And noah, a man of the soil,

Began and planted a vineyard.

And he drank of the wine and became drunk,

And exposed himself within his tent. (Bereshit 9:20)

 

"And Noah, a man of the soil, began..." - He became hollow and profaned himself ["Began"," profane" and "hollow" share a common Hebrew root- Trans.]; why did he "plant a vineyard - he should have planted something of positive use, not a single shoot and not a single cutting? But "He planted a vineyard"! And from where did he take it? Said Abba bar Kahana, He took with him [into the ark] branches, cuttings, and shoots of figs and a cutting of olives, as is written (Bereshit 6:21) "And you shall gather in with you" - a person gathers in only that which he needs. "A man of the soil" - There were three who were enthusiastic about land, and were of no use: Cain, Noah, and Uziyahu - Cain was "a worker of the soil", Noah was "a man of the soil", Uziyahu (Chronicles II 21) "And farmers and vintners in the mountains and on the fertile lands, for he loved the soil". "A man of the soil" - for he gave shape [lit.- gave a face] to the soil, and because of him the soil became wet [meaning that because Noah existed, God was able to bring on the flood, knowing that there would remain someone to continue the human race], and thanks to him, the earth [lit. - the soil] was propagated. "A man of the soil" - a farmer for the sake of farming. Said Rabbi Berechia: Moshe was dearer then Noah - Noah was first called "a righteous man" but later "a man of the soil"; Moshe was first called "an Egyptian man" but later "a man of God."

(Bereishit Rabba 36:3)

 

Later it says "And Noah, a man of the soil, began…" - he began to be a worker of the soil, and planted a vineyard. There is an allusion that he profaned [lit. - hollowed himself] his attachment to God and leaned toward farming and its benefits. "He planted a vineyard" and he drank of its fruit and he wallowed within his tent. This development is alluded to in textual signposts: At the beginning he was called 'a righteous, wholehearted man' (6:9), ready for all good; when he neglected to request mercy for his generation, he was called only a 'righteous man' (7:1). Following the destruction of the world he was called neither righteous nor wholehearted, but 'a man of the earth', meaning a man who facilitated the destruction of the earth. This is the allusion of "he began" - from one who was holy he became profane/hollow, from a righteous and wholehearted man he descends to being a man of the earth, to the point that he drinks from the wine and wallows in his tent.

(Tsror HaMor, by Rech Avraham ben Yaakov Saba - 15-16^th centuries, Spain-Italy)

 

 

Avraham and Lot part ways

Jeremy Weil

Although at first blush the description of the Abraham-Lot parting (Bereishit 13) seems quite uncomplicated, the words hide many hidden meanings and messages.

Verse 2: And Abram was heavily laden with cattle, with silver and gold .

Verse 5: And Lot, too, who came along with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents.

Verse 7: And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram's flocks and the herdsmen of Lot's flocks.

In verse 9, Abram says to Lot: Is not all the land before you? Pray, let us part company. If you take the left hand, than I shall go right, and if you take the right hand, I shall go left.

Verse 10: And Lot raised his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, saw that all of it was well-watered,…

According to the p'shat [plain meaning] Abram and Lot travel from Egypt to Canaan, both are wealthy, a conflict arises and they decide to separate. Deeper investigation reveals a slightly different story.

One of the difficulties arising from the text. "...who came along with ["et"] Abram". Why the use of the term et [usually a term used to indicate a direct object] rather than the more commonly used im?

Verse 6: And the land could not support their dwelling together, for their substance was great and they could not dwell together.

Why the repetition of "dwell together" in the same verse?

Verse 7: What is the significance of adding "And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land"?

A perusal of ideas suggested by Rashi and other commentators will prove worthwhile.

What was the conflict really about? Rashi writes: "Because the herdsmen of Lot were wicked and let their cattle graze in the fields of others, and Abram's herdsmen admonished them for their theft, and they replied the land was given to Abram and he has no inheritor and Lot will inherit and therefore this is not theft. This is the reason, writes Rashi, for "And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land" -- the land was not yet the property of Abram." The question arises immediately - why did Rashi have to find a cause for the strife? What was not intelligible in the simple narrative of two wealthy men whose abundance of cattle led to quarrels between themselves and between their herdsmen?!

