Liars

The Midrash teaches us an important lesson about honesty and truthfulness. One who has it, is blessed. One who is known as a liar, suffers the consequences.

This is the explanation to Yakov’s reaction, when the brothers give him the news, that Yosef is alive. The Torah tells us that Yakov was disheartened because he did not believe them.

The Midrash explains that Yakov replayed that horrible day, when he was brought Yosef’s coat, drenched in blood. They asked him if he recognized the coat. And now, they are telling him, that Yosef is alive! Of course, he didn’t believe them.

This is what every dishonest individual must know. When you gain a reputation for being a liar and a crook, people won’t believe you, even when you are telling the truth.

You might think you can fool people, in order to attain some kind of immediate gain, but the truth is eventually exposed. It takes years and years, to gain a reputation for trustworthiness and honesty. But when you acquire it, it is a great acquisition. People will trust you, and have no doubt, that your word is your word. This is most worthwhile, to gain such a reputation.

Yosef’s brothers paid a price for their act of deception. They lost the trust of their beloved father. We need to think twice before we do something dishonest and short sighted. It may take many, many years, to undo this act of foolishness.

Yehuda’s Leadership

The Alshich gives an interesting insight into Yehuda’s response to Yosef. He came to the conclusion that Yosef was a fraud.

He was under the assumption that all of the accusations made against them, were a punishment for their role in selling Yosef. They were told to bring their youngest brother, Binyamin, to prove they were telling the truth that they were not spies.

But now that they had brought him, and he only wanted to hold Binyamin as a slave, Yehuda had enough. He was going to confront this phony leader without any fear.

He told him that in his mind, he was just like Pharoah. Rashi comments that just as he would finish off Pharoah, he would finish him off as well. The Midrash adds that Yehuda felt it was inappropriate to be asked personal, irrelevant questions about his father and siblings.

According to this theory, this was the reason why Yosef felt it was time to reveal himself to his brothers. There was no more reason to continue playing games.

Perhaps it was for this reason, that Yehuda was chosen as the leader of Israel. The monarchy would come from him, as well as Mashiach. He showed that he could not be intimidated by powerful demagogues. He was able to see through them, and challenge them.

This is a very special quality that Yehuda possessed. We have been aided by October the seventh, to expose the heads of the major nations of the world. We are able to see who is with us, and who is not.

We are blessed to be led by Binyamin Netanyahu. He has not been afraid to call out world leaders, and stand up to them, and not be intimidated. He is the one chosen for the task at this time. We must remember that we are at war, and we must stand behind him.

If after the war, there is an inquiry, and he’s found responsible for not being prepared, he will need to suffer the consequences. But I have no respect for anyone who bad mouths our prime minister during such a critical time. Similarly, the polls of what would happen if elections were today, are demoralizing.

All of Israel should stand united with one common goal. We must destroy our enemy, and try to bring back our hostages. Nothing else matters at this time. We must focus on this and pray that our victory comes quickly. Only when this is done, can we start to draw conclusions and put things in order.

We need Yehuda like leaders to help us through our difficulties. In the meantime, Hashem sends us the leaders we deserve, whom we must respect and support.

Motivation to Act

There is a very common human character flaw, that is very difficult to overcome. This is the inability to act or be held accountable for our action, unless something dramatic takes place.

There are numerous examples of this in the Torah. Yosef’s brothers only addressed their grievous misjudgment of him, when they were accused of being spies in Egypt.

Many commentators believe that our slavery in Egypt was necessary, in order to mold us into a caring nation. We needed to feel the pain of being mistreated in order to better understand how to act in a moral fashion.

The slavery also taught the pain of being strangers in a strange land. And it taught what it felt to be impoverished and being forced to live in poverty, with bare minimums.

We are supposed to learn from reading of these incidents, and from the lessons of history, to choose what is right, and how to foresee future outcomes, based on this knowledge.

The Jewish people were shaken deeply by the horrific events of October seventh. What should have been known was not addressed, and many decided to live with the fantasy of being able to live in peace with our adoring neighbors.

That bubble has been burst, and we are acting on this, by trying to destroy Hamas. Hopefully, the post war conclusions will not be foolish and naive, and will address the reality that we were taught on October the seventh.

