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SHABBAT LEARNING MATERIAL

PARSHAT

Vayigash 10 & 11 December 2021

7 Tevet

Cheshvan 5782

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page 3 Parsha in a Nutshell ❖ Chabad.org

Channeling Emotions ❖ Rabbi Eli Scheller (Aish.com)

Pages 4 – 5 Chesed LeAvraham:

Parsha favourites heard from

Rav Avraham Chaim Tanzer zt’l ❖ Compiled by Rav Dov Tanzer

Pages 6 - 8 The Birth of Forgiveness ❖ Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Page 9 Vayigash ❖ Rabbi Berel Wein

Pages 10 – 19 Source Sheet Learning:

SHMA

Pages 20 – 27 Children Service Newsletter

Pages 28 – 31 Children’s Learning:

Talmud Yisraeli ❖ Daf Yomi For Us

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Vayigash in a Nutshell (Chabad.org)

Judah approaches Joseph to plead for the release of Benjamin, offering himself as a slave to the

Egyptian ruler in Benjamin’s stead. Upon witnessing his brothers’ loyalty to one another, Joseph reveals

his identity to them.“I am Joseph,” he declares. “Is my father still alive?”

The brothers are overcome by shame and remorse, but Joseph comforts them. “It was not you who

sent me here,” he says to them, “but G‑d. It has all been ordained from Above to save us, and the

entire region, from famine.”

The brothers rush back to Canaan with the news. Jacob comes to Egypt with his sons and their

families—seventy souls in all—and is reunited with his beloved son after 22 years. On his way to Egypt

he receives the divine promise: “Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great

nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again.”

Joseph gathers the wealth of Egypt by selling food and seed during the famine. Pharaoh gives Jacob’s family the fertile county of Goshen to settle, and the children of Israel prosper in their Egyptian exile.

Channelling Emotions(Aish.com)

by Rabbi Eli Scheller

Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Yisrael his father in Goshen. He appeared before him, fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck excessively. (Gen. 46:29)

Yaakov was informed that his long-lost son, whom he had not seen for 22 years, was alive and well and ruling Egypt. Overjoyed he headed down to Egypt to see him. Yosef went out to greet his father, falling on his neck weeping. Yaakov, however, did not fall on Yosef's neck, nor did he kiss him. Why not? The Midrash reveals that Yaakov was reciting Shema. Of all the times to say the Shema, he had to say it now - when he was finally re-united with his long lost son!? Couldn't he have had better itinerary planning? And if it was now the halachic time to say Shema, why didn't Yosef say it as well? Emotions can be channeled in different ways. An actor who feels anxious and tense before a play can channel those feelings into high-powered energy and produce an incredible performance. The same is true for channeling our emotions to the service of God. When Yaakov saw Yosef after a long and painful separation, he experienced an outpouring of love and joy. He felt that instead of focusing purely on the joy of seeing his son, he should channel this love towards God, and so he immediately recited Shema.(1) Character traits can also be redirected to better serve God. We find that both King David and Eisav were born with a tendency towards bloodshed. David utilized it for the good - he killed only in accordance with the rulings of the Sanhedrin, thus fulfilling God's will. Eisav, on the other hand, would kill whenever the mood moved him, and became the eternal symbol of cruelty and evil. God created man with the ability to experience many emotions, and He wants us to use them to get closer to Him. How sad it is when people cry watching movies, wasting their precious tears on something that never even happened! The Talmud(2) states, "If a person encounters the evil inclination, he should drag him into the Beis Hamidrash (study hall)." The Ben Yehoyada explains, "If a sudden wave of physical desire overcomes a person, "He should bring it to the Bais Midrash" - instead of using the desire for something negative, he should hurry to utilize this energy for spiritual pursuits - the performance of a mitzva or the study of Torah.

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RABBI TANZER TALKS PARASHA Vayigash

“To share, to care. To make the world a better place….” Parsha favorites heard from Rav Avraham Chaim Tanzer zt’l. Including his uplifting and edifying teachings, and

lessons gleaned from his great character. Compiled and eludicated by Rav Dov Tanzer le’iluy nishmas Abba Mari zt”l

PUTTING FIRST THINGS FIRST

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורת לפניו גשנה

Yaakov sent Yehuda before him to Yosef to direct him to

Goshen before he came, and so they came to the land of

Goshen

The Pasuk highlights that before Yaakov set out for

the land of Egypt, he first sent his son, Yehuda on a

mission. The Torah doesn’t specify the nature of this

dispatch; simlply ‘lehoros lefanav’ – to direct before

him. Following the simple Peshat, this means that

Yaakov wished to avoid the impression that he and

his family and of their own accord moved and

settled en masse in the town of Goshen.

Our Sages however, saw a different mission hinted

in these words. ‘Lehoros’ – comes from the word ‘to

teach’, and ‘Torah’. Before Yaakov would agree to join

Yosef in Egypt – something he longed for with all his

heart; he needed first ‘Lehoros’ – to instruct, to

teach. He sends Yehuda to set up the very first

Yeshiva in Africa – in the heart of the land of Egypt.

He established a ‘Beis HaTalmud’ – a place of toil in

Torah, from which true inspiration and Torah rulings

would emerge.

Yaakov did so even before he set up his personal

lodgings. He seemed to be saying: we will certainly

find lodgings in Goshen; in one place or another, but

a Jew and a Jewish community cannot thrive, nor

survive without a culture of Torah learning – with

Yeshivos.

The Yeshiva and the Beis Medrash – a place where

people of every age come to be inspired, to learn to

discuss and to debate - these are the heart and the

soul of the Jewish Nation. We are

indeed the People of the Book – or more to the

point the People of Study and of thought – of

Torah Shebeal Peh – the Oral Tradition.

It been almost an axiom of Jewish History that

where Yeshivos thrive, the commununity flowers.

Abba z’l for six decades championed the cause of

Jewish Education in South Africa, believing, as he

did, that Jewish Education and Jewish Community

go hand in hand. Truly, he explained that Jewish

Education in it’s truest form meant exposing the

Talmidim to the classic Torah texts, and to the

tradiitional form of Torah study, debate and fielty.

The world-renowned Rabbi Wolbe survived the

war years in neutral Sweden. The very first thing

he did upon his arrival in Sweden was to rent a

flat, on which door he affixed a plaque – ‘Beis

Hamusar’ – the Mussar Study Hall. Only having

achieved that did he continue to find personal

accommodation.

Rav Wolbe later maintained that had he not

followed the agenda and time table of Yaakov, he

may have indeed survived the war physically, but

he certainly would have lost all that he had gained

in his years of absorbing the great Torah and

Musar of the Yeshivos that were destroyed.

Abba z’l moved across the globe, and stepped into

a very different world, where he assumed his first

post as Hostel Master. He invested years and

decades in building his fledgling Yeshiva. It was

only decades later that any attention was

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RABBI TANZER TALKS PARASH Vayigash

“To share, to care. To make the world a better place….” Parsha favorites heard from Rav Avraham Chaim Tanzer zt’l. Including his uplifting and edifying teachings, and

lessons gleaned from his great character. Compiled and elucidated by Rav Dov Tanzer le’iluy nishmas Abba Mari zt”l

given to the financial stability of the Rosh Yeshiva.

Abba was that man, Heaven appointed to bring

Yeshivos and learning to South Africa.

IT TAKES ROYALTY TO SET THE

FOUNDATIONS The question has been raised: Why Yehuda? If

Yaakov’s strategy was to build a Makom Torah.

Surely, he should have sent one of the specialised

‘learning tribes’, e.g. Levi, or Yissachar which were

known for their great prowess and devotion to

learning.

One of the fine answers given to this question is

that, true, there were other tribes devoted to

Torah study and to dissemination of Torah in

Israel, but it needed the particular character of

Yehuda – the tribe of ‘Malchus’ from which royalty

and monarchy will never leave – that is the Koach

that was need to build the foundation for the first

Yeshiva in Africa.Only after the foundation was set

by the Royal tribe of Yehuda, then the actual

teaching could be well attended to by the

specialised tribes of Torah Study.

Perhaps the special merit of Monarchy to set the

foundations is because Monarchy thinks for the

people – it’s never completely personal, nor

biased. The sign of a true Monarch, is that his

deepest thoughts and fears are of the people

and for the people. His Torah is not ‘his’ Torah,

but the Torah of Klal Yisrael – the entire

spectrum of the Jewish People. Perhaps that

explains why setting the first Yeshiva called for a

Royal Act.

I’m not 100% sure that we come from the tribe of

Yehuda, although the official Tanzer Family Tree

does follow that route. It does seem true however,

that Abba z’l the legendary Torah

pioneer, was positioned to be the central pivot

around which almost all Torah development

would grow and emerge.

Abba z’l had that special character – Malchus – true

Torah leadership that was based on humility and

service, but which innately wielded the authority to

direct the campaign and the focus to build the

People.

SEIZE THE MOMENT

עוד צואריו על ויבך

Yosef harnessed his chariot, and went up to

meet his father Yisrael, to Goshen. He

presented himself to him, and feel upon his

neck and he wept upon his neck continuously

Yosef wept, but Yaakov did not weep. This is plain

in the Pasuk’s single form usage. Why not? Rav

Hirsch explains that Yaakov had already wept

enough in his life. He had come to terms with all the

sacrifices which he had been called on to make.