Abram says to Lot (ibid13;9): "If you take the left hand, than I shall go right, and if you take the right hand, I shall go left." Ostensibly Abram is talking about total separation, each going in different directions, as distant from each other as possible. But Rashi interprets the words "If you take the left hand, than I shall go right" - "Wherever you settle, I shall not be far from you, and I will stand by you to defend and help you". Regardless of what happens, I will not be far from you, so that I will be able to assist you when necessary. And, indeed, Abram saves Lot twice  - once from the destruction of Sodom and once from captivity at the hands of the kings. But why does Rashi explain the words "If you take the left hand, than I shall go right" as meaning that they will continue to dwell in proximity? Does this not seem to contradict the p'shat? [plain meaning].

And in verse 11: "And Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward, and they parted and Lot journeyed eastward one from the other [lit. "each from his brother]."

The midrash quoted by Rashi relates to" and Lot journeyed eastward" - "Lot moved himself from the primary force of the universe" - that is to say that Lot departed from the ways of God and of Abram. What are we to understand from this midrash?

In verses 2 and 5, "And Abram was heavily laden with cattle, with silver and gold.

…And Lot, too, who came along with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents". Nehama Leibowitz maintains that the word "too" indicates that we do not have before us a new story, but rather a continuation of the narrative which begins with the first verse of the parasha. There God says to Abram "Lech lecha" [lit. "Go you forth", but the midrash reads it as "Go forth for your benefit] - for your welfare leave your birthplace for a land "which I will show you" - to the land of Canaan which is promised to you. Abraham trusts God and erects an altar of thanks to the Lord.

And in verse 5: "Lot, who came along with Abram" [Reminder: Scripture here uses the less common word - et - rather than the usual "im"]. Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch explains that Lot was not only along with Abram - he was as a part of Abram who saw him as his possible successor. In Chap 12:4-5, we read "And Abram went... and Lot went with him", and also "And Abram took his wife, Sarai, and Lot, son of his brother". Lot is actually part of Abram's family. In Chapter 12 (verse 7), God promises Abram "To your seed I

will give this land", but we read (11:30) that Sarai was "barren, she had no child". Lot could reasonably have imagined that he would succeed Abram and Abram could perceive Lot as his possible inheritor.

When they arrive in Canaan, however, everything changes. The land is occupied by the Canaanite and Perizzites. "The Canaanite and Perizzite were then dwelling in the land". Ramban and Seforno see the word 'then' as indicating that also the Canaanite and the Perizzites were nomads, not indigenous to the region. But at the very time, there was a famine in the land which forced the family to go down to Egypt where Sarai was taken from Abram by Pharaoh. Abram now has neither successor, nor home, nor wife. God comes to Abrams's aid and forces Pharaoh to return Sarai. Egypt was a wealthy nation, and Abram begins to acclimate. Therefore God has to command him to leave Egypt and to go up and return to the Land of Canaan - an impoverished region, settled by others, and dependant upon rain which falls sparingly. Abram passes the test, and unhesitatingly reaches a courageous decision - to return to nomadic life in the Land of Canaan, an area - unlike Egypt - deficient in water.

Lot, on the other hand, decides to seek "Egypt" - the good life. Abram thought that, lacking progeny, Lot would succeed him. Therefore, when the time came for parting, he offered Lot the choice of the right or the left, that is to say, nearby, just far enough to prevent quarrels between their respective herdsmen. As God says to Abram (13:14-15)

"…look out from the place... to the north and the south and the east and the west…for... to you I will give it and to your seed forever… Rise, walk about the land through its length and its breadth" - God orders Abram to continue and wander in the land, to seek that which is the good and correct path. Abram thought that the separation between himself and Lot would be temporary - one will wander to the right and other to the left - and in the end Lot will be his inheritor.

