Monday, November 30, 2009

Various Gedolim on the Latest Kupat HaIr Segulah








Are Bet El and Luz really the same place?

Summary: Despite the pasuk at the start of Vayeitzei that Luz was the original name of Bet El, a pasuk in sefer Yehoshua suggests otherwise, for the border went from Bet El to Luz! How can we resolve this? Shadal, Malbim and Radak attack this problem, and solve it by interpreting the pasuk in Yehoshua in different ways.

The pasuk at the start of Vayeitzei:

יט  וַיִּקְרָא אֶת-שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, בֵּית-אֵל; וְאוּלָם לוּז שֵׁם-הָעִיר, לָרִאשֹׁנָה.
I might be tempted to draw a distinction between the general area and the city. But we also have in the beginning of Sefer Shofetim, when they conquer Luz:

*More* moral lessons on parshat Vayeitzei

In a previous post I considered (and critiqued) a few of the purposes Ralbag offers on parashat Vayeitzei. Here are a few more. I am focusing on the ones in middot, rather than the ones in deot, and so I skip here from 4 to 9.
4. The fourth purpose is in traits, and this is that it is not fitting for a person to pursue after delights, but rather should take from them only what is necessary. Do you not see that adjacent to this place was a city called Luz {see 28:19, that Luz was the name of this city at first} and it was possible for Yaakov to sleep there on a corner of a couch and leg of a bed {poetic language takes from Amos 3:12}, and he made do with one of the stones of the place upon which to put his head. This too aided him in his zeal in his journey, to get up and to travel when he wanted.

9. The ninth purpose is in traits, and that is that it is fitting for a person to stand in honored placed with awe and fear, and with increased holiness, and should not do in them the actions that he does in the lesser places. And for this reason Yaakov feared in his thoughts {?} regarding the place that he slept.

10. The tenth purpose is in traits, and that is that it is not fitting for a person to urgently seek great wealth, but rather it should suffice for him that which is necessary. Do you not see that Yaakov Avinu only requested from Hashem the basic needs, and that is bread to eat and a garment to wear.

All of these are worthy lessons, and I appreciate how Ralbag derived each of these via careful analysis of the narrative.

Still, I am not certain whether I agree with each of these readings.

Interesting Posts and Articles #240

  1. Rabbi Feldman responds to Rabbi Slifkin about his essay:


  2. Hirshel Tzig on Rebbeshe Inyonim, with a video clip of the Tosher Rebbe making Hamotzi. Apparently, he has done this consistently since when he was a bachur, and does not do this for other brachot. Which might well indicate that this is not the result of old age, or OCD. Presumably he has certain kavvanos when saying this bracha. Not my cup of tea, of course:

  3. In the Coffee Room at The Yeshiva World, all about how Yaakov Avinu was not frum, because he helped out Rachel's sheep and spoke to her, and then asked to marry her without using a shadchan. Let us be thankful that Lavan was not frum! Sorry, that was my summary.

    The actual story:

    A friend of our's has a son who was driving home from yeshiva a few weeks ago on Sunday and he saw in the curb lane a car with the hazard lights flashing, and two "dressed up" girls standing beside it. Since he was raised properly by his parents (sorry, I am editorializing here), he pulled over and asked the girls if they needed help. They had a flat tire, told him that they had called for help, but that the towing company said it would be an hour and they were going to be late for a vort. So (because this is a boy whose parents taught him well), the boy (let's call him Dovid) offered to change the tire for them. The girls were kind of astounded, but they actually took him up on the offer; he changed the tire.
    While he was changing the tire they made small talk and it turns out that one of the girls knows his aunt, and we figure that she used that information to obtain his address later that week, and she (the driver of the car) and the other girl sent him a thank you note with a gift certificate to a local seforim store - they explained they would have probably spent four times that much on the towing company, and they really appreciated his help.
    So, one thing leads to another, the boy calls his aunt, gets the girl's number, and calls to thank her for the gift.
    Nice story so far, right? Gets better.
    They have a nice conversation and agree to meet for a coffee. And this is where the craziness starts.
    Two nights later Dovid gets a call from the girl, who tells Dovid that she cannot meet him. Why? Because she was about to be redt to a very choshuve bochur, and the shadchanis told her that if word got around that this girl was going to go on a date with a guy she had met WITHOUT THE INTERVENTION OF THE SHADCHAN, (a) the choshuve bochur would not meet her, and (b) the shadchanis would no longer help her because "my clientele does not talk to boys who have not been checked out and cleared." Of course, Dovid is upset, because he liked the girl and thought it would be worthwhile to meet with her; the girl is upset because she is torn between wanting to meet Dovid again, but not sure she wants to risk her relationship with the shadchanis if the Dovid thing doesn't go anywhere.