Israel will be okay, G-d willing. The concern is for the Jews of the Diaspora. Are they choosing to put their heads in the sand, and rationalize that things are not really so bad? Will it take, G-d forbid, another terrible jolt, until they do the sensible thing, and come home?

There are even government officials who have expressed open concern of another “9.11” taking place in America. Again, we fervently pray that there should not be the loss of innocent people. The Jews of the Diaspoa must wake up. You are no longer welcome outside of Israel. This is the reality. Don’t be foolish and wait for another sign. All of the signs are already there. Come home with your heads held high, and you will be embraced by your Jewish brothers and sisters. You must overcome that foolish human weakness of needing a jolt to wake up. We’ve been adequately jolted. Time for all Jews to come home!

Lessons From Yakov and His Family

Parshat Vayigash might be the most emotional Parsha in the whole Torah. We learn of Yosef’s revealing himself to his brothers, and his reunion with his father.

Each of these events carried with it a very significant message. In the case of the brothers, we learn a great deal by their reaction in seeing their estranged brother as prime minister of Egypt.

The Pasuk tells us that the brothers were in a state of shock, and could not speak. The comment of the Rabbis was that if they could not answer their own brother when they are exposed and now accountable for their actions, how will we be able to stand before the Al-mighty on our day of reckoning?

We all tend to ignore or maintain a sense of denial, regarding our own mortality. Most of us are aware, that we believe in reward and punishment, and ultimate justice will be served for all of our actions. The story of Joseph and his brothers, serves as a reminder that we need to get our acts together, so that we be worthy of only reward.

The meeting of Yakov and Yosef, taught us another important lesson. Despite the incredible joy that Yakov must have felt at that moment, he paused to recite the Shema prayer. We are told that Yosef wept on the shoulder of Yakov, but it did not say that Yakov did the same.

We are to be reminded that in our greatest moments of joy or sadness, we must not forget our connection to Hashem. The bond that we build with Him, must never be weakened. He is a part of every moment of our lives, including every breath that we take.

The Torah is a guide for us, as to how we are to conduct ourselves. The biblical stories help to drive home these points.

Torah and Collective Punishment

It is of critical importance that all of the opinions that we express, find their basis in Torah and rabbinic literature. This is how we can be certain that the views that we have, are not really our own, but a fulfillment of the will of G-d.

A subject that has already come up, is the question of collective punishment. Some have expressed the view that we cannot punish the residents of Gaza, by not allowing them to work in Israel. This would constitute collective punishment against innocent(?) Gazans, that are not part of Hamas.

Without addressing the naïveté of such an opinion, we must see if there is such a concept in the Torah. There is a verse that might look like there is opposition to collective punishment.

When Korach rebelled against Moshe, it looked as though Hashem was ready to punish all of Israel for this rebellion. Moshe said, “G-d of the spirits, shall one man sin, and You take out Your wrath on the entire congregation?”

This was followed by instructions that everyone should separate from Korach and his followers. They alone would be punished.

The commentators discuss why Moshe referred to Hashem as the “G-d of the spirits.” This description of Him, is only found in one other place in the Torah.

The answer is that only G-d can look into the spirit and mind of each individual. He alone knows who is guilty and who is not. We do not have that ability and must act accordingly.

There are no prizes given in Heaven for taking a chance that a resident of Gaza does not identify with Hamas. We cannot read minds as G-d does. But He expects us to follow the dictum that we must do everything possible to save the life of every Jew.

If this means that we end up not looking compassionate in the eyes of the world, so be it. We are far better off being unpopular and preserving the lives of every Jew, rather than take risks in the name of being accepted by the rest of the world.

In the end, they will hate us anyways, and they will still find a way to point an accusing finger at us.

Collective punishment is not a Jewish concept. It is a Western concept that risks the safety and welfare of other Jews. This is a risk that we must not take. It is the Torah and word of G-d that we must follow, whether it is popular or not.

Achdut Among Rabbinic Leadership

From the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, until the year 358 c.e., there was a legislative body known as the Sanhedrin. It consisted of seventy of the greatest scholars in Israel.

The Sanhedrin was viewed and accepted as the ruling body of Jewish Law. It was forbidden to challenge these rulings.

