From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 1:25 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Toldos, 5765




                                                   Staying Home

                 By Rabbi Joshua (constrictedly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


When a famine breaks out in the land, Yitzchok wishes to leave for Egypt, just as his father Avrohom did when there was a famine. However, God appears to Yitzchok and tells him, " Do not descend to Egypt ; dwell in the land that I shall tell you" (Bereishis 26:1- 2). According to the Midrash Tanchumah Yoshon, God explained to Yitzchok that Avrohom was born outside of Eretz Yisroel, and, therefore, it was acceptable for him to leave it in the face of a famine. Yitzchok, however, was born in the Holy Land, and, therefore, should remain there. Rashi, citing the Midrash Rabbah, gives a different explanation for God's command to Yitzchok not to leave the land. He comments that the reason for this was that Yitzchok had the status of an 'olah temimah,' an unblemished offering. Therefore, he could not leave the Holy Land. Rabbi Eliyohu Mizrachi, in his super-commentary to Rashi, explains that just as any other consecrated Temple offering cannot be taken out of the confines of the Temple environment, so, too Yitzchok, who had the status of an offering, could not leave Eretz Yisroel.

Although Rashi to our verse does not explain why Yitzchok was considered an 'olah temimah,' he does explain it in his comment to an earlier verse (Bereishis 25:26). In explaining how it was that Yitzchok and Rivkoh did not have children until Yitzchok had reached the age of sixty, Rashi writes that Yitzchok did not want to take a maidservant even  after remaining childless for ten years of marriage to Rivkoh because he had become consecrated at Mt. Moriah - meaning, that he was brought there by Avrohom as an offering - to be  an 'olah temimah.' Rabbi Yissochor Ber Eylinberg, in his super-commentary Tzeidah LaDerech, notes that even though Yitzchok understood on his own, in regard to taking a maidservant, that he had the status of an 'olah temimah,' he still felt that he would be able to leave Eretz Yisroel in a time of famine just as his father had. He reasoned that if his father, who had been commanded by God to go to Eretz Yisroel, nevertheless left when faced with starvation, and did not thereby perform any sin, he could also leave. Alternatively, he reasoned that the famine marked the beginning of the exile of the Jewish people, and, therefore, it was advisable to go down to Egypt, so that the count of requisite exilic years would now begin. Because Yitzchok believed that despite his status as an 'olah temimah,' it was permitted for him to leave Eretz Yisroel  and go down to Egypt, God had to come and tell him specifically that he could not leave. We need to understand why, in fact, this was so. What fundamental character trait did Yitzchok exhibit that necessitated his remaining in Eretz Yisroel, and how did this trait  contribute to the ultimate character of the Jewish people, through being passed on to the next generation, and subsequently embedded in the collective unconscious of the nation ?

Rav Avrohom Yitzchok HaKohein Kook, in his Midbar Shur, which he wrote before moving to Eretz Yisroel, explains why Yitzchok decided to confer his blessing upon Eisav, rather than Ya'akov, even though Ya'akov would seem to have been the more likely candidate. He explains that Yitzchok sensed that the nature of the Jewish people as an am segulah, a treasured people with special, inner characteristics, was still in its developmental stage. Therefore it was necessary for the next bearer of the developing tradition to bring the message of God to other peoples, and thereby serve as a 'light to the nations. This task would require the talents of a person who had great physical powers, and knew how to go out into the world and deal with people whose values were antagonistic to those which needed to be taught. In certain circumstances, a degree of cruelty might even be called for, to eradicate those corrupt values. Eisav, he felt, with his experience as a hunter, and his consequent outgoing nature, was the correct person for this job, rather than Ya'akov, who was a tent dweller. Even though Yitzchok knew that there were some bad aspects to Eisav's personality, he believed that, in the developmental stage of the nation, such forces could be used, through divine providence, to produce good results. Although Yitzchok was correct in believing that this element, exhibited by Eisav,  still needed to be developed within the nation, he was incorrect in believing that it had to come through Eisav. In any case, according to Rav Kook, the next stage in the development of the character of the Jewish nation was the cultivation of the ability to interact with the outside world, and with other peoples, as part of its work in spreading knowledge of God to all mankind. This stage was to be carried out by the offspring of Yitzchok, and he was to bestow his blessing to that offspring, bidding him to carry the nation into its next stage of development (for a fuller presentation, in English, of Rav Kook's explanation of Yitzchok's reason for choosing Eisav to receive his blessing, see In the Desert - A Vision, by Rabbi Bezalel Naor, pages 37-39).