  4. Moment Magazine has an article about Rabbi Slifkin:

  5. Matzav on Sefardic girls and the shidduch crisis.

  6. Life In Israel writes of a lack of understanding regarding the secular protests:

    R' Goldknopf, head of the rabbinic committee for guarding the sanctity of shabbos, doesn't understand them. He says we are all Jews, and how can they protest for chilul shabbos. We all heard the same commandments to keep shabbos. "I don't understand how any Jew can protest against the shabbos".

    That might actually be a large part of the problem. They don't understand. The secular are not protesting against shabbos. They are protesting against people who are trying to enforce their way of life on others who do not want to be bound by that lifestyle.

  7. The latest Haveil Havalim.

  8. Here at parshablog, a roundup of previous years' posts for parshat Vayishlach.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Oh! Nuts Chanukka Offer


Hanukkah Gifts



Why did Yaakov weep? part i


Post: After greeting Rachel with a kiss, Yaakov weeps.

יא וַיִּשַּׁק יַעֲקֹב, לְרָחֵל; וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת-קֹלוֹ, וַיֵּבְךְּ.

Why should he weep? Various commentators have different ideas, which I might explore in another post, but Rashi gives two answers:

and wept: Since he foresaw with the holy spirit that she (Rachel) would not enter the grave with him.

Another explanation: Since he came empty-handed, he said, “Eliezer, my grandfather’s servant, had nose rings, and bracelets and sweet fruits in his possession, and I am coming with nothing in my hands. [He had nothing] because Eliphaz the son of Esau had pursued him to kill him at his father’s orders; he (Eliphaz) overtook him, but since he had grown up in Isaac’s lap, he held back his hand. He said to him (Jacob), ”What shall I do about my father’s orders?“ Jacob replied,”Take what I have, for a poor man is counted as dead." - [from Bereishit Rabbathi by Rabbi Moshe Hadarshan]

ויבך: לפי שצפה ברוח הקודש שאינה נכנסת עמו לקבורה.
דבר אחר לפי שבא בידים ריקניות, אמר אליעזר עבד אבי אבא היו בידיו נזמים וצמידים ומגדנות, ואני אין בידי כלום. לפי שרדף אליפז בן עשו במצות אביו אחריו להורגו והשיגו, ולפי שגדל אליפז בחיקו של יצחק משך ידו. אמר לו מה אעשה לציווי של אבא, אמר לו יעקב טול מה שבידי, והעני חשוב כמת:

While the explanation of Elifaz taking all his possessions may have come from Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan, Rashi's approximate contemporary, both these explanations are found in Bereishit Rabba, a much earlier work:

Saturday, November 28, 2009

The Karaites fire a return salvo!

In a previous post, I focused on Ibn Ezra's insult to (Yaakov) ben Ephraim the Karaite. He said that ben Ephraim was chaser aleph, such that he was Ben Parim, or else that he was deficient in wisdom. See my post inside.

This was on the pasuk about Leah's eyes:

יז וְעֵינֵי לֵאָה, רַכּוֹת; וְרָחֵל, הָיְתָה, יְפַת-תֹּאַר, וִיפַת מַרְאֶה.
יח וַיֶּאֱהַב יַעֲקֹב, אֶת-רָחֵל; וַיֹּאמֶר, אֶעֱבָדְךָ שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, בְּרָחֵל בִּתְּךָ, הַקְּטַנָּה.

where the Karaite commentator Ben Ephraim claimed that rakos was missing an aleph and thus meant long (somewhat along the lines of Rabbi Eleazar in the gemara). And in response, Ibn Ezra leveled the aforementioned insult.