The Torah speaks of the זקן ממרא, who was a judge of a lower court, who defied the Sanhedrin. He was put to death for such defiance.

Aside from the end to the declaration of the New Moon by way of the Sanhedrin, their dissolution, represented much more. A set calendar was established with seven leap years every nineteen years, when they last met in Tiberius in 358. This may have been seen as a positive outcome, but it was mostly tragic when we lost this accepted ruling body.

It represented the dispersion of Jews to all parts of the world. This dispersion also represented the fact that there was no longer one accepted authority, followed by all Jews.

Over the centuries, the divisions among Jews became more pronounced. Various communities followed the teachings of “their” rabbis, and were not connected to other Jews in a uniform manner.

This became even more pronounced in our generation. Everyone has their rabbi, and their accepted standards of Kashrut. There are differences among Chassidic and Lithuanian Jewry, and among Ashkenazim and Sephardim. There are major differences of opinion regarding the State of Israel and the IDF.

All of this, got me thinking about the current situation we are in. We constantly hear how special it was when the war broke out. There was incredible “Achdut,” or Jewish unity. Many, like Yechiel Leiter, whose eldest son fell in battle, has emphasized that his beloved son, Moshe, will not have died in vain, as long as the Achdut continues.

If this Achdut is so important,(and it definitely is), why can’t there be Achdut among the rabbis, who continue to represent views that are very different from those of other groups?

Why can’t we demand that they all “bury the hatchet,” and learn to find common ground? Why can’t they agree that there should be only one definition and label of Kashrut? Why can’t they all agree to salute our holy soldiers of the IDF? Why can’t they find a way to accept a uniform of Halacha, as existed in the days of the Sanhedrin?

If the nation as a whole is urged to be united, because our enemies do not differentiate as to what kind of Jew they want to kill, how much more should our rabbinic leaders learn to be united?

We need them to guide us as to how to be united. What kind of example do they set, when there is so much factionalizing? We need to at least express these ideas. Perhaps someone is listening and will act on this cry for unity. Hopefully, all of the Jewish people will wake up and stand together. We are one family with one G-d guiding us. Let’s hope this can be done now, and it won’t take the Mashiach to get this done. If we do achieve this unity on all levels, including the rabbis, that might be the very thing that will hurry the coming of the Mashiach speedily in our time.

Miscommunication

The question that we are bothered with each year, when we read the story of Yosef and his brothers, is why didn’t he send word to his father, when he was appointed second to the king. He was in that position for nine years, before he revealed himself to his brothers.

There are many attempted answers to this question, that still leave us puzzled. There is one answer that is somewhat plausible.

There is a real possibility that Yosef misread the entire situation. He may have actually believed that not only did his brothers reject him, but his father did as well. After all, why would he be sent to check on his brothers, when Yakov fully understood that they could not tolerate him.

Perhaps his father also concluded that Yosef was the “bad apple” of the bunch, and it was with his full authority, that he be sold as a slave.

Yosef felt very alone and rejected during those twenty-two years in Egypt. It was only after the brothers eventually arrived, and told him how broken hearted their father was at his absence, did he realize that he totally misread the situation. He was brought to tears when he heard how badly his brothers felt, when they did not hear his cries.

This is a tremendous lesson in human nature. When there is no communication between individuals, situations can be totally misread. People come to the wrong conclusions, and there is unnecessary grief and bad feelings.

We need to learn how to express ourselves, and not jump to conclusions. This is especially true in marriage, and in relationships between parents and children. We need to let our feelings be known. But we must also remember to do this when we are calm. Things said in anger, almost always have detrimental effects.

If this theory about Yosef is true, we can see the extent of how important it is to communicate, to avoid so much sadness and agony.

Do Not Arouse Jealousy

The Gemara in Masechet Taanit, tells us that when the famine began, Yakov gave very specific instructions to his family. These instructions apply to all of the Jewish people at all times.

At that point in time, the family still had a good quantity of food. Yakov said to his sons that it was important that they should not show themselves as being satiated; especially in front of Yishmael and Eisav. They must take great caution, so as not to arouse their jealousy.

We must constantly be aware of this reality, that the nations of the world, have always been envious of the Jewish people.

They do not need a reason to find fault in us, as this is not rational in any way. It is one of the explanations as to why there is anti-semitism in the world, but it is not the only reason.

