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Parshat Vayigash
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
ויבא בארה שבע... ויזבח זבחים לא-הי אביו יצחק
"Ascend, O well - A well dug by princes, carved out by nobles of the people, through the lawgiver with their staffs, and from the desert, a gift".
This song of Israel in praise of God for the gift of the 'travelling well' throughout the wilderness alludes, according to our Sages to the Patriarchs in the word 'princes'. On the most simplistic level this means that the Patriarchs were known for digging and/or visiting wells, the most famous of them being Beer Sheva. In the past we have shown how the concept 'well' alludes to feminine vitality, just as a well represents how the feminine-receptive-earth gives forth to the vitality found in water. In this way we explained why Beer Sheva is especially connected to Yitzhak, as he represents the most feminine relationship to HaShem of all the Patriarchs. This also explains why Yakov, when he arrives in Beer Sheva, as seen in our title quote, specifically offers sacrifices to 'the God of his father Yitzhak', alluding specifically to this 'feminine' type of relationship towards to the One God. We also explained how this 'feminine' type of relationship in Beer Sheva also pertains specifically to raising the power of the Holy Presence in the Land of Israel, the 'wife' of the People Israel.
Our Sages tie in the Midrash (Raba 68, 5) the 'receiving of permission' to leave the Land of Israel specifically to Beer Sheva (on Yakov's flee from Esau and more), and so we see here once again this 'receiving of permission' in Beer Sheva on Yakov's way to Egypt. This matter is beautifully explained when we contemplate Beer Sheva as representing the more 'feminine' of cities in the Land of Israel. Yakov's 'receiving permission' to leave the Land of Israel can be translated on the human parallel of 'husband-Israel and wife-Land of Israel'. The 'husband' asks the 'wife' for permission to leave on a trip. Properly doing so entails that the 'husband' makes the effort to go to where the 'wife' is residing, i.e Beer Sheva, to receive her permission. This stands in contrast to Bet El, for example, which puts the emphasis on the 'husband's' word of commitment (vow) to return and not on the giving of permission itself to leave given by the 'wife', which takes place in Beer Sheva. This also explains why this 'permission' is not given in Hebron or Jerusalem, for they represent the union of husband and wife, and therefore do not exhibit the effort of the 'husband' to go to the 'residence' of the 'wife' to ask for and receive permission to leave.
Halachically, we find in the Talmud (Yerushalmi Nazir ch. 7) a story about a pupil who asks his master if he may leave the Land of Israel for the Diaspora. Although halacha has clear guidelines as to the permits for leaving the Land of Israel for the Diaspora (as we have discussed in the past), we see from this story that there may be additional personal factors that may require one to stay in the Land of Israel. A classic example of this can be found in Rambam's Mishneh Torah which explains that, although Mahlon and Kilyon left this Land because of famine (a legitimate reason to leave), nevertheless they were punished, for this act did not befit their personal pious level. (Some say also that if one never lived in the Diaspora it is worthwhile to make special effort never to leave the Land of Israel (like Yitzhak)). Therefore, especially in regard to these issues it is worthwhile to consult a competent Torah authority in regard to one's personal status, which may also change from time to time.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #148
"At the Tomb Of Rashbi in Meron I prayed intensively, asking for salvation especially in regard to my financial situation. After praying a man seized me, danced with me for 10 minutes, and then handed me a load of money and disappeared in to the crowd..." K.P.
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Parshat Miketz
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
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Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
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"Please let me know Your ways, so that I shall know You, so that I find favor in Your eyes, and You shall see that this nation is Yours..."
Our Sages explain that Moshe Rabeinu prayed in these words that the Holy Spirit of Ruah Hakodesh be pronounced among the People of Israel, that we should all know God at this high level of divine inspiration. Indeed, we hope that this divine inspiration be so pronounced that Israel realize its potential in being a Godly "light unto the nations" (Isaiah 49, 6), so all nations shall proclaim as Pharaoh proclaimed upon Yosef in our title quote, "after God has acknowledged you of all this, there is no clever or wise man like you."