Meanwhile, many years later, Aharon ben Yosef the Karaite gave a different interpretation. He says that rakot mean צעירות, afflicted, weak, or tender. He points to a pasuk in parshas Vayishlach, where Yaakov explains why he cannot accompany Esav:

Friday, November 27, 2009

Interesting Posts and Articles #239



    And Wired takes note of this.











Rabbi Chanoch Waxman as Scholar in Residence at Etz Chaim of KGH

From an Etz Chaim of Kew Gardens Hills update:
This Shabbat, November 27-28, Parashat Vayetze, we welcome Rabbi Chanoch Waxman as our Scholar in Residence. On Friday night, at 7:30 PM, at the home of Deena & Larry Rabinovich, 144-33 72 Dr., Rabbi Waxman will speak on Lifnim Mishurat Hadin, then at 9:00 PM, at the home of Rabbi Moshe & Dina Rosenberg, 147-46 77 Rd., he will hold a Tisch with Teens. On Shabbat Day, at Congregation Etz Chaim (147–19 73rd Avenue, Kew Gardens Hills), at approximately 10:30 AM, the Shabbat Drasha will be delivered by Rabbi Waxman, who will speak again after the Mincha service (3:55 PM), at Seudah Shlishit, on Crisis and Faith: The Precedent of Ya'akov and the Problem of Nedarim.
Rabbi Waxman currently serves as a Rav at Yeshivat Hamivtar. He has served as Rabbi of the Albert Einstein Synagogue, and has taught at Drisha Institute and at MaTan in Jerusalem. He is a featured speaker and writer for Yeshivat Har Etzion’s Virtual Beit Midrash.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Posts so far for parshat Vayeitzei

  1. Vayeitzei sources -- links by aliyah and perek to an online Mikraos Gedolos, as well as over 100 meforshim on the parsha and aliyah, grouped into categories such as masorah, rashi supercommentators, and so on.

  2. Once again, how is Vayeitzei setumah? I discuss how Minchas Shai and Or Torah harmonize the conflicting traditions in a way that makes our present texts entirely accurate -- that by Vayeitzei rather than Vaychi, it is talking about a lack of internal gap rather than initial gap. But then I point out that in Codex Hilleli (contrary toMinchas Shai), it *does* seem to mention a lack of initial gap as a primary possibility; and Ibn Caspi and Chizkuni also assume a lack of initial gap ; and perhaps also Aharon ben Yosef.

    For earlier posts on the matter, scroll down and see my description of posts from previous years.

  3. Is there a gap before Vayelech Reuven? I think I agree that there should not be. But if it were present, it would cause us to reject the interpretation of vayeitzei as setuma as merely lacking internal gaps, rather than an initial gap.

  4. The meaning of Yaakov's dream -- what various meforshim believe it is. Perhaps it is literal, with no "significance". Or perhaps there is a philosophical pnimiyus. Another approach is to attempt to determine what these symbols meant in the Ancient Near East.

  5. Moral lessons from parshas Vayeitzei -- from Ralbag. We could learn kibbud av vaEm, zerizus, and not putting oneself in danger. This gives us insight into how Ralbag interpreted the narrative, as well. Though I could take issue with some of his interpretations.

  6. Why did Yaakov prefer Rachel? In part, because she was pretty! But Ralbag has more respectable reasons.

  7. How many stones did Yaakov put about his head? Was it one, or many? And how not just Ibn Ezra, but the vast majority of meforshim, part ways with Chazal here, and reject the midrashic interpretation on the peshat level.

  8. Did Ibn Ezra insult ben Ephraim the Karaite by calling him a cow? Or just an unlearned person. The merits of each interpretation.
  1. Why was Levi called Levi? A late pun once the name Levi exists?

  2. Did Rachel Really Cover Herself With Sheep, Historically? And does this obligate us nowadays in anything? Rabbi Falk taking a rather late midrash at face value, rather than assuming that there are values being read into the Biblical narrative by the midrashist.

  3. Did Yaakov Stray After His Eyes In Preferring Rachel? So says Rabbenu Bachya. I am not so sure I agree, as a matter of peshat.

  4. Vayeitzei sources -- links by aliyah and perek to an online Mikraot Gedolot.

  5. Malachim as Angels or Human -- first in Vayera, what of the malachim who met with Avraham and Lot? And then in Vayeitzei and Vayishlach -- what of the malachim in Yaakov's dream, the ones he encountered at Machanayim, and the ones he sent to Esav?

