Parshat Mikeitz By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Mikeitz

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

 Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 "הנמצא כזה איש אשר רוח א-הים בו... ויוסף הוא השליט על הארץ" (בראשית מא-מב, ו)

"Upon Israel, and upon our sages, and upon their disciples, and upon all the disciples of their disciples, and upon all those who occupy themselves with the Torah, in this [holy (in the Land of Israel)] place or in any other place, upon them and upon you, may there be abundant peace, grace, kindness, compassion, long life, ample sustenance and deliverance, from their Father in heaven; and say, Amen."[1] 

Torah, its study and practice, is what gives our People dominion and blessing to such a state that all nations will exclaim, just as Pharoh said upon Yosef in our title quote, "who is great like this People who have such righteous laws and statutes like all this Torah etc."[2]  Indeed, both the stories of Yosef and Hanuka are stories of how spiritual greatness ultimately lead to manifest political power and prestige, despite the great odds. 

In regard to Yosef, it is important to understand that this spiritual greatness was quite probably due in part to his upbringing in Hebron, which the Zohar equates with Torah greatness, for a Torah scholar is called a "haber".[3] In regard to Hanuka, a key question is, "what is so special about the miracle of Hanuka that it was instituted to be a forever-binding holiday - behold, many miracles, similar to oil lasting eight days, happened to Israel that were not instituted as holidays?" 

In explaining the reason for the institution of Hanuka, Rambam clinches with the following sentence: "They appointed a king from the priests, and sovereignty returned to Israel for more than 200 years, until the destruction of the Second Temple."[4] This means that a major part of the miracle of Hanuka is the return of national sovereignty to Israel for an extended and important period of time. As we have shown before, the sovereignty of Israel is deeply rooted to the Land of Israel, as our Sages teach that a king must be appointed only after entering the Land and may be appointed only within the Land.[5]

Hebron, in turn, as the roots of Israel's connection to the Land of Israel and as the first kingdom of David, holds a crucial place in the establishment of Israel's sovereignty in the Land of Israel.  Indeed, also today we see how Hebron is key in reinforcing and leading the message of Israel's sovereignty in the Land of Israel. It is with this consistent message, stemming from our spiritual roots to this Land, that we show ourselves and the world at large, that we are deeply and spiritually rooted to our Holy Land, Land of the Holy Presence. Just as HaShem provided us miracles in the past by this spiritual greatness, so too we trust fully that He will show us such miracles as then at this time.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #46: "For more than a year, I have hitchhiked numbers of times a day to Ma'arat HaMachpela from Kiryat Arba. Throughout this whole period, even though many police vehicles have passed by me, never have they stopped to give me a ride (they're probably busy with their work). Suddenly, last week, on two separate occasions and different times of day, and by different police, I was voluntarily (without signing to hitchhike) given a ride by the police (without being arrested J) to Ma'arat HaMachpela. Then I remembered how the parsha told how Joseph was prosperous even in jail..."

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[1]Kadish Derabanan

[2]Deut. 4, 8

[3]Zohar 3, 160a

[4]Rambam Megila veHanuka, 3, 1

[5]Sifri on Deut. 17, 15

Parshat Vayeishev By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayeishev

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking for the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

 

"וישלחהו מעמק חברון"

"Atone for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, HaShem, and lay not [the guilt of] innocent blood among your people Israel." These words comprise the prayer of the elders of a city adjacent to the site of a murder whose culprit is unknown, otherwise known as the instance of "egla arufa". 

Our Sages teach that before Joseph was sold by his brothers he had been learning this Torah topic with his father Yaakov, as our Patriarchs were fully knowledgeable of the Torah even before it was given at Mount Sinai.[1] What meaning can we gather from the connection and parallels between the sale of Joseph and the instance of "egla arufa"? 

The source of Joseph's sale by his brothers stemmed from their hatred towards Joseph and their will to murder him. Similarly, "egla arufa" is brought as atonement for the merest connection to murder. Joseph is sent out by his father to search for his brothers in fields of pasture, and, according to his elder father's interpretation, is killed there by a wild beast. Similarly, in "egla arufa" the corpse is found "outside in the field" and is examined by the elders of the city to determine who should take responsibility. 

In regard to Joseph, both Yakov and Reuven, who held leadership roles, felt responsible for the 'death' of Joseph. [2]Similarly, in "egla arufa" the leaders are meant to feel responsible for a murder in their vicinity, to an extent that they must seek atonement and proclaim that they "did not spill this blood".  Ultimately, the sale of Joseph was the beginning of the Exile from the Holy Land to Egypt. 

