January 6, 20067 Tevet 5766

Parshas VayigashVolume 20, Number 14

This issue is sponsored in honor of the recent marriage of Avi Hochman & Rebecca Mandell. Mazel Tov!

Ahavas YisroelRabbi Baruch Simon

Parshas Vayigash is usuallyread within the week of

Asara B’Teves, the day onwhich the Babylonians laidsiege to Jerusalem. This con-currence can be explained bythe fact that the idea ofAhavas Yisroel (loving our fel-low Jew), which permeatesParshas Vayigash, is crucial inunderstanding Asara B’Teves.

Parshas Vayigash recounts thestory of the reunification ofYosef with his brothers. TheOhr HaChayim HaKadoshpoints out that Yosef twicetold his brothers “Ani Yosef,”or that “I am Yosef,” and thesecond time he added “ache-ichem,” meaning that “I amyour brother” (Bereishes 45:3-4). The Ohr HaChayim

explains that Yosef repeatedthis phrase twice, becausewhile the brothers were embar-rassed at the fact that they had

sold Yosef, they did not trulybelieve that this person wastheir brother. Therefore,Yosef addressed both con-cerns by telling them that he is

Yosef, and despite the fact thatthey sold him into slavery, healways loved them and woulddeal with them as a lovingbrother. This highlights theimportance of Ahavas Yisroel.

Regarding the midah ofAhavas Yisroel, Yosef servesas a role model for all of KlalYisroel. Yosef did not takerevenge on his brothers, butinstead tried to inspire and cre-ate a loving relationship. Heassuaged their fears and toldthem that everything turnedout well in the end. Just asYosef was careful whenaddressing his brothers’ feel-ings, every individual must besensitive to others. This wasthe greatness of Yosef and isthe epitome of Ahavas Yisroel.

NEW YORK CITY SHABBOS TIMESCCaannddlleess DDaawwnn SSuunnrriissee SShheemmaa ((MMAA)) SShheemmaa ((GGrraa)) TTeeffiillllaa ((MMAA)) TTeeffiillllaa ((GGrraa)) CChhaattzzooss MMiinncchhaa GGeedd.. SShhkkiiaa HHaavvddaallaa

4:25 P.M. 6:08 A.M. 7:20 A.M. 9:05 A.M. 9:41 A.M. 10:04 A.M. 10:28 A.M. 12:02 A.M. 12:25 PM. 4:43 P.M. 5:29 P.M.

Honor Thy Fatherand Mother (Part 3)Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky

Chazal tell us that when Ya’akov met up withYosef after 22 years of separation, he began to

say the Shema. We know of only two times when theShema was said in out-of-the-ordinary circumstances.The first instance is found here in our Parasha, andthe second instance occurred during the last torturedbreaths of R. Akiva’s life, moments before his demiseat the hands of the Romans.

Rav Soloveitchik explained that the brachos sur-

rounding the Shema reflect the nature of the Shemaitself. Accordingly, the evening recitation of theShema that is surrounded by brachos which discussreligious darkness and times of exile, demonstratesthe need for pronouncing commitment to Hashem indifficult circumstances through reciting the Shema.In the morning recitation, on the other hand, whenthe brachos radiate renewal and optimism, there isalso a need to say the Shema, and thereby proclaim

commitment to Hashem.

The recitation of the Shema in both the evening andthe day corresponds to these two instances of itsspontaneous recital. R. Akiva, at a moment of intensesuffering, and Ya’akov, during a moment of over-whelming joy, both chose to capture the moment byrecognizing Hashem and proclaiming their commit-ment to Him.

Ups and Downs of Shema

In previous weeks we dis-cussed whether the source

for the mitzvah of honoringone’s parents, (kibbud av va-em)is a commandment that isbetween man and G-d (beinadam lamakom), or one that isbetween man and man (beinadam lachaveiro), and thehalachic distinctions that arisefrom either premise. RavMoshe Feinstein (Y.D. 2:130)says that the source of theobligation to honor one’s par-ents is even more fundamen-tal than its status as a mitzvahbein adam lachaveiro or beinadam lamakom. The Gemarain Niddah states that there arethree partners in the creationof man: his mother, hisfather, and G-d. RavTTaabblleeTorah

ccoonnttiinnuueedd oonn ppaaggee 33

Noah Cheses ccoonnttiinnuueedd oonn ppaaggee 22

CCoonntteemmppoorraarryyHalacha

Just asYosef was

careful whenaddressing

his brothers’

feelings, everyindividual mustbe sensitive to

others.

