Parshat Vayigash By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayigash

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence Today in the Holy Land

"ועתה לא אתם שלחתם אותי הנה כי הא-הים"

הנה אני לוקח את עץ יוסף..את עץ יהודה ועשיתים לעץ אחד..והבאתי אותם אל אדמתם ועשיתים לגוי אחד בארץ 

(הפ)

Is there halachic significance as to the unity of The People specifically in The Land? Indeed, in regard to the laws of erroneous rulings of the Sanhedrin we clearly see that the concept of "kahal", community, in the Torah is unique to the People living in The Land. In order to explain these laws we must preface what is meant by "erroneous rulings of the Sanhedrin". 

Rambam explains these laws  in hilchot Shgagot (12, 1):  "If the High Court inadvertently erred in their ruling and ruled that a forbidden substance is permitted and as a result of their ruling, the people erred inadvertently and acted in transgression of the prohibition, while relying on the ruling of the court, and afterwards, the court discovered that they had erred, the court is obligated to bring a sin-offering for their erroneous ruling. Even if the judges themselves did not perform a deed in violation of the prohibition, they must bring this sacrifice. For we do not consider the deeds of the judges at all, what they did or did not do, only their ruling. The remainder of the people are exempt from bringing a sacrifice as individuals, even though they performed the transgression, because they relied on the court." 

Rambam continues in the following chapter to specify what is meant by "the people":

"If the majority of the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael acted according to the erroneous ruling even if the transgressors were only from one tribe, and, similarly, if the majority of the tribes acted according to the erroneous ruling even if they are the lesser portion of the congregation, the court is liable for this sacrifice and the transgressors are exempt.

What is implied? There were 600,001 inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael. Those who acted according to the ruling of the court were 300,001 and they were all members of the tribe of Judah alone - or they were members of seven tribes even if they numbered only 100,000 the court is liable for this sacrifice and the transgressors are exempt. We are not concerned with the inhabitants of the Diaspora, for the term kahal ("congregation") applies only to the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael."

The source of the Rambam is in Horayos 3a where the term "kahal" used in Vayira 4, 13 is cross-referenced to other verses which talk of "kahal" as referring to the People residing specifically in the Land of Israel. Contemplating these halachos leads to the following question: What is the deeper meaning of the fact that individuals who sin are each obligated for a sin offering while the majority of The People in The Land who sin (because of The Courts' faulty ruling) are exempt?

An answer saying that The People are exempt, because the fault is on The Court is not sufficient, for we know that if The Court ruled but the majority of the people did not sin, then each individual must indeed bring a sin offering.

This week's parsha may shed light on these halachos. The story of the sale of Yosef strikingly parallels the halachos we just discussed. The sale of Yosef involves a sin by the majority of the Tribes. Regarding this sin Yosef comforts his brothers:"ועתה לא אתם שלחתם אותי הנה כי הא-הים" That is, it is not you as individuals who sold me to Egypt, but rather HaShem brought me down to Egypt for the greater Divine plan.

Indeed the Zohar in Parshat Vayeshev says that the Shechina joined the brothers in the sale. Now we can better understand why The People specifically in The Land, having a close connection to the Shechina, as we have shown before, are considered exempt (except for the communal offering given by The Court), for there is a greater Divine plan at work in this instance.

In clarification, there is always a Divine plan, whether among individuals or among the people at large, whether in The Land or outside of it, but the level of Providence is greater among The People in The Land.

This week's haftora highlights, as in our opening verses, the unity of People, symbolized by the  staffs of the leading tribes Yehuda and Yosef, by bringing them to the Land, thus making them one people. What is said about the Holy Land in general in regard to unity is especially true about Hebron, city of our common roots, the Patriarchs. As "Shaar Hechatzer" (ch. 380) writes: "You will surely know that Hebron means connection (shoresh haber) and brotherhood, for those who live in the holy city of Hebron, may it be rebuilt, need to live together in love, brotherhood, tranquility, and friendship". May HaShem bless all Israel with peace.