The concepts of "knowledge of God" and "light unto the nations" seem to come together so naturally in the Hanuka story, "the story of light", which is strongly connected to the city "Modiin", which means "acknowledging". Modiin/m is mentioned in a halachic context in the Mishna Psahim (ch. 9) as being the farthest extent from which one is obligated to travel to Jerusalem to offer the paschal offering on the 14th of Nisan and does not harbor the Torah's exemption of being "far distanced".
The reason for Modiin being a landmark for this rule is because it lies 15 miles away from Jerusalem, considered the average day-walk for the average man according to halachic standard. Therefore, a person who lives farther than this walk is considered "far-distanced" in regard to the paschal offering. However, this ruling does not seem to fully explain why "Modiin" was singled out to exemplify this rule, for it seems that there are numbers of cities in the Land of Israel at this distance from Jerusalem that could have exemplified instead. However, when we contemplate the name "Modiin" we find a startling resemblance to some of the internal meanings of the Bait HaMikdash in Jerusalem. Our Sages teach that "anyone who has knowledge it is as if the Bait HaMikdash has been built in his lifetime, for both (knowledge and Mikdash) are written between two names of God" (Brachot 33a).
To understand this teaching more deeply it is necessary to understand the depths of the concept "knowledge". "Daat" in Hebrew does not only mean cognition, but rather signifies a more general concept, synthesis or unison, as the verse says "and Adam knew ("yada") Hava his wife". Therefore, "knowledge appearing between two names of God" signifies that "daat-knowledge" signifies a synthesis between two names of God, or two different ways of relating towards God. The Bait HaMikdash also poses this very synthesis, as the Bait HaMIkdash signifies where Heaven and Earth meet in the light of the Holy Presence. Therefore, one who truly has this spiritual "knowledge" is considered to be connected to this same spiritual light of the Bait HaMikdash in his lifetime. Thus, we may say that Modiin represents the extent of this "light of knowledge stemming from the Bait Hamikdash" to a level that man can act and "walk" (see above), and perhaps even fight as in the Hasmonean War, upon this spiritual illumination.
The power of synthesis and the illumination of courage to fight for the ideals of Israel are also strongly connected to Hebron, which means unity and synthesis and is also the origins of the first battle mentioned in the Torah fought by Avraham from Hebron to save Lot. If so, why doesn't Hebron take such a dominant place in the Macabee story? We may say that, just as in embryo the fetus is mainly distinguished by its functioning heart and brain stem without developed organs, so too at the Patriarchal stage of Israel almost only Hebron (heart) and Jerusalem (brain - this analogy is based on the teachings of the Arizal) were distinguished. However, at later stages we find the development of other organs/cities as well. This said, we still find how the origins of these other cities stem from Hebron and Jerusalem, each in their own distinct way.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #147
"My father suddenly became ill, and as I am an experienced medical practitioner I noticed from his symptoms that he urgently needed a specific medicine. I went to the pharmacy with no prescription with the hope that maybe they will provide the medicine even without the prescription. To my surprise they gave me the medicine and also other medicines that I usually carry with me in case of emergencies. I returned to the hotel where I had been residing, and then I got a call from a girl calling me urgently to help her younger brother who had stopped breathing. 'It turns out' that this boy needed one of the 'extra' medicines I had just gotten at the pharmacy, and b"h we were able to save him. 'It turns out' that the girl planned to call the front desk of the hospital by extension #61, but by 'accident' added 1, calling me at extension #161..." H.S.A.
