VAYIGASH

This week’s sedra is Vayigash and it starts off with the famous confrontation between Yehuda and the person he thought was the viceroy, virtually the ruler of Egypt, leading on to the revelation that it was in fact his own brother Yosef, as we know.

As usual, I have a few questions.

Firstly, why did Yosef play so long with his brothers? Why did he not reveal himself much earlier to them?

The second question is, his father, Yaacov, was obviously upset and we know he mourned for 22 years for him and Yosef, no doubt, sensed this because he kept on asking his brothers “how is your father?”, time after time. In that case, why was it, that not only did he keep them all in suspense, but he kept Shimon in Egypt and insisted that Binyomin should be brought to Egypt, knowing full well that this would cause his father even greater aggravation, more agmus nefesh?

Looking at the first verse in the posek, ויגש אליו יהודה ,you will find that Rashi comments on the words כי כמוך כפרעה , who can be compared to you, to Paroi, with four different explanations. I don’t think that this happens anywhere else. Surely there must be a very good reason for Rashi to have to give so many explanations?

I think, as usual, it is worth while exploring the whole story in depth.

In reality, one has to go back to Yaakov Avinu arriving at Horon and asking for the hand of Rochel בתך הקטנה , Rochel your younger daughter. Yaakov agreed to serve Lovon for seven years as equivalent to giving a dowry. We all know that his future father-in-law, Lovon, was a very deceitful person and that seven years later, he switched Leah in place of Rochel. Yaakov was such an upright gentleman that although this upset him, he ended up by having both Rochel & Leah for wives.

We also know that Hashem took pity on Leah and she began to have children in rapid succession. Firstly there was Reuvain, then there was Shimon followed by Levi and then Yehuda. After those first four children born to Yaakov, she stopped having children. Bilha and Zilpa, the two handmaidens, whom Rashi quotes as being also daughters of Lovon from a פילגש a concubine, then bore two children each, Don, Naftoli, Gad and Osher. It was only subsequently that Leah had two more sons Yissochor and Zevulun, and then, of course, she had Dina as well.

All this took place before Yosef was born.

The first four sons of Yaakov felt, not surprisingly, that they were the top, elite, boys. They had, however, different natures. Reuvain was sensitive but impetuous, not leadership material. Shimon and Levi were very strong characters and took the law into their own hands, to wit the story with Dina in Shechem. Yehuda was also a strong character but was leadership material.

When Yosef was finally born to Yaakov’s preferred wife, Rochel, this, no doubt, caused friction as the children grew up and this also was the reason for Yosef being friendly with the children of Bilha and Zilpa as the Torah clearly states in parshas Vayeishev.

In that sedra, Yosef had his famous dreams concerning the sheaves of wheat and also regarding the sun, the moon and the stars bowing down to him, as you will all recall. Yaacov also make him a כתונת פסים , a multicoloured coat.

It is, therefore, not surprising that his brothers were jealous of him and you will all recall that when Yaakov Avinu sent Yosef to see how his brothers were getting on with pasturing in Shechem, he was sighted from afar by his brothers. The Torah tells us ויאמרו איש אל אחיו One man said to his brother “Behold, our dreamer is coming”, we are told that these two were Shimon and Levi who had already tasted blood in the case of Shechem and this story took place in the vicinity of that very city Shechem and their attitude was, once again, to carry out such a deed. We also know that Reuvain, who was obviously sensitive, stopped this happening.

The continuation of the story there was that Yehuda said to his brothers “What will we get out of killing him, let us sell him on” and that is what happened.

It was due to this, that Yosef arrived in Egypt. We also can appreciate that Yosef realised that it was Shimon and Levi who were the prime movers in having action taken against him. Therefore, he decided when thinking about his tactics of how to deal with the whole matter when his ten brothers (except for Binyomin) first arrived in Egypt, to keep Shimon in custody in Egypt on the basis, that he, understandably, did not want Shimon and Levi to join forces again.

Incidentally, although Shimon and Levi were both very strong minded, we find that later on there was a complete difference in what happened to their tribes. From the Shevet of Levi came Moshe Rabbenu and Aharon Hacohen and all the Cohanim. Shimon does not figure anywhere of consequence.

If you look carefully at the names given to all the shevotim, you will find that in virtually every case, either Rochel or Leah gave the names, the one exception is Levi. In Vayeitzei is says על כן קרא שמו לוי , and therefore “he” called his name Levi. Rashi comments that Hashem sent the malach Gavriel who gave him that name. Gavriel is known as the malach of strength, Levi acquired this strength of character, no doubt, with the naming of him by Gavriel. The net upshot was that when the Yidden went to Mitzraim, the tribe of Levi did not become enslaved in the same way as the other shevotim. They had the strength of character not to become so assimilated and they used this strength of character in a good way which, therefore, bore fruit of having such great and illustrious people as Moshe Rabbenu, Aharon Hacohen, Pinchas etc.

Returning to the background of the story, before parsha Vayigash, as the Torah tells us clearly, Yosef recognised his ten brothers when they arrived to buy produce and they did not recognise him. He, therefore, took a decision to not reveal himself but to play out the matter with, I would suggest, two motives.