Abba z’l, however, enjoyed the answer of the Sages

cited by Rashi on our Pasuk: Yosef wept and fell

upon his father’s neck. Yaakov, however, was busy

reciting Kerias Shema, and thus didn’t weep.

Why was he reciting the Shema just at that point.

Abba used to explain that Yaakov was teaching that

there are special moments in life. The truly precious

ones should not simply be enjoyed and celebrated

emotionally. Rather, times of historic moment,

need to be dignified and captured by offering those

moments, together with their deep emotion, as a

gift to Hashem. Yaakov was in effect saying: I accept

and believe that all the terrifying emotions of the

last decades was part of Hashem’s plan for my

benefit and that of my children. Such a moment

belongs to history, to Hashem.

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The Birth of Forgiveness (Vayigash) Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ZT’’L

There are moments that change the world: 1439 when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press (though the Chinese had developed it four centuries before); 1821 when Faraday invented the electric motor; or 1990 when Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web. There is such a moment in this week’s parsha, and in its way it may have been no less transformative than any of the above. It happened when Joseph finally revealed his identity to his brothers. While they were silent and in a state of shock, he went on to say these words:

“I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God

sent me ahead of you… it was not you who sent me here, but God.” (Gen. 45:4-8)

This is the first recorded moment in history in which one human being forgives another.

According to the Midrash, God had forgiven before this,[1] but not according to the plain sense of the text. Forgiveness is conspicuously lacking as an element in the stories of the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and Sodom. When Abraham prayed his audacious prayer for the people of Sodom, he did not ask God to forgive them. His argument was about justice, not forgiveness. Perhaps there were innocent people there, fifty or even ten. It would be unjust for them to die. Their merit should therefore save the others, says Abraham. That is quite different from asking God to forgive.

Joseph forgave. That was a first in history. Yet the Torah hints that the brothers did not fully appreciate the significance of his words. After all, he did not explicitly use the word ‘forgive’. He told them not to be distressed. He said, “It was not you but God.” He told them their act had resulted in a positive outcome. But all of this was theoretically compatible with holding them guilty and deserving of punishment. That is why the Torah recounts a second event, years later, after Jacob had died. The brothers sought a meeting with Joseph, fearing that he would now take revenge. They concocted a story:

They sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers for the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the

servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. (Gen. 50:16-18)

What they said was a white lie, but Joseph understood why they said it. The brothers used the word “forgive” – this is the first time it appears explicitly in the Torah – because they were still unsure about what Joseph meant. Does someone truly forgive those who sold him into slavery? Joseph wept that his brothers had not fully understood that he had forgiven them long before. He had no anger, no lingering resentment, no desire for revenge. He had conquered his emotions and reframed his understanding of events.

Forgiveness does not appear in every culture. It is not a human universal, nor is it a biological imperative. We know this from a fascinating study by American classicist David Konstan, Before Forgiveness: The Origins of a Moral Idea (2010).[2] In it he argues that there was no concept of forgiveness in the literature of the ancient Greeks. There was something else, often mistaken for forgiveness: appeasement of anger.

When someone does harm to someone else, the victim is angry and seeks revenge. This is clearly dangerous for the perpetrator and they may try to get the victim to calm down and move on. They may make excuses: It wasn’t me, it was someone else. Or, it was me but I couldn’t

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help it. Or, it was me but it was a small wrong, and I have done you much good in the past, so on balance you should let it pass.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with these other strategies, the perpetrator may beg, plead, and perform some ritual of abasement or humiliation. This is a way of saying to the victim, “I am not really a threat.” The Greek word sugnome, sometimes translated as forgiveness, really means, says Konstan, exculpation or absolution. It is not that I forgive you for what you did, but that I understand why you did it – you could not really help it, you were caught up in circumstances beyond your control – or, alternatively, I do not need to take revenge because you have now shown by your deference to me that you hold me in proper respect. My dignity has been restored.

There is a classic example of appeasement in the Torah: Jacob’s behaviour toward Esau when they meet again after a long separation. Jacob had fled home after Rebecca overheard Esau resolving to kill him after Isaac’s death (Gen. 27:41). Prior to the meeting Jacob sends him a huge gift of cattle, saying “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me” (Gen. 32:21). When the brothers meet, Jacob bows down to Esau seven times, a classic abasement ritual. The brothers meet, kiss, embrace and go their separate ways, not because Esau has forgiven Jacob but because either he has forgotten or he has been placated.

Appeasement as a form of conflict management exists even among non-humans. Frans de Waal, the primatologist, has described peace-making rituals among chimpanzees, bonobos and mountain gorillas.[3] There are contests for dominance among the social animals, but there must also be ways of restoring harmony to the group if it is to survive at all. So there are forms of appeasement and peace-making that are pre-moral and have existed since the birth of humanity.

Forgiveness has not. Konstan argues that its first appearance is in the Hebrew Bible and he cites the case of Joseph. What he does not make clear is why Joseph forgives, and why the idea and institution are born specifically within Judaism.

The answer is that within Judaism a new form of morality was born. Judaism is (primarily) an ethic of guilt, as opposed to most other systems, which are ethics of shame. One of the fundamental differences between them is that shame attaches to the person. Guilt attaches to the act. In shame cultures when a person does wrong he or she is, as it were, stained, marked, defiled. In guilt cultures what is wrong is not the doer but the deed, not the sinner but the sin. The person retains their fundamental worth (“the soul you gave me is pure,” as we say in our prayers). It is the act that has somehow to be put right. That is why in guilt cultures there are processes of repentance, atonement and forgiveness.

That is the explanation for Joseph’s behaviour from the moment the brothers appear before him in Egypt for the first time to the point where, in this week’s parsha, he announces his identity and forgives his brothers. It is a textbook case of putting the brothers through a course in atonement, the first in literature. Joseph is thus teaching them, and the Torah is teaching us, what it is to earn forgiveness.

Recall what happens. First he accuses the brothers of a crime they have not committed. He says they are spies. He has them imprisoned for three days. Then, holding Shimon as a hostage, he tells them that they must now go back home and bring back their youngest brother Benjamin. In other words, he is forcing them to re-enact that earlier occasion when they came back to their father with one of the brothers, Joseph, missing. Note what happens next:

They said to one another, “Surely we deserve to be punished [ashemim] because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we

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would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us” … They did not realise that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. (Gen. 42:21-23)

This is the first stage of repentance. They admit they have done wrong.

Next, after the second meeting, Joseph has his silver cup planted in Benjamin’s sack. This incriminating evidence is found and the brothers are brought back. They are told that Benjamin must stay as a slave.

“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we

ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” (Gen. 44:16)

This is the second stage of repentance. They confess. They do more; they admit collective responsibility. This is important. When the brothers sold Joseph into slavery it was Judah who proposed the crime (Gen. 37:26-27) but they were all (except Reuben) complicit in it.

Finally, at the climax of the story Judah himself says “So now let me remain as your slave in place of the lad. Let the lad go back with his brothers!” (Gen. 42:33) Judah, who sold Joseph as a slave, is now willing to become a slave so that his brother Benjamin can go free. This is what the Sages and Maimonides define as complete repentance, namely when circumstances repeat themselves and you have an opportunity to commit the same crime again, but you refrain from doing so because you have changed.

Now Joseph can forgive, because his brothers, led by Judah, have gone through all three stages of repentance: [1] admission of guilt, [2] confession and [3] behavioural change.

Forgiveness only exists in a culture in which repentance exists. Repentance presupposes that we are free and morally responsible agents who are capable of change, specifically the change that comes about when we recognise that something we have done is wrong and we are responsible for it and we must never do it again. The possibility of that kind of moral transformation simply did not exist in ancient Greece or any other pagan culture. Greece was a shame-and-honour culture that turned on the twin concepts of character and fate.[4] Judaism was a repentance-and-forgiveness culture whose central concepts are will and choice. The idea of forgiveness was then adopted by Christianity, making the Judeo-Christian ethic the primary vehicle of forgiveness in history.

Repentance and forgiveness are not just two ideas among many. They transformed the human situation. For the first time, repentance established the possibility that we are not condemned endlessly to repeat the past. When I repent I show I can change. The future is not predestined. I can make it different from what it might have been. Forgiveness liberates us from the past. Forgiveness breaks the irreversibility of reaction and revenge. It is the undoing of what has been done.[5]

Humanity changed the day Joseph forgave his brothers. When we forgive and are worthy of being forgiven, we are no longer prisoners of our past. The moral life is one that makes room for forgiveness.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR VAYIGASH

1. Are all people capable of change? 2. Should everyone be forgiven? 3. Who is the main beneficiary of the act of forgiveness?