The theme of exile loomslarge both on the calendar

and in the Parsha. In ParshasVayigash, Yaakov and his familytravel to Egypt, which begins thefirst exile in Jewish history.Additionally, two events thatoccurred in this month of Tevesplay a large role in the story ofour people’s exile. The first isthe exile of the Torah. TheGemara in Megillah relates thatduring the period of the secondBais HaMikdash, TalmaiHaMelech (King Ptolemy)ordered seventy-two Jewishsages to translate the Torah intoGreek. On the surface, thisseems like ap o s i t i v eevent, onethat spreadthe wisdomof Toraharound thew o r l d .However, tothe contrary,our Sagestell us that itmade Torahsusceptibleto misinterpretation and foreignreadings. The Gemara recordsthat this event brought threedays of darkness into the world;these are the three days oftragedy in Teves, occurring onthe ninth, the tenth, and theeleventh of the month. Whattranspired on the ninth of Tevesis not recorded, but on the tenththe second exile of Tevesoccurred, one that concerned theBais HaMikdash. Although theBais HaMikdash was notdestroyed until the Ninth of Av,the walls of Jerusalem werebreached on the Tenth of Teves,placing the Jewish people on aninescapable downward slope that

ended with the destruction ofthe Temple.We learn from the Ramban theprinciple of Ma’aseh Avos SimanL’Banim: that the actions of ourforefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak,and Yaakov, created a model thatthe Jewish people will follow forthe rest of history. Our Sagesteach us that currently we live ina period called the Exile ofEdom, which is associated withEisav. The Midrash tells us howEisav was originally eliminated,and this provides us with anarchetype of how we will eventu-ally overcome our current exile.

As Yaakovwas beingbrought tothe Cave ofMachpei lafor burial,Eisav con-tended thathe reallyd e s e r v e dY a a k o v ’ sburial plot.C h u s h i m ,Dan’s son,saw the dis-

pute and killed Eisav withouthesitation.Superficially, this Midrash israther perplexing. How doesthis story regarding the demiseof Eisav help us deal with ourpresent exile? Rav MosheWolfson explains that Chushim,the son of Dan, represents thelowest position in the Jewishpeople. His tribe, Dan,marched last in the Jewish peo-ple’s desert formations, and wasknown as the Mi’asef (gatherer)of the people, the tribe thatpicked up all the lost objectsthat the others dropped.Additionally, many of the peo-

EINAYIM L’TORAH • 2

Honor Thy Father and Mother (Part 3)

The walls ofJerusalem were

breached on the Tenthof Teves, placing theJewish people on aninescapable down-

ward slope that endedwith the destruction

of the Temple.

Feinstein interprets this as ahalachic statement: one is obli-gated to respect his parentsbecause they brought him intothis world. Hakaras hatov(gratitude) for having beencreated is the source of theobligation for kibbud av. RavFeinstein’s idea goes hand inhand with another famoushalacha: a teacher’s honortakes precedence over afather’s, because the fatheronly brings his child into thisworld, whereas the teacher,through imparting the childwith Torah values, brings theson into the World to Come.Greater hakaras hatov for theteacher necessitates greaterrespect for him.The ramifications of RavFeinstein’s idea apply to otherareas of Jewish law as well.When a non Jew converts, heor she is not considered to behalachically related to his orher non Jewish family. If afather and daughter convert atseparate times, they are nolonger halachically related, andin theory, since they are nowboth Jewish, the “former”father would be allowed tomarry his “former” daughter.In theory, the daughter wouldalso no longer be under anyobligation to honor her father.However, on a Rabbinic level,the Rambam (HilchosMamrim 5:11) says that thefather may not marry his for-mer daughter, and in addition,the commandment of kibbudav still applies. This is becauseotherwise, it will seem to theformer non-Jew that he isgoing from a stricter level ofobservance to a more lenientlevel. In other words, it willseem like he is descending in

holiness. Some Acharonimdispute the Rambam’s applica-tion of the descending in holi-ness principle to this context,because the non-Jew is notreally descending to a lesserobligation, for no formal obli-gation for him to honor hisparents truly existed in thefirst place. Rabbi Akiva Eigerasserts that even though thereis no formal obligation, thefact that non Jews generally dorespect their parents is enoughof a reason for the Rambamto be concerned that the for-mer non-Jew is descending inholiness. However, the YadAvraham says that even non-Jews are formally required toperform kibbud av to someextent. He brings a prooffrom Shem and Yefes, Noach’ssons, who went out of theirway to clothe their father afterhe became inebriated.However, there is perhaps amore fundamental explanationas to the obligation of non-Jews to honor their parents. Ifthe basic premise of kibbud avis one of hakaras hatov, likeRav Feinstein understood, andwe assume that hakaras hatovis an obligation incumbentupon all of mankind due tothe fact that it is simply part ofcommon decency, then non-Jews are obligated to honortheir parents because ofhakaras hatov. However, thisobligation does not necessitatethe same requirements as theJew’s obligation of kibbud av.Rather, whatever people in theworld consider a normalamount of respect and honorwill dictate the responsibilitiesthat this obligation entails.