  6. When Yaakov kissed Rachel, was it derech chibba? On I peshat level, I would say that it was not.

  7. Why did Rachel blame Yaakov for her difficulty in conceiving? Ralbag offers a fascinating suggestion.

  8. How exactly is the "parsha" of Vayeitzei "setuma"? Not as per the gloss on the Baal HaTurim, I think.

  9. Did Rachel really cover herself with sheep? Why a late midrash by the Ben Ish Chai should not establish normative Jewish practice.

  10. And as a followup, the Ben Ish Chai's statement that Rachel wore a veil, based on a paseik. But it is not a paseik! It is a munach legarmeih. But besides this, it seems that this reflected normative practice in the time and place of Ben Ish Chai. So Ben Ish Chai took his normative practice (that is, of his time and place) and attributed it in a midrash to Rachel. We should not then take it from the midrash and apply it to ourselves, to establish our normative practice.
  1. Where did Yaakov sleep? And from where the motivation to make this the makom hamikdash as opposed to Bet El?

  2. Did Yaakov Promise a Temple at Bet El? Related to the above, and the troubling idea of him doing so, given the eventual alternate Temple at Bet El. And in Vayishlach, Shadal develops the idea that the eventual construction of the Temple at Bet El provides an early date for the Torah's authorship.

  3. Is Lifting the Stone off the Well a Superhuman Feat? Two possibilities on a peshat level, and I am not certain which one works better on a peshat level -- the one minimizing the superhuman feat or the one which works better with the theme of the text. I prefer the latter.

  4. Rav Moshe Feinstein on the Avot Keeping the Torah -- is there some meaningful message here, or is it historical?

  5. Is Vayechi unique in being introduced with no gap? There are a bunch of posts here on parshablog on the issue of that gap in Vayechi. But is there similarly no gap by Vayeitzei? We will have to clarify, perhaps in other posts in 2008.

  6. Was Gad, the son of Yaakov, named after the deity? And the related krei and ktiv.
  1. Was Lavan Right To Move The Sheep? Speculation about Lavan and Yaakov's arrangement, specifically which sheep were to belong to Yaakov, and reasons for moving the sheep far away.

  2. Helping Giant Pandas Conceive -- using panda pornography. How Yaakov did a similar thing, and how we can understand וַיֵּחַמְנָה and וַיֶּחֱמוּ as "went into heat."

  3. How Old Was Rachel? A video, and text, post. 14 years old. And the influences on this midrash, and the theme of this midrash of being fated, and made for each other. And how this fits in with the 3 year old Rivkah.
  • Twelve Boys and Only One Girl?
    • Cross-listed to Vayishlach. I discuss the possibility that Dinah was not the only girl, but was named because of the Incident With Dinah a bit later. But then scientifically, the possibility that the Avot in general did not have girls because, apparently, the longer before one has a child, the less likely one is to have a girl.

  • Triple Etiologies for Place Names
    • Cross-listed to Vayishlach. Triple Etiologies for Peniel, Machanayim.
  • Who Named Levi?
    • I take on Anchor Bible smoothing emendation of the text, discussing whether קרא is passive ("he was called"), past tense third person singular ("he," meaning Yaakov or "He" meaning Hashem), or a final possibility that it is really קראה. Speiser in Anchor Bible chose a local optimum, emending it to "she," based on Samaritan and LXX. I show that firstly, this is a harmonizing emendation, to Samaritan and LXX which go for harmonizations are not necessarily evidence of another textual tradition; that actually no emendation of the unvocalized Masoretic text is necessary to get at "she"; and finally, that the emendation only finds a local optimum, and if we want to emend the text, we should emend the other קראה to match this קרא, as passive, based on a global usage.

  • Binyamin's Name
    • Binyamin's name in Hebrew and Aramaic. For Vayishlach, but a note at the end which ties this in to Vayeitzei, in terms of Gal-Ed.

  • An Amharic Hebrew Congnate for Vayeitzei/Vayishlach
    • lakä, ‘send’, found in malach, angel or messenger.