Firstly, to check whether this brothers had sincerely repented for having sold him into slavery. Secondly, to ensure that the dreams that he had related, came true. Because of this he could not reveal himself to them immediately so that the news would then have got back to Yaakov quickly, he had to play a long game.

Furthermore, another factor working against him revealing himself immediately was that only 21 years had gone by since he had been separated from his father and Yaakov Avinu had to atone for the 22 years that he was away from his father Yitzchok and there was still one more year to go. I believe that this was not Yosef’s motive, it was part of the whole scene and interwoven in the whole story.

We have all read in Mikkeitz how Yosef accused his brothers of being spies and they tried their best to persuade him that they were not. If you look at the posek immediately after Chamishi, which says
ויאמרו איש אל אחיו אבל אשמים אנחנו על אחינו אשר ראינו צרת נפשו בהתחננו אלינו ולא שמענו
Then one man said to his brother, indeed we are guilty concerning our brother as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us and we paid no heed.

And Reuvain then said “I told you all not to sin by doing anything to the child”, and Yosef was so affected by all this that he even turned aside and cried.

It, interestingly, uses the expression, איש אל אחיו one man to his brother and that is exactly the same expression as the Torah used when Yosef came to visit them in Shechem. I believe that the ones who spoke to one another were Shimon and Levi again. So Yosef had some good news in that it appeared to him that Reuvain, Shimon and Levi had all repented but what about Yehuda? Yehuda was, after all, the other leadership material (Yosef was also leadership material as we all realise, having become the viceroy of Egypt) he had to somehow manoeuvre the situation so that Yehuda would also have to show that he had really retracted and done תשובה and changed his previous attitude towards Yosef. In order to do that he decided that the best way would be to insist on having Binyomin come down to Mitzraim and then to so organise things, that Binyomin would be accused of a felony a גניבה.

Yosef would then see if Yehuda would stick up for the other son of Rochel, namely Binyomin and Yosef would then be able to make his own mind up as to whether he should then reveal himself to his brothers.

I believe that having given this background so far, we have, in fact, dealt with the two questions that I started with. They were, why did Yosef play so long with his brothers and why did he keep them all in suspense especially knowing that his father was upset and had mourned for 22 years for him.

Let us now turn to the beginning of Vayigash, Yehuda was faced with a grave problem, he had undertaken to bring back Binyomin to Yaakov and had stated clearly

אנכי אערבנו מידי תבקשנו אם לא הביאתיו אליך והצגתיו לפניך וחטאתי לך כל הימים

I will personally guarantee him and you can demand him from my own hand. If I do not bring him back to you and present him to you I will have sinned to you for all time.

Rashi comments that this means, even Olam Haboh. He was, in effect, stating that he was putting his chalek in Olam Haboh, his part in the world to come, on the line. When the silver goblet of Yosef was discovered in the sack of Binyomin, Yehuda knew that he had a major problem on his hands, he said so in fact at the end of last week’s sedra

מה נאמר לאדוני מה נדבר ומה נצטדק האלקים מצא את עון עבדך

What can we say to you our master, how can we speak and how can we justify ourselves. Hashem has uncovered the sin of your servants.

Yehuda then had to try and save the situation with the power of his oratory. Remember that this viceroy of Egypt had the power of life and death in his hands and there would have been no national or international outcry if he would just have killed all of them. Yehuda was well aware of the gravity of the situation. Nevertheless, he girded his loins and that is where the sedra Vayigash starts. Yehuda gathered together all his strength and went to speak personally to Yosef. He drew near to him, that is he did not speak from afar but man to man. He pleaded with him
Please my lord, בי אדני
may your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, ידבר נא עבדך דבר באזני אדני
and let not your anger flare up on your servant. ואל יחר אפך בעבדך

Then we have the strange words, כי כמוך כפרעה . You could translate this as Rashi starts off with “You are as important as Paroi in my eyes” but Rashi adds three further explanations. The first one is “I am warning you that you will have צרעת , commonly translated as leprosy, brought on you as Paroi had done to him, when my grandmother Soroh was taken into his palace. Furthermore, (another explanation is) in the same way as Paroi decrees but does not carry out, promises and does not fulfil, you act similarly. Is this the way to inspect Binyomin that you talked about? You are, in fact, wishing to take him into captivity as a slave. Finally, Rashi says, as the fourth explanation and he emphasises the words כי כמוך כפרעה , if you anger me, I will kill you and your master the king.

What you have here is the epitome of political double talk, treble talk or quadruple talk. The honeyed words with the threat of strong action underlying it. Yehuda was, in effect saying, please treat me nicely, otherwise who knows what the consequences are going to be for you and the whole of Egypt.

He then proceeded to give a very brief resumé of the whole story as it had happened and tried to touch Yosef’s heart cords and to make him sympathetic to the plight of this poor Binyomin who had been left as the one and only son alive of Yaakov’s favourite wife Rochel. Yehuda even offered to change places and become the slave in place of Binyomin. Yosef was, by now, convinced that Yehuda was sincere in his change of heart and his teshuva.

Yehuda succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Not only, of course, was Binyomin pardoned, but as we know, Yosef then revealed himself as being the brother who not only forgave them but comforted them, saying that Hashem had sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival and to save you לפליטה גדלה to a momentous deliverance.



