Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Vayigash

The Dangers of Exile

Rabbi Gustavo Surazski

When I lived in Argentina, I always had two wishes: I did not want a Jew to be a key figure in the Treasury and -not to be compared- I did not want a Jew to be the trainer of the national soccer team. Jews in key positions always pose a potential threat to the local Jewish community.

Let us think about Yosef. After his career as the solver of dreams in prison, Yosef the Hebrew was appointed regent to the king. He was a key figure in the empire. Pharoah the king of Egypt admired him and Yosef proved himself for he saved Egypt during the years of famine.

But Pharoah's love was "not for the sake of heaven". He did not love Yosef "the Man". He certainly did not love Yosef "the Hebrew". He loved Yosef "the Solver of Dreams" because he was useful to the empire.

Pharoah's generosity towards Yosef and his brothers was based on the fact that he needed Yosef in the palace. Proof of this comes in the beginning of the Book of Exodus. After Yosef's death, when there is a king "who did not know Yosef", the special status disappears.

But the new Pharoah is not the only one responsible for the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. The Israelites settled in Egypt and very quickly began to feel that this was their home.

Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Lunshitz, sees a hint of this in the last verse of our Parashah: "And Yisrael dwelt in the land of Egypt in the country of Goshen; and they took possession of it and grew and multiplied exceedingly" (Genesis 47:27).

"This whole verse is intended to point to the guilt of the Israelites. The Holy One blessed be He decreed that "your offspring shall be strangers" (Genesis 15:13), while they wanted to be permanent residents in a place where it was decreed that they be strangers...This verse blames them for their desire to take possession of land not theirs. Had they not said to Pharoah "we have come to sojourn in the land" (Genesis 47:4)? This teaches us that originally they had not come to settle in the land but only to live there as "temporary residents" and now they were going back on their word. They settled down to such an extent that they didn't want to leave Egypt until The Holy One was obliged to remove them "with a strong hand".

This story repeats itself throughout history. In Egypt before the period of slavery, in Spain before the expulsion and in Germany before the Holocaust. For some reason, in all those countries, Jews forgot that they were in exile.

I get the same impression each time I travel to the U.S.

Jews in America live with a similar feeling. It is correct that there is no threat of immediate danger in America...but there is something mistaken in this thought.

Thus when relatives phone from abroad during these difficult days of warnings, terrorist acts and the atomic threats and ask me if I'm worried, my answer is that in the last two thousand years there has not been a safer place for Jews to live than the place where I now live.

The "Chafetz Chayim" makes an interesting point:

When Shabat ends we say in the Havdalah: "He who divides between holy and profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations".

Who has been given the responsibility of differentiating between holy and profane by the Holy One blessed be He? The responsibility lies with us, the people of Israel.

Who has the responsibility to separate light from darkness? This, the Holy one blessed be He has taken upon Himself; "And G-d divided the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:3) .

And who has the responsibility of differentiating between Israel and other nations? Who has to take care of this division?

The "Chafetz Chayim" says: "The Holy One blessed be He gave this task to the nations!".

Every time Jews want to settle among the nations of the world, the nations' task becomes to set the Jews apart and they perform this task faithfully!
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Thus we see, Pharoah was not the only one responsible for the situation.

Previous Drashot

Vayigash 5766 - An Eternal Convenant

Friday, December 08, 2006

Vayishlach

Fear and Forgiveness

Rabbi Gustavo Surazski

The Hebrew root S.L.CH (in its different forms) appears forty six times in the Torah. Amongst these are a few we recognize from the liturgy of the High Holidays: "And you shall forgive (ve-salachta) our iniquity and error, and make us Your heritage" (Exodus 34, 9). "Forgive (Slach) now the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your kindness" (Numbers 14, 19). "And G-d said: 'I have forgiven (salachti) this people because of your words" (Numbers 14, 20).
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In any case, the root S.L.CH appears always in connection with G-d. There are no recollections of humans forgiving. Therefore we can say that forgiveness is a characteristic held solely by G-d.
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Out of the forty six appearances of this root in the Torah, the verb doesn't appear even a single time in the book of Genesis; however, in this book, we are aware of two of the better know stories that include this idea. First is the famous story of Yosef and his brothers, and the second is the heartfelt meeting between Ya'acov and Esav after twenty years of separation. We can learn from these stories about the nature of the human forgiveness and the relationship between those who hurt and those whom have been hurt, those how forgive and those forgiven.
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There is a well known controversy between the Sages on the meeting between Jacob and Esav It is written: "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept" (Genesis 33,4) Rashi Says: There are those who explain this dotting (the dots on the Hebrew word Va-Yishakehu) as saying that he did not kiss him with all his heart. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said: 'It is a well-known and accepted principle that Esav detests Ya'acov. However, at that moment his mercies were aroused and he kissed him with all of his heart'.
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The controversy is about Esav's feelings. Was his kiss honestly felt? Was he really able to forgive in his heart?
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There are those who believe in Esav's sincerity. Forgiveness is not the "weapon of the weak" but that of the strong. When you are not afraid forgiving comes easy. Where there is fear there is no forgiveness. It is a real paradox; the fear felt before the forgiveness disappears only in those who forgive and remains with those forgiven. Ya'acov wants forgiveness but nothing more. Esav suggest to continue their journey together, but Ya'acov evades the offer. Esav has forgiven Ya'acov but in Ya'acov's heart Esav remains Esav.
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It is the same in the story of Yosef. Yosef forgives and opens a new page. But his brothers still hold a grudge in their heart. They are sure that Yosef will "throw them to the dogs" after their father's death.
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I don't know what would have happened if Yosef had met up with his brother's while he was still in the pit. It is also hard to know what would have happened if Esav had met up with Ya'acov alone, without the company of family and soldiers but with a ragged dog... It may have been a totally different story.
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The strong have no problem with the idea of forgiving. Who is the stronger person in these stories? Who is the brave? The injurer or injured? The forgiver of forgiven?
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May be, the answer is simple. It is written in Masechet Avot (4:1): "Who is it that is most mighty? One who subdues his evil impulse". And Avot DeRabbi Natan (Version A, Chapter 23) adds and says: "(Mighty is he) who makes of his enemy a friend...".
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Previous Drashot
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Vayishlach 5766 - A Struggle of Conscience