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VAYIGASH 5782

As the story of Joseph and his brothers reaches its dramatic climax in this week’s Torah reading, we are left with many unanswered questions regarding this unique narrative. One unanswered question is how much did our father Jacob really know about the events previously described in the Torah readings? There are various streams of thought regarding this matter. Rashi and the Midrash seem to believe that Jacob, by the end of his life, certainly was aware of the entire drama and of the participants in the story. He indirectly refers to it on his deathbed, especially regarding Shimon and Levi, for their aggressive behavior towards Joseph. Jacob also seemingly complements Yehuda for his original moderation in dealing with Joseph, and for his later courage and heroism in defending Benjamin and confronting Joseph. It is, perhaps, safe to say that even if Jacob was unaware of all the details of the story, he knew the general facts of the narrative, and was able to piece it together for himself. Jacob’s reaction is seen in the blessings he gives to his children, his final words to all the participants in this drama. It is difficult to believe that Jacob would not have asked Joseph how he came to live in Egypt, and how he rose to such a prominent position of power and influence. One of the hallmarks of the relationship between Jacob and Joseph was the fact that, more so than the usual relationship between parent and child, they understood each other, and were sensitive to all the nuances of character that they possessed There are other sources and commentators that seem to feel that Jacob never really knew the entire story that led Joseph “to cover the eyes of Jacob with his hand” so that he would never know the rift in the family, and the consequences that eventually brought the children of Israel to the exile in Egypt. All parents know that there are things about their children and their progeny that they do not wish to be informed about. Sometimes, in family matters, ignorance is truly bliss, and in his golden years, surrounded by family, Jacob felt comforted. There also is a natural tendency among children to attempt to hide unwelcome news, evil tidings, and unnecessary aggravation from their parents. Now that the family has been reunited in Egypt and is living in the land of Goshen in comfort, if not even luxury, of what purpose would there be to retell the bitter story of family discord? The Torah seems to indicate that the last 17 years of Jacob's life were truly his golden years, surrounded by family, and respected and honored by the society it in which he now found himself living. Why burden the old man with a story that would only reopen wounds and create unnecessary anxiety and even regret? Jacob will go to his final resting place emotionally whole, reconciled even with his brother Eisav, and certainly at peace with his children and family. Whichever of the narratives we choose to follow, the Torah has told us all we need to know about Joseph and his brothers and the descent of the Jewish people into Egyptian society, and their eventual slavery and their redemption. Shabbat shalom Rabbi Berel Wein

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Source Sheet Learning:Shma Section 1. Explaining the Shema Aside from the famous first verse of Shema, the mitzvah of reciting the Shema includes the three paragraphs cited above. Additional words are also added in at several key points during the recital of Shema. In this section we will clarify the content of each of the elements of the Shema, including the additions. Part A. The First Verse – Hear O Israel The first line of the Shema and the source of its name is the verse cited above from Devarim 6:4 – Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad (Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One). This statement of faith in God encapsulates many of the fundamentals of Jewish belief. It is recited in the morning and evening with great concentration and devotion, with one hand covering the eyes. (We will look more closely at the deeper messages contained in the entire Shema in the next class in this series. For now we will briefly cover the basic meaning of this section of the Shema.) 1. Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet, Teshuvot Ha-Rashba 5:55 – The Shema alludes to the foundations of our faith.

It is incumbent on every intelligent person to know that [Shema] is a very special verse to us. It includes the concepts of the unity of God and faith in Him – it alludes to esoteric and fundamental ideas that are the foundations upon which the House of Israel rests.

ובאמת יש לכל בעל דעה, לדעת, כי היא פרשה

מיוחדת לנו, כוללת היחוד והאמונה, שהיא באמת

רומזת סודות ועיקרים גדולים, שהם יסודות כל

.הבנין אשר בית ישראל נכון עליהם

2. Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Mitzvah 2 – The meaning of belief in the unity of God.

Reciting the Shema is the commandment that we are obligated to believe in the unity of God. This means that the ongoing Sustainer of existence and the original Cause for the universe are one. This is what is expressed by "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." [Devarim 6:4].

היא הצווי שצונו באמונת היחוד והוא שנאמין כי

פועל המציאות וסבתו הראשונה אחד והוא אמרו

.יתעלה שמע ישראל ה' אלהינו ה' אחד

3. Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah 417 – The entire Torah is predicated on the ideas in the Shema.

One who transgresses this commandment and does not believe in the unity of the Blessed One, also negates all the other mitzvot in the Torah, for they are all dependent on belief in God and His unity...

ועובר על זה ואינו מאמין ביחודו ברוך הוא ביטל

עשה זה, וגם כל שאר מצוות התורה, כי כולם

..תלויות באמונת אלהותו ויחודו.

4. Rabbi Baruch Yitzchak Lifshitz, Misgeret HaZahav, Berachot 1:1 (Mishnayot Zecher Chanoch, Vol. I, p. 589) – Three principles of faith to focus on when reciting the first verse of the Shema.

In order to help others, I will explain what the author of Tiferet Yisrael (Rabbi Israel Lipschitz) instructed his children regarding the mitzvah of reading the Shema.

תפארת )אודיע לזכות הרבים מה שצוה רבינו הגדול )בעל

קריאת שמע. ישראל בצוואה שלו לבניו בענין מצוה ד

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They should concentrate on the three principles of faith: 1. “Hear O Israel” teaches us to have emunah (belief) in the existence of God and the revelation of the Torah from God. That the voice of God and His commandments can be heard in the Torah, and that we must listen to Him. 2. To believe in “Lord our God,” which alludes to belief in reward. The name “Lord” [Hashem] refers to His mercy and compassion, while the name “God” [Elokeinu] refers to accountability, and His attribute of justice. 3. The words “Lord is One” allude to belief in the immortality of the soul. Just as God is One, so too the soul is one, for it is created in the image of God. It has no parts, and any entity which has no parts cannot be broken apart, and therefore is not subject to decay or death.

חדא שיכונו באמירת פסוק שמע ישראל ג' שרשי אמונה.

שמע ישראל" מורה על האמונה במציאות ה', "א.

, שבהתורה נשמע קול ה' וצוויו, 'ובהתגלות התורה מה

וצריכים אנחנו לשמוע בקולו.

ב. "ה' אלוקינו", מרומז האמונה בשכר, ע"י ה' שהוא מדת

הרחמים, ובעונש ע"י אלוקים, מדת הדין.

ג. במלות "ה' אחד" נרמז האמונה בהשארת הנפש. שכמו

שה' אחד, כן הנשמה שהוא בדמות דיוקנו של הקב"ה אחת.

ואין לה חלקים, וכל דבר שאין לו חלקים לא שייך אצלו

לא כליון ומות. פירוד החלקים ו

6. ArtScroll Siddur, Commentary on "the One [and only]", p. 91 – Harmony in all of God's actions.

The word (One) has two connotations: (a) There is no other God other than Him (Rashbam); and (b) though we perceive God in many roles -- kind, angry, merciful, wise, judging , and so on -- these attitudes are not contradictory, even though human intelligence does not comprehend their harmony. Harav Gedaliah Schorr likened this concept to a ray of light seen through a prism. Though one sees a myriad of different colors, they are all a single ray of light. So, too, God's many manifestations are truly one.

Part B. Pre- and Post-Shema – Kel Melech Ne’eman & Baruch Shem We will now examine the deeper meaning of the lines immediately preceding and following the Shema declaration. i. Kel Melech Ne’eman (God, faithful King) Our Sages teach that there are both 248 organs in the body and 248 positive mitzvot (Talmud Bavli, Makkot 23b). Since there are 245 words in the Shema, the chazzan (cantor) adds the words “the Lord, your God is truth” at the end of reciting Shema in order to make up for the three words missing from the total count. This addition brings the number of words in Shema to 248. When praying alone without a chazzan, one adds the words Kel Melech Ne’eman with the same goal in mind. Let’s explore the significance of this statement. 1. Rabbi Avraham Av Beit Din, Sefer HaEshkol 1, Laws of Prayer and Shema 5 –Add the words Kel Melech Ne’eman so that there are 248 words in the Shema.

[The Tosafists] in France say [when praying alone] “God, faithful King” [at the beginning of the

...אל מלך נאמן להשלים) ביחידות)ובצרפת אומרים

12

Shema] to complete [the 248 words since the Shema itself only has 245 words].

2. Chanoch Zundel ben Yosef, Anaf Yosef (Siddur Otzar HaTefilot) p. 273 – What principles of faith are alluded to in these words?

“God” [El] – powerful, omnipotent and full of kindness. “King” [melech] – that He watches over everything Himself, like a king with his army. “Faithful” [ne'eman] – He is trustworthy to punish, and trustworthy to amply reward those who follow His ways.

. פירוש תקיף ובעל היכולת והחסדים: אל

. משגיח בעצמו כמלך בצבאיו: מלך

פירוש נאמן ליפרע ונאמן לשלם שכר טוב : נאמן

.למהלכים לפניו

When we hear someone recite a blessing, we utter the word Amen. The word Amen is in fact an acronym of the words Kel Melech Ne’eman. 3. Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 119b – The word “Amen” is an acronym for Kel Melech Ne’eman (“God, faithful King”).

Reish Lakish said: Anyone who answers “Amen” with all his strength has the gates of Gan Eden opened for him, as the verse says, “Open the gates, so the righteous nation who keeps faithfulness may enter in” [Yeshayahu/Isaiah 26:2]. Don’t read it as “shomer emunim” (keeps faithfulness) but as “she-omer amenim” (says Amens). What is “Amen”? Rabbi Chanina said “God, faithful King” [El melech ne'eman whose first Hebrew letters spell “Amen”].

אמר ריש לקיש כל העונה אמן בכל כחו פותחין לו שערי

יק ים ויבא גוי צד תחו שער ג"ע שנאמר )ישעיהו כו( "פ

ים" אלא שאומרים ים". אל תיקרי "שמר אמנ שמר אמנ

אמן.