We have witnessed over the last two months how the veil has been lifted, in so many instances. The reaction to the Simchat Torah atrocities, makes it abundantly clear, who is with us and who is not.

It is very simple to see. Anyone who says that the events of that day were horrible, and then follows this acknowledgement, with the word, “but,” is not with us. He is either an anti-Semite, or highly ignorant, or both.

Yakov Avinu understood what his descendants were going to face over the generations. He was telling his family that they shouldn’t make matters worse by doing things to arouse even more jealousy. We should not flaunt our wealth or success, and make them hate us even more.

The best path to take is one of modesty in all situations. We must realize that aside from the Gentile world not being happy to see Israel or the Jewish people successful, this may also be true of our peers and family.

We should be careful with whom we share our good news. Not everyone is going to be happy for us. This is the reality taught in the Gemara in Taanit. Be modest and do not arouse the jealousy of Eisav and Yishmael. And be modest, and try not to arouse anyone’s jealousy.

Yosef’s Circumcision Demand

The Keli Yakar gives an interesting explanation as to why Yosef demanded that all Egyptians be circumcised, before he distributed food.

He uses a kind of Aggadic גזירה שוה, comparing the use of the same word in two different situations. The word in question is חרפה, which is a strong word for “shame.”

The brothers told that the people of Shechem that it would be a חרפה, a shameful act, to allow their sister to marry someone with a foreskin. This was certainly true when David faced Goliath. He referred to Goliath as the “uncircumcised Philistine.”

The word “חרפה” was used again in the Book of Yechezkel, when he predicted the future where Jews would no longer suffer from חרפת הרעב, “the shamefulness of famine.”

Yosef, in his great wisdom connected the two ideas of חרפה. He concluded that the avoidance of the humiliation of famine, can be alleviated by performing circumcision.

This was the reason, according to the Keli Yakar for Yosef’s demand that all Egyptians be circumcised.

Dealing With Adversity

A friend of mine from LA, Gary Apfel, pointed out a very fascinating Rashi, related to Parshat Miketz.

Yakov Avinu had reluctantly agreed to send his youngest son, Binyamin, to Egypt, as requested by Yosef. He took the necessary steps needed, to appease the ruler of Egypt.

He sent a double amount of the money that was taken the first time, in the event prices had risen. They were to return the money that was mistakenly returned to them. Additionally, he sent the choicest of the fruits of the land. They carried some balm, some honey, spices and gum, pistachio nuts and almonds.

Yakov then prayed that Hashem would have pity on them, when they stood before “the man.” He would, hopefully , release Shimon and Binyamin.

Rashi’s comment was that Yakov was showing that he did everything possible on a physical level, to be certain that the desired results would be achieved. The only missing ingredient, was prayer. This may have been the most important point of all.

The Torah was showing us how we are to handle crisis situations. We are to take the necessary practical steps to fix things in the best way that we know.

But we must never minimize the importance of prayer. This is more important than anything we can do. This is because, it is a confirmation that we realize that our success depends entirely on our dependence on Hashem. We are not supposed to rely on miracles, and we must do our part, but the success belongs to G-d. This is what we are witnessing with our brave soldiers. Never has the IDF gone into battle with so much prayer as they are today. The combination of prayer and defending will bring incredible results for Am Yisrael. We are following the example set by Yakov Avinu.

Relying Too Much On Man

There is a great deal of criticism, connected with Yosef and the butler. According to many opinions, he was forced to stay in jail for two extra years, for putting his faith in man, rather than in Hashem.

If we think objectively, it doesn’t seem so bad that Yosef asks the butler to put in a good word for him, when he gets his old job back. It would seem like the obvious thing to do. He was wrongly accused of a crime that he did not commit.

Nevertheless, we say that it is greatly recommended that we put our faith in G-d, rather than trust in man. It would appear that there are two ways that Yosef could have intended, when he spoke to the butler.

He could have become desperate and felt that the butler was his only hope. He could have pleaded with him in desperation, which would have been wrong.

But he could also have seen the butler as his השתדלות, his going through the motions, so as to open up an avenue for Hashem to send him his salvation.

This is an important fine line as to how we view the world. We are not to sit back and rely on miracles. We must do our part, and G-d will do His. Man needs to be seen as the vehicle carrying out G-d’s will in this world.

