Torah Tidbits
The Middle Matza
84 days, that’s 12 weeks, less than three months, from this Leil Shabbat of Parshat Sh’mot, we will IY"H be celebrating the Pesach Seder. (BTW, it will be the first Leil Shabbat Seder in 14 years - but who’s counting?) So why, you might ask, is the Lead Tidbit about matza?
Obviously, it has to do with our beginning the book of Sh’mot, which finds us enslaved and oppressed in Mitzrayim. But if this also makes a good Seder Dvar Torah, then save it in your Hagada file (provided you didn’t already make it chametzdik).
Word of the Month
A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of haChodesh HaZeh Lachem…
Published January 12, 2012
Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
BIRKAT HABANIM
In Parshat Vaychi, Yaakov blesses Yosef’s sons and he announces that this will be the standard blessing of (grand)fathers for their (grand)sons throughout the generations.
Therefore, the following is not just a note for BKs [Baalei K’ri’a, Torah readers] and those who want to fine- tune their Hebrew pronunciation, but it is for all people who bless their male progeny on Leil Shabbat.
Y’SI-M’CHA ELOKIM K’EFRAIM V’CHI’MENASHE
Highway to Heaven
“And when Yaakov made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people” (B’reishit 49:33).
Death in the Bible is described as “the way of all the earth.” (see Yehoshua 23:14; Melachim Alef 2:2). If a person knows when he is about to die, he can set his affairs in order, bid farewell to his dear ones, and make peace with God. In the Jewish tradition, to recite the confession of sins (vidui) before death is considered especially meritorious. The word “expired” in the text, say the commentators, is used only of the righteous and implies death in a moment without pain or delay.
Strawberries
It’s that time of year again - delicious and lush strawberries are now in season. Very often we are tempted to buy strawberries, to make a Bracha, and to bite into them. However, as with many fruits and vegetables, this isn’t possible because we must first make sure that we have cleaned and checked the strawberries to make sure they are insect free. This is because strawberries can be infested with thrips, mites, and aphids. Luckily it really isn’t so difficult to clean and check strawberries. The OU’s team of dedicated Rabbanim has established two basic methods for cleaning and checking strawberries.
Published January 08, 2012A look at Vaychi Blessing the Lads
The words with which Yaakov blessed his grandsons Menashe and Efrayim are among the most beautiful we have: “The God before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak walked, the God who was my shepherd all my life until today, the angel who saved me from all evil - may he bless the lads; may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak, and may they grow into a great people on earth” (B’reishit 48:15-16). Here are some interesting features of the blessing:
Published January 08, 2012The Knesset Kolumn
Yaakov Avinu gathers his sons at the end of his life to bless them. However, many of his statements to his sons seem to be rebuke and not blessings. The most classic example is what he says to Shimon and Levi. He talks about their violent tendencies and the need to separate them. How is is this a blessing in any way?
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch focuses on two words which Yaakov uses in this rebuke to explain how they are truly a blessing for the Jewish people. Yaakov says, ACHALKEIM B’YAA- KOV - I will divide them in Jacob, V’AFITZEIM B’YISRAEL - and I will separate them in Israel. Rav Hirsch explains that ACHALKEIM means dividing something in a way which does not diminish the original force of the object. ACHALKEIM means dispersing them to significantly reduce the original power. JACOB refers to the Jewish people while in exile while ISRAEL describes the Jewish people in Israel. While in exile, religious zealotry and even violence serves a very important purpose. Zealots can serve as an example to the rest of the nation regarding the need to serve G-D despite the persecution, and violence can help in fighting our enemies. Thus, while in exile as captured by IN JACOB, Yaakov said that Shimon and Levi will be DIVIDED. They will be spread among the people with their original force intact to inspire them to continue serving G-D and even fight back against our enemies. However, once we are IN ISRAEL, Yaakov says AFITZEIM, they must be separated without their power intact. Their zealotry and violence will only hurt the Jewish people and, therefore, the ultimate blessing is for them to not be together and exercise zero power.
