The Weekly Shtikle - Chayei Sarah

For some weeks now, I have been searching for some parsha­-based lesson to glean with respect to the tumultuous political season that has recently concluded here in the United States, with as little actual politics as possible. I felt this would be apropos:

 

    When Avraham requests an audience with Efron HaChiti, the pasuk (23:10) recounts "And Efron was sitting in the midst of B'nei Cheis. " Rashi here comments that the word yosheiv, sitting, is in the present tense, is written without a vav. Without vowels, it may be read yashav, in past tense. This, suggests Rashi, implies that he only now sat amongst them. The term "sitting amongst them" implies a position of stature. Here, Efron had just been appointed judge.

 

    This explanation of Rashi should sound rather familiar. Just one week ago we had almost the exact same comment from Rashi with regards to Lot. When the angels arrived, (19:1) Lot was sitting at the gates of Sedom. Rashi interprets "sitting at the gates" to refer to a position of judgement and again the missing vav insinuates that this promotion had just taken place. Certainly, this abnormal spelling must be addressed in both instances. But why is this a necessary fact for the Torah to convey to us on these two occasions?

 

    The position of judge is certainly one that involves a great deal of responsibility. Certainly, in a culture such as that of Sedom, the task of a judge was quite daunting. Even though both Lot and Efron seemed to have been appointed, it still takes a great deal of courage and feeling of responsibility to accept the appointment. It also pertains directly to one of the seven mitzvos that even gentiles are required to keep.

 

    Perhaps, the Torah is conveying to us in both these instances the great reward that is allotted to those who bravely take upon themselves positions of responsibility for the greater good. These two characters, as analyzed by the commentaries, are certainly not short of flaws. Yet both are put into a somewhat positive spotlight. It was this noble act that gave Lot the merit to be saved from the destruction of Sedom. Indeed, it was in Avraham's merit as well that he was saved. But had Lot truly been as wicked as the rest of the city, perhaps Avraham's merit would not have been enough. And it was Efron's accepting of his position as judge for which he merited to be a part of this historic acquisition.

 

    Moreover, when one seizes the reins of responsibility, they are realizing that they cannot simply wait for this void to be filled by another. Often times the position of responsibility is one that could, in theory, easily be filled by another candidate. But the man of responsibility seizes the moment and does not delegate or shirk these duties. For this reason, it is not enough that they simply be rewarded. Rather, it is on the very day, as Rashi notes, that they accepted these positions that they are instantly rewarded.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: Different Forms of Yirash

Dikdukian: My Master's Brother(s)

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The Weekly Shtikle - Vayeira

This week's shtikle is dedicated le'ilui nishmas my brother Efrayim Yechezkel ben Avi Mori Reuven Pinchas, a"h, whose yahrtzeit is tomorrow, the 18^th of Cheshvan.

As well, this Tuesday, the 21^st of Chesvan, is the yahrtzeit of my great uncle, Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jakobovits. The shtikle is dedicated le'iluy nishmaso, Yisroel ben Yoel.

 

After Avimelech mistakenly takes Sarah from Avraham, HaShem comes to him in a dream at night and tells him that he will die for his sin. Avimelech then proceeds to plead his innocence after which HaShem responds and lets him off the hook. The response begins (20:6) "Elokim said to him in the dream..." From pasuk 3 we are already aware that HaShem was speaking to Avimelech bachalom halaylah, in a dream of the night. Why is it necessary to repeat this point?

 

On a separate occasion, we have discussed the many differences in the conduct of Avimelech as opposed to Par'oah in just about the same circumstance. In addition to those points, Paroah was not even given the honour of a visit or warning from God, presumably because he simply was not worthy of such a revelation. Avimelech, on the contrary, did merit that visit. Instead of mere hints that something was not right, he received a message directly from HaShem, much in the way, it would seem, that any other prophet did. Yet, we do not ever see Avimelech referred to as a prophet. Wouldn't this dream constitute prophecy?

 

I therefore suggest, albeit without any textual source to support this theory, that true prophecy consists not only of a message from HaShem but the ability to converse with Him in the context of that prophecy. What happened here is that Avimelech actually awoke after receiving the message from HaShem in his dream. His words, quoted in the pasuk, were exclamations uttered while awake. He then went back to sleep and HaShem answered him in yet another dream. There was never an actual two-way conversation going on within the dream itself. Contrarily, when HaShem comes to Bil'am in his dream (Bemidbar 22:9-12) there is a clear dialog, although I suppose it is not clear that that was even a dream. Nevertheless, due to this nuance, Avimelech is not considered a navi.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

AstroTorah: A Scratch on the Wall

AstroTorah: Witnesses to Sedom's Destruction

AstroTorah: The Mysterious Midrash by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: I Can't Believe it's not Fresh by R' Ari Storch

Dikdukian: Different Forms of Yirash

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

The Weekly Shtikle - Noach

The well-known story of Noach and the great deluge surely yields its fair share of lessons and themes. Recently, a new thought came to mind, another idea that may be gleaned from the general "big picture" of what transpires in this week's parsha. The main driving force behind this thought is a snippet from Rashi at the end of Bereishis (6:6). He tells of an exchange between a heretic and R' Yehoshua ben Karchah whereby the heretic questioned HaShem's omnipotence based on the pasuk recounting an expression of despair, as it were, at the regret of having created Man. R' Yehoshua successfully rebuts the challenge and explains that even though it was known from the very beginning that the creation of Man would lead to this tragic point in history, HaShem still created Man, nevertheless, for the purpose of the righteous ones who would ultimately emerge.

This phase of mankind was doomed from the start. However, there are two interesting points that stand out regarding its demise. It was still necessary for these 1656 years of history to take place. Even as the world was completely destroyed, it was also necessary for a remnant to survive and build the new world rather than a complete annihilation followed by Creation started anew. Perhaps a similar observation can be made regarding the first luchos given to Moshe which ultimately had to be smashed and a new set fashioned. Still, the broken pieces of the original stones were carried inside the aron.

A number of years ago, I attended a program which highlighted the success of Israeli companies that chose to create a presence in Maryland. One of the speakers, Lior Schillat, addressed the idea of Israel being known as "Startup Nation," and why so many successful startup businesses have emerged from Israel. Although he did not appear to be particularly religious, his first approach seemed to be pure Divine Providence. But he followed that up with another intriguing idea. He suggested that Israelis do not have a fear of failure. They are only able to ultimately reach success because they are not afraid to try new ventures which might appear to have a significant likelihood of falling flat. But those failures ultimately lead to great success. Indeed, one is hard-pressed to find a largely successful enterprise which is simply the result of a "first shot."

Perhaps this is a lesson to be extracted from the tragedy of the mabul. The failure and breakdown of society was a necessary phase of history to teach us the value of being able to embark on a venture and be willing to fail. And it was crucial for a surviving entity to spark the rebirth and rebuilding in order to impress upon us that past failures are only indeed of any value if we are able to take with us the lessons learned and build upon them.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Al Pi Cheshbon: The Weight of the Teiva and The Constant Rate of Recession 
AstroTorah: Sailing the Friendly Skies by R' Ari Storch

AstroTorah: The World's First Boat?

Dikdukian: Noach's Three Sons

Dikdukian: Different Ways to Wake Up

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com