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Parshat Vayishlach
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
בדרך אפרת היא בית לחם
"Behold! We have received the tradition from our Sages that Rachel was buried on the pathway, for Yakov foresaw that when Israel will be exiled they will travel by this path, and then Rachel will plead mercy upon them... 'Rachel is crying upon her children'... and then HaShem will answer her 'cease your voice from crying and your eyes from tears... for (your) children will return to their borders'... therefore we come before You HaShem so that You remember the merit of our holy Patriarchs and of our righteous Matriarch Rachel... and merit us to raise our children... and may we see them together in the ingathering of exiles in full redemption speedily..." (Prayer at the Tomb of Rachel)
Rachel is singled out from all the Patriarchs and Matriarchs as not being buried at Maarat HaMachpela in Hebron, as we see in this week's parsha, in order to arouse mercy for Israel in exile. This depiction follows perfectly with what we have learned previously that Hebron is identified with 'Zion' according to the Arizal. Therefore, Rachel was buried specifically outside of Hebron, the home-city of Zion, as if to show self-recognition with those exiled out of our homeland, the Holy Land, and thereby arouse mercy for them. According to the Arizal, Rachel also represents the strongest tie to the Holy Land not only more than all the Patriarchs, she being a woman especially tied to the Feminine Land (see two previous parshiot), but also even more than the other Matriarchs.
This matter explains why specifically Rachel was buried outside Hebron, so that even those in exile will remember that the spirit of the Holy Land, the spirit of Rachel, still lingers with them and calls them back home. However, why was Bet Lehem singled out for the burial of Rachel and not some other location traveled by those exiled? According to the Arizal, Leah represents the spiritual power capable of maintaining the Jewish People even in Exile. As we noted last week, Hebron represents Rachel, while Jerusalem represents Leah, according to the Arizal. According to this, we may perhaps say that the 'high lights' of the Bais HaMikdash of Jerusalem are which enlighten and give hope to Jewry in the darkness of Exile. The ancient route which connects Hebron to Jerusalem was known as the 'Path of Efrat', mentioned in our title quote as the burial place of Rachel. On this route lies Bet Lehem, which means the 'House of Bonding' (as in 'hilhim' - to glue or bond (Vayikra Raba 3); also bread is called 'lehem' because it is a 'bonding' of flour and water, bonds people and more). We can infer from this that Bet Lehem represents the bonding of Hebron to Jerusalem, Rachel to Leah, and ultimately the bonding of Jewry in the Diaspora to Hebron which gives the fuller thrust of devotion towards the Holy Land in general and not only to the Holy City of Jerusalem and its Temple.
Fascinatingly, Bet Lehem can also hint to the mitzvah of 'lehem', i.e the two loaves of Shavuos (see Meg. Ruth read on Shavuos which takes place mostly in Bethlehem) offered in the Holy 'Bayit' - the Bais Hamikdash. Halacha maintains that newly harvested grain may only be offered even in the Temple after offering the 'Two Loaves' which must originate from the Land of Israel, a matter that shows the dependency of Jerusalem and the Temple on the general Land of Israel, symbolized by Hebron.
From and for this union of Hebron and Jerusalem, of Rachel and Leah, emerges the power of Bet Lehem, birth-place of David forerunner of the Mashiah, who ruled in both Hebron and Jerusalem. From and for this union emerges Beit Lehem, 'birth-place' of Mashiah himself (Midrash Eicha 1, 51).
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #146
"I was driving to Jerusalem very close to sunset, and I still had not davened mincha. I prayed to HaShem to allow me not to miss even one prayer without a minyan. Nevertheless, sunset was very close, so I drove to a nearby natural spring in order to wash my hands for prayer. Lo and behold, at the spring 'happened' to be a group of Hasidim drawing water for matzos, and they called just then to daven mincha..." B.H.D
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Parshat Vayeishev
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
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Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
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"In the merit of Yosef the Righteous may You protect us!" Yosef unites, in this week's parsha, the two sister cities, Hebron and Shechem, in his momentous journey from 'the depths Hebron' to Shechem, triggering Israel's Exile in Egypt and Israel's Redemption thereof.