Our brave soldiers are fighting fearlessly in protecting our people and our land. Victory is at hand, because there is a strong realization that Hashem is fighting our battles with us. Without Him, we cannot succeed,

Perhaps this was the argument against Yosef. Asking for help from the butler was fine, as long as he realized that he may be used as part of the Divine plan. He was not the one saving Yosef. It was Hashem saving him by way of the butler. This is a major difference in the demands made of us, to serve G-d faithfully.

Know What Is Important

Many years ago, I was privileged to have Rav Meir Kahane as our Shabbat guest. I was a synagogue rabbi in Los Angeles, and for some reason, other rabbis were afraid to host this controversial leader.

Rabbi Kahane was a very cordial guest, and paid attention to my small children. He told my five year old son to notice that “there is Shabbat in your soup!” He also told us that when he blessed his own children every Friday night, he would add the words, “May you always know what is important in life, and what is not.”

I was reminded of this lesson, this past Shabbat. We were planning on lighting our Chanukah candles, together with other hotel visitors. I was one of the few who diligently brought an oil Menorah that would burn the necessary thirty minutes after the stars came out. Other people were not aware of this detail of Jewish law, and lit wax candles.

As I was preparing to light my oil Menorah, I turned my head for a moment, only to realize that someone had mistakenly lit it. I was very disappointed that I was now unable to properly perform the Chanukah ritual.

I randomly struck up a conversation with a nice looking, religious man. I said to him, “Can you believe how some people could be so thoughtless and now I didn’t fulfill my Chanukah obligation.” That gentleman put me in my place, in a way that I will never forget.

He politely told me that I shouldn’t get upset over such trivialities. His son had gone to the festival on October seventh. He left the house at four a.m., and was murdered by six thirty a.m.

I told him how sorry I was for him, and later, watched him say Kaddish. I thought back to the wise words of Rabbi Kahane. We must never lose perspective of what is truly important in life, and what is not.

Refusing Comfort

The tragic story of Yosef and his brothers began when Yakov was sent the “coat of many colors,” drenched in blood. He was deeply saddened by its implication, but he refused to be comforted.

The Rabbis explain this by describing how Hashem set up a system, as to how we deal with death. There is a kind of mysterious decree, that when one loses a loved one, they will eventually be forgotten from the heart.

It does not mean that we will know longer think about our dearly departed, but there is a kind of built in coping mechanism. Somehow, after the mourning period, we manage to pick ourselves up and continue living.

This is not the case if that loved one, has not really died. This was why Yakov refused to be comforted. He subconsciously knew that Yosef was still alive. This is not something that can be explained rationally. It is just the way it is.

There are cases in the Talmud where a woman hears rumors that her husband has passed away overseas. She might be asked how she feels about this rumor. There are instances where her feelings of his demise, are enough to be relied upon, for her to remarry.

The current situation with the hostages, are very similar. We are all praying and hoping for the return of all of our captives. We don’t want to think of the unthinkable. We sincerely hope that all of the families are refusing to be comforted, like Yakov. And we hope that we will soon see a happy reunion with all of the families, just like Yakov. As we say in Hebrew, שנשמע בשורות טובות, may we hear only good news!

Family Nation

The reaction of Yosef’s brothers, when they saw him coming to greet them, is somewhat puzzling. They felt that the proper way to deal with his annoying behavior, was to kill him.

There is no indication that anything he did to them, was worthy of a death penalty. He did speak badly of them to their father. He also flaunted his coat of many colors, and his dreams were irritating as well. But to think he was worthy of death, seems quite extreme.

An explanation of this behavior, comes from the Kuzari. Its author, Rav Yehuda Halevi,described how the first twenty-two generations from creation, all had problematic offspring. When we are given the lineage from Adam to Noach, to Avraham Avinu, the Torah gives the name of the best of each generation.

This implies that in every family, there was at least one member who was pretty evil. This continued with Avraham and his siblings, Yitzchak and Yishmael, and Yakov and Eisav.

The brothers assumed that Yosef was the “bad apple” of the family. It would probably better to eliminate him, before he ends up doing some terrible things.