In addition to all the nuances and politics contained in the whole story and especially in the first posek and parsha of Vayigash, I think that the explanation of the Vilna Goan on the טעמי המקרא that is the neginos, which the Baal Koreh reads and sings is very illuminating in this particular case. The first six words of the posek are ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדני , if you look at the נגינות , the trop on the words ויגש אליו יהודה you have קדמא ואזלא רביעי . The next few words are ויאמר בי אדני , on which there are זרקא מונח סגול and the Vilna Goan explains in his own inimitable style that these טעמי המקרא are themselves an explanation of the posek. Yehuda was, in fact, saying to Yosef (whom, we know from parshas Mikeitz knew exactly which brothers were older and younger) I was born number four of the sons and why am I the one who is coming to beseech you to let Binyomin free and take me in his place? It is because I guaranteed that he would come back to our father alive.

Therefore the trop קדמא ואזלא means, he stood up and went (to Yosef) and the next trop, on the word יהודה is רביעי , the fourth, in other words the fourth son. As I mentioned earlier on, he had told Yaakov Avinu that if he did not bring Binyomim back, Yehuda would forfeit his portion in Olam Haboh and therefore זרקא , I will be thrown out, he said, מונח סגול from being in the special nation of Am Yisroel. Indeed, a beautiful explanation.



I have had a different idea, which I think fits in perfectly with the posek.

If you look back just a few posukim, Yehuda had stated when the silver goblet was found in Binyomin’s sack, מה נאמר לאדני – האלקים מצא את עון עבדיך What can we say to our master, Elokim has found the sin of your servants. It does not say Hashem it says Elokim which is known as middas Hadin, the strict judge. Yehuda realised that this was not just a viceroy in Egypt being nasty, this came direct from הקב'ה . Now what does a Yid do who sees middos Hadin מתוחה עליו , Hashem’s stern judgement hovering over him. He beseeches Hashem that Yud Kay Vov Kay, namely Hashem of rachamim to intercede and overturn the middos hadin. This, I think, is encapsulated in the first posek of Vayigash.

I am going to give everyone here a copy of the first posek where I have highlighted the first letters of each word and also added in numerical numbers all with colour codes as you will see. I will explain it verbally as well, as follows:-

If you take the first six words ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדני you will find that the first letters together add up in gemmatria to 26. We all know that alef equals 1, and vov for example equals 6. The gemmatria of the first letters of the first six words adds up to 26 and you will note that it does not say ויגש יהודה אל יוסף , the מפרשים , comment that he was not only talking to the viceroy of Egypt, Yehuda at the same time was praying and beseeching Hashem so that the expression אליו fits perfectly. These six words state that Yehuda drew near to him (it could be Hashem of course, as well) and he said please, the next word אדני can also be read as, my Lord, meaning Hashem. What did he ask, that Hashem should overturn the middas hadin.

If you go on to the next two words which are ידבר נא the first two letters add up in gemmatria to 60. 60 plus the original 26 for the first six words are 86 in total which is exactly the gemmatria of Elokim, alef lamed hay yud mem.

Now, we find that basically, Yehuda had three problems on his hands, one problem was concerning Yosef. This was in fact an old problem because it has been going on for over 20 years and his father had asked the brothers to try and see if they could locate Yosef. The second problem was Binyomin. He was now faced with Binyomin being kept as a slave by this viceroy and, on top of it all, of course, Yehuda had the problem with Yaakov, because he was going to be in great trouble with his father as I mentioned above. Let us proceed with the posek. After ידבר נא we have עבדך which has got an ayin at the beginning of the word, an ayin is 70. If you add this 70 to the 86 previously, all the roshe hatevos, first letters, then add up to 156 which is exactly the gemmatria of Yosef יוסף.

The first letters of the next two words דבר באזני total 6.

6 plus 156 is 162, and that is exactly the numerical value of Binyomin as it is written when he was born and Yaakov named him בנימין beis nun yud mem yud nun.

If you now go forward to the rest of the posek, the next words are אדני ואל יחר אפך בעבדך and the first letters of those words add up to another 20, add this to 162 and you have 182 and that is the exact gemmatria of the name Yaakov יעקב, yud ayin kuf beis. So we see a precise pattern. Yehuda had in mind when speaking to Yosef, the middos harachamim (Haviya) should overcome the middos hadin, (Elokim) in respect of Yosef, Binyomin and Yaakov.

But let us just go one stage further. If you go back to אדני ואל יחר אפך בעבדך דבר באזני Again the rosh hateves, the first letters add up to 26, and therefore you have Haviya again and the first letters of the last three words of the posek כי כמוך כפרעה , three times כ20 equals 60. If you add that 60 to the 26 I mentioned just before you again have a total of 86 which is again Elokim. So in fact, in the posek you have encrypted Haviya, Elokim, Yosef, Binyomin, Yaakov, Haviya, Elokim. A very neat sandwich giving the whole story.

This, together with the Vilna Goan’s explanation just amplifies the depth of the posek which I highlighted by mentioning that Rashi gives four explanations.

Truly our Torah is deep. Sometimes, we have the merit to find hidden depths in it.

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SHABBOS CHANUKAH

The Haftorah of Shabbos Chanukah is taken from the prophecy of זכריה Zachariah, commencing in the middle of the second chapter and going forward to the third and fourth chapters.