Shechem is clearly a focal city in the Land of Israel, to such an extent that it was the first city Avraham built an altar in, the first city in the Land Yakov encamps in on his return from Laban, the burial place of Yosef hatzadik, a Refuge City, and also one of the only three cities land was bought and not conquered: Hebron, Shechem, and Jerusalem, just to mention a few.
Shechem's most literal and simple translation means 'shoulder', which implies a taking on of responsibility (as people say 'broad shoulders'), a matter that brings us directly to the verse describing Yissachar as a donkey who 'gives his shoulder to carry.' The reason we are directed to this verse specifically is because Shechem also alludes to the name of the son of Hamor the Hivite who raped Dina in last week's parsha. A literal translation of his name, 'Shechem ben Hamor' means 'the shoulder son of/pertaining to the donkey', a striking resemblance to the description of Yissachar! Of course, here lies the obvious question: why does the Torah seem to tie such extremes between such a positive character (Yissachar) to such a negative character (Shechem son of Hamor)?
It seems that it is exactly this tie of extremes that teaches us the secret of Shechem. Shechem, the City of Responsibility, represents the taking of responsibility in the covenant with God in regard to the Land of Israel. Shechem, or Elon Moreh, is attributed in parshat Reeh (Dvarim) to Mount Grizim of Blessings and Mount Eival of Curses, which both lie in its close proximity. Here Israel are commanded to take responsibility for the covenant with HaShem and make the commitment that if Israel keep the Torah they shall prosper in the Land, but if they sin, God forbid, they shall be cursed, even exiled from this Land. Therefore, it is no wonder why Shechem has such mixed connotations in Biblical and Rabbinic sources, carrying the connotations of both Yissachar and Shechem son of Hamor, depending on the deeds of Israel. The fact that the Biblical term for a ketuba, 'mohar', is first mentioned in the Torah in context of Shechem seems to give us another clue into the secret of Shechem.
The three unique purchased cities represent the three essential stages of unity and marriage between Israel, the husband, and the Land of Israel, the wife, just as a purchase represents unique unity between the purchaser and the matter purchased . As mentioned earlier, Hebron - 'Union' represents the most initial and basic stage of betrothal - 'kidushin'. Jerusalem represents the unity of the husband and wife in a dwelling or house, the Bais HaMikdash, in marriage called Hupa, yihud, or Nisuin. However, a crucial preliminary to Nisuin is the giving of a ketuba, the prenuptial agreement given to the wife binding the husband to responsibilities towards the wife. Therefore, we may say that Shechem corresponds to our ketuba-binding relationship with the wife, the Holy Land.
This profoundly explains why Israel are commanded to write the Torah on rock and erect it literally at the vicinity of Shechem, this rock representing the written 'ketuba' with the Land, the Law of the Covenant, the Torah. Therefore, it is no wonder why Yosef the Tzadik, well-known in Torah sources as 'Keeper of the Covenant', is buried in no other than Shechem, the continuation of Hebron in devotion and responsibility towards the Holy Land.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #147
"One Shabbos evening in our home, a glass 'accidentally' broke, boxes of cookies 'accidentally' fell turning the cookies into crumbs, a metal handle 'accidentally' broke, and my 3 year-old turned off the living room lights... I decided to do tshuva and vow a sizable sum to tzedaka to be given immediately after Shabbos. Then, the situation improved..." A.G .
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Parshat Vayeitzei
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
בס"ד
לשכנו תדרשו
Cleaving to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land
וידר יעקב... והאבן הזאת יהיה בית א-הים
“Remember Avraham Yitzhak and Israel Your servants to whom You swore saying... this whole Land shall be given to your descendants and they shall ineherit it forever.”
Just as HaShem swears that the Land of Israel will be dedicated to the People of Israel, so too we see in this week's parsha, in our title quote, a swearing on the part of Yakov, forerunner of the People of Israel, that he will retain his dedication to a specific location in the Land of Israel, Bet El, by forming a House for God at this location upon his return. Indeed, we see that, although generally speaking halacha frowns upon swearing, in regard to strengthening oneself to commit a mitzva, halacha maintains that such a measure may be considered commendable.