The Kuzari explains that not only were the brothers wrong in their assessment of Yosef, but they were the first family to emerge from creation, that all of the family members were righteous.

It was for this reason that Hashem felt that they were worthy to be the “chosen people,” with its special mission. This family became one of seventy members, when they got to Egypt. They left Egypt 210 years later, when they numbered 600,000.

We have witnessed our population in 1948 at 600,000, when we became a state. Miraculously, only seventy-five years later, we are close to seven million Jews in Israel. We are showing the world how to fight real evil, where it is becoming more and more clear how we are bringing decency and goodness to the world.

The brothers were very wrong about Yosef. But that was part of the plan, that would eventually allow us to emerge as the leaders of the world.

Sensitivity

The Midrash has an interesting comment, in explaining what the Torah meant by telling us that Yosef was very handsome. It was considered inappropriate that he should be eating and drinking and doing up his hair.

The Midrash continues by telling us that Hashem said that it was so wrong for Yosef to be living it up when his father was grieving over him. This was why the “bear” in the form of Potiphar’s seduction, came after him.

The message here is that Yosef’s lack of sensitivity to his father’s plight, got him into trouble. Perhaps the scenario of how the Jews would have come to Egypt, would have been different.

In any case, the message here has great relevance to our current situation. A friend of mine was debating whether or not to attend the wedding of a close friend’s son, in the States. He could not bring himself to go when his sons were serving in the IDF in Gaza. He canceled his tickets and decided this was the right decision.

As Jews, we are never supposed to be insensitive to the difficult circumstances someone else might be going through. Being able to be empathetic towards others, is a special trait Jews are meant to have.

Yosef’s experience taught us the importance of being able to feel another person’s pain. Indifference and insensitivity, can have very harmful consequences.

Appreciating Straightforwardness

There are times that Rashi seems to be making a trivial point, but upon reflection, we realize the depth of that comment. One example is his description of the relationship between Yosef and his brothers.

The Torah describes how there was a great deal of tension between Yosef and his brothers. He irritated them greatly in several respects. He spoke Lashon Hara about them, he bragged about his dreams, and flaunted his coat of many colors. Because of this they were unable לדברו בשלום, speak peacefully with him.

Rashi’s comment on this is that from what appears to be negative about the brothers, is really positive. They were to be praised for not being two faced. There are those who feel one thing in their heart, and express something totally different in their mouth. The brothers were honest and straightforward enough, not to hide their feelings.

Part of the trauma that the Jewish people are currently experiencing, is the shock of learning that so called friends, were fake, and were concealing their true negative feelings towards Israel and the Jewish people.

There are many examples of this, but the one that sticks out is the attack of Alan Dershowitz on Barack Obama. He was genuinely shocked to see how Obama felt about us. Perhaps he should not have been so surprised, but the number of individuals that have not condemned Hamas for their atrocities did surprise many.

Our lives would be so much easier if we knew how people truly felt about us. Sometimes we are gullible and naive, and are unable to see the truth. When it is revealed, we are often devastated.

We need to appreciate individuals who behave like the sons of Yakov. They may not be perfect, but at least we know where we stand. An apparent trivial point of Rashi, carries an extremely important message.

Fighting With Enthusiasm

Parshat Vayeishev is always read during the Chanukah season. Perhaps one of the lessons of the Parsha, is connected to the Festival of Lights.

Many of the commentators discussed a serious mistake that Yakov Avinu made. He assumed that after successfully dealing with the likes of Lavan and Eisav, he was entitled to some peace and comfort.

Hashem wanted to show him that the place for such tranquility, was in the עולם האמת, the World of Truth. Was it not sufficient for Yakov to be receiving eternal bliss, that he also sought it in this world?

The message was אדם לעמל יולד, that man was born to struggle. He was to use all of his faculties, to try to get closer and closer to G-d. As long as there is breath within a human being, he is to try to go higher and higher.

In Yakov’s case, he was forced to deal with the loss of his beloved son, Yosef. He also needed to spend the last seventeen years of his life in the cesspool of Egypt, and not in Israel.

For the rest of Am Yisrael, there are constant battles that we must fight for our survival. This has been true throughout our history. We were not able to sit back and be complacent when the Greeks defiled our Temple, and tried to weaken Jewish values.