  • The Stone Pillow
    • and how the Egyptians, just like Yaakov, used stone pillows. However, from what I've seen since this post, though I cannot find the reference, it seems that there were actually real pillows they put on these headrests. Just that those pillows decayed into nothing, such that eventually they found a few, but until then, people thought the Egyptians actually used stone pillows. If so, a prime example about how absence of evidence is not equal to evidence of absence.

  • Kissing Cousins
    • Chazal on premarital kissing.
  1. Dual Etymologies for Names -- which includes discussion of the two meanings of Machanayim

  2. An Interesting Midrash In Targum Yonatan on Bereishit 28:12; about the two angels who went to Sodom in parshat Vayera. Yaakov now sees them ascend to Heaven. Does this bolster the two angels accompanying Hashem reading? See the post inside.
  1. Rachel the Wrestler, Yaakov the Wrestler -- and how they struggled with both Hashem and with people.

  2. Kefitzat HaDerech: Going Somewhere Fast, But Where? an analysis of some of the sources. To Bet-el, to Charan.

    I don't cover Rabbenu Bachya here, who I recently noticed has an interesting take.

  3. An alternative to the Rav's explanation of Targum Yonatan on Bereishit 32:3 (2002); in which I take issue with a devar Torah, which appears to be based on a mistranslation of Targum Yonatan's words belishan bet kudsha, such that he thinks that the name of the place machanayim has connection to the Bet HaMikdash, while in truth belishan bet kudsha means "in Hebrew," as is used elsewhere in Targum where Binyamin is given a Hebrew name.

Did Ibn Ezra insult ben Ephraim the Karaite by calling him the son of cows?

In a comment on an earlier post, Z wrote:

I wonder if you could do a post about the Ibn Ezra on וְעֵינֵי לֵאָה, רַכּוֹת and what he means by והוא היה חסר אלף
I always have disagreements with people about this and I would love to see your take on it.

The Torah relates that Leah's eyes were rakot.


but it is not clear just what rakot means. It could be praise, juxtaposed to praise of Rachel. Or, it could be describing a deficiency, such that Rachel was more beautiful, such that Yaakov loved Rachel.

The gemara in Bava Basra 123a puts forth two opinions:

How many stones did Yaakov put about his head?

Because of the general assumption that it is only Ibn Ezra who argues on midrash, I'd like to present an instance in which several of the classic commentators argue on the midrash. Before Yaakov slept, he took of the stones of the place:

יא וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם, כִּי-בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם, וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו; וַיִּשְׁכַּב, בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא.

Now, admittedly, avnei is plural. But mei means from those, and so the minimum one could take is one of the many stones. And later on it is clear that there was only one stone:

יח וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יַעֲקֹב בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו, וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ, מַצֵּבָה; וַיִּצֹק שֶׁמֶן, עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ.

If so, there is no difficulty; it always was a single stone. But a midrash might take the plural portion, and run with it; particularly if there is a good lesson to derive from it.

Thanksgiving: Did the Pilgrims wear tzitzis?!








Why did Yaakov prefer Rachel?

The answer, I think, is that the heart wants what the heart wants. And perhaps that it was love at first sight (at the well, but that is admittedly debatable). And that she was the prettier sister:

טז וּלְלָבָן, שְׁתֵּי בָנוֹת: שֵׁם הַגְּדֹלָה לֵאָה, וְשֵׁם הַקְּטַנָּה רָחֵל.

unless rakkot means soft, as in beautiful. Perhaps the juxtaposition means nothing, but it seems like a deliberate juxtaposition. She was the prettier sister, and Yaakov fell in love with her. I can understand, though, how this idea might make more conservative people squirm. Is Yaakov straying after his eyes? Shouldn't he look to her middot tovot? What is a tzaddik and a prophet focusing on such matters? Sheker hachain vehevel hayofi!

Ralbag admits at the end that this was a partial consideration, but he also first gives a few other reasons for Yaakov's preference.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Moral lessons from parshat Vayeitzei







The Meaning of Yaakov's dream

In Vayeitzei, Yaakov has a dream, which goes as follows:

יג וְהִנֵּה יְהוָה נִצָּב עָלָיו, וַיֹּאמַר, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ, וֵאלֹהֵי יִצְחָק; הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שֹׁכֵב עָלֶיהָ--לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה, וּלְזַרְעֶךָ.
יד וְהָיָה זַרְעֲךָ כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, וּפָרַצְתָּ יָמָּה וָקֵדְמָה וְצָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה; וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כָּל-מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה, וּבְזַרְעֶךָ.
טו וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ, וּשְׁמַרְתִּיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-תֵּלֵךְ, וַהֲשִׁבֹתִיךָ, אֶל-הָאֲדָמָה הַזֹּאת: כִּי, לֹא אֶעֱזָבְךָ, עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם-עָשִׂיתִי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-דִּבַּרְתִּי לָךְ.

