Thursday, January 3, 2013
Subjugation and Redemption
9:37 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
SPiritual decline
“Yaakov lived
in the land of Egypt seventeen years” (47:28). Rashi: Why is this
section closed? Because, as soon as Yaakov Ovinu passed away, the eyes and the
heart of the Jews were “closed” because of the misery of the slavery, for they [the
Egyptians] started to subjugate them.
After Yaakov’s
death Yoseph still remained king, and, what is more, at the beginning of parashas
Shmos the Torah relates that it was only when Yoseph, his brothers and all
that generation had died, that the subjugation began. Why then, the commentators
wonder, does the medrash here identify the death of Yaakov Ovinu as the start of the Egyptian exile?
As long as
Yaakov was still alive, he served as a unifying force for his descendants to
remain true to their religion and values. Once he had passed away, the spiritual
subjugation started. The Jews no longer remained within the safe spiritual
confines of Goshen, and started settling all over Egypt. They became closer to
the host culture and assumed that it would welcome them, but, as has happened throughout
history, the closer they became to non-Jewish culture, the greater was the
animosity felt towards them by their hosts.
The eyes and the
heart of the Jews were “closed”: they were unaware of the process of which had set
in upon the death of Yaakov. Spiritual declines which go unnoticed are the most
dangerous. In this case our spiritual subjugation was the forerunner of our physical
subjugation, which commenced upon the death of all the tribes.
unforetold EXILE
Rashi (ibid): Another explanation:
That he [Yaakov] attempted to reveal the End to his sons, but it was “closed
off” [concealed] from him
The great gaon
and tzaddik Rav Mordechai Pogramansky, who endured a veritable hell
during the Second World War and survived, only to die a few years afterwards, noted
that although we find allusions to the various exiles in history either in tenach or in chazal,
our sources contain no hint that there will come a time when non-observant and
anti-religious Jews will rule Eretz Yisroel itself. This exile amongst
Jews is not talked about in our sources.
Rav Pogramansky suggested
that Yaakov ovinu was indeed told about this situation, and attempted to
tell his sons about it, but was prevented from doing so, because had it been
foretold to us, it would have caused unbearable despair. According to this
explanation, the "End" referred to by the medrash cited by
Rashi, is the end of the exile, but not yet the beginning of the geulo.
homes as havens
“He [Yaakov]
said, "Swear to me," and he swore to him. Yisroel prostrated himself on
the head of the bed” (47:31) Rashi: none of his offspring was wicked as
is evidenced by the fact that Yoseph was a king, and furthermore, that [even
though] he was in captivity among the heathens, he remained steadfast in his
righteousness.
Yosef, the
second most powerful man in Egypt, was asked by his father to take an oath.
Someone else in Yosef’s position would have been likely to get angry that his
father did not trust him to fulfill his request after having told him “I will
do as you say”, but Yosef subjugated himself completely to his father and,
without saying anything, unhesitatingly took an oath without further ado. When
Yaakov Ovinu saw this response and realized the extent of the kibbud av
vo’em exhibited even by Yosef, who had spent so much time in the
Egyptian environment and had become a powerful figure there, he was satisfied
that his bed was indeed perfect.
Yaakov blessed Efraim and Menashe that they should
be “called by my name”. Kibbud av vo’em is a critical component in the
education of our children. With us it is a given that the closer a person is to
maamad har Sinai the more do we look up to him. By contrast,
according to the non-Jewish or secular attitude as technology, science, and
medicine progress so do we, and the further a person is removed from these
advances the more is he they looked down upon. As a corollary to this approach,
the relationship between parents and children has become almost egalitarian. Unfortunately,
elements of this attitude have seeped through to us so that some parents have
become more lax in insisting that their children observe all the details of kibbud
av vo’em.
On the other hand, the aim of kibbud av v’oem
is not merely to induce children to honor and respect their parents but also to
forge a close association with them. In fact, a warm relationship between father
and son is the surest recipe for ensuring that the son will remain on the
proper path and impervious to the many detrimental aspects of the outside world
as long as he is in his parents’ household and beyond. Making our homes into
havens for every child must be made into a top priority in our day and age.