Note, however, that regarding the return journey from Egypt, it is written: "And Abram came up from Egypt, he and his wife and all he had, and Lot together with him to the Negeb" Here the Hebrew for "with" is not the more intimate "et" but rather the more impersonal "im". Lot has become like a stranger to Abram. Note also the change in order - Lot is listed only following Abram's possessions. This alludes to the fact that the discord had begun yet in Egypt.

This passage is the opposite of that which is written in the Book of Devarim (11:10-11). The Land of Israel is described as "Not like the land of Egypt... But the land into which you are crossing to take hold of... of mountains and valleys, from the rain of the heavens you will drink water." This description is factually correct; the land in the Nile region of Egypt is watered from the river constantly and effortlessly. But in the Land of Israel, everything depends on rain.

From the passage in Devarim, it is clear that the Land of Israel is preferable to Egypt, whereas here, in Bereishit, Egypt seems the more advantageous. This is the point! In Devarim, everything is seen through the eyes of Moshe. But here all is seen though the eyes of Lot--"and Lot raised his eyes" - he sees an area comparable to Egypt, suitable for cattle and tents, where there will be no need to wander, where one can dwell in prosperity. Lot seeks "Egypt" in the Land of Canaan, and he finds it. Therefore Lot declines the nomadic life and prefers to move neither right nor left; he decides to live in a location most similar to the culture which he recognized and loved in Egypt. He took a different path, and did not follow Abram. This time God cannot offer Abram direct assistance, because Lot chose his path, and God does not intervene in men's decisions.

Later God promises Abram that his inheritor will not be Lot; it will be Abram's son. This is the reason why "and they could not dwell together" written twice in Verse 6. At first Abram thought that the reason for the conflict was the lack of grazing land. But later he realizes that that their abundant possessions caused a change in Lot's perspective on "Egypt" - they can no longer dwell together. Two approaches so dissimilar leave no possibility for compromise. Abram chose the peripatetic life, a life of active searching. This approach receives expression in Abram's argument with God regarding the destruction of Sodom; Abram attempts to save lives. Lot, however, had a different outlook which allowed him to live his life according to his desires, with no connection to the evil and sinful people of Sodom among whom he lived.

We see that the two stories are two trials of Abram - in Egypt when Sarai was taken from him, and later on in Canaan where he separates with Lot - both are actually of a single cloth. At first Abram thought that God's promise would be realized through Lot, but the descent into Egypt was an experience which separated between Abram and Lot and made clear to Abram that his way, that of wandering and quest, is not the way of "Egypt" - Lot's way - and therefore the inheritance had to reach the son of Abram, someone who would understand his approach to life and his values.

Perhaps this is the message of the story. The difference between Lot and Abram was not between an evil man and a good one; it was between two weltanschauungs. Lot was prepared to live passively among sinful people without being involved in what happens around him. But Abram feels responsibility for the well-being and the righteousness of the society in which he lives. Perhaps because of this we are obliged to be the children of Abraham and not the sons of Lot.

Jeremy Weil is an independent business consultant specializing in international commerce.

 

 

Sixteen years after the murder of rabin –

Looking back in contemplation

 

In the Yaaleh V'yavoh prayer we recite:

"...may the remembrance of us, of our fathers, of Messiah the son David thy servant, of Jerusalem thy holy city, and of all thy people the house of Israel, ascend and come and be accepted before thee for deliverance and happiness, for grace, kindness and mercy, for life and peace..."

Along with the remembrance of the past, we also recall the yearning for the future geula ('the remembrance of Messiah son of David'). This undermines the accepted approach in which remembrance relates only to past events; how can one "remember" events which have yet to happen!?

Perhaps the connection between "remembrance of our fathers" and "remembrance of Messiah son of David" comes to teach us an important principle regarding past and present, and the place/purpose of the present in between.

Perhaps the "fathers" whom we remember not only in the Yaaleh V'yavoh prayer but also at the beginning of the Amida prayer represent and symbolize a religious consciