Netvort Parshas Shemos 5771:           Where Are You Going?

By Rabbi Joshua (meaningfully known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

After setting the scene of the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt and the suffering they were enduring there, the Torah tells us, "A man from the House of Levi went and took a daughter of Levi" (Shemos, 2:1).  The commentators ask what the meaning of the word 'veyeilech' - he went - is here. It would have been sufficient to write that this man married a woman from Levi. What additional information is provided by telling us that he went?  The Ramban in his commentary to this verse mentions two earlier explanations, one from the Talmud (Sotah 12a) and one from Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra, and then offers his own explanation. The Talmud says that this man, who was Amram, the father of Aharon, Miriam and Moshe, went in (according to) the advice of his daughter, Miriam.  Amram had already been married to Yocheved, the daughter of Levi, but when Pharaoh decreed that all male Jewish children be killed at birth, he divorced his wife, and since he was the 'gadol hador,' the leader of the generation, the rest of the Jewish men in Egypt followed his example and divorced their wives, as well.  Miriam told her father that his decree was worse than Pharaoh's, because Pharaoh decreed only in regard to the male newborns, but his decree would prevent the birth of any children, even females.  Amram therefore went after her council and married his wife a second time, and Aharon and Miriam danced at the chupah.

Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra explains the simple meaning of the text as relating that, since the Jews lived in many different cities, Amram needed to go from his city to that of Yocheved in order to marry her. The Ramban rejects this explanation because he says there is no need for the Torah to tell us this particular piece of information.  The Ramban then proceeds to offer his own explanation of the simple meaning of the verse, which, as I will argue, is better understood when taken together with the first explanation of the verse, as brought by the Ramban from the Talmud.

The Ramban says that the word 'vayeilech' is used in scripture whenever it speaks of a person who stirs himself up to do something novel.  Here, Amram aroused within himself the courage to marry despite Pharaoh's decree to kill all male Jewish children who would be born, so the correct word to be used in describing that action is 'vayeilech.'  I believe that the fact that it was his daughter who stirred him to action is also included in the meaning of this word, because it is women who have a special, innate sense of understanding that there is meaning behind everything that happens in this world, and that everything in the world is there for a purpose.  This idea is based on another Ramban in parshas Chayei Sarah as explained by my teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt'l.

In parshas Chayei Sarah, after relating the death and burial of Sarah, the Torah tells us, (Bereishis 24:1), "Avraham was old, well on in years, and God blessed Avraham with everything (bakol)." Many explanations have been given to this verse, with particular emphasis on the meaning of the word 'bakol', or everything. On a simple, peshat level, the Ramban says that God blessed Avraham with wealth, possessions, honor and children, in short, everything a man could want. Realizing that he was approaching the end of his life, he wanted to pass on what he had to the next generation. Therefore, he arranged for his son to get married.  Ramban then goes on to cite a midrash, which brings various opinions about the meaning of the word 'bakol.'  According to one opinion, it means that Avraham had a daughter, whose name was 'bakol.'  Ramban says that it cannot be that the great teachers of the midrash merely wanted to teach us the name of Avraham's daughter. He therefore says that there is a deeper teaching in this comment, and goes on to present what that teaching is. He says that 'bakol' is the eighth of the midos, or traits, of God, and it was a trait which with Avraham was blessed.  My teacher, Rav Aharon, zt'l, explained these traits mentioned by the Ramban as referring to the thirteen traits of rachamim, or mercy, of God, and the eighth of these traits, according to the Ramban, is that of  'rav emes', or an abundance of truth.

What is the significance of God having an abundance of truth?  Rav Aharon explained that God has invested an abundance of truth, or meaning, into everything that He has created in the universe.  The Torah is thus telling us, according to this opinion in the midrash, that there is a feminine trait, called 'bakol,' or everything, that consists in the ability to see meaning or truth in everything in life.  It was, then, this trait of 'emes' that led Miriam to convince her father to remarry Yocheved, despite Pharaoh's decree, because she saw meaning behind the decree, and was sure that it would lead to something positive. Indeed, the Talmud tells us that Miriam received a prophesy that her mother would give birth to the person who would lead the nation to redemption. On a wider scale, we noted last week the teaching of the Sefas Emes, that it was Yaakov’s trait of emes, which was a corollary of his dedication to Torah study, that helped the nation withstand the difficulties of the exile in Egypt, and that is why, before the family arrived in Goshen Yaakov sent Yehudah ahead to set up a house of study there, according to the rabbis. When one studies the Torah, which represents the truth of God, he understands that it is God who ultimately controls the universe. This trait, which is acquired by men through learning Torah, is an innate trait of women.  When the men, under the burden of enslavement, did not have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Torah study, it was the women who encouraged them to retain their trust in God and persevere, despite their suffering, so that they would grow and form the nation whose task it would be to represent God in this world.  As the rabbis tell us, it was in the merit of the righteous women in Egypt that the nation was redeemed.

Archives are available at http://www.yucs.org/heights/torah/bysubject/

In addition, archives from 5764-5768 are now available at yeshivasbrisk.freeservers.com/netvort.html 

Netvort joins FACEBOOK!

We invite you to "inspect our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Netvort/119311111467149), where you'll be able to access every week's D'var Torah, make comments, ask questions, share Netvort with friends, and communicate with each other.