Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Toldot "A Soul from Eretz Yisrael" Volume 25, No. 6 29 Marcheshvan 5771 November 6, 2010 Sponsored by Howard Benn on the yahrzeit of his father David Benn (Dovid ben R' Mordechai a"h) Today's Learning: Tanach: Shmuel I 27-28 Mishnah: Kilayim 9:5-6 Halachah: O.C. 562:10-12 Daf Yomi (Bavli): Horiot 9 Daf Yomi (Yerushalmi): Ma'asrot 23 We read in this week's parashah that Hashem told Yitzchak (26:4-5), "I will increase your offspring like the stars of the heavens; and will give to your offspring all these lands [i.e. Eretz Yisrael] . . . because Avraham obeyed My voice, and observed My safeguards, My commandments, My decrees, and My Torahs." Rashi z"l explains: Avraham observed all of the mitzvot, even rabbinic decrees that would be decreed generations later. R' Elazar Menachem Shach z"l (1898-2001; rosh yeshiva of the Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak) writes: In these verses, Hashem clearly indicates that Avraham merited to receive Eretz Yisrael and to bequeath it to his descendants because he observed the mitzvot. This teaches that the blessing of receiving and holding-on to Eretz Yisrael is conditioned upon our observance of mitzvot. Similarly, when Hashem requested Avraham's permission to destroy Sdom (because the Land belonged to Avraham, as Rashi explains), He said (Bereishit 18:19), "For I have loved him, because he commands his children and his household after him to keep the way of Hashem . . . " This indicates, R' Schach writes, that Hashem intended Avraham's descendants to rule the Land in accordance with Torah law. R' Shach continues: The midrash relates, based on verse 27:40 in our parashah, that Yitzchak Avinu told his son Esav, "When you see your brother [Yaakov] throw off the yoke of Torah, decree persecution upon him." We read similarly (Devarim 28:15, 25), "It will be if you do not listen to the voice of Hashem, your Elokim, to observe, to perform His commandments and His decrees . . . , all these curses will come upon you and overtake you . . . Hashem will cause you to be struck down before your enemies . . ." During most of Jewish history, R' Shach writes, the Jew who openly rejected a Torah way of life and sought to mimic the lifestyle of his gentile neighbors was the exception, not the norm. Even the simple, uneducated Jew, man or woman, understood that he was different from his neighbors. If not during the workweek, at least on Shabbat, he felt a special holiness and he set aside time for Torah study. He believed that which we say in our prayers, "How fortunate we are! How good is our portion and how pleasant is our lot!" Furthermore, he understood that, not only is it wrong for a Jew to want to mimic his neighbors, it is impossible in the long-run for Jews to disappear into society at large. [This is the message of the prophet (Yechezkel 20:32), "As for what enters your mind, it shall not be! That which you say, `We will be like the nations'."] (Rosh Amanah) ******* "Might shall pass from one regime to the other." (25:23) Rashi z"l comments (based on Megillah 6a): "They will never be equally great at the same time; when one rises the other will fall. Thus it says, (Yechezkel 26:2) `Because Tyre says about Yerushalayim, "I shall be filled with her that is laid waste"'--Tyre became full only through the ruin of Jerusalem." [In other words, when Yisrael rises, it enemies must necessarily fall, and, G-d forbid, vice-versa.] R' Chaim Vital z"l (1543-1620) writes: The same phenomenon exists with respect to all forces of purity and impurity. They cannot coexist. This is why a person who refrains from transgressing a negative commandment-- for example, not stealing, murdering or committing adultery--is rewarded as if he had performed an affirmative commandment. Any time one avoids forces of impurity, he is allowing forces of purity to enter his soul. (Sha'arei Kedushah 1:1) ******** "The children agitated within her, and she said, `If so, why am I thus?'" (25:22) R' Avraham Elkanah Kahana-Shapira z"l (1914-2007; rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Merkaz Harav and Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel) wonders: After longing for children for so many years, how could Rivka wish she were not pregnant merely because of discomfort or even pain? He explains: Tzaddikim desire only that which is G-d's Will. When Rivka felt the intense pain associated with her pregnancy, she thought that perhaps G-d had acceded to hers and Yitzchak's prayers, but that it was not really His Will that she have children. Therefore, she no longer wanted children. (Imrei Shefer) A related thought: We read in Tehilim (145:19--part of the thrice daily Ashrei prayer): "He will do the will of those who fear Him, and He will hear their cry, and He will save them." How are the first and second clauses of this verse related? R' Zvi Pesach Frank z"l (1873-1960; Chief Rabbi of Yerushalayim) explains: Sometimes Hashem gives in to the will of those who fear Him even though He knows it is not what is best for them. When they later realize that what they asked for was not in their best interests, Hashem hears their prayers and cries, and takes away what he had previously given. (She'eilot U'teshuvot Har Zvi O.C. No.1) ******** "After that his brother emerged with his hand grasping on to the heel (eikev) of Esav . . ." (25:26) R' Chaim Palagi z"l (Izmir, Turkey; 1788-1868) writes: The heel [being the lowest part of the body] alludes to humility. Yaakov, who inherited Eretz Yisrael, did so because of his humility, which we see in verses such as (32:11), "I am too small for all the kindnesses and all the truth that You have done Your servant." (Artzot Ha'chaim p.12) ******** "Yitzchak loved Esav, for game was in his mouth." (25:28) Rabbeinu Nissim z"l ("Ran"; Spain; 1290-1375) writes: There is no question that Yitzchak did not know that Esav was a rasha. Why did Hashem not tell Yitzchak? Why did Hashem want Yaakov to obtain the blessings deviously, an act which has caused hatred between Yaakov's descendants and Esav's descendants to this day? Ran explains: Prophecy and Ruach Hakodesh can rest only on a person who is happy. This is why Yitzchak asked Esav to prepare a meal of delicacies for him before receiving the blessings. Had Yitzchak known the truth about his son, he certainly would have been sad, and then he would have been unable to bless either Esav or Yaakov, even if he had wanted to. An additional reason is that Hashem wants there to be enmity between Yaakov's descendants and Esav's descendants so that the latter will be His tool to punish the former when they sin. (Derashot Ha'Ran No. 5) ******** "Esav harbored hatred toward Yaakov because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esav thought, `May the days of mourning for my father draw near, then I will kill my brother Yaakov'." (27:41) Esav had rejected Yitzchak's beliefs and lifestyle. Why then did he value his father's blessings to such a degree that he was willing to kill his brother because of them? R' Shaul Yisraeli z"l (1910-1995; rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Merkaz Harav and member of Israel's Supreme Rabbinical Court) explains: We read earlier in the parashah (25:32), "Esav said, `Look, I am going to die, so of what use to me is a birthright?'" Our Sages say that this conversation took place on the day that Avraham died. Esav said, "If even that tzaddik can die, there must be no reward and punishment. Therefore, I may as well live for today." A person who lives "for today" sees no reason to improve himself, writes R' Yisraeli. He says, "I am who I am!" Such a person is capable of respecting and admiring a tzaddik, as Esav respected and admired Yitzchak (who never stepped on Esav's toes), and he may even desire the tzaddik's good will and his blessings. Even so, he sees no need to emulate the tzaddik. (Siach Shaul) ******** A Soul from Eretz Yisrael "Dwell in this land and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your offspring I will give all these lands, and establish the oath that I swore to Avraham your father." (26:3) Rashi z"l explains: Yitzchak thought of going down to Egypt as his father had gone down in time of famine; therefore Hashem said to him, "Do not go down to Egypt for you are a like a burnt-offering without blemish, and residence outside the Holy Land is not befitting you." R' Avraham Azulai z"l (1570-1643; Morocco and Eretz Yisrael; his yahrzeit was this week) elaborates on the difference between one who lives in Eretz Yisrael and one who does not. He writes: The souls of those who live in Eretz Yisrael come from a "higher" world (called "Yetzirah") than the souls of those who live outside the Land (which are from a "lower" world called "Asiyah"). When a person merits to enter the Land, a new soul from that higher world comes and wraps itself in his old soul. When he goes to sleep on his first night in Eretz Yisrael, both souls ascend to Heaven, and only the new soul [i.e., the soul of Eretz Yisrael] returns when he awakens in the morning. This is why a person who moves to Eretz Yisrael is not punished for the sins he committed in the Diaspora; his prior soul has left him and his new soul does not deserve to be punished. Accordingly, our Sages say that one who settles in Eretz Yisrael has all of his sins forgiven and he is called a "tzaddik" even though he does not have the outward appearance of a tzaddik. Indeed, were he not a tzaddik, the Land would expel him (as stated in Vayikra 18:28). Know however, continues R' Azulai, that settling in Eretz Yisrael atones only for unintentional sins, but intentional sins are atoned for only through suffering. Intentional sins committed in the Land can be atoned for only through teshuvah and Torah study. R' Azulai writes further: If one leaves Eretz Yisrael with the intention of returning quickly, as proven by the fact that he leaves his wife and children there, his soul from Yetzirah will not leave him. However, a soul from Asiyah envelopes his soul. Because he still has his original soul, he observes one day of Yom Tov as he did in Eretz Yisrael. However, it is for his benefit that a lower soul envelopes his higher soul, for it protects him from the impurities of the Diaspora. [Being more refined or delicate, the soul of Eretz Yisrael would be damaged more easily by the impurities of the Diaspora.] If one was an immigrant to Eretz Yisrael and later left, the soul which he received when he arrived in the Land remains behind in Eretz Yisrael. And, one who visits Eretz Yisrael has his soul cleansed before he enters the Land, but he does not receive a new soul. This is why he must keep two days of Yom Tov. (Chesed L'Avraham III 12 & 14)