Netvort parshas Bereishis, 5771 - revised:          What's in a Name?
By Rabbi Joshua (ultimately known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

There is a custom to read the beginning parshas Bereishis on Simchas Torah, immediately after finishing parshas VeZos HaBeracha and, thereby, the entire cycle of Torah reading for the year.  In our message on VeZos HaBeracha, we suggested a possible connection between the end of VeZos HaBeracha and the beginning of Bereishis. I would now like to suggest another explanation, which connects the beginning of VeZos HaBeracha, and, in a wider sense, the entire book of Devarim, to the book of Bereishis, in general, as an introduction to the beginning of this year's new cycle of Torah reading.

In the preamble to his blessings to the various tribes, Moshe tells the people, "And He became a king in Yeshurun, when the heads of the nation gathered - the tribes of Yisroel in unity" (Devarim, 33:5). There is a dispute among commentators whether the king referred to in this verse is God, or Moshe.  Ramban prefers the first explanation. God, the verse is telling us, is king over Yisroel when the people themselves are in unity. The nation, here, is called Yeshurun, a term that was used for the nation for the first time in parshas Ha'azinu (Devarim, 32:15), where we read, "And Yeshurun became fat and kicked."  We again find this term used in reference to the nation towards the end of Moshe's blessings, when he tells the people, "there is none like God, Yeshurun" (Devarim, 33:26).  What is the meaning of this term in reference to the nation, and why is it used here?

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, in his commentary to Ha'azinu, writes that Yeshurun comes from the word yashar, meaning morally straight, and, in context of the verse in Ha'azinu, means that while the task of the Jewish nation is to demonstrate morality at the same time as enjoying material abundance, the people would, at some point, do the opposite and kick, or rebel, as a result of their worldly success. The Jewish nation is charged with influencing the nations of the world to live a moral life while still being part of this world, and Moshe was telling them, in the song of Ha'azinu, that they would not always carry out their mission faithfully.  In parshas VeZos HaBeracha, then, Moshe again refers to the nation as Yeshurun, and tells them that when they act as Yeshurun, in a moral way, God will truly be seen as their king, and they will influence all of mankind. Perhaps it is fitting for the nation to be referred to as Yeshurun at this point according to  Rav Hirsch, because Moshe is about to give his blessing to the various tribes, so that he is  telling them to maintain their status as Yeshurun amidst the wealth they will receive throughout these blessings.

Perhaps we can further add to Rav Hirsch's comment that there is an allusion to the nations of the world in an earlier introductory verse to our parsha, when the Torah says that God came forth from Sinai, shone forth from Seir, and appeared from Mt. Paran. The rabbis say that this verse alludes to the fact that God offered the Torah to all of the nations of the world, but each one rejected it, for different reasons, until the Jewish people agreed to accept it. we explained in last year's message to VeZos HaBeracha that this allusion is mentioned here as a reminder to the Jewish nation that, while Moshe is about to bestow them with blessings and charge them with their separate tasks within the nation, the ultimate goal of the Jewish nation is to influence all nations to recognize God as the sovereign of the universe. Referring to the nation as Yeshurun, emphasizing its moral calling, then, is another means of recalling this mission

The Netziv, in his commentary Ha'amek Davar, gives a totally different explanation of the use of the term Yeshurun here, but I would like to show that his explanation of the term 'yashar' in other contexts lends itself to application here, as well.  In the introduction to his commentary to Bereishis, the Netziv, citing the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan in the Talmud, Avodah Zarah 25a, writes that the book of Bereishis is called ' the book of Yashar' in certain places in Scripture because it focuses on the Patriarchs, who were 'yashar' in the way that they deported themselves. Thus, although they tried to influence people to believe in the one God, they maintained friendly relations with everyone, even with idolaters, and showed true concern for their welfare. This was, according to the Netziv, because it was only in this way that the world would be able to have any permanence, as God willed it.

The Netziv continues to say that there are people who can be called 'tzadikim who are not yesharim,' righteous people who are not yashar, or straight, meaning that they are righteous in their dealings with God, but contentious in their dealings with people. God, says the Netziv, has no tolerance for tzaddikim of this kind. If, as Rav Hirsch, we understand Yeshurun as coming from yashar, then the use of that term to refer to Yisroel, at the end of the Torah, connects the end of the Torah with its beginning, as we will demonstrate Rashi, in his commentary to parshas Bereishis, cites a midrash which says that the word 'bereishis' can be understood as meaning' for the sake of reishis' which alludes to Yisroel, which is called 'reishis,' or God's first fruit. The verse is thus telling us that the world was created for the sake of Yisroel. The meaning here is that God created the world for man to recognize Him, and it is through Yisroel that God is recognized in the world. In order for Yisroel to do so it is necessary for them to act as Yeshurun, in a moral and congenial way. The book of Bereishis provides us with examples of people who acted in this way, and the Torah ends with a blessing for Yisroel to ultimately influence all of mankind to accept God and act in accordance with His directives.

Interestingly, while the Netziv explains the 'book of Yashar' mentioned in Scripture as referring to the book of Bereishis, following the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, there is another opinion in that Talmudic passage, the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, who says that it refers to the book of Devarim, because we find in that book the teaching that we should do that which is good and yashar in the eyes of God. We thus find that both books, Bereishis and Shemos, teach us to act in a straight, moral way in our dealings with people in order to fulfill God's plan for creation, and it would therefore serve us well to explore the dimensions of this directive as we renew our study of His Torah, which, as the midrash teaches, was His blueprint for the creation of the universe. 

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