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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