Ten Minutes of Torah

with

Rabbi Chaim Weiner

 

 

Vayechi – 5767

 

 

בראשית נ:טז-יז

 

וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר:

 

כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא לְפֶשַׁע עַבְדֵי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ וַיֵּבְךְּ יוֹסֵף בְּדַבְּרָם אֵלָיו:

 

Genesis 50: 16-17

 

So they sent this message to Joseph, "Before his death your father left this instruction: 

 

So shall you say to Joseph, 'Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.' Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him.

 

 

 

 

Genesis Rabbah 100

 

R. Shimon the son of Gamliel says: Great is peace, for even the Tribes of Israel spoke falsehood to bring peace between Joseph and his brothers. As it is written:  Before his death your father left this instruction …” When did Jacob give this instruction? It was never given!

 

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1. What problem in the verse is the Midrash addressing?

 

2. The commentator YAFFE TOAR [a commentary on Genesis Rabbah] says:

 

I do not understand this. There are many events in the Torah that were not mentioned in their proper place, but which we can infer from other stories in the Torah.

 

- Explain his question.

- Bring other examples in the Torah of events that were not mentioned in their proper place, but were mentioned later.

- What proof is there that Jacob had never commanded this?

 

 

 


 

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS:

 

 

  1. What problem is he addressing?

 

Why does Jacob use the term ‘go up’  -Aliya - when referring to the brothers going to Caanan?

2. The Levush Ora queries: Why didn’t Rashi make this comment above, on the verse ‘the rest of you go up in peace to your father’. [Gen. 44:17]  or the verse ‘let the boy go up with his brothers.’  [Gen. 44:33]  Answer his query.

Clue: the Hebrew word for ‘go up’ is Aliyah !

 

Rashi usually comments on a problem only once - the first time it appears it appears in the Torah. The term ‘go up’ – Aliyah – is frequently used for going to Israel. But the term is usually used when someone is going to settle permanently in Israel and the ‘going up’ is understood in a spiritual sense. In our verse, Joseph has sent his brothers to bring Jacob to Egypt. In this case, the usual spiritual sense of Aliyah doesn’t apply. Therefore the use of the word Aliyah is difficult only in this verse, and Rashi explains only here that in this case the ‘going up’ is physical – Israel is geographically higher than Egypt.

 

 

 

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Ten Minutes of Torah was prepared by Rabbi Chaim Weiner, based on the methods of Prof. Nechama Leibowitz. Rabbi Weiner studied and corresponded with Prof. Leibowitz for several years.

 

 

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