the fact that, apart from the dislocated thigh, it was Ya'akov who not only held Eisov's angel at bay, but even managed to overpower him, until it was he, the angel, who pleaded with Ya'akov to let him go. Besides reinforcing the lesson of the Tzadik's superiority over angels, it teaches us that Yisroel will not only hold Edom at bay, but that ultimately, they will overpower them, and it also establishes the b'rochos as being rightfully ours, as Eisov's angel was forced to admit.

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In Ya'akov's dream (on his way to Choron) he dreamt that he was directly under G-d's jurisdiction - outside that of the powers that normally govern the world. This was borne out there and then, when the sun set hours before its time, to force Ya'akov to sleep there in the location of the Beis ha'Mikdosh. And it was borne out again here when the sun rose early (the same number of hours that it set early on the previous occasion), to cure him from his limp.

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And the mitzvah of 'Gid ha'nosheh' is to remind us that whatever troubles befall us, Hashem will never forsake us, and that in the end, all will be well with Klal Yisroel.

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It is not at all clear whether Eisov meant to kill Ya'akov when he kissed him, or whether he kissed him with a full heart. What is clear however, is that even if his display of brotherly love was genuine, it was due, not to any real change of heart, but to Ya'akov's display of humiliation, and was only temporary - because there is a well-known principle 'Eisov hates Ya'akov', a principle that will continue to straddle history until G-d destroys Eisov in the time of Moshi'ach.

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When Eisov questioned Ya'akov about his wives and children, Ya'akov answered him only about the children, a clear indication that the wives were none of his business.

And talking of propriety, Ya'akov taught Eisov another lesson (in speech mannerisims - though, like all speech mannerisms, it was rooted in midos) when he declared modestly "I have everything", in stark contrast to Eisov's haughty "I have stacks (far more than I need)".

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Ya'akov realised how important it was for Eisov to accept the gifts he had sent him, because he knew that Eisov's goodwill towards him depended upon it. Eisov on the other hand, must have realised that, in his heart of hearts, what he really wanted was not goodwill, but to annihilate Ya'akov, so he tried to refuse. We can learn from Ya'akov the importance of assertiveness to achieve one's goal, becase Ya'akov prevailed upon Eisov to accept them.

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Finally, we see how careful Ya'akov Ovinu was to avoid Eisov's company. In his prayer to Hashem to save him from his brother, he pleaded "Save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisov ...". He knew that he and his family were in mortal danger, not only from Eisov ho'rosho, who threatened to kill them physically, but also from Eisov his brother, whose company and love threatened to kill them spiritually (note Ya'akov's order of priorities - in the possuk that we just quoted).

And so, in total consistency with this realisation, he refused not only Eisov's offer to accompany him home, but even to accept just a few of his men to go with him. He firmly but politely declined his offer because he knew that Eisov's culture (Western culture) was not his culture, and the slightest exposure to it would endanger Klal Yisroel's existence.

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It is only because Ya'akov handled Eisov in the masterful and diplomatic way that he did, that he arrived in Sh'chem complete - complete in body, complete in learning and complete financially.

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Parshah Pearls

Adapted from the Kli Yokor

Vayeishev

The Bad Report

"... and he was ... with the sons of Bilhoh and Zilpoh, the wives of his father, and Yosef brought their evil speech to their father" (37:2).

Why does the Torah write "their evil speech", asks the Kli Yokor (as if the evil speech was that of the brothers and not his)? In addition, why does it call Ya'akov "their father", and not "his father", and why does the Torah here refer to Bilhoh and Zilpoh as the wives of his father, whilst later, by the episode of Re'uven (35:22) it refers to Bilhoh as Ya'akov's concubine?

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Clearly, what happened here, explains the Kli Yokor, is that the other brothers (Le'ah's sons) considered Bilhoh and Zilpoh as consubines of Ya'akov and slaves of Rochel and Le'ah, in which case, their sons were slaves too. This explains why, by the episode of Re'uven, the Torah writes "his father's concubine", because that was what Re'uven believed, and that was what justified his action in his own eyes.

Yosef alone sided with the sons of Bilhoh and Zilpoh, because he maintained that Bilhoh and Zilpoh were Ya'akov's wives, and not his concubines (a fact borne out by pesukim in Vayeitzei, which explicitly refer to both of them as "wives") - as Rashi explains.

And it was their evil speech (loshon ho'ra) that Yosef reported to their father, because they should have had more respect for their father than to call his sons 'slaves'.

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The Deep Plan

"And he sent him from the valley of Chevron' " (37:14) - from the deep plan of the tzadik who is buried in Chevron, and who foretold about the impending Golus Mitzrayim, that began here (Rashi).

Since when did Avrohom plan Golus Mitzrayim, asks the Kli Yokor, and besides, what was so profound about it?

He explains it however, with the Bereishis Rabah, which relates how Avrohom Ovinu was actually given a choice between Golus and Gehinom, and how, acting on the advice of Hashem Himself, he picked golus. From here we see that it was Avrohom who chose golus over Gehinom.