א"ר חנינא אל מלך נאמן. ?מאי אמן

ii. Baruch Shem Why do we interject the phrase “Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto Le-Olam Va-ed” (Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity) between the first sentence of the Shema and the remainder of the first paragraph? And why is it recited quietly, except for on Yom Kippur? 1. Talmud Bavli, Pesachim 56a – Yaakov proclaimed the words of praise of Baruch Shem on his deathbed

Why do we say [the phrase “Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity,” since it is not in the verses in the Torah]? Like Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish explained: It is written, “Yaakov called to his sons and said, ‘Gather and I may tell you what will happen to you,’” (Bereishit/Genesis 49:1).

אנן מאי טעמא אמרינן ליה?

דאמר רשב"ל כדדריש ר' שמעון בן לקיש

)בראשית מט( ויקרא יעקב אל בניו ויאמר האספו

ואגידה לכם ביקש יעקב לגלות לבניו קץ הימין

כינה אמר שמא חס ושלום יש ונסתלקה ממנו ש

13

[Before he was about to die] he wanted to reveal to them what would happen at the End of Days. [When he was about to do so] the Shechina (Divine Presence) left him. He said, “Maybe one of my children is unworthy, like Avraham who had Yishmael, or my father Yitzchak, who had Esav [and that is the reason for the Shechinah leaving].” His sons said to him: “Hear, Yisrael [which was Yaakov’s other name], the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” [In other words] they said to him: “Just as there is only one God in your heart, so in our hearts there is only one God.” When Yaakov heard this, he opened his mouth and said: "Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity." The Sages said, “What should we do? How can we say the phrase, since Moshe didn’t say it? How can we not say it, since Yaakov said it?” They therefore [compromised and] instituted saying it quietly.

במטתי פסול כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל ואבי

.יצחק שיצא ממנו עשו

אמרו לו בניו שמע ישראל ה' אלהינו ה' אחד אמרו

כשם שאין בלבך אלא אחד כך אין בלבנו אלא אחד

באותה שעה פתח יעקב אבינו ואמר ברוך שם

.כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד

אמרי רבנן היכי נעביד נאמרוהו לא אמרו משה

רבינו לא נאמרוהו אמרו יעקב התקינו שיהו

אומרים אותו בחשאי.

2. Rabbi Shmuel Eidels, Chiddushei Maharsha to Pesachim 56a – We say Baruch Shem out of respect for Yaakov, but we do so quietly in deference to Moshe.

Since Moshe did not write [Baruch Shem] in the Torah, it would be disrespectful to add words to Moshe’s and to break up the verses with Baruch Shem between Hashem Echad (the Lord is One) and V’Ahavta (You shall love – the beginning of the first paragraph). But since Yaakov said it in accepting the kingship of Heaven, we say it quietly.

משום דלא אמריה משה בתורה היה גנאי להוסיף

על דברי משה ולהפסיק בקול רם בשכמל"ו בין ה'

אחד לואהבת ומשום דאמרו יעקב בקבלת מלכות

. שמים נימריה מיהת בחשאי

There is another tradition as to why we say “Baruch Shem,” and why we recite it quietly – except for on Yom Kippur. 3. Midrash Rabbah, VaEtchanan 2:36 – Moshe heard “Baruch Shem” proclaimed by the angels in Heaven.

The Rabbis said that when Moshe ascended to Heaven he heard the angels who were saying to God, “Blessed is the Name of the honor of His kingdom forever and ever.” He brought it back down to Israel … On Yom Kippur, when we are purified like the angels, we say aloud, “Blessed is the Name of the honor of His kingdom forever and ever”.

רבנן אמרין בשעה שעלה משה למרום שמע למלאכי השרת

... שהיו אומרים להקב"ה בשכמל"ו והוריד אותה לישראל

אבל ביום הכפורים שהן נקיים כמלאכי השרת הן אומרים

אותו בפרהסיא בשכמל"ו.

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Part C. The First Paragraph – Loving God The opening line of the first paragraph is, “And you shall love your God.” The next source shows how we can reach this lofty state of loving God. 1. Talmud Bavli, Yoma 86a – “You shall love God” means that one should act in a way that will make God beloved by other people.

It was taught: “You shall love the Lord your God...” This means that the Name of Heaven should be made beloved by you. You should learn Torah and Mishnah and serve Torah scholars, and do business pleasantly. What will people say about you? “Praiseworthy is his father who taught him Torah. Praiseworthy is his teacher who taught him Torah. Woe to those who don’t learn Torah. This person who learned Torah – look how beautiful his ways are and how perfect his actions are. ”

תניא )דברים ו( ואהבת את ה' אלהיך שיהא שם שמים

מתאהב על ידך שיהא קורא ושונה ומשמש ת"ח ויהא משאו

ומתנו בנחת עם הבריות מה הבריות אומרות עליו אשרי

ם אביו שלמדו תורה אשרי רבו שלמדו תורה אוי לה

לבריות שלא למדו תורה פלוני שלמדו תורה ראו כמה נאים

דרכיו כמה מתוקנים מעשיו.

2. Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvot, Positive Mitzvah 3 – We can express our love for God by helping others to love Him too.

The Sifrei says that “You shall love God…” means that you should make Him beloved by people, as Avraham your father did…In other words, Avraham loved God, as the verse testifies, “The children of Avraham, the one who loves Me” (Yeshayahu 41:8). Therefore, Avraham called to people to bring them to believe in God because of his great love of God. So too you should love God so much that you call other people to Him.

אהבהו על הבריות כאברהם -ואהבת את ה'" " :ולשון ספרי

רצה לומר: כמו שאברהם, בעבור שהיה אוהב .אביך...

ו שהעיד הכתוב: "אברהם אהבי" )ישעיה מא, ח( כמ -השם

שהיה גם כן לגודל השגתו דרש האנשים אל האמונה -

מחוזק אהבתו כן אתה אהוב אותו עד שתדרוש האנשים

אליו.

Although we cannot be commanded to feel a particular emotion, the mitzvah to love God nevertheless requires us to do those actions which will naturally generate feelings of love, for others as well as ourselves. Even if one does those actions and no feeling is generated, one still fulfills the mitzvah to love God (Rabbi Reuven Leuchter in the name of Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe). In the following sources, we discuss other ways to increase our love for God. One way to come to love God is by focusing on all that God bestows upon us in order that we come to fully appreciate Him.

3. Devarim Rabbah, Va'Etchanan, s.v. ve’chavivim – One can come to love of God through recognizing one’s dependence on Him.

Does He need your love? If you would hate Him would it hurt Him, or if you love Him does it help Him? Rather it means that you should not deny the goodness that He does for you. He doesn’t need you, but you need Him – how could you not love Him?

ואם מזיקו, אתה מה תשנאהו ואם לאהבתך, צריך וכי

תאהבהו מה אתה מהנו, אלא שלא תהא כפוי טובה, שהוא

אינו צריך לך שאת צריך לו לא תאהבהו.

4. Rabbi Yitzchak Maltzen, Siach Yitzchak, Siddur Ishei Yisrael, p. 102, s.v. v’ahavta – How can a person inspire himself to love God? By realizing God’s love for us.

If, for example, someone commands his son to love something or someone, he certainly does not

הנה אם א' מצוה למשל לבנו שיאהוב איזה דבר או איזה

בודאי אין הכונה שיצא ידי חובתו במה שיאמר תמיד אדם

15

mean for his son to fulfill his duty by constantly verbalizing and meditating, “I love this thing or that person as my father commanded me.” Love is something in the heart and must come from the depths of the heart. Someone once asked me about this – how is it possible to command about something which is in the heart? This is the answer I gave: Take the example of someone who hates one of his friends or his teachers because he thinks that they are wronging him and forcing him to go against his nature. If another person tells him that if he would think properly about it he would realize that their intentions are only for his welfare, to lead him in the correct path so that he can receive the proper goodness, he will love them, and the more he thinks about it the more he will love them. His love for them is as great as his understanding about their benevolence towards him, since the true and fundamental love for a person or for something is when it is for his good and his benefit. Similarly, the mitzvah of “you shall love God…” is that we should think about the goodness that God does, each person according to his level. This will create more love. The signs of this love are that we will not hate the will of the Beloved in any way, small or big.

בפיו ויחשוב במחשבתו אני אוהב את הדבר ואת האדם כפי

שצוני אבי, כי האהבה הוא דבר שבלב וצ"ל מעומקא

דליבא.

וכבר שאלוני ע"ז כי איך שייך ציווי על דבר שבלב, וזה

אשר השבתי למשל אם אחד שונא לאחד מחביריו או

מרבותיו בחושבו עליהם ע"י הנהגותיהם עמו שהם מריעין

לו ומכריחים אותו להיפוך טבעו, ואומר לו אחד שאם

הייתה מתבונן היטב בהנהגותיהם עמך היית מבין בטוב איך

טובתך להדריכך בדרך ישרה כדי שיגיע לך שהם מכונים ל

טובה קימת וכשהיה שומע לו והיה מתבונן בזה אזי כל מה

שיוסיף התבוננות היה מוסיף בהם אהבה כפי הבנתו

בהבטחתם עמו כי האהבה העקרית והאמתית הוא לאדם או

לאיזה דבר שהוא לטובתו והנאתו.