Rashi commences his commentary on Zachariah with the following words
נבואת זכריה סתומה היא מאד כי יש בה מראות דומות לחלום הניתן לפתרון ואין אנו יכולים לעמוד על אמיתת פתרונו עד יבוא מורה צדק
(Free translation) The prophecy of Zachariah is very deep, esoteric and difficult to understand. It consists of a number of visions which are more like dreams and they can, therefore, be interpreted in various ways. We cannot really be sure of the true interpretation until Moshiach will come. Rashi then comments that he will attempt to interpret as far as he can with the help of other interpretations and the translation of Targum Yonosan.

It, therefore, appears that one is free to interpret the visions oneself, bearing in mind חז''ל.

The time that Zachariah lived and prophesied in was towards the end of the exile of the 70 years, just before the second Bais Hamikdosh was built. The Haftorah commences with the words 'רני ושמחי בת ציון כי הנני בא ושכנתי בתוכך נאום ה
(Free translation) Rejoice and be happy daughters of Zion because I am coming and I will dwell among you, so says Hashem.

The beginning of the third chapter speaks about the Kohen Godol whose name was Yehoshua. The fourth chapter which is towards the end of the Haftorah speaks about a Menorah of gold. This would appear, at a first glance, to be the reason why this Haftorah is read on the Shabbos Chanukah, because of the nes of the oil and the lighting of our menorahs on Chanukah, and this is similar to the Menorah shown to Yehoshua the Kohen Godol.

I believe, however, that substantially the whole Haftorah can be explained as referring to the time of the Chashmonaim and the miracle of Chanukah.

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier on, the Haftorah itself starts with the words
'רני ושמחי בת ציון כי הנני בא ושכנתי בתוכך נאום ה
As translated above, this would refer to the Bais Hamikdosh which had been defiled by the Greeks and Hellenists and was rededicated by the Chashmonaim when they retook Jerusalem and the Bais Hamikdosh. At that time, there was a fresh השראת השכינה, The resting of Hashem’s Shechina on the Holy site. This, of course, caused great simcha and the oil carried on burning miraculously for eight days.

We say in Shemonei Esrai on Chanukah, concerning the actual happenings at that time,
חשמונאי ובניו בימי מתתיהו בן יוחנן כהן גדול,
In the days of Mattisyahu the son of Yochanon the High Priest and his children.
He was the first person who stood up and fought against the Greeks. In the same way, the Haftorah talks about Yehoshua Kohen Hagodol. It is interesting to note that יהושע means salvation. This was represented by Mattisyahu, who raised the flag of revolt which led to the eventual salvation and victory of the Chashmonaim.

Zachariah continues, והשטן עמד על ימינו לשטנו, (Free translation) the Satan stood on his right hand side to accuse him (Yehoshua). This hints at the Greeks who were intent on destroying Yiddishkeit, as we say in davening, להשכיחם תורתך וכ''ו-.

The next verse continues
ויאמר ה' אל השטן יגער ה' בך השטן ויגער ה' בך הבחר בירושלם הלא זה אוד מצל מאש.
And Hashem said to the Satan, May Hashem denounce you O Satan, May Hashem who chose Jerusalem denounce you. Indeed this man (Yehuda Hamaccabee, the son of Mattisyahu, who took over from him) is like a fire brand saved from a fire.

This obviously refers to the Greeks who defiled Yerushalayim and the Bais Hamikdosh and the children of Mattisyahu who recleansed it.

The prophet continues, ויהושע היה לבוש בגדים צואים and Yehoshua was dressed in dirty garments.

This refers to the fact that, instead of wearing the בגדי כהונה, the holy vestments, Mattisyahu and his children changed into warriors’ clothes in order to defeat the Greeks and their Hellenistic Jewish allies.

Zachariah carries on, telling people to remove these dirty garments from him, and says to Yehoshua,
העברתי מעליך עונך והלבש אתך מחלצות I have removed your sins from you and dressed you in clean attire. Implying that Yehuda Hamaccabee should not think that by killing these people, he was, in any way, defiling himself.

The verse continues וישימו הצניף הטהור על ראשו וילבשהו בגדים
And they (the angels) put a pure turban on his head and dressed him in clean clothes.

This, refers again to the donning of the בגדי כהונה, the vestments of the Kohen Godol and that it would continue in the next generations of Kohanim, the Chashmonaim.

The novi then admonishes as follows:
כה אמר ה' צבאו' אם בדרכי תלך ואם את משמרתי תשמר וכ''ו ונתתי לך מהלכים בין העמדים האלה

Hashem said, If you will go in My ways and safeguard My commandments, I will grant you “walking” among the angels who stand.

To understand these phrases, one needs to be aware that whereas an angel, once created, cannot elevate himself but is what is known as an “עומד”, always continuing on one spiritual level, a person can elevate himself in holiness and purity etc. and is therefore referred to as a הולך, going further. The implication is that the future generations of Chashmonaim would only succeed if they continued in a pure unadulterated Torah way.

Zachariah then continues,
שמע נא יהושע הכהן הגדול אתה ורעיך היושבים לפניך כי אנשי מופת המה
(Free translation) Listen now, Yehoshua, the Kohen Godol, you and your friends who are sitting before you, they are people of miracles.