Where is Yehuda's Rod Today?
B’reishit 49:10 - The rod shall not depart from Yehuda nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shilo arrives, and his will be an assemblage of nations.
Rashi: The rod, that is, the rulership, shall not depart from Yehuda from King David onward. This refers to the exilarchs in Bavel who ruled with the rod, for they were appointed by royal authority. “Lawgiver” refers to the princes, teachers of the students [from Hillel onward]. Shilo refers to the King Mashiach, for the kingship is his [shelo], as Onkelos renders. The aggadic midrash [Yalkut Shimoni 160] explains Shilo as a contraction of shai lo, a gift to him, as it says [T’hilim 76:12], “They will deliver a gift [shai] to the revered one.”
TTriddles
[1] “big snow there will be, and cold”
This TTriddle is paired with [3] below - Way back - a little more than 50 years ago, my rebbe for 7th and 8th grade was R’ Chaim Segal z"l. If my memory serves me correctly - and I might even have a source before this goes to print - he told us a forwards and backwards Rashei Teivot for the word VAYIGASH. VAV YIHYEH GIMEL SH’VAT - if Friday will be the third of Sh’vat (which it will be this year), then (backwards now) SHELEG GADOL YIHYEH VAKOR, there will be a lot of snow and cold. I have no idea whether this is supposed to be just on that Friday (we’ll see), or the whole winter, or where this is supposed to happen. I also have not checked any meteorological records. I did, however, check the calendar statistics. HOLD THAT! My brother came through with a source: The statement is attributed to the ELIYA RABA (Eliya b. Binyamin Wolf Shapira, 1660-1712) and is quoted in later sources as well. Apparently, it is the whole winter that’s supposed to be cold and snowy, but no details as to where. Back to the calendar. Of the 14 different year-types of the Jewish Calendar, only one has the third of Sh’vat falling on a Friday. However, it is the most common year-type, occurring with a frequency of just over 18%. On the other hand, a PEI-HEI-KAF year (P’shuta, plain, 12 months; Rosh HaShana beginning on a Thursday; and the months K’SEDER, meaning Marcheshvan has its regular 29 days and Kislev has its regular 30 days) which this year 5772 is, hasn’t occurred since 5758 (1998) - 14 years ago. The winter is still young - we shall see what happens. Mean- while, find your gloves and warm scarves. Maybe you’ll need them; maybe not (I don’t think that we are talking about prophecy).
For your further calendar information - the 59 days of Tevet (29) and Sh’vat (30) do not follow the LO ADU-like patterns that most of the calendar dates follow. For these 59 days, each can fall on five different weekdays and have only two days of the week that they do not fall on. For 3 Sh’vat, it can be a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Shabbat. Not a Sunday or a Tuesday.
Divrei Menachem
In this week’s parsha the ailing Ya’akov tells Yosef that, “Your two sons born to you in Egypt… shall be mine; Efrayim and Menashe shall be mine like Reuven and Shimon” (B’reishit 48:5). Most commentators suggest that this declaration refers to the parity of portions of Eretz Yisra’el that the two sons would later inherit despite their being born in Egypt.
Published January 08, 2012Parsha Pix
Lock & chain in upper left is for the “super-closed” nature of the beginning of VAYCHI (see Sedra Summary for details)
The bed is mentioned more than once at the beginning of the sedra
The crossed hands are Yaakov’s, as he put his right hand on Efrayim’s head and his left on Menashe’s. It should not escape our attention that the Book of B’reishit is FILLED with firstborn-second child issues. Kayin and Hevel. Yishmael and Yitzchak, Yaakov and Eisav, Yosef and his brothers. Reuven on the one hand and Levi, Yehuda, and Yosef on the other. Peretz and Zerach. Efrayim and Menashe
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