Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Vayishlach "Where is Kever Rachel?" Volume 25, No. 8 13 Kislev 5771 November 20, 2010 Dedicated for a refuah shleimah for Klonimus Kalman ben Sarah Rivka (Rabbi Kalman Winter shlita) Today's Learning: Tanach: Shmuel II 23-24 Begin Sefer Melachim on Sunday Mishnah: Shevi'it 3:5-6 Halachah: O.C. 571:3-572:2 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Zevachim 10 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Ma'aser Sheni 11 In our parashah, Yaakov meets Esav for the first time in more than 20 years. Near the end of the parashah, we read (36:6), "Esav took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household--his livestock and all his animals, and all the wealth he had acquired in the land of Canaan--and went to a land because of his brother Yaakov." R' Chaim Palagi z"l (1788-1868; rabbi of Izmir, Turkey) writes, perhaps quoting a midrash: Yaakov reasoned, "The wicked are never satiated in their desire for money." What did he do, therefore? He placed all of his wealth on one side and [a deed to] Eretz Yisrael on the other side, and he offered Esav a choice. Whereupon, Esav went to the Ishmaelites for advice. They said, "The Canaanites, the Prizites, etc. also claim the land. Take the money, and Yaakov will be left with nothing." Esav did so, whereupon Yaakov said, "Now leave my land." Esav did so, and as a reward, his descendants received the Roman Empire. R' Palagi continues: In this light we may understand the verse (Yeshayah 58:14), "Then [i.e., if you honor Shabbat] you shall be granted pleasure with Hashem and I shall mount you astride the heights of the world; and I will provide you the heritage of your forefather Yaakov." Why is Eretz Yisrael called, "the heritage of [our] forefather Yaakov" rather than the heritage of Avraham or Yitzchak? Because it was due to the special efforts of Yaakov Avinu that Eretz Yisrael was preserved for us and for no one else. (Artzot Ha'chaim p.22) ******** "[Yaakov] got up that night and took his two wives, his two handmaids, and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Yabok." (32:23) Rashi z"l asks: Where was Yaakov's daughter Dinah? He explains: She is not listed here because he had placed her in a chest and locked her in so that Esav should not see her and ask for her as a wife. Rashi adds, quoting a midrash: Because Yaakov had kept Dinah away from his brother when she might have led Esav back to the right path, Yaakov was punished and Dinah fell into the power of Shechem. Commentaries ask: We read in Parashat Vayeitzei that Leah's eyes were red and tender. Our Sages ask: Why does the Torah, which is so careful with its choice of words, speak unflatteringly of Leah? They explain: The Torah is actually praising Leah, for it is teaching that she cried bitterly that she not be forced to marry her wicked cousin Esav, for people were saying, "The older daughter (Leah) will marry the older cousin (Esav), and the younger daughter (Rachel) will marry the younger cousin (Yaakov)." Why, however, is Leah praised for not wanting to marry Esav, while Yaakov was punished for not wanting his daughter to marry Esav? R' Doron David Gold shlita (former menahel ruchani of Yeshivat Tiferet Avraham-Itri) explains: We read (Mishlei 20:7), "One who walks in his innocence is a righteous person; fortunate are his children after him." This teaches that a person's good deeds can protect his or her children from harm. Thus, specifically because Leah so despised the thought of marrying Esav, she made it possible for her daughter to withstand Esav's evil influence and even to be able to be a positive influence on him. Therefore, it was wrong for Yaakov to withhold Dinah from his brother. (Tiferet Avot) R' Shlomo Wolbe z"l (1914-2005; a leading teacher of mussar in the second half of the 20th century) asks: How could Yaakov be punished for doing what was best for his daughter? Surely it was not in her interests to spend the rest of her life with Esav! R' Wolbe answers: R' Simcha Zissel Ziv z"l (the Alter of Kelm; died 1898) taught that Yaakov was punished because he nailed the chest shut with too much enthusiasm. R' Wolbe explains: Surely, Yaakov did was best for Dinah, and he is not faulted for that. However, he should, at least, have felt bad that he was unable to help his brother, but he did not. It was for that failing that he was punished. This teaches how exacting Hashem's judgment of the righteous is; Yaakov is faulted because, amidst all of his worries about the danger to his family from the upcoming meeting with Esav, he did not take time to feel bad that he could not help his wicked brother change his ways. (Shiurei Chumash) ******** "He [Yaakov] set up an altar there and proclaimed, `Kel, the Kel of Yisrael'." (33:20) R' Yitzchak Isaac Sher z"l (rosh yeshiva of the Slobodka Yeshiva in Lithuania and later on Bnei Brak; died 1951) writes: The literal translation of this verse, as just rendered, suggests