בתו ית' כל א' כפי וה"נ מצות ואהבת גו' הוא שנתבונן בהט

מדרגתו ויתוסף בנו אהבתו וסימני האהבה הוא שלא לשנות

רצון האהוב בשום דבר קטן וגדול.

The more we come to know God, the greater our love for Him. Therefore, one of the best ways of drawing close to God is through study of His word. 5. Yalkut Shimoni, Parshat Va'Etchanan 439 (106) – Studying God’s revelation to mankind – the Torah – generates love for God.

“You shall love…” – from these words alone one wouldn’t know how to love God. Therefore it says, “These words will be on your heart…” Place these words in your heart, for in this way you will know the One Who spoke and made the world, and you will attach yourself to His ways [and come to love Him].

ואהבת וגו' איני יודע כיצד לאהוב. ת"ל והיו הדברים האלה

מכיר את מי תן הדברים האלה על לבך שמתוך כך אתה

שאמר והיה העולם ומדבק בדרכיו.

6. Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, Commentary on the Siddur, Ner Le'Elef Booklets, p. 107 – Demonstrating love with our wealth, strength and potential.

The first paragraph demands that we love God not only בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך - with all our

heart and soul - but also ובכל מאדך - with all our מאד, which means with all our wealth. It can also mean with all our strength (Ohr Gedalyahu based on the Ramban and HaEven Ezra) - i.e. a situation actualizing more and more of our human potential dedicated to

this idea - מאד has the same letters as אדם/Adam (human being). The word אדם comes

from the word אדמה (land), which means that which has potential to bear fruit. Adam is

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that being which can be more and more, מאד מאד. We are asked to serve God with that potential (Rabbi Moshe Shapiro).

Part D. The Second Paragraph – Reward for Mitzvot The second paragraph branches out to all of the mitzvot of the Torah. The main idea conveyed is that of accountability for all mitzvot. In this paragraph we are told of the reward for keeping mitzvot and the consequences of not doing so. 1. Rashi to Devarim 11:14 – When we keep the mitzvot, God promises to meet our physical needs.

I will give rain for your land – If you do what you have to do, I (God) will do what I have to do.

ונתתי מטר ארצכם. עשיתם מה שעליכם, אף אני אעשה מה

שעלי. The idea of being rewarded for mitzvot seems to contradict a fundamental principle in Judaism, namely that there is no reward in this world for the mitzvot. The actual reward is reserved for the World to Come. 2. Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin 39b – We are not rewarded here for our mitzvah performance.

The reward for a mitzvah does not exist in this world.

.שכר מצוה בהאי עלמא ליכא

How then to explain this paragraph that we recite along with Shema? It appears to be telling us just the opposite! Rambam has an answer for us: 3. Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 8:1 – Is there reward for mitzvot in this world?

It emerges that the explanation of all those blessings and curses [that are found in the Torah] is as follows: it is to say that if you serve God with joy and you keep His ways, He will bestow upon you these blessings and distance the curses. He does this so that you will be free to grow wise in Torah and follow it in order that you merit the World to Come and all its goodness, and that you will have lengthy days in the World that is infinite. You will therefore acquire two worlds, a good life in this world, which will bring to the World to Come. For if one will not acquire wisdom and good deeds here, he lacks a[n alternative] means to acquire them, as it says, “for there are no acts and calculation, nor knowledge and wisdom in the grave” [Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 9:10]. And if you abandon God and you err through food, drink, illicit relations and the like, He will bring all these curses upon you and remove the blessings to the point that all your days will be consumed by trembling and fear and you will not have a calm mind and a healthy body in order to do mitzvot so that you will not gain entry to the

נמצא פירוש כל אותן הברכות והקללות, על דרך

--כלומר אם עבדתם את ה' בשמחה, ושמרתם דרכו זו:

ו ומרחיק הקללות מכם, עד משפיע לכם הברכות האל

שתהיו פנויים להתחכם בתורה ולעסוק בה, כדי שתזכו לחיי

העולם הבא, וייטב לך לעולם שכולו טוב ותאריך ימים

ונמצאתם זוכין לשני העולמות, לחיים לעולם שכולו ארוך.

שאם לא טובים בעולם הזה המביאים לחיי העולם הבא:

לו במה יזכה, שנאמר אין --יקנה פה חכמה ומעשים טובים

קוהלת ." ) . "כי אין מעשה וחשבון, ודעת וחכמה, בשאול .

(.ט,י

ואם עזבתם את ה' ושגיתם במאכל ומשתה וזנות ודומה

מביא עליכם כל הקללות האלו ומסיר כל הברכות, --להם

ימיכם בבהלה ופחד, ולא יהיה לכם לב פנוי ולא עד שיכלו

גוף שלם לעשות המצוות, כדי שתאבדו מחיי העולם

שבזמן שאדם טרוד ונמצא שאבדתם שני עולמות: הבא.

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World to Come. You will therefore have lost two worlds, for when a person is preoccupied in this world with disease and war and hunger, he cannot engage in wisdom and mitzvot with which to acquire the World to Come.

בעולם הזה בחולי ובמלחמה ורעבון, אינו מתעסק לא

בחכמה ולא במצוה שבהן זוכין לחיי העולם הבא.

Although the reward for the mitzvot that we do will only be in the World to Come, we are promised

Divine assistance to enable us to continue to follow the Torah in this world, and the opposite if we do

not abide by God’s will.

i. Why the Repetition of לבבך ובכל נפשךבכל (With all Your Heart and Soul) in the First Two Paragraphs?

4. Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, Commentary on the Siddur, Ner Le'Elef Booklets, p. 105, 112 – What does the repetition of the words, "With all your heart and soul” represent?

The command to serve God with all one’s heart and soul already appeared in the first paragraph of the Shema. Rashi explains that it is repeated in the second paragraph because the first paragraph (in the singular tense) is talking to the individual and the

second paragraph (plural tense - בכל נפשכםו כםבכל לבב ) is talking to the community as a whole.

[There are other ideas] why the words (בכל נפשכם) בכל נפשך "with all your soul" appear in both paragraphs. One explanation (Midrash Raba, Ve'etchanan 2) is that we have to thank God for each and every breath we take – we are never to take life for granted. Every breath is a new praise for God. But the Sages also tell us that these words mean that we should be prepared to give our lives for God under the circumstance that the Torah demands. (See further the second Morasha shiur on the Shema discussing Kiddush Hashem).

Part E. The Third Paragraph – Remembering the Exodus Although the third paragraph appears to be lacking the broad scope of the first two paragraphs, it nevertheless touches upon several of the fundamental ideas of Judaism. 1. Talmud Bavli, Berachot 12b – There are five mitzvot that are directly referred to in the third paragraph of Shema.

Why did the Sages include [the third] paragraph of tzitzit [as part of the Shema]? Rabbi Yehudah bar Chaviva said: Because it contains five things: [1] tzitzit; [2] the exodus from Egypt; [3] the yoke of mitzvot; [4] [the prohibition of entertaining] thoughts of heresy, and [5] [the prohibition of] thinking about immorality and idolatry. [Which verses are the sources for these?] The first three are explicit verses: [3] the yoke of mitzvot: “And when you see them, you shall remember all of God's commandments so as to keep them” [Bamidbar 15:39]. [1] tzitzit: “Have them make tzitzit” [ibid. 15:37]. [2] The exodus from Egypt: “Who took you out of Egypt” [ibid. 15:41]. But which verses teach [4] [the prohibition of

פרשת ציצית מפני מה קבעוה? אמר רבי יהודה בר חביבא:

יציאת מצרים, מפני שיש בה חמשה דברים: מצות ציצית,

עול מצות, ודעת מינים, הרהור עבירה, והרהור עבודה זרה.

דכתיב: וראיתם -ת מפרשן; עול מצו -בשלמא הני תלת

דכתיב: ועשו להם -אתו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה', ציצית

.דכתיב: אשר הוצאתי וגומר -ציצית וגו', יציאת מצרים

18

entertaining] thoughts of heresy; [5] [the prohibition of] thinking about immorality and idolatry? It was taught in a beraita: the verse, “[do not stray] after your heart” [ibid. 15:39] refers to heresy. The phrase “[do not stray] after your eyes” [ibid.] refers to thoughts of immorality. The phrase “after which you stray” refers to thoughts of idolatry [ibid.].

אלא דעת מינים, הרהור עבירה, והרהור עבודה זרה מנלן?

זה -זו מינות ... אחרי עיניכם -דתניא: אחרי לבבכם -

זה הרהור עבודה זרה... -הרהור עבירה ... אתם זונים

2. Rambam, Hilchot Kriat Shema 1:3 – The third paragraph contains the mitzvah to remember the Exodus from Egypt every day and every night.

Although the mitzvah of tzitzit is not in effect at night, we read it [the third paragraph] at night for it contains a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. And there is a mitzvah to remember and mention the exodus from Egypt each day and each night, as it says “So that you remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your lives” (Devarim 16:3).

קוראין אותה אף על פי שאין מצות ציצית נוהגת בלילה,

בלילה, מפני שיש בה זכרון יציאת מצרים; ומצוה להזכיר

יציאת מצרים ביום ובלילה, שנאמר "למען תזכור את יום

צאתך מארץ מצרים, כל ימי חייך".