WHat is a jew
“I
will make you into a congregation of peoples” (48:4)
Rav Yaakov
Yechiel Weinberg, the Seridei Esh zt”l, told Rav Sternbuch about a
meeting of academics that took place in Berlin for the purpose of establishing
the definition of a Jew. Should it be argued that being Jewish is a matter of
religion, that cannot hold water, because an apostate is also considered
Jewish. On the other hand, being Jewish could not be a matter of nationality
either, because many Jews are descendants of converts.
As they were
discussing this matter a simple Jew entered the room and offered his solution
for this conundrum: “a yid is a yid”. Rav Weinberg heard this suggestion and
told his fellow participants that this Jew had hit the hammer on the nail! Being
Jewish was neither a matter of religion only, nor merely a matter of
nationality, but something that cannot be defined in conventional terms. Jews
are sui generis, they are a “congregation of peoples” who defy
any definition.
Family Harmony
“And
he blessed them on that day saying: "Through you shall the Jews bless
saying; 'May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menasheh and he placed Ephraim
ahead of Menasheh” (48:20)
The greatest
blessing a person could hope for is to be blessed with sons who are talmidei
chachomim. In the merit of such a son the father will live forever. Efraim was
the one who spent all his time in Goshen, learning Torah with his grandfather
Yaakov. Goshen contained none of the allure of city life, since all its
inhabitants were shepherds, who were abhorred by the Egyptians. Menashe spent
his time helping out his father with his royal duties.
Efraim was
placed ahead of his older brother, as he was the one who learnt Torah from
Yaakov, in order to teach us that the foremost priority of any father must be
to educate his son to become a godol beyisroel and dedicate his life to
Torah. The alternative is to educate our sons to be like Menashe, who learnt
from Yosef how to behave like a ben Torah in every situation in life,
and to set aside regular times for Torah learning, but this must remain only
the second-best option.
By referring to Ephraim
and Menasheh when blessing
our children we also pray for harmony between our children, just like there was
between Ephraim and Menasheh when Menasheh was not upset and did not
envy his younger brother for being mentioned first by Yaakov.
Why are dogmas only implied
“Until Shiloh
comes” (49:10). Rashi: This refers to the King Moshiach, to whom the
kingdom belongs [shelo]
We find that
concepts such as the coming of moshiach and the resurrection of the
dead, are only hinted at in the tenach. Why are these fundamental principles,
which are listed amongst the articles of faith of the Rambam not stated
explicitly?
Something stated
explicitly in the Torah bears greater weight than something derived by applying
one of the principles by which the Torah is expounded [midos shehatorah nidreshes
bohem]. Similarly, if these fundamental articles of faith had been stated
explicitly in the Torah, the punishment for disregarding them would have been
too difficult for us to bear. Hence, Hashem in His kindness, only hinted at
these concepts in His Torah. In any case, we must realize that the stronger our
faith is in the coming of moshiach, the more will we this hasten his
coming and our final redemption.
feeding the poor
“As
for Osher, his bread will shall be fat, and he will yield regal delicacies” (49:20).
This means that
Osher limits his expenses, and only buys fat and healthy bread whereas he provides
others with delicacies fit for a king. He is not interested in deriving
pleasures from this world, preferring to wait the rewards of the world to come,
but is very generous when it comes to taking care of others’ material desires.
As Rav Yisroel Salanter zt”l said:
"My friend’s material needs are my spiritual needs”. This is indeed a high
level to strive for, and the halocho also directs us to provide a poor
person with the best food available in the house.
REDEMPTION
“Hashem will
surely remember you [pokod yifkod] and take you up out of this land” (50:24)
Rav Meir Shapira
zt”l noted that the double phrase pokod
yifkod refers to both a spiritual and a material redemption. The geulo
cannot take place if there is a material redemption unaccompanied by a
spiritual one, and all the more so if material success is accompanied by
spiritual decline, such as took place in the period following the founding of
the State. So far from being a sign of redemption, such a situation is
unfortunately merely a desecration of the Divine Name. Let us pray that this
stage of the exile, which Rav Programansky talked about, will be brought to a
speedy conclusion, and the final redemption ushered in.
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