It seems somewhat likely that all aspects of the dream are meant to be significant. But I would consider it a strong possibility that a knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern culture would be necessary for understanding the full import of the symbolism in the dream.

Why the ladder? Why does it extend from earth to heaven? What is the significance of the angels ascending and descending?

Unless it wasn't even meant to be symbolic.

The merits of a baal teshuva vs. those of an FFB, in parshat Toledot

I recently saw a post at BeyondBT which brought me to the following dvar Torah, excerpted below:

Rashi explains "lenochach" by saying that Isaac and Rebecca prayed in opposite corners of the room. We can imagine how they prayed for hours, intently, for a child, Abraham in one corner and Rebecca in the other, until G-d answered their prayer. Why then does it say: "the L-rd let himself be entreated by him [Isaac]"? What was wrong with Rebecca's prayers? Rashi explains this again, by saying: "By him, and not by her, since the prayers of a tzaddik (righteous person) who is the son of a rasha (wicked person) cannot be compared to the prayers of a tzaddik who is the son of a tzaddik." (Isaac's father, Abraham, was clearly a tzaddik, and Rebecca's father, Bethuel, is considered here to be a rasha.) This seems a little shocking, and unfair to Rebecca. Why should her prayers be ignored because of her father?

Furthermore, this Rashi seems to be contradicted by a well-known Gemara, which says that in the place of a baal teshuva (someone who "returns" to Judaism), not even a completely righteous person can stand. The argument for this is that it is easy enough to be observant if one grows up in an observant environment, but a baal teshuva, who tries to become observant later in life, is usually forced to make changes in his or her lifestyle and circle of friends, which can be quite difficult. How can this be reconciled with Rashi's statement?

Besides whatever answer is offered, I think I can provide a fairly straightforward answer. When the gemara uses the terms "complete tzaddik" and "one who repents" (baal teshuva), this is not the same as FFB and BT, terms which are in use nowadays. The modern baal teshuva and the baal teshuva of the gemara are distinct.

For example, we can readily say that Rivkah was a complete tzaddekes, even though she was not Frum From Birth. As the midrash testifies, based on pesukim, she was a betula entirely even though the people in her place had found ways around the mere technical requirements. And the water arose for her, in her merit. And she showed remarkable gemilat chessed when facing the camel test.

Indeed, Rivkah was never a wicked person. A baal teshuva according to the gemara's definition is one who once sinned, and has now repented. It is not someone who was brought up in a non-religious household. And therefore she can be a tzaddik gamur and yet not a tzaddeket bat tzaddik.

And Yitzchak also was never a wicked person. And so he was not a baal teshuva. Therefore, considerations about baal teshuva vs. tzaddik gamur are irrelevant. And so the gemaras are non-contradictory.

To understand tzaddik son of tzaddik and tzaddik son of a rasha, a good starting point would be Yechezkel 18. But there is much after this. Perhaps an idea of zechus avos; perhaps something else. But regardless, midrashically there was this distinction between Rivkah and Yitzchak in this respect.

Interesting Posts and Articles #238



    secrets of Kabbala from Elijah the Prophet. He is sometimes referred
    as the kabbalist Avraham ben Yitzchak of Granada, the author
    of Brit Menucha.

    Life In Israel on kabbalah red strings and the tooth fairy.





Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Is there a gap before Vayelech Reuven?

Related to my earlier post about the presence or absence of an initial gap in parshat Vayeitzei, there is a dispute (or perhaps a non-dispute) about an internal gap in the same parasha. We can see mention of this in the Codex Hilleli:

Here, there is no gap preceding the word vayelech, and the masoretic note (I reconstruct it here, based on sevara) on the side states that man deamar devayelech reuven it beih piska ta'ei -- those who say that there is a gap before Vayelech Reuven are making an error.