Parshat Mikeitz / Chanukah By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Mikeitz / Chanukah

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron 

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in the Holy Land

(כֻּלָּנוּ בְּנֵי אִישׁ אֶחָד..." (בראשית מב"

 בהעלתך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה... יאירו שבעת  הנרות

"Experiencing G-d" is the ever-greatening demand of the generations. All affiliations realize, whether openly or privately, that as time passes it is no longer sufficient enough to only "tell" each other about G-d, but rather we must also yearn and act in ways to merit the  "showing"  of G-d's Presence in our lives and before the world at large.  How long will G-d's Name be desecrated - how long will the Holy Presence be in Exile? The People yearn for the words of the prophet: 

וְלֹא יְלַמְּדוּ עוֹד אִישׁ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְאִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו לֵאמֹר דְּעוּ אֶת

(יְקֹוָק כִּי כוּלָּם יֵדְעוּ אוֹתִי לְמִקְטַנָּם וְעַד גְּדוֹלָם..."(ירמיה לא

"No longer will man tell his friend: 'know G-d!', for all will know Me from young till old". 

But what are the primary causes for our unnatural situation, so distant from the countenance of HaShem's Presence? The Torah even promises us special Divine Providence with regard to the Shemitah year saying: "And I will command My blessing for you on the sixth year and (the land) will make produce lasting for the three years"(Lev. 25,21). Although we know of stories of the pious who showed this level of providence (R. Mutzafi, for example, grew wheat for matza and on the sixth year produce tripled), where is this level of Providence for the People at large? 

Isaiah indeed asks these questions before G-d, in context of the desecration of G-d's Name: "why do You make us go astray from Your ways, hardening our hearts from Your fear?"(63, 17) But the questions of Isaiah before G-d are indeed an answer for us. In what context are these questions posed? No other than the Exile of the People from The Land. (See also Rambam in "8 chapters, ch. 8) That is, the Exile of the Shechina is directly related to the Exile of The People from The Land. (See also Hagiga 5b: "once Israel was exiled there is no greater nullification of the Torah than that").

Indeed, even the Shemitah year, that was given as an example as to the level of Providence, is observed today (according to most opinions) only on Rabbinic basis, for the very same reason, the state of Exile. In order for Shemitah to be observed on a Biblical basis the majority of Jews in the world must live in The Holy Land as the Rambam explains more clearly in the laws of Trumot (1, 26), which have the same wording in the Torah 'when you (the national whole) enter The Land'.

In the present era, even in the areas settled by the Jews who ascended from Babylonia, even those [settled] in the era of Ezra, [the obligation to separate] terumah does not have the status of a Scriptural commandment, merely that of a Rabbinic decree. [The rationale is that] the Scriptural [commandment to separate] terumah applies only in Eretz Yisrael and only when the entire Jewish people are located there. [This is derived from the phrase] "When you enter...." [Implied is that] the entire [Jewish people] must enter [the land], as they did when they took possession of the land originally and as will happen in the future when they take possession of the land a third time. In contrast, the second time [the people] took possession of the land, in the time of Ezra, only a portion entered. Hence, they were not obligated according to Scriptural Law. 

Similarly, it appears to me that the same concept applies with regard to the tithes. In the present era, this obligation [as well] has the status of a Rabbinic decree like terumah." "More precisely, the majority of the Jewish people, for the majority is considered equivalent to the entire whole". (Moznaim pub. footnote) 

Actually, at least 50 Torah commandments are directly dependent on the majority of Jews living in The Land. In comparison, at least quantitatively, Orach Haim, which comprises the laws of our daily, Shabbos, and holiday lifestyle deals with about 45 Torah commandments. It is therefore not surprising that we do not see the fulfillment of the Torah's promises regarding Shemitah on a national level, especially when on a halachic perspective "The Nation" is still not in The Land, for the majority of worldwide Jewry still do not live in The Land. 

In fact, the last time the majority of Jews was in the Land was before the era of Ezra, i.e. First Temle period, as is indicative in the quote from the Rambam above. Indeed, the Shechina was missing (at least to its ultimate level) in the Second Temple (Yoma 21b). Today, we are closer, more than countless generations before us, to this great goal. 

As Jews we know of two types of mitzvot: mitzvot that pertain to the individual and mitzvot that pertain to the group whole. "Leshichno Tidrshu" aims at bringing awareness to the many commandments that pertain to us as a group whole, so that one day we will merit to obey these commandments in practice. 

This is done via "Hebron", literally to connect (lehaber), the people to our common roots "כולנו בני איש אחד", the Holy Patriarchs, and by connecting to the unifying force of the Shechina, symbolized by the central stem of the Menorah that all six other lights turn to (see Shabbat 22b). This unity is only fully realized in The Holy Land, the place of the Holy Shechina, as it says "Who is like Your People Israel One People in The Land". (Chr. 17, 2 and Zohar 3, 93b)