This is referring not only to Mattisyahu as Kohen Godol but his five sons who all had miracles performed, both in war and then at the time that the Menorah was lit.

Zachariah continues, על אבן אחת שבעה עינים, there are seven eyes towards one stone.

This alludes to the fact that there was only enough oil to light the Menorah for one day and the miracle was that it continued to stay alight for a further seven days and could be see by all eyes.

The verse continues
ומשתי את עון הארץ ההיא ביום אחד וכ''ו and I will remove the sin of this land on one day.

This refers to immediately before Chanukah when the evil forces were defeated and the Jews could rest in peace.

The Haftorah then continues with the story of the golden Menorah which Yehoshua saw. This hardly needs any explanation but there are clear indications that this refers to the Menorah lit in the Bais Hamikdosh. Rashi explains that וגלה על ראשה means, and a bowl on the top (of the Menorah). This is obviously a hint to the פך שמן, the crucible of oil that was found and the verse continues regarding the seven lamps and seven ducts for the lamps, meaning that the oil lasted for an extra seven days.

The final words of the novi are to exhort לא בחיל ולא בכח כי אם ברוחי אמר ה' צבאו', Hashem said, Not through an army, and not with strength but through My spirit said Hashem, Master of the legions.

This obviously was a further warning to Mattisyahu and his children that once they had won the war against the Greeks, they should not think that it was anything to do with their own strength but they should, instead, concentrate on spiritual matters keeping Torah and mitzvos.

I believe that I have demonstrated how the whole of the Haftorah can be shown as full of allusions to the story of the Chashmonaim and Chanukah.

כ''ו כסלו תשס''ט

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CHANUKAH פך שמן – THE CRUCIBLE OF OIL

There is a Midrash that states that when Yaakov Avinu had the famous dream with the angels going up and down the ladder and he then woke up in the morning, the Torah tells us that he made the stone on which he slept into a מצבה, the Torah continues ויצק שמן על ראשה, He poured oil onto the top of it. The Midrash asks where did he have the oil from. It answers that this was sent to him “מן השמים” this was heavenly oil. Because Yaakov found the oil, unaccountably there, he realised that he was supposed to anoint the stone with oil. That way he would be able to recognise which particular stone it was and, therefore, to eventually, when he returned to that place, comply with his promise והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלקים And this stone which I have set aside as a testimony shall become the House of Hashem.

I heard a tape by Rabbi E Meisels where he quoted that Midrash and continued with the story of Yaakov being attacked overnight when the rest of the family had been transferred by him to the other side of the river יבק. The Torah says ויותר יעקב לבדו And Yaakov remained on his own. Rashi comments שכח פכים קטנים, He forgot the small vessels and Rabbi Meisels suggested that this in fact refers to the oil that had been found by Yaakov Avinu and which he had used to anoint that famous stone.

Rabbi Meisels then added that this was the very same פך של שמן, the crucible of oil, which was found almost 1400 years later when they were searching for oil with which to light the Menorah. This was the oil from which came the נס, miracle, of Chanukah.

It occurs to me that immediately after the Torah states ויותר יעקב לבדו, That Yaakov remained on his own and Rashi comments that he forgot the small vessels, the Torah then says ויאבק איש עמו, A man wrestled with him. Our Chazal tell us that this was the angel who looked after Eisav, שרו של עשו. Would it be too fanciful to suggest that because Yaakov “forgot” these vessels with the special oil in them, although the angel could not defeat Yaakov, nevertheless, he managed to touch כף ירכו, the socket of his hip. You will note that the word כף is exactly the same letters as פך but inverted.

The Gemorra says that the פך שמן was found בחותמו של כהן גדול, had on it the seal of the Kohen Godol. Before the Kohanim were appointed, the עבודה, service to Hashem was carried out by the בכורות, the firstborn.

In view of the fact that Yaakov had purchased the right of the בכורה from Eisav, and he was presented with this crucible of oil, מן השמים, it would be, I would suggest, possible to say that the בחותמו של כהן גדול mentioned by the Gemorra was, in fact, from Yaakov Avinu.

When the Bnei Yisroel fought לשם שמים, for the sake of heaven, at the time of the second Bais Hamikdosh and on 25th day of Kislev, they entered the Bais Hamikdosh, they found that very same פך, crucible of oil, and it was only fitting that this should be the oil that should be used. This is especially as Yaakov Avinu had said in his tefillo to Hashem והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלקים. It came back full circle to the original place where Yaakov had anointed the stone. Bearing all the above in mind, one can also understand how the oil burned miraculously for eight days.

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HALLEL ON CHANUKAH

Our Chochomim enacted that we should read the whole of Hallel every day of Chanukah to praise Hashem for all the miracles and salvations including those of Chanukah. But where is the נס of Chanukah hinted at in הלל.

If one takes the posek אנא יהו'' הושיעה נא, the first letters, ראשי תיבות, add up numerically to 66. This is exactly the numerical value of יון, Greece. It was מלכות יון, the Hellenistic Kingdom, that Dovid Hamelech saw in advance and he was pleading with Hashem that the Chashmonoim should have a ישועה, a salvation in their fight against Antiochus and his henchmen.