We are now fighting another battle of survival, where we must face the reality, that we cannot defeat our enemy with kindness. They are Amalek, and can only be defeated with might.

The Messilat Yesharim writes about a level of worship called זריזות, or alacrity. It speaks about taking initiative, and serving Hashem with enthusiasm and excitement. If one gives in to fears or self indulgences, he will become lazy and unmotivated. He will give in to his fears and anxieties, and accomplish very little.

Yakov was taught that he must never stop the struggle. The Macabbees learned this as they overcame the powerful Greek army. And our brave young soldiers of today, have demonstrated incredible motivation and resolve in eliminating today’s enemy. We are witnessing our modern day Chanukah story right before our eyes. We will once again see the victory over the טמאים, the impure, by the טהורים, the pure, and the destruction of the רשעים, the evil, by the צדיקים, by the righteous.

Where Are the Chief Rabbis

The Chanukah story has many heroes, connected with the great victory over the Greeks. Perhaps the initiators of the rebellion, were the greatest heroes of all.

The Jewish people were being oppressed, to the point that they were not allowed to practice their religion. The family of the Chashmonaim, who were also Cohenim, decided that it was time to take action.

The High Priest, Matityahu, took the first dramatic step, by killing a Jew, eating the flesh of swine. His son, Judah, carried out the rallying cry of “Who is like you O’mighty G-d?” The Hebrew letters spelled the word, “Maccabee,” which became the name of the liberators of Israel.

This victory could not have come without the inspiration of the leaders of that time. They encouraged the people that Hashem was with them, and with His help, they would defeat their enemies.

During our current crisis, we desperately need spiritual inspiration. As a nation, we are still in shock, and we are still mourning the death of our beloved. We were thrust into a war of survival, and we have lost too many brave soldiers, defending our country.

It could be such a comfort if we would regularly hear from our chief rabbis on radio and television. We need their guidance, direction, and inspiration. It would seem that this is their obvious role.

With G-d’s help we will get through all of this. We are a resilient people. But the challenges that lie ahead could be made easier, if the chosen spiritual leaders of our country, would step up, and inspire us, just as was done in the days of the Chanukah story.

Happy With One’s Lot

It is interesting to note the subtle difference of how Yakov and Eisav described their status when they met, after so many years.

Eisav told Yakov, יש לי רב, that he possessed a great deal. Yakov’s response was וכי יש לי כל, that he had everything he needed.

This subtle difference told us a great deal about these twin brothers. Eisav, the רשע, evil one, implied that he had a great deal,but he was not satisfied, and wanted more. Yakov, the Tzaddik, was happy with his present status. He was שמח בחלקו, completely content with his lot in life.

The Ramchal makes an interesting observation about one’s level of spirituality, connected to these two attitudes. The individual who is not satisfied with what he has, is held back from being able to grow spiritually. His focus is always on attaining more physical possessions. He is brought down by this obsession.

The one who feels that he has everything he could possibly need right now, is free to seek more sacred aspirations. The Maharal would add to this idea,by saying that the normal reaction would be to love the One who provides us with all that we need.

We need to take a step back to examine ourselves to be certain that we are in this second category. We must learn to appreciate all of Hashem’s blessings, and never feel lacking in anything. We certainly want to follow the example set for us by Yakov, and not Eisav.

Dina in the Box

The Torah Temima questions the Midrash brought by Rashi, regarding Dina. It is written that Yakov was punished because he hid Dina in a box, so that Eisav would not see her.

He goes on to explain that if Dina would have married Eisav, she would have influenced him, to mend his evil ways. Because of this “sin,” the incident with Shechem took place, when Dina was violated.

It seems understandable why Yakov would not want to take a chance with the match between his daughter and his brother. Eisav was evil, and wasn’t there the possibility that she would be influenced negatively by him.

The תורה תמימה goes on to explain where Yakov errored. There was no doubt that Dina would have succeeded in changing Eisav, and Yakov knew this. The matter became personal, in the sense that Yakov didn’t like Eisav very much, either. He let his own feelings take precedence over the possibility of reforming his brother.

This is why Yakov was punished so severely. The expectations of a great Tzaddik are great. He should have risen above his own personal feelings, and saved his brother. It is not always easy to do the right thing. The greater the person, the greater the expectations of him.