"Egla Arufa" applies only in the Land of Israel,[3] a matter that highlights the unique high sensitivity of the Holy Land, and the Holy Presence therein, to bloodshed. In fact, the only reason for court/human-induced exile in Torah (to a refuge city) is due to bloodshed, and Exile from the Land is also linked to bloodshed in Pirkei Avos.[4] 

Now we can find more meaning in the Torah's description of Yaakov sending Joseph specifically from "the depths of Hebron" as showing how "HaShem provided the cure before the blow".  Our Sages teach[5] that Joseph's descent to Egypt, beginning with his departure from Hebron, was pre-destined in the "deep" prophecy of Abraham of "Hebron", who was told that his offspring will be in exile in a "land that is not theirs", afterwards to "leave with great possession". 

Based on what we have just studied, the "depths of Hebron" are even deeper - Hebron, as the very source of our People's connection to the Holy Land, which allows for the atonement for connection to murder in the form of "egla arufa", and as a City of Refuge for negligent murderers, provides the cure and atonement for the near-murder by the brothers. Hebron, City of our Unifying Roots, rectifies these sources of hatred by love, stemming from being the children of the same fathers, still very much alive today - "Od Avinu Hai!"

Real Stories from the Holy Land #45: A few decades ago there were numerous attempts to settle the settlement in Elon Moreh next to Shechem, but without success. One time we decided to leave from Kiryat Arba next to Yeshivat Nir, as the Torah says that Joseph left the "depths of Hebron and arrived at Shechem". Indeed, this time we succeeded."

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[1]Midrash AgadahBreshit Vayigash 45, 27

[2]Reuven's confession is explicit in the verses, and Yaakov's feeling is posed by Alshich Breshit 37, 34

[3]Rambam Rotzeah uShemirat Nefesh 10, 1

[4]Chapter 5, 9. See also Shabbat 33a for the reason.

[5]Sotah 11a

Parshat Vayishlach By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayishlach

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Seeking the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב אֶל יִצְחָק אָבִיו מַמְרֵא קִרְיַת הָאַרְבַּע הִוא חֶבְרוֹן אֲשֶׁר גָּר שָׁם אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק:

"Every day I have faith to receive the Countenace of the Master, and we shall return in the settlement of Hebron, and in Jerusalem, and also Zion. Strengthen, please, the hand of Your servant... and bless him with the blessing of parents... My help is from HaShem Creator of Heaven and Earth."[1] 

Ultimately, the long journey of Yaakov to and within the Land of Israel, to 'receive the Countenance of his Master', worshiping God in Bet-El, and more, culminates in his arrival to the location both his father and grandfather cherished, both in life and in death, Kiryat Arba-Hebron. 

Last year we pondered the question: what is so unique about Kiryat Arba-Hebron that all our Patriarchs, including Adam, so cherished this location? Last year on this week's parsha we discussed one explanation, and this year we would like to discuss yet another. 

According to Rav Haim Vital,[2] the great disciple of the Arizal, Kiryat Arba, literally meaning the 'City of the Four', was (or is) the 'battle-ground', so-to-speak, between the four primary sources of holiness, Adam and our three Patriarchs, versus the four sources of evil, the giants 'Anak, Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai'. 

The reason Hebron was chosen to be such a pivotal 'battlefront' is because 'Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt'[3]. The significance of Hebron being built before Zoan of Egypt lies in the fact that "Egypt" was the first-born son of Ham (son of Noah), while Canaan was Ham's fourth son. Even though logic would hold that 'Egypt''s first city, Zoan, be built first, nevertheless, Hebron, in the portion of Canaan, was built even before the first city of Ham's first-born son Egypt, because of its great importance. 

The reason Hebron was so important among the Hamitic line, was rooted in the fact that Hebron was the first and primary claim of the Canaanites to the Holy Land. However, as we see dozens of times in the Torah, HaShem had already allotted the Holy Land for the Jewish People, a matter that definitely came in conflict with the Canaanites' aspirations, which came to their height and source at Hebron. 

For this reason, our holy ancestors settled in Hebron, taking the 'front-lines' in preserving the Holy Land for the Jewish People. These ideas shed light on one of the 613 commandments to destroy the seven Canaanite tribes of the Land of Israel (who are non-existent today). [4]Yet still, Hebron today stands as a 'battlefront', so-to-speak, between the schemes of the enemies of Israel versus the Godly plan to give the Holy Land to His holy People, Israel. 