Furthermore, the ראשי תיבות, first letters, of the next phrase אנא יהו'' הצליחה נא, also equals 66 and also refers to יון, the Hellenists. This was to reinforce the fact that after they had achieved salvation, they should have further success, הצלחה.

We also say in the Hallel, הודו לה' כי טוב כי לעולם חסדו, praise ה' because He is good, His kindness is forever. This is followed by further pesukim with the phrase כי לעולם חסדו repeated. The first letters of כי לעולם חסדו add up to 58 this is exactly the same as the ראשי תיבות, the first letters of, נר חנוכה, which also add up to 58, therefore, one has a further hint to Chanukah in Hallel, namely we praise Him for His kindness concerning the נס of Chanukah.

One can add, I think, that the famous son of Mattisyahu known as יהודה המכבי, is called so because before every battle, he used to rally his troops against far superior numbers and better equipped enemies with the rallying call of מי כמכה באלים יהו''. The first letters of that phrase are מכבי.

He was telling his faithful followers that in the same way as at the time of the קריעת ים סוף, there appeared to be no natural way for the Bnei Yisroel to escape the oncoming army of Pharoh. Nevertheless, Hashem made the miracle of splitting the sea and the Egyptians lost the battle and were drowned. Likewise, יהודה המכבי told his troops, Hashem will help us against all odds!! And so it was.

The letters מ כ ב י add up together to 72 and this, the Zohar Hakodosh (see also Rashi on a Mishnah in Succah מ''ה) tells us was the שם ע''ב, the name of Hashem as spelled out amounting numerically to 72. This, in turn, is taken from the three verses before the Shira which commence with the words ויסע ויט ויבא, the last words at the end of the third verse are ויבקעו המים, the waters split. 72 is also the gemmatria of חסד.

Please note that the second chapter of הלל speaks about קריעת ים סוף. Once again we have a connection between Hallel and Chanukah.

To return to Hallel, the verse before אנא יהו'' הושיעה נא is as follows זה היום עשה יהו'' נגילה ונשמחה בו, this is the day made by Hashem, let us be happy and rejoice in it.

Again this can refer to Chanukah.

The numerical value of the first letters of that posuk are 150.

The next verse continues אנא יהו'' הושיעה נא, the first letters together totalling 66. Added to the previous 150 mentioned just above, they total 216. That is exactly the complete numerical value of שם ע''ב which itself consists always of three letters one from each verse mentioned above (ויסע ויט ויבא) three times 72 equals 216.

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VAYISHLACH - THE MEETING BETWEEN YAAKOV AND EISAV

Yaakov Avinu had been forced to leave his parents home at the age of 63 after he had received the brochos from Yitzchok for which Eisav did not forgive him. In fact, the Torah tells us that Eisav hated Yaakov because of this and Yaakov then went into hiding for 14 years learning day and night in the Yeshiva of Eiver, the great grandson of Shem. He then made his way to Choron as instructed, but Elifaz, the son of Eisav, ambushed him and all the valuables that he had with him, given to him by his parents, were handed over as ransom for his life.

As the medrash tells us, Elifaz stated that he had been sent to kill Yaakov but Yaakov told him עני חשוב כמת a poor person is counted as dead.

Yaakov then spent 20 years with Lovon amassing a family and wealth.

On his way back to Eretz Yisroel, he was confronted by Lovon and successfully made a pact with his father-in-law.

As we are told by Rashi, quoting the medrash, Yaakov Avinu was still very apprehensive about this brother’s attitude to Yaakov. He, therefore, sent מלאכים ממש , namely angels who were with him, as mentioned right at the end of the sedra Vayeitzei, to find out whether Eisav had by now calmed down and whether his hatred had become diminished.

The sedra of Vayishlach commences with the story from that point onwards. We are told that the angels came back and reported to Yaakov that “We had come to your brother but he was still the same Eisav”, in a very nasty frame of mind. Not only that, but he is coming towards you and your family with 400 men. Yaakov Avinu was terribly afraid. He split his family and belongings into two separate camps and he prayed to Hashem. He also sent lots of presents to Eisav in the hope that this would satisfy him but he then had a further problem.

Overnight, after he had transferred his family and belongings to the other side of the small river יבק, Yabok, he was confronted by a man. Our חז''ל tell us that he was none less than the שרי של עשו, the angel who looked after and represented Eisav. Whilst it is true that Yaakov bested the angel, he, nevertheless, suffered a serious injury, ותקע כף ירך יעקב, and Yaakov’s hip became dislocated.

The next morning, before Yaakov could take precautions, when he was in a bad physical state, all of a sudden Eisav appeared. Yaakov tried to separate out the various wives and children into three separate groups and the stage was set for the two brothers to meet for the first time in 34 years.

Let us examine in detail what happened, Yaakov bowed down to the ground seven times when he reached Eisav. Eisav ran towards him, embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him and cried. He then proceeded to speak to Yaakov very civilly as the Torah continues to tell us.

Truly extraordinary!!

We are told only a day or two before this, that the malochim had reported back to Yaakov that Eisav was still in a terribly ugly mood and out for revenge. Surely the presents that Yaakov had given didn’t change the position so dramatically?