I first saw a discussion of it in Minchas Shai, who writes:

וילך ראובן אין כאן פיסקא
כי בפרשה זו אין פיסקא כלל כ״ש בריש סדרא וכן כתיב בספר חגי ומאן דאמר וילך ראובן בימי קציר חטים פרשה טעי:

I am not certain I understand this fully. Isn't the beginning of the sidra by Vayeitzei Yaakov. What is meant by kol shekein? Especially if Minchas Shai maintains that there is a gap at the beginning of the sidra.

Once again, how is Vayeitzei setumah?




Monday, November 23, 2009

Vayeitzei sources

by aliyah
rishon (Bereishit 28:10)
sheni (29:1)
shlishi (29:18)
revii (30:14)
chamishi (30:28)
shishi (31:17)
shvii (31:43)
maftir (32:1)
haftara (Hoshea 12)

by perek
perek 29 ; perek 30
perek 31 ; perek 32

Shadal (here and here)
Gilyonot Nechama Leibovitz (Hebrew)
Tiferes Yehonasan from Rav Yonasan Eibeshitz
Toldos Yizchak Acharon, repeated from Rav Yonasan Eibeshutz
Even Shleimah -- from Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Ehrenreich
Collected commentary of Saadia Gaon on Torah
Zohar, with English translation
Baal Haturim (HaAruch)
Imrei Shafer, Rav Shlomo Kluger
Rabbenu Yonah - nothing until vayeshev
Aderet Eliyahu (Gra) - nothing until vayishlach
Sefer Zikaron of Ritva -- not until Vayigash

The following meforshim at JNUL:
Ralbag (52)
Shach (30)
Sefer Hachinuch (pg 10) -- nothing until Vayishlach
Aharon ben Yosef the Karaite (51)

Daat, Rashi In Hebrew (perek 25)
Judaica Press Rashi in English and Hebrew
Mizrachi, Mizrachi (47, JNUL)
Gur Aryeh (Maharal of Prague)
Commentary on Rashi by Yosef of Krasnitz
R' Yisrael Isserlin (on Rashi, 4, JNUL)
Two supercommentaries on Rashi, by Chasdai Almosnino and Yaakov Kneizel
Rav Natan ben Shishon Shapira Ashkenazi (16th century), (JNUL, pg 27)
Yeriot Shlomo (Maharshal)
Moda L'Bina (Wolf Heidenheim)
Mekorei Rashi (in Mechokekei Yehuda)
Meam Loez -- laazei Rashi
Also see Mikraos Gedolos above, which has Rashi with Sifsei Chachamim

Daat, Ramban in Hebrew (perek 28)
Rabbi Meir Abusaula (student of Rashba)

ibn ezra
Daat, Ibn Ezra in Hebrew (perek 28)
Mechokekei Yehudah (HebrewBooks)
R' Shmuel Motot (on Ibn Ezra, pg 14, JNUL)
Mekor Chaim, Ohel Yosef, Motot

Targum Onkelos opposite Torah text
Shadal's Ohev Ger on Targum Onkelos
Avnei Tzion -- two commentaries on Onkelos
Or Hatargum on Onkelos
Commentary on Targum Yonatan and Targum Yerushalmi
Septuagint (Greek, English)

Rama (but based on alphabet, not parsha)

Midrash Rabba at Daat (28)
Midrash Tanchuma at Daat (28)
Bereishit Rabba, with commentaries
Bereishit Rabba with Yefei Toar
Midrash Tanchuma with commentary of Etz Yosef and Anaf Yosef
Commentary on Midrash Rabba by R' Naftali Hirtz b'R' Menachem
Matat-Kah on Midrash Rabba
Nefesh Yehonasan by Rav Yonasan Eibeshutz

haftara (Ashkenazim begin Hoshea 12:13; 11:17-14:10)
In a separate Mikraos Gedolos, with Targum, Rashi, Radak, Mahari Kara, Metzudat David.
As a haftara in a chumash Bereishit, with Malbim and Ibn Ezra
Haftarah in Gutnick Edition
Daat, with Ibn Ezra, Radak, Yalkut Shimoni, Gilyonot
Aharon ben Yosef the Karaite
Radak (JNUL, 240)


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