Halacha goes even further to say that because of the great value towards committing a mitzva, even the mere utterance that one intends to commit a mitzva is to be considered a vow even if not using the proper terminology for a vow or oath as is generally required. Such is the case of one who states that he plans to come to the Land of Israel, considered under the stringent category of such 'mitzva-vows', unless he explicitly says 'bli neder' or the like. In fact, the main source that a 'mitzva vow' may be considered commendable is learned from the vow of Yakov, which exhibits Yakov's dedication to the Holy Land just before exiting it.
In continuation of our analysis of the relationships between locations in the Land Israel, as in last week's parsha, let us examine the significance of Bet El as being the site of this vow of Yakov. To begin with, it seems that our Sages reveal an important clue in understanding the relationship between Bet El, Beer Sheva and Jerusalem. Our Sages teach that Yakov saw the bottom of the ladder in his prophetic dream being rooted at Beer Sheva, its head reaching the heavens directly above Bet El, while the middle of this ladder stood directly above the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is highly likely that our Sages wish to teach us the spiritual relationships between these locations in this image, putting Bet El at one extreme, Beer Sheva at the opposite extreme, and Jerusalem at the middle.
In parshat Toldot we explained how Beer Sheva is strongly associated with Yitzhak and also with feminine spirituality. Interestingly, we find Bet El first mentioned in the encampments of Avraham long before Yitzhak was born. The name Bet El also signifies the attribute of Avraham, the Father associated with the attribute of kindness, an attribute that is tied to God's Name “El”. Our Sages teach that if Yitzhak represents more feminine spirituality, then it is Avraham his counterpart who represents masculine spirituality. The fact that the vow of Yakov to retain devotion to the Land of Israel even in the Diaspora occurs in Bet El fits perfectly with the depiction of the Land of Israel as wife, while the People of Israel are depicted as her husband. In this sense, it is Yakov the prototype of Israel the People, the husband, who takes the initiative at this location to vow and continue devotion towards the wife, the Holy Land, even when the 'husband' is physically afar from the Holy Land in the Diaspora. Once we identify Bet El, the 'heavenly' side of the ladder, as representing a more masculine location, and Beer Sheva, the 'earthly' side of the ladder, as a more feminine location, we come to the conclusion that Jerusalem, 'middle of the ladder', represents the unity between the husband, Israel, and the wife, the Holy Land.
This conceptualization fits perfectly with the name Jerusalem, representing the revelation of the Holy Presence of the Land and the Temple to the People in the word Yeru-Yeraeh (as called by Avraham at the Akeida) - “Hashem's Revelation will be seen”, along with Shalem (as in 'Malkitzedek the king of Shalem')-one whole unit, representing the unity between the soul of Israel and the soul of the Holy Land- the Holy Presence in this holy city. In the past we have shown that both Jerusalem and Hebron represent the deep connection of Israel to the Holy Land. According to the Arizal, these two cities indeed represent the union of the 'husband' - Israel to the 'wife' - the Holy Land just as Yakov married Leah and Rachel, spiritualy considered to be one wife, although manifested in two separate bodies/forms. In this way, the Arizal explains that Hebron represents the union with Rachel, while Jerusalem represents the union with Leah, both deeply united together in the Light of the Holy Presence.
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Real Stories from the Holy Land #146
"I live in Kiryat Arba-Hebron. One day I was in a hospital in Jerusalem, when one man, who I didn't know, suddenly asked me for tehilim to pray from. After helping him, he suddenly offered some fragrant plant to say a blessing on, adding that it was plucked from the Field of Machpela in Hebron. I immediately commented that I live and study in Hebron. 'It turns out' that these man really lives in Tiberias (Northern Israel), but just recently had been doing household repairs at a family in Hebron and was in the hospital due to a work-accident." M.A.Y.
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