I think that the answer to the point raised lies in the fact that Yaakov bowed down to the ground seven times and got up again.

Remember Yaakov was limping badly, having a dislocated hip. I once asked my dear friend Dr A S Levy, whether it was possible for somebody with a dislocated hip to actually bow down flat onto the ground. After consideration, he said that he thought that it was possible. How about him then getting up onto his feet? I enquired. That would be a virtual impossibility unless he was an extremely strong person both physically and mentally, was the answer. I continued with my enquiries. To be able to do this seven times?, I asked. He just shook his head in disbelief.

I believe that the same thing happened when Eisav watched Yaakov coming towards him.

Eisav’s ethos was, כחי ועוצם ידי, my physical strength is what beings me all my greatness.

He watched in disbelief when his brother, תם ויושב אהלים, the simple man used to sitting in the houses of study suddenly turned out to be a very, very strong person physically. The one thing that Eisav respected was brute strength.

(The Torah revealed to us previously that Yaakov was very strong. This was when he removed the large stone from the well outside Choron. All the shepherds were needed each day to perform that task together. Yaakov did it himself with ease. Eisav, however, did not know about that incident.)

When he saw this display of strength and courage by Yaakov, Eisav’s resolve melted and he decided that discretion was the better part of valour. That is why, I would suggest, he ran towards Yaakov embraced him, kissed him and cried, because he was afraid that if he tried any strong arm tactics, he would be defeated.

No doubt, Yaakov’s tefillos to Hashem had a strong effect, but the crunch was seeing Yaakov bow down seven times and then him raise himself up without assistance.

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VEYEITZEI - THE NAMING OF THE AVOS

We find in this week’s sedra that when, at long last, Rochel gave birth to a son, the Torah tells us the following. ותקרא את שמו יוסף לאמר יסף ה' לי בן אחר She called his name Yosef, יוסף, saying, Hashem should add for me, יסף, another son. As a baal koreh, I immediately noticed that the first time the Yosef is spelt, it has in it a ו, יוסף, whereas the second time the ו is omitted. There must be a very good reason why, especially in the same verse, a word is spelt מלא, and then חסר.

In order to understand this, I think we have to go back to the first time we find a person is instructed to give his son a name in Torah. I am referring to Avrohom who was told to name his son Yitzchok, יצחק. Rashi explains that this was because of the merriment and happiness that Avrohom experienced when he learned that he was going to have a son, at long last, at the age of 100 with his beloved wife, Soroh, who would then be 90.

Rashi, furthermore, comments that each individual letter has a significance. The י refers to the 10 tests that Avrohom was put through. The צ refers to the 90 years of Soroh. The ח is an allusion to the 8 days of the bris mila. Finally, the ק is the 100 years, the age of Avrohom at that the time that Yitzchok was born/

Obviously, there is more depth in that name than just a simple explanation, as we can all see.

What occurred to me, was that the full gemmatria, numerical equivalent, of the name Yitzchok is 208 (י equals 10, צ is 90, ח is 8 and ק equals 100).

The significance of that figure is that it is exactly 8 times 26. 26 is the numerical value of י-ה-ו- ה. We have a rule that 7 is the apex of nature. Hashem created the world in 7 days, we have 7 in the case of shmitta etc. 8 refers to that which is למעלה מן הטבע higher than nature, supernatural.

As both Avrohom and Soroh were elderly and it was a miracle, למעלה מן הטבע, that they were blessed with a son. Not only were they blessed with a son, but one who was very holy. Therefore, his name, numerically 208, is 8 times 26 as mentioned above.

When Yitzchok had two sons, everybody called Eisav by his name, as the Torah states. In the case of Yaakov, Rashi comments that הקב''ה called him by that name. Yaakov equals 182 (י equals 10, ע is 70, ק is 100 and ב equals 2). This equals 7 times הוי'. Yaakov Avinu represented the maximum that a person could elevate himself naturally in this world. Our chochomim tell us that the beauty, שופרא, of Yaakov was similar to that of Odom Harishon. Namely, his spiritual level reached a similar level to that of Odom Harishon the prototype, ideal man created by Hashem, Himself.

At the beginning of Vayeishev, the Torah tells us אלה תלדות יעקב יוסף. The commentators tell us that the main son of Yaakov was Yosef who was on a higher level than the 11 שבטים, his brothers. If you calculate the gemmatria of יוסף, it adds up to 156 (י equals 10, ו equals 6, ס is 60 and פ is 80). This equates to 6 times 26.

We therefore see a pattern emerging. Yitzchok equals 8, Yaakov equals 7 and Yosef equals 6 times the שם הוי'.

As far as Avrohom is concerned, we all know that his father was Terach, who originally named his אברם, therefore his name does not fit into the pattern. Hashem gave him the extra ה in his name and by doing so the numerical value of אברהם equals 248 (א equals 1, ב equals 2, ר is 200, ה is 5 and מ equals 40). That, of course, is the same as the 248 limbs which a man possesses. It is also equal to the 248 positive mitzvos in the Torah. Avrohom positively elevated his whole being physical as well as spiritual to an indescribably high level.