And the reason that Chazal refer to it as 'a deep plan' is, not because the plan was profound, but because golus entailed being expelled from Eretz Yisroel, the highest of all lands, to a (relatively) low country. This is to compensate for the Gehinom to which Yisroel ought to be sent for their sins, and which is described as 'a deep pit'.

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Arrows ...

"And before he arrived, they planned to kill him" (37:18). The Kli Yokor inverts the phrases to mean that they planned to kill him before he arrived - by shooting arrows at him, measure for measure, because that is what he had done to them (since loshon ho'ra is compared to arrows that kill from far).

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The Torah however, puts the blame on the brothers when it writes in Vayechi "And the archers hated him" (49:23) and vindicated Yosef "and his bow dwelt in strength" (Bereishis 49:24), because one is permitted to speak loshon ho'ra about quarrelsome people, and it was they who began the quarrel by abusing the sons of Bilhoh and Zilpoh - Kli Yokor.

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... Or Dogs

According to the Medrash, it was dogs (rather than arrows) that the brothers set on Yosef. This is in keeping with the Gemoro in Pesochim (118a) explains the Kli Yokor, which says that whoever speaks loshon ho'ra deserves to be thrown to the dogs, because the Torah in Mishpotim places one of the la'avim of loshon ho'ra next to the posuk of throwing t'reifah to the dogs. Indeed, in Egypt, where the people were careful not to speak loshon ho'ra, the Torah writes "And for all of the B'nei Yisroel, no dog shall whet its tongue" (Sh'mos 11:7).

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Yosef's Merit

"And he fled, and he went outside" (40:12). Once he arrived outside the house, he stopped running, explains the Kli Yokor, because had he continued running, he would only have attracted attention - something which he most certainly wanted to avoid.

Chazal say that "The Sea saw and fled" when it saw the coffin of Yosef - in other words, the splitting of the Yam-Suf for Yisroel to cross, was on the merit of Yosef's running away from the advances of the wife of Potifera.

The Kli Yokor refers to Chazal, who say that nowadays, when Beis-din are not empowered to issue the death-sentence, someone who deserves the death of strangulation, dies by drowning. That being so, he says, considering that the punishment of someone who commits adultery with a married woman is strangulation, it is most appropriate that it is on Yosef's merit that the Sea split, preventing Yisroel from drowning.

And it is equally appropriate that the same water crashed down on the Egyptians, who were steeped in immorality, and drowned them.

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HILCHOS CHANUKAH

THE DIN OF A GUEST
REGARDING NER CHANUKAH

(Adapted from the Ta'amei ha'Minhogim -
Kuntres Achron Si'man 844)

1. Someone who is eating by a friend, and the time arrives to light the Chanukah-lights, must go home to light, and not light at the se'udah, together with his host.

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2. If however, his wife is lighting at home on his behalf, he may rely on this, provided he sees the Chanukah-lights lit in his friend's house.

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3. If the guest knows for sure that his wife is lighting for him at home, then he should attend the lighting-ceremony of his host and answer 'Omein'. Should he wish to fulfill the mitzvah himself, he may do so - even with the appropriate b'rochos, because, seeing as he does not wish to be yotze with his wife's lighting, he becomes obliged to light himself. Some commentaries add that it is even preferable to do so, because a) it is better to perform the mitzvah oneself than through a shali'ach; and b) in case, for some reason, his wife does not manage to light.

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4. Others however, disagree with this ruling. They maintain that a guest who wishes to fulfill the obligation himself, even though he knows that his wife will light on his behalf, should light without a b'rochoh. Better still, they conclude, let him combine with the host by giving a small contribution towards his lights, and sharing in his mitzvah.

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5. Someone who spends Chanukah in a place where there are no other Jews, should not rely on the fact that his wife lights at home on his behalf, but should light himself, in order to witness the commemoration of the miracle. (From what we just wrote however, it would seem that he should light without the b'rochoh of 'le'hadlik ner shel Chanukah'. He will certainly be obligated to recite the b'rochoh of 'she'osoh nisim ...', just like anybody else who sees a lit Menorah, but is unable to light himself.

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6. A guest whose wife is not lighting for him at home (and he is too far from home to return to light), should give a small coin to his host to combine with him in performing the mitzvah. He must make sure to hear the b'rochos from him, failing which he will have to recite the b'rochoh of 'she'osoh nisim' when he sees the lit Menorah.

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7. If he eats regularly at his host's table, it is not necessary to pay towards the cost of the lights, since he is then considered to be a member of the household, who are automatically yotze with the lighting of the Ba'al ha'Bayis, unless he wishes to belong to the mehadrin, who all light their own Menorah.

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8. Some say that the host should add a little extra oil or use larger candles, others maintain that this is not necessary.

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9. Even a young boy or girl who has reached the age of chinuch and who did not hear the b'rochos, must recite the b'rochoh of 'she'osoh nisim ...' when they see a lit Menorah.

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