Following Rav Kook's analysis, we can understand why Yitzchok needed to remain in Eretz Yisroel his entire life. We showed, in our last Netvort, that a certain order must be followed in spreading the knowledge of God to other nations. The first requirement is that one's attachment to the Jewish people is secure and inviolate. Therefore, in order for Ya'akov to cultivate within his son a mission to work outside of Eretz Yisroel, among other people, he had to make sure that his connection to his own people and their special relationship with God was sufficiently strong. This could only be done if Yitzchok never left Eretz Yisroel. By remaining in the Holy Land his entire life, Yitzchok gave the message that this was the home of the nation, its natural place of growth, and no matter what reason one needed to leave, he should always aspire to return. Although there may be a need to influence other nations to believe in God, the special place of the Jewish nation was in Eretz Yisroel, and this was the only place where it could fully experience its special relation with God. I believe that an examination of Yitzchok's blessing to Ya'akov (disguised as Eisav) brings out this important message.  

When Yitzchok began his blessings to Ya'akov, he said, "And may God give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth" (Bereishis 27:28). Rabbi Yisroel Alter of Gur, in his commentary Beis Yisroel, cites a midrash, which explains the verse somewhat differently, as saying, " May He give you Godliness from the dew of the heavens and the fatness of the earth." Yitzchok was thus telling his son that, although he would be involved in physical, mundane things during his time outside of Eretz Yisroel, he should be blessed by God to be able to find spirituality within that physical involvement. However, we still need to understand how this would be accomplished.  

Another midrash, cited by Rashi, notes the peculiar use of the word "veyiten," which literally means 'and He will give' and explains it to mean " may He give and give again." Rabbi Shmuel Bornstein, in his Shem MiShmuel, asks, isn't God's blessing sufficient to provide for Ya'akov's needs on a permanent basis? Why should there be a need for God to continue giving to Ya'akov? Rabbi Mordechai Ilan, z"l, in his Mikdash Mordechai, explains that if God would give all of a recipient's needs at one time, he might no longer feel compelled to turn to Him on a constant basis. When God told the snake that he would eat the dust of the earth, it was a curse, not a blessing, even though he would always have food available to him. As Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk explained, by providing the snake with a constant supply of food, God was cutting off any further contact with him, as if to say, "I'm finished with you - take your food and don't ever come to Me again." The blessing that Yitzchok gave was of the opposite nature - its purpose was to help its recipient further develop his connection to God. Therefore, he prayed that God give, and give again. Rabbi Ilan then shows that it is specifically in Eretz Yisroel that one develops this sense of a constant need to turn to God for his sustenance. He cites yet  another midrash, which says that "the dew of the heavens" mentioned by Yitzchok in his blessing refers to Zion, and "the fatness of the earth" refers to the sacrifices. Spiritual blessings, he explains, stem from Eretz Yisroel, and the connection with God that exists there. In order for physical blessings to result in a spiritual connection with God, we need to realize that all blessings have their source in Eretz Yisroel. Yitzchok, then, in blessing Ya'akov with the ability to operate within the physical universe and extract spiritual blessings from it, emphasized the role that the special divine presence and providence existent in Eretz Yisroel play in this process. Yitzchok himself, by remaining in Eretz Yisroel his entire life, served as a living testimony to this connection.   



Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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