Avraham Engelson

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ccoonnttiinnuueedd oonn ppaaggee 33

Ending Teves’ Exile

The Maharal writes that a person wholoves Hashem will look to love all of his“children.” Thus, a person who hatesother people is in essence showing hishatred of God, as he displays his disgustfor something God created in His ownimage. As people are unable to compre-hend Hashem’s master plan for everybodyin this world, they must show love to allGod’s creations and not harbor hatred foranyone. As it is written in the Midrash, allHashem wants from the Jewish People isthat they should love, honor, and respecteach other.

Before examining the connection betweenParshas Vayigash and Asara B’Teves, acloser inspection of the fast-day is neces-sary. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt"l, oncecommented that during the siege onAsara B’Teves, there was a tremendousopportunity for the Jewish people to unitein time of pain and sorrow. The Rebbe

remarked that if the Jews would haveunited, the Temple would not have beendestroyed. However, the Jews wereunsuccessful and their failure directlyresulted in the Churban HaBayis.

The Talmud Yerushalmi writes that in anygeneration, if the Temple is not rebuilt, itis considered as if it had been destroyedin that generation. Every Asara B’Teves,Hashem decides if the Temple will berebuilt that year, or if the Temple willagain be “destroyed.” Therefore, AsaraB’Teves is not just a day mourning theBabylonian siege of Yerushalayim, but isinstead a day of introspection looking atthe possibility of correcting our sins,resulting in the rebuilding of the BaisHamikdash.

After explaining the importance of AsaraB’Teves as a day of introspection and cor-rection, it is clear why Parshas Vayigash isread during that week. Parshas Vayigash

recounts the story of Yosef and his

brothers, a story permeating with the idea

of Ahavas Yisroel. Hashem demands

from Klal Yisroel that they accept Yosef

as their role model in loving all fellow

Jews. If the people of the Jewish Nation

can learn to respect and love each other,

then they are in essence “correcting” the

mistake of Asara B’Teves, when Am

Yisroel was unable to create a strong level

of unity.

We pray that Hashem should decide that

this Tisha B’Av should be a time of joy

and happiness instead of a time of sor-

row and mourning.

This dvar Torah was transcribed byJeff Weiss.

Ahavas Yisroel

vhv, ohn,

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Ending Teves’ Exile ccoonnttiinnuueedd ffrroomm ppaaggee 22

PARSHAS VAYIGASH • 3

ple in Tanach that are characterized as lessthan ideal came from Dan. Among theseare Micha the idol owner, the Mikallel whocursed Hashem in the desert, andShimshon, the only Shofet (judge) who wascriticized. With regard to Chushim him-self, Rashi says that he was deaf and dumb.It seems to be no coincidence thatChushim, who symbolizes the lowest strataof the Children of Israel was the one thatdid away with Eisav.

So what is the significance? Rav Wolfsonsays that in the Kabbala, the tribe of Dancorresponds to this month, Teves. Heexplains that this time of year, a time oftragedy and exile, emphasizes the abilitiesof Dan, who can bring salvation from eventhe lowest of circumstances, an idea that isalso reflected by the festival of Chanukahat the opening of the month.

Rashi says that Yocheved, Moshe’s mother,was born at the entrance to Egypt, and that

she was the seventieth person who wentdown with Yaakov and his family to Egypt.We see that even as Yaakov was goingdown to Egypt, into the heart of the exile,Hashem already had the redemption under-way. May this month of Teves be trans-formed from a month of tragedy into theharbinger of the future redemptionBimhaira B’yamainu.

Tzvi Simcha Cohen •• (646) 387-8573

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PARSHAS VAYIGASH

Parsha Points in VayigashEphraim Meth

• Yehuda entreats Yosef for Binyamin’s freedom. He describes how Yosef’s disappearance hadpained Yaakov, and insists that the brothers do not want their father to experience that again.

• Yehuda’s plea stirs Yosef’s mercy, so he reveals his identity to his brothers. He assures them thattheir kidnapping of him was providential, since it allowed him to help everyone survive thefamine.

• Yosef and Paraoh invite Yaakov to settle in Egypt, in the choice province of Goshen.

• Yaakov is revived upon receiving news of Yosef’s survival, his invitation, and his prestige.

• Yaakov takes his family to Egypt. The Torah lists the 70 souls that descended to Egypt withYaakov.

• Yaakov and Yosef cry as they meet after 22 years of separation. Yosef introduces Yaakov toParaoh. Yaakov blesses Paraoh, and gives him a short autobiography.

• The Egyptians (excluding the priests) offer all their money and livestock in exchange for food.With nothing left, they submit to pseudo-serfdom in exchange for seeds. Yosef then re-settlesthe Egyptian population.

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