  

Real Stories from the Holy Land #44: "Almost every day for the past year I have hitchhiked a number of times a day from Kiryat Arba to Hebron. However, last week I was given a ride for the first time by a particularly interesting man, Bar Hebron, who is the only survivor of the Hebron massacre about 80 years ago to return and live in Kiryat Arba-Hebron.  Interestingly, within seven days again I 'happened' to receive a ride from this man to Hebron, yet at a different time of the day..."

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[1]End of Psikta Zutrta

[2]Etz HaDaat Tov, Shelah, 'vayaalu banegev'

[3]Num. 13, 22

[4]Rambam Melachim veMilchamot 5, 4

Parshat Vayetze By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman

Parshat Vayetze

By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Returning to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"אָנֹכִי הָאֵ-ל בֵּית אֵ-ל... אֲשֶׁר נָדַרְתָּ לִּי שָׁם נֶדֶר עַתָּה קוּם צֵא מִן הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְשׁוּב אֶל אֶרֶץ מוֹלַדְתֶּךָ"

 

"...Eternal love You will bring them, and the covenant of the Fathers upon the sons You will remember. May it be Your will HaShem our God and God of our Fathers that You raise us with joy to our Land..."[1] Hebron, city of our Forefathers, is an eternal reminder for ourselves and before God that HaShem eternally loves us, as He loved our Forefathers and chose their offspring as his holy People forever. 

 

No matter how long the exile from our Land has lasted, we know, and our ancestors knew, that Hashem's love and covenant to our Fathers is everlasting, that a day will come, and all our People will be raised to our Holy Land. Indeed, our Sages teach us that "the deeds of the Forefathers are signs for their descendants"[2] - just as Yaakov went into exile for many years and was called by HaShem to return to the Land, as we see in our title quote, so too our People will listen to HaShem's call permeating both through Torah and reality, and return to the Land of the Holy Presence. 

 

This intricacy of listening to HaShem's 'voice' both in the explicit terms of the Torah and through the in-explicit terms of reality is clearly found in Yakov's speech to Rachel and Leah about returning to the Land of Israel, ending with our title quote. To more fully appreciate this speech, it is important to note that Yakov was already explicitly commanded by God to return to the Land, Yakov had already vowed to return and worship God in the Land, and also the Torah, which according to our Sages Yakov was fully aware of [3] mandates that one can force one's spouse to move from the Diaspora to the Land of Israel.[4] 

 

Nevertheless, instead of bluntly telling Rachel and Leah, 'HaShem commanded me to return to the Land', Yakov goes on in a lengthy speech (10 verses long) explaining, with seemingly excessive detail, the background of the need to return to the Holy Land. Yakov doesn't even mention God's command to him till the last verse. Rather, he begins with how reality, the change in Laban's attitude towards him and his personal experience with Laban, 'show' that things are different than what they used to be. 

 

To begin with, we can learn from this speech that even when one has good reasons or even Godly imperatives to do a mitzvah, one should preferably not force the matter on others, but rather explain the matter in a way that will agree with the other person. Secondly, we learn that although we receive explicit messages from God in the Torah we should also be aware of God's 'speaking' to us through reality and Providence, of course with the caution that these function as reinforcement signs,[5] but yet don't dictate, as Torah does, what to do. 

 

Indeed, it is via Hebron, our eternal reminder of our connection to the Holy Land, that we are more greatly aware to the call of God permeating both through the Torah, which is full of the high importance of our People's return to the Land, and through reality, which has shown us the unprecedented return of our People, in the last half-century, to our Holy Land.

Real Stories from the Holy Land #43: "I have been praying and learning in Ma'arat HaMachpela regularly for the past year. This past Shabbos I came to Ma'arat HaMachpela and decided to ask another person who I have seen regularly there, but have hardly ever exchanged words with, if he would like to learn a specific topic with me. Moments later, before I got a chance to ask him, he took the initiative and asked me if I would like to learn with him the exact same topic."

  

Note: The halachic issues we raise in Leshichno Tidrishu are meant to increase awareness to these issues but not to rule halachic rulings. A competent posek should be consulted in all matters of practice.

 

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[1]Musaf of Rosh Hodesh

[2]Tanhuma, 9

[3]Tana Dvei Eliyahu Zuta, 4

[4]See Ketubot end of ch. 13, Rambam Ishus, 13, 19, and Shulhan Aruch Even Haezer 75, 4

[5]See Rambam Avoda Zara 11, 5