Coming back to the original question I posed as to why in the one verse the name Yosef is spelt with a ו and then without, I believe that the answer is now apparent. The first time, it is spelt fully, as I have explained above, because it equals 6 times 26 and it is to convey the continuity of the holiness of the generations of our אבות. However, although Rochel was asking for another son, she knew that even though her son, eventually born, namely Benyomim, would be a Tzaddik, he could not be on the same level as Yosef. Therefore, the ו is omitted and the word is spelt יסף.

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VEYEITZEI

Yaakov Avinu wished to marry Rochel. His future father-in-law, Lovon, duped him into taking Leah first and the net result was that he ended up with both Rochel and Leah, as well as their handmaidens, Bilhah and Zilpah as wives.

He also had to agree to serve Lovon not just for seven years, as he had suggested for Rochel, but a further seven years as a sort of payment for dowry.

Not only that, there was a further six years that Yaakov worked very hard trying to build up his own flocks of sheep and capital.

As we find towards the end of the sedra, Yaakov himself declared that he hardly had any time to sleep as he was so busy looking after Lovon’s sheep etc.

Children born to Leah and Bilhah and Zilpah came very quickly indeed and in the space of only six or seven years, Yaakov had, in fact twelve children including one daughter, Dina, and Yosef was finally born to Rochel after much trial and tribulation.

One interesting fact that I have not seen discussed, is that the children’s names were give by the two main wives of Yaakov, namely Leah and Rochel. Why did not Yaakov give them names at all, at least of some of them?

The only time we find that Yaakov himself gave a name, was when the family finally returned to Eretz Yisroel and Rochel was expecting her second son, and she had great difficulties. Just before she died, she named him בן אוני, the son of my anguish. Yaakov then renamed him בנימין.

Why was it that the two אמהות named the children.

I believe that the answer lies in the whole set up of the family relationship and Lovon being the father-in-law. Yaakov had a major problem with regard to the chinuch of his children. He was preoccupied day and night and could not give them very much attention. It is true that Rochel and Leah were both צדקניות, very righteous people and also נביאות but even so, they were in the same town as Lovon and the whole atmosphere of Aram Naharaim was not conducive to bringing up children in the way that Yaakov had, himself, been brought up in the home of Yitzchok and Rivka, and Avrohom as well. It was going to have to be the ladies who were going to take the whole brunt of bringing up the children correctly. In order to give them even more incentive to care for each child, to ensure that they adhered to the correct path, Yaakov gave them the task and pleasure of naming the children one by one. This, no doubt, gave them even more reason to look after each child very carefully and deal with the responsibility in a very mature manner.

The one exception to the rule was in the case of Levi, where, although Leah had said, הפעם ילוה אישי אלי, “this time my husband will accompany me more”. The verse continues על כן קרא שמו לוי. It does not say that she called him לוי but that He called him לוי. Rashi quotes our Chazal that Hashem sent the Malach Gavriel to bring him before Hashem and He called him that name.

Why was it that just in this case, Leah did not give the actual name.

May I suggest that this was because after having named both ראובן and שמעון in each case mentioning the name of Hashem, in the case of לוי she did not mention Hashem at all. In order that לוי should have that extra spiritual level, Hashem himself gave the name and, therefore, as Rashi adds, Hashem gave him the 24 special מתנות כהונה, special presents which a Kohen receives.

In respect of the fourth son, born shortly afterwards, namely יהודה, Leah reverted to mentioning Hashem, הפעם אודה את יהו' , this time I will thank Hashem. Because she actually did this, rather than just mentioning Hashem having seen her affliction, in the case of ראובן and seen that she was “hated” in the case of שמעון. In the case of יהודה, she thanked Hashem. Because of this positive thanking, one can understand why the eventual Malchus, the kingship of all of Israel comes from the tribe of יהודה. It is particularly epitomised by Dovid Hamelech.

Turning to the youngest son, בנימין, whom I mentioned above, we know that prophecy only comes through simcha. Obviously, in the case of Rochel when she was in death throes and gave the name בן אוני, this was not with prophecy. Therefore, Yaakov named his son בנימין. Rashi explains that this means the son who was born in the south of Eretz Yisroel or alternatively, who was born in Yaakov’s old age. The Ramban suggests that “the son of my strength” is a sensible explanation of the name.

At that time, Yaakov had no further bad influences such as Lovon and Aram Naharaim to worry about as he was already in Eretz Yisroel and on the way back to his father’s house. He, therefore, himself named his youngest son with the name by which he is still known to this day.

When the Bais Hamikdosh was erected the greater portion of this was in the land of tribe of יהודה. This obviously went with the malchus.

However, the holiest part, the מזבח and קודש קדשים were built on the land of בנימין. I would suggest that this was not only because בנימין was the one child who was born in Eretz Yisroel, furthermore, he was the one son who had not bowed down to Eisav but in addition to this, his name was given by his father Yaakov. Yaakov had a famous dream mentioned at the beginning of the sedra and he laid down on the stones which appear to have been of that very place, namely the Holiest part of the Bais Hamikdosh the קודש קדשים or alternatively the מזבח. In any event, it is fitting that as he, himself, given the name to his youngest son, that son’s portion in Eretz Yisroel should be the one designated for the מזבח and the קודש קדשים.


PLEASE ALSO READ MY EARLIER POST ON THIS BLOG "YAAKOV'S SHEEP"

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