The mitzvah to remember the Exodus twice daily is fulfilled by reading the verses which refer to it in the Shema.

Key Themes of Section 1:

• The first verse of Shema alludes to many central beliefs at the core of Judaism.

• When praying alone, we precede the Shema with the words Kel Melech Ne’eman, in order that there be 248 words altogether, corresponding to the 248 limbs of the body and soul. These words also form an acronym of “Amen,” thus expressing our belief in God.

• We interject the words of Baruch Shem as the angels do in Heaven, and as Yaakov did in response to the proclamation of Shema by his sons. We say these words quietly throughout the year. On Yom Kippur when we approach the level of angels we say these words aloud.

• In the first paragraph of Shema we find the mitzvah to love God. Since we cannot be commanded to feel an emotion, this mitzvah translates into actions that cause love for God, in others as well as ourselves. We can cultivate love of God by learning and teaching Torah, and by appreciating God’s love for us.

• In the second paragraph we learn that the consequences of mitzvah observance will be the means to further keep the mitzvot; the consequence of our failing to do so is being put into a situation in which keeping mitzvot will be more difficult for us.

• The third paragraph mentions the mitzvah of tzitzit, which hints at all of the mitzvot of the Torah. We are also commanded twice a day to remember the great kindness God bestowed upon the Jewish People by freeing us from the bondage of Egypt.

19

According to the above, the Greek desecration of the Temple came about due to the Jews’ own lack of respect for it. By extension, the Greek suppression of Judaism resulted from the Jewish people’s waning commitment to their religion, understood as “Divine service” in the broad sense of the term. 3. Rambam, Hilchot Avodat Yom HaKippurim (Laws of the Yom Kippur Service) 1:7 – Disregard for the authenticity of the Oral Torah.

In the days of the Second Temple, heresy blossomed among the Jewish people. The Sadducees appeared … who denied the Oral Torah.

בימי בית שני צץ המינות בישראל ויצאו הצדוקין ...

שאינן מאמינין בתורה שבעל פה

Part B. The Jewish Revolt The basic message is that if Judaism was under attack it was because the Jews themselves had not been loyal enough to its cause. The Jewish response therefore was a rededication to Jewish commitments, self sacrifice for the sake of Jewish survival, and dedication to the sanctity of the Holy Temple. 1. Rabbi Ken Spiro, Crash Course in Jewish History #29 – Dedication to Judaism sparked the Jewish revolt against Greek influence.

The year is 167 BCE and the horrible persecution of Judaism by the Greeks is in full swing. The Greek troops show up in the town of Modi’in (a site west of Jerusalem which you can visit today off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway) and demand that the Jews there sacrifice an unkosher animal to the Greek gods. The elder of the town, Matityahu, who is a Kohein, that is of the priestly class, refuses.

Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers …We will not obey the king’s word by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left (I Maccabees 2:19-22).

But there is a Hellenized Jew in the town who is willing to do what is unspeakable in Jewish eyes. As he’s about to sacrifice the animal, Mattathias stabs him, also killing the Greek official present. He then turns to the crowd and announces: “Follow me, all of you who are for God’s law and stand by the covenant” (I Maccabees 2:27).

10-11 December 2021 7 Tevet 5782

Shabbat Times Friday night 6:15

Saturday night 7:28

Yeshiva Mizrachi Youth Newsletter

Parshat Vayigash

Judah approaches Joseph and begs him to free Benjamin. He even offers himself as

a slave—yes he offers to stay in Egypt as Joseph's slave instead of Benjamin!--as

long as Benjamin is set free and allowed to return to his father's home in Canaan. At

this point, when Joseph sees how much his brothers care about one another, he can

no longer hold back his

feelings. He sends all his

servants and guards out of

the room, and when he and

his brothers are left alone he

cries and says "I am Joseph,

is my father still alive?"

The brothers are silent. They are shocked and terrified. Is this man, the second to

most powerful man in all of Egypt, really their brother? And so Joseph begs them to

come closer and repeats himself. "I am Joseph!" The brothers finally realize that it is

true, this is their brother, but they are so ashamed at what they have done to him,

that they sold him into slavery. But Joseph comforts them and makes them feel

comfortable, telling them that it was G‑d's will that he end up in Egypt so that he

would become powerful and have a chance to save the entire family from the terrible

famine which was still going on at that time. Joseph then sends his brothers home to

tell Jacob that he is alive as well as to invite him to come to Egypt where he will be

able to live in peace. Pharaoh sends along carriages to help Jacob move.

When Jacob sees the wagons and hears the good news, he is overjoyed and stops

the long 22 years of mourning for his beloved son Joseph. Jacob travels to Egypt

together with his entire family, exactly 70 people (the 70th is born as they enter the

city gates, the newborn is Jocheved, mother of Moses). On his way to Egypt G‑d

promises Jacob that He will make Jacob's children into a great nation, and that He

will take them out of Egypt.

Joseph goes out to

meet his father as

he gets closer to

Egypt and when

they meet, Joseph

hugs and kisses Jacob. They then go to meet Pharaoh who gives the land of

Goshen to Jacob, which is where Jacob and his family will live throughout the next

generations. Jacob blesses Pharaoh.

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

▢ 3 eggs

▢ 125g dark chocolate ,

bittersweet / 70% cocoa

▢ 10g unsalted butter

▢ 1/2 cup cream , full fat

▢ 3 tbsp caster sugar

(superfine white sugar)

DECORATIONS:

▢ More whipped cream

▢ Chocolate shavings

Instructions:

1. Separate eggs and yolks while eggs are cold. Place whites in a large bowl

and yolks in a small bowl. Leave whites while you prepare other

ingredients.

2. Yolks: Whisk yolks.

3. Melt chocolate & butter: Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Melt in

the microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. Set

aside to cool – proceed with other steps.

4. Whip cream: Beat

cream until stiff

peaks form.

5. Whip whites: Add

sugar. Beat whites

until firm peaks

form

FOLDING:

1. Fold egg yolks into cream using a rubber spatula – 8 folds max. Streaks

is ok.

2’ Check Chocolate Temp: Touch the chocolate. Should still be runny but

only lukewarm. If too thick, microwave 2 x 3 seconds until runny.

3. Pour chocolate into cream yolk mixture. Fold through – 8 folds max.

Streaks ok.

4. Add 1/4 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture. Fold through

until incorporated – “smear” the spatular across surface to blend white

lumps in – aim for 10 folds.

5. Pour

chocolate

mixture into

egg whites.

Fold through

until

incorporated

and no more

white lumps

remain – aim

for 12 folds

max.

6. Divide mixture between 4 small glasses or pots. Refrigerate for at

least 5 hours, preferably overnight.

7. To serve, garnish with cream and chocolate shavings. Raspberries and a

tiny sprig of mint for colour would also be lovely!

Riddles

1. When Grant was 8, his brother was half his age. Now, Grant is 14. How old

is his brother?

2. Two fathers and 2 sons spent the day fishing, but only caught 3 fish. This

was enough for each of them to have one fish. How is this possible?

3. Mrs. Brown has 5 daughters. Each of these daughters has a brother. How

many children does Mrs. Brown have?

4. It’s raining at midnight, but the forecast for tomorrow and the next day is

clear. Will there be sunny weather in 48 hours?

5. There are 3 apples in the basket and you take away 2. How many apples do

you have now?

6. What can you put between 7 and 8, to make the result greater than 7, but

less than 8?

7. 81 x 9 = 801. What do you need to do to make this equation true?

8. What 3 numbers give the same result when multiplied and added together?

9. Zoey has a very big family. She has 20 aunts, 20 uncles and 50 cousins. Each

of her cousins has an aunt who is not Zoey’s aunt. How is this possible?

10. You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or

Neptune. What am I?

Jokes

• Can a kangaroo jump higher

than the Empire State

Building? Of course! The

Empire State Building can’t

jump! • What do you call a sleeping

bull? A bulldozer!

• What did the zero say to the

eight? Nice belt!

• Why do sharks swim in

saltwater? Because pepper

water makes them sneeze!

• Where do you find a dog with no legs? Right where you left him!

• Where do fish keep their money? In the river bank!

• Why did the gum cross the road? It was stuck to the chicken’s foot!

• Why did the picture go to jail? It was framed!

• What do you call a dog that can tell time? A watch dog!

• What did one hat say to the other? Stay here, I’m going on ahead.

1

Once, the amora Rav stayed in a city where there was a drought. Though he decreed a ta’anit tzibur (communal fast), nevertheless no rain fell. Then, when the community began to pray for rain, one of the city’s residents approached the bimah to serve as chazzan. When the man said “mashiv haruach” (Who causes the wind to blow), immediately the wind began to blow; and when he said “moreed hageshem,” (Who makes rain fall), the rain indeed began to fall.

After the prayer service, Rav approached the chazzan hoping to ascertain precisely which ma’asim tovim the man performs that God would immediately heed his prayers. The man told Rav: I teach Torah to young children, and some of the students who learn with me are children of needy parents who do not have the means to pay my fee. Nevertheless, I teach them in exactly the same manner that I teach the children of the wealthy parents who pay me a salary.”