that Yaakov called G-d, "the G-d of Yisrael." However, Rashi z"l quotes the Gemara (Megillah 18a) which reads the verse differently: "He called him `El.' The G-d of Yisrael did." In other words, "He called Yaakov, `El.' Who called him that? The G-d of Yisrael called him that." What does this mean? Needless to say, G-d was not ascribing divinity to Yaakov. Rather, the title "El" means that Yaakov had perfected his tzelem Elokim / Divine image. He had accomplished what man was put in this world to accomplish. He was as close to godliness as a person ever can be. We find that Yaakov had attained extremely high spiritual levels even earlier. When Yaakov was fleeing to Lavan's home, Yaakov dreamt of a ladder on which malachim were ascending and descending. Midrash Rabbah records that the malachim were going back and forth between the human Yaakov and an image of Yaakov that was "engraved" on G-d's "throne," comparing the two. The engraving of Yaakov's image on G-d's throne is meant to teach us what man is capable of achieving. We can only imagine how hard Yaakov worked on himself to attain that level. In contrast, we do not find that Esav worked on himself at all. At birth, he was named "Esav," which comes from the word meaning "complete." Just as Esav appeared physically complete at birth, so he represents those people who view themselves as spiritually complete, having no need to work on themselves. Such a person stands in sharp contrast to the ideal human represented by Yaakov. (Lekket Sichot Mussar, Vol. III, p.41) ******** "Two of Yaakov's sons, Shimon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and they came upon the city confidently . . ." (34:25) Rashi comments that Shimon and Levi are called "Dinah's brothers" because they risked their lives for her. R' Meir Zvi Bergman shlita (a rosh yeshiva in Bnei Brak) explains: It is natural for one to risk his life to save himself, and also to do the same for one's family. This is what Aharon meant when he pleaded with Moshe, when Miriam suffered from tzara'at (Bemidbar 12:12), "Let her not be like a corpse, like one who leaves his mother's womb with half of his flesh having been consumed!" Rashi explains: Aharon argued that if Miriam continued to suffer, half of Moshe's flesh would be consumed because he was her brother. Rambam explains the obligation to give charity as arising from the fact that we are all G-d's children. This means that we are all brothers, and, "If one brother will not have mercy on another brother, who will have mercy on him?" This is the meaning of the obligation to "Love your fellow as yourself," adds R' Bergman. Train yourself to feel that we are all G- d's children, and it will come naturally to treat others like your brothers. (Sha'arei Orah, Vol. I) ******** Where is Kever Rachel? "Thus Rachel died, and she was buried on the road to Efrat, which is Bet Lechem." (35:19) Rashi z"l (in his commentary to 48:7) quotes Yaakov Avinu as telling Rachel's son Yosef: "I did not carry her even the short distance to Bet Lechem to bring her into a city. I know that in your heart you feel some resentment against me. Know, however, that I buried her there at G-d's command." Rashi continues: The future proved that G-d had commanded Yaakov to do this in order that Rachel might help her children when [the Babylonian general] Nevuzaradan would take them into captivity for, when they were passing along that road, Rachel came out from her grave and stood by her tomb weeping and beseeching mercy for them, as it is written (Yirmiyahu 31:14), "A voice is heard in Rama, [wailing, bitter weeping, Rachel weeps for her children]." And, Hashem replied to her (verses 15-16), "`There is a reward for your work,' says Hashem . . . `and your children will return to their own border'." R' Avigdor Nebenzahl shlita (rabbi of the Old City of Yerushalayim) asks: Bet Lechem is south of Yerushalayim, while the route to Bavel (Babylon) goes north from Yerushalayim! How then did the exiles pass Kever Rachel on their way to Bavel? Also, writes R' Nebenzahl, we are taught that it took the exiles 1 1/2 years to travel from Yerushalayim to Bavel. Why? He explains: We read in Eichah (1:19), "I called for my lovers but they deceived me." Our Sages explain that the exiles asked their Babylonian captors to take them to Bavel by way of Arabia, thinking that the Ishmaelites, being cousins of the Jewish People, would have mercy on them and would provide them with food and water for the journey. However, the Ishmaelites deceived the Jews, giving them salty food and empty canteens, as alluded to in the quoted verse. In any event, R' Nebenzahl writes, this midrash answers both of our questions. Although the direct route from Yerushalayim to Bavel goes north from the Holy City, the exiles took a longer route, detouring through Arabia to the south. Thus, they did pass Kever Rachel, and therefore their trip took much longer than necessary. (Yerushalayim B'mo'adehah: Bein Ha'meitzarim p.44)