From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 3:45 AM
To: Netvort@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Shemos, 5768
Soul Man
By Rabbi Joshua (soulfully known as the Hoffer) Hoffman
In honor of Yaakov Smith, whose bar mitzvah occurs this coming Shabbos,
parshas Shemos, in Minneapolis. May he be a source of Jewish pride for his
family and for klal Yisroel.
Parshas Shemos begins with a repetition of the description the Torah gave, in
parshas Vayigash, of the descent of Yaakov and his family to Egypt. This
repetition serves as a connective link between the descent of Yaakov's family to
Egypt, as described in parshas Vayigash, and the beginning of the process of
their enslavement and redemption, as described in parshas Shemos.
Interestingly, we find that in each of these two parshas the total number of
people in Yaakov's family is described as ' shivim nefesh,' or, literally,
seventy souls.' Rashi to parshas Vayigash (Bereishis 46:26), noting that the
word for 'souls' is written in the singular, cites a midrash (Vayikra Rabbah
4:6), which takes notice of this point, and contrasts it with the Torah's description
of Eisav's family as consisting of nefoshos, or souls, with the word for souls
being written in the plural (Bereishis 36:6). The midrash explains that all of
Yaakov's family worshipped the one God, and, therefore, it is collectively
referred to as one soul, while Eisav's family worshipped many deities, and,
therefore, lacking that unity of purpose, is described in the plural. This
comment of the midrash can help us understand another difficulty in the verse
in parshas Shemos which tells us that Yaakov's family, when it entered Egypt,
numbered seventy souls.
In parshas Shemos we read,"and all the persons who emerged from Ya'akov's
loins were seventy souls, and Yosef was in Egypt" (Shemos 1:5). Rabbi
Naphtoli Tzvi Yehudoh Berlin, the Netziv, points out in his commentary Ha'amek
Davar, that the words 'and Yosef was in Egypt' seem to be written out of order,
and should have preceded the final tally of Yaakov's family. He goes on to
explain why the order does make sense, and the interested reader is referred
there for further elaboration. However, I would like to offer a different
explanation, based on the midrash cited by Rashi in parshas Vayigash, as well
as Rashi's comment on our verse here in parshas Shemos.
Rashi asks why the Torah here needed to mention that Yosef was in Egypt. Don't
we already know that he was in Egypt? He answers that the Torah is thereby
teaching us that Yosef remained the same righteous Yosef while in Egypt serving
as king as he was in Cana'an tending his father's flocks. Perhaps, on a wider
scale, based on the midrash Rashi cited in parshas Vayigash, we can say that
Yaakov's family retained its character as a collective soul because Yosef, in
Egypt, was the same righteous person there as he was while still in his
father's home, and, in turn, led his family, in Egypt, to maintain their
collective soul. As we saw in our message last week, Yosef made efforts to
enable his family to retain its collective character while in Egypt, and resist
the corrosive influence of Egyptian society. The rabbis tell us that as long as
one of the twelve tribes, who were so greatly influenced by Yosef's efforts at
reconciliation and unity, remained alive in Egypt, the Jewish people there did
not assimilate into Egyptian society. Only after the last of the brothers died
did the nation begin to adopt Egyptian practices and, eventually, even
idolatry. It then remained for Moshe to restore the national unity that
dissipated upon the passing of Yosef's generation, and thereby set the ground
for the ultimate redemption of the nation from Egypt. This week's parsha gives
us a glimpse into Moshe's character, and how it qualified him to serve as God's
agent to redeem His people. While we have discussed this matter in the past, I
would like to show, briefly, how the quality of Moshe's character reflected
that of Yosef, and thereby served as a restoration of the unity that was lost
with his generation's passing.
Interestingly, the medieval commentary Pa'aneach Raza, notes that using the
form of gematria, or Hebrew numerology, known as 'at bash,' the word that the
Torah first uses to describe Moshe - 'tov,' or good, is equivalent to the word
'nefesh.' Thus, Moshe, in his essence, represented the collective character of
the Jewish people. In fact, according to one opinion in the midrash, 'tov' was
actually one of Moshe's names, and, according to another opinion, Toviah was
one of his names. The word 'tov' means good, while the word Toviah consists of
the word tov with a two letter name of God added to it. In parshas Shemos, we
are shown continually how Moshe cared for the other person, and extended his
help even when he stood to suffer as a result. Yosef, in Egypt, also
continually exhibited care for other people. What was the driving factor behind
Yosef's goodness? When the wife of Potiphar tried tempting him with her charms,
he told her that it was wrong for him to do this to his master, and that it
would constitute a sin to God. Yosef's goodness to others, thus, was motivated
by his connection to God, and reflected God's essence of goodness. The Rambam,
in his Moreh Nevuchim (2:45) writes that the first stage of prophecy is 'ruach
Hashem,' a kind of divine inspiration that activates him to perform a great
act, such as delivering a righteous community from the wicked, or the
conferring of benefits to the many. He goes on to say that this is what moved
Moshe when he saved his fellow Jew from the attacking Egyptian, and also when
he saved the daughters of Yisro from their attackers. This ruach Hashem as
described by the Rambam, constituted the beginning of Moshe's path to becoming
the greatest prophet who ever lived, the one who taught the Torah to the Jewish
people, thereby bringing its collective soul to its full
expression.
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