The melamed (Torah educator) added that if he noticed that one of the children had no desire to learn on a particular day, he promised him a fish as a gift so that the student would develop renewed interest in his Torah studies. Rav said: “Such a righteous Jew, who teaches Torah for free to children of the needy, and gives prizes paid for from his own pocket so that they will study Torah, certainly God hears his prayers.”

בס"ד

Daf Yomi For Us

In Kri’at Shema we recite the verse “ve’Natati m’tar artze’chem be’eeto” (I will grant rain in its time). When Am Yisrael behaves in accordance with the Torah, God provides rain at the proper time. What is the meaning of the phrase “to grant rain in its time”? This refers to the time when everyone prefers rain to fall, specifically when people are not out walking the streets. Nighttime is the ideal time for rain to fall.

Shimon ben Shetach, who lived approximately 150 years before the destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash, was the gadol hador (greatest Torah scholar of his generation) — who led Am Yisrael in the ways of Torah and mitzvot. God was generous with his generation, and made rain fall only on Tuesday and Friday nights. Gigantic wheat kernels grew in the fields and the fruits of that era were large and praiseworthy.

SPONSORED BY:

"ונתתי הפסוק את אומרים אנו שמע בקריאת מטר ארצכם בעתו" - שכשעם ישראל נוהג בדרךלתת פרוש מה בזמן. גשם נותן הקב"ה התורה,

מעדיפים שהכל זמן זה בזמן? גשם אינם שאנשים בשעות ירד שהגשם יפריע. לא הוא וכך ברחובות מהלכים ובליל בלילה שלישי ביום פעם, למשל, שבת, איש לא היה נמצא ברחוב, והלילות

הללו הם זמן נהדר לירידת גשמים.

בית חרבן לפני שנה וחמשים כמאה המקדש השני, חי שמעון בן שטח, שהיהבדרך ישראל עם והנהיג את הדור גדול

אותו עם הטיב הקב"ה כך מפני והמצוות. התורה שבת, ובליל בלילה שלישי ביום רק גשם שירד הדור ופירותיהם ענק, בגדל חטה גרעיני צמחו ובשדותיהם

היו גדולים ומשבחים.

בה שהיתה בעיר "רב" האמורא שהה אחת פעם עצירת גשמים והוא גזר תענית צבור ובכל זאת לא ירדו גשמים. והנה, כשהחל הקהל להתפלל שירדווכשהוא חזן להיות העיר מבני אחד נגש גשמים, ב רוח, וכשאמר יב הרוח", מיד החלה לנש אמר "מש

"מוריד הגשם", החל לרדת גשם.

אחר התפלה נגש "רב" לאותו יהודי ובקש לברר, אלה מעשים טובים הואתפלתו את שומע שהקב"ה עושה, מיד. ספר היהודי: אני מלמד תורהאצלי ולומדים קטנים, לילדים שאין עניים הורים של ילדים גם אבל משכרת. לי לשלם כסף להם אני מלמד אותם בדיוק כפי שאניההורים של הילדים את מלמד

העשירים שמשלמים לי משכרת.

שלאחד מבחין הוא אם כי וספר, הוסיף המלמד לו מבטיח יום, הוא באותו ללמד חשק אין הילדים מתנה פרס - דג! כדי שיהיה לו חשק ללמד בתורהמלמד גם צדיק- יהודי כזה " רב: אמר הקדושה. מכספו פרסים נותן וגם העניים, לילדי בחנם תורה כדי שילמדו תורה - בודאי שהקב"ה שומע לתפלתו".

Weekly Kit 425

Daf 23: “I WILL GRANT RAIN FOR YOUR LAND, IN ITS TIME” עתו" י מטר ארצכם ב ף כ׳׳ג: "ונתת ד

ס )2021 ר צמב ד 5-11( תשפ"ב טבת א׳-ז׳ | ש ויג רשת פ ת ב ש | כ׳׳ג-כ׳׳ט ענית ת כת מס | מועד סדר

Seder Moed | Masechet Ta’anit 23–29 | Shabbat Parashat VaYigash | 1-7 Tevet (Dec. 5-11)

Daf 24: THE RIGHTEOUS TEACHER OF TORAH יק ד ד הצ למ ף כ׳׳ד: המ ד

2

Seder Moed | Ta’anit 25-26

The mitzvah of Birkat Kohanim is called Nesi’at Kapayim (raising of the palms), because the kohanim raise the palms of their hands when they bless B’nei Yisrael. In Eretz Yisrael it is customary for kohanim to bless B’nei Yisrael during both the Shacharit (morning) and Musaf (additional) services. Kohanim do not raise their hands [in blessing] during the Minchah (afternoon) service (except for the Minchah service on a ta’anit (fast day).

Why? Because a kohen who drank wine is not permitted to recite Birkat Kohanim. As such, the chachamim decreed that no kohen would raise his hands during the Minchah prayer service, out of concern that a kohen previously drank wine with his lunch. From what source do we learn that a kohen who drank wine is not permitted to recite Birkat Kohanim? Immediately after the verses in which the laws concerning the nazir (ascetic) are written, the Torah writes about the mitzvah of Nesi’at Kapayim.

Why did the Torah place these two items alongside each other? To advise us that just as the nazir is prohibited from drinking wine, so too a person who wishes to recite Birkat Kohanim is prohibited from drinking wine. This interpretative tool is called “smoochim” (juxtaposition), it refers to cases when an interpretation is learned from the fact two verses are close to each other, found side-by-side.

The tanna rabbi Hanina ben Dosa was such a great tzaddik that God loved him and fulfilled all of his requests. Once, after the start of Shabbat, Rabbi Hanina saw his daughter was sad — because when it was time to light candles, she accidentally poured vinegar, instead of oil, into the vessel in which the candle was lit and she knew the fire would shortly be extinguished.

Rabbi Hanina said to her: “My daughter, don’t be sad. Who told the oil to burn? HaShem! He can also instruct the vinegar to burn.” And indeed, Hashem performed a miracle on that Shabbat, and the candles lit with vinegar continued to burn until motzei shabbat — until after the havdalah candle was kindled from them.

Once, a neighbor came to see Rabbi Hanina and shared that she was sad because she had built a house, but the ceiling beams the builders placed on the roof were not long enough to reach the walls, leaving a hole in the roof of the house. Rabbi Hanina blessed her: “Let the walls of your house be lengthened.” And, behold, the walls “grew” and were lengthened.

התנא רבי חנינא בן דוסא היה צדיק כה גדול, שהקב"האחרי אחת, פעם בקשותיו. כל את וקים אותו אהב מפני עצובה, שבתו חנינא רבי ראה בת הש כניסת

מזגה היא שבת, נרות שהכינה שבשעה הכלי שבו בטעות חמץ במקום שמן לתוך מדליקים את הנר, והיא ידעה שעוד מעט

תכבה האש.

אמר לה רבי חנינא: "בתי, אל תעצבי. מים! הוא גם יכול מן שיבער? הש אמר לשהקב"ה ואכן, שיבער". לחמץ להורות החמץ נרות דלקו שבת ובאותה נס עשה עד מוצאי שבת, אחרי שהדליקו מהם אש

לנר הבדלה.

שהיא ואמרה חנינא לרבי שכנה באה פעם עצובה, מפני שבנתה בית, אך הקורות שהניחו הבנאים על גג הבית אינן ארכות מספיק, ונותר חור בגג הבית. רבי חנינא ברך אותה: "יתארכו קורות ביתך". ואכן,

הקורות של הבית "צמחו" והתארכו.

Daf 25: THE MIRACLES OF RABBI HANINA BEN DOSA י חנינא בן דוסא ל רב ים ש ס ף כ׳׳ה: הנ ד

Daf 26: A KOHEN WHO DRANK AND REFRAINED FROM RECITING BIRKAT KOHANIM

תה יין ש ף כ׳׳ו: כהן ש ד

מפני כפים", מכנה "נשיאת "ברכת כהנים" מצות שהכהנים נושאים )מרימים( את כפות ידיהם בשעהמברכים את בני ישראל. בארץ ישראל נוהגים שהם הכהנים לברך את בני ישראל בתפלת שחרית ובתפלתאת נושאים אינם הכהנים נה הש ימות בכל מוסף.

כפיהם בתפלת מנחה )חוץ ממנחה של תענית(.

אי רש אינו יין, תה שש שכהן מפני מדוע? חכמים תקנו לפיכך כהנים", "ברכת לברך שמא מנחה, בתפלת כפיו א יש לא כהן שאף

יודעים מנין הצהרים. בארוחת יין שתה "ברכת לברך אי רש אינו יין תה שש שכהן הפסוקים שמסתימים אחר מיד כהנים"? בהם נכתבו הלכות הנזיר, כותבת התורה את

מצות נשיאת כפים.

מדוע כתבה אותם התורה זה לצד זה? כדי לרמזאי לשתות יין, כך הרוצה לנו, שכפי שנזיר אינו רש לברך ברכת כהנים, אסור לו לשתות יין. דרשה זוני פסוקים מכנה "סמוכים", שלומדים דרשה מכך שש

סמוכים זה לזה, נמצאים זה לצד זה.

ת כהנים רכ לא יברך ב

Seder Moed | Ta’anit 27-28

3

On this daf, we learn about a family whose name was “B’nei Sulmai” (descendants of Sulmai). Why was this family called “B’nei Sulmai”? During the time of the Second Beit HaMikdash, when the Greeks controlled Eretz Yisrael, they decreed a prohibition against bringing wood to the Temple for the purpose of kindling the fire on the mizbe’ach (altar). To prevent Jews from bringing wood to the Beit HaMikdash, the Greeks posted guards on the roads leading to Jerusalem.

The members of this family carried out a ploy, or ruse. They took wood, assembled ladders from these pieces, and began walking in the direction of Jerusalem. When they arrived at the checkpoint, the guards inquired: “Where are you going with that wood?” The Jews replied: “Don’t you see that these are ladders? We are going to bring down baby birds from the trees.” After the guards permitted them to continue on their way, they disassembled the ladders and brought the wood to the Beit HaMikdash. This is how there was sufficient wood to offer korbanot in the Beit HaMikdash. The descendants of this family came to be known as “B’nei Sulmai,” an allusion to the Hebrew word for ladder (sulam).

What were the “ma’amadot” (non-priestly watches)? When a person offered a korban (sacrifice), they would go to the Beit HaMikdash and stand there while the korban was being offered.

Who stood in the Beit HaMikdash while the korban that belonged to every member of Am Yisrael was offered? Did the entirety of Am Yisrael go to the Beit HaMikdash every day to stand next to the korban? That would have been impossible! Therefore, the chachamim arranged for select groups of kohanim, leviim, and yisraelim to stand in the Beit HaMikdash as the communal korban was offered and serve as representatives of the entirety of Am Yisrael. These weekly designated groupings were called “anshei ma’amad” (literally, men of standing, appointed proxies), because these men stood in the Beit HaMikdash next to the korban.

Members of anshei ma’amad would fast most days of the week, and would read Torah each day. On Sunday, they read the portion of Breisheet that records what God created on the first day. On Monday, they read the portion that chronicled the creations of the second day. This was their customary practice each day of the week. Even in the cities across Eretz Yisrael, people would gather in synagogues to fast and pray that the korbanot be willingly received.

"מעמדות"? הם מה כאשר אדם מקריב קרבן,המקדש לבית בא הוא בשעה שם ועומד

שמקריבים את קרבנו.

המקדש בבית יעמד מי קרבן את כשמקריבים עם לכל יך שש התמיד יבאו יום כל האם ישראל?

כל בני ישראל לבית המקדש לעמד ליד הקרבן? אי אפשר! לכן תקנו חכמים, שבכל שבוע קבוצה של כהנים, לויים וישראלים, יעמדו בבית המקדש בשעת הקרבת קרבן התמיד והם כמו נציגים של כל עם ישראל. הקבוצות הללו כנו "אנשי מעמד",

כי הם עמדו בבית המקדש ליד הקרבן.

היו יום ובכל בוע, הש ימי ברב צמים היו המעמד אנשי הפסוקים את קוראים היו ראשון, ביום בתורה. קוראים בפרשת בראשית המספרים מה ברא ה' ביום הראשון. ביום שני, קראו על בריאת העולם ביום שני. כך היו נוהגים בכלמתאספים היו ישראל, שבארץ בערים גם בוע. הש מימי יום יתקבלו שהקרבנות ומתפללים מתענים הכנסת, לבית אנשים

ברצון, וגם הם כנו "אנשי מעמד".

Daf 27: MEMBERS OF THE NON-PRIESTLY WATCH "עמד י ה"מ ף כ׳׳ז: אנש ד

Daf 28: “DESCENDANTS OF SULMAI” ני סלמאי" ף כ׳׳ח: "ב ד

"בני היה שלה ם שהש משפחה על לומדים זה בדף המקדש בית בזמן סלמאי"? "בני כנו מדוע סלמאי". ני, כשהיונים שלטו בארץ ישראל הם גזרו שלא יביאו השכדי הקרבנות. להקרבת אש להבעיר כדי למזבח, עצים העמידו המקדש, לבית עצים יביאו לא שהיהודים לשמר

היונים שומרים בדרכים המובילות לירושלים.

תחבולה. שעשו משפחה בני היו מהם והרכיבו עצים לקחו הם סלמות, והחלו ללכת לכוון ירושלים. כשהגיעו למחסום של השומרים, היו השומרים שואלים: "לאן אתם הולכיםהיהודים: אמרו העצים?". עם "אתם לא רואים שאלו סלמות? אנומהעצים". גוזלים להוריד הולכים בדרך, להמשיך להם הניחו השומרים את והביאו הסלמות את פרקו הם ואז

העצים לבית המקדש, וכך היו די עצים להקריב קרבנות בביתהמקדש. לבני משפחה זו קראו "בני סלמאי", על שם הסלם.

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According to tradition, many tragedies befell the Jewish people on 9 Av. As our ancestors wandered through the desert, it was on 9 Av that the Heavenly decree was imposed upon them that they would be permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael only after the death of the Exodus generation.

The First Beit HaMikdash and the Second Beit HaMikdash were both destroyed on 9 Av. The First Beit HaMikdash was destroyed during the time of King Tzidkiyahu, (3338 on the Jewish calendar); the Second Beit HaMikdash was destroyed during the time of Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai (3828 on the Jewish calendar). On the 9th of Av, the Romans conquered the town of Beitar and killed all its residents.

The expulsion of the Jews from Spain, which occurred about five hundred years ago, transpired on 9 Av. Before the expulsion, Spanish Jewry flourished and was the most glorious Diaspora Jewish community. Among them were Talmidei Chachamim, scholars of general knowledge, wealthy Jews, and Jewish ministers in the king’s court. But suddenly, the evil King Ferdinand and the wicked queen Isabella decided that any Jew who did not agree to convert to Christianity would be expelled from Spain. The Jews left Spain on 9 open and many of them died as a result of the tragedy and affliction they suffered.

בתשעה ישראל. לעם רבות צרות קרו באב בתשעה באב נגזר על אבותינו שהיו במדבר, שלא יכנסו לארץ

ישראל, רק אחרי שימות כל הדור שיצא ממצרים.

ובית הראשון המקדש בית נחרבו גם באב בתשעה ג' בשנת חרב הראשון המקדש בית ני. הש המקדש

אלפים של"ח, בימי המלך צדקיהו,ג' בשנת חרב ני הש המקדש ובית יוחנן רבן בימי תתכ"ח, אלפים כבשו גם באב בתשעה זכאי. בן והרגו ביתר העיר את הרומאים

את תושביה.

לפני שארע ספרד, יהודי גרוש בתשעה ארע שנים, מאות כחמש באב. לפני הגרוש, פרחה יהדות ספרדשל ביותר רת המאש הגלות והיתה חכמים, תלמידי יהודים היו יהודים. מפלגים בחכמה והיו גם יהודים עשירים

ושרים בחצר המלכות. אך פתאם החליטשיהודי איזבלה, הרשעה והמלכה פרדיננד הרשע המלך שלא יסכים להתנצר - יגרש מספרד. בתשעה באב עזבוובתלאות. בצרות מתו ורבם ספרד, ארץ את היהודים

DAF 29: THE 9TH OF AV — A DAY OF TRAGEDY FOR ALL GENERATIONS

עה באב — ש ף כ׳׳ט: יום ת ד

גרם מה היא- בפרשתנו שעולה הקשות השאלות אחת במצרים? מדוע חי שהוא מלגלות לאביו ליוסף להמנע הוא לא שלח לו באפן מידי כי האחים מכרו אותו למצרים דבר על נכתבו רבות תשובות למלך? המשנה הוא וכי זה, ובתוכן תשובתו החשובה של "אור החיים הקדוש", המלמדת רבות על חשיבות הזהירות מהלבנת פני חברו.

אחיו את לביש רצה לא ,שיוסף החיים" "אור מסביר פיל עצמו מול אביו, כמו שאמרו חז"ל "מוטב לאדם שיחשב יוסף ברבים". חברו פני יביש ואל האש לכבשן הדבר האחים- של מזמתם על ידע אביו יעקב שאם העדיף ולכן ישראל, שבטי של בשלומם ע לפג עלול יוסף לשמר את הדברים לעצמו ולא לפעל באפן אקטיבי

ולגלות לאביו כיצד התגלגל למצרים.

One of the difficult questions that arises in Parashat VaYigash is: Why did Yosef not reveal to his father that he has alive in Egypt. Why didn’t Yosef send a message to Ya’akov immediately, informing his father that his brothers had sold him to the Egyptians and that he was the serving as viceroy to the king? Many answers have been suggested, including the important answer of the “Ohr HaChayim HaKadosh,” who emphasizes the importance of caution regarding halbanat p’nei chavero (humiliating a fellow). “Or HaChayim” explains that Yosef did not want to embarrass his brothers in front of their father. As chazal said: “It is better for a person to drop himself into the fiery furnace than to publicly embarrass another person.” Yosef thought that if Ya’akov knew about the plot perpetrated by his brothers, it might harm the well-being of the tribes of Israel, and so Yosef preferred to keep things to himself, and not actively reveal to his father how he ended up in Egypt.

D’VAR TORAH: PARASHAT VAYIGASH ש ת ויג רש בר תורה: פ ד

Seder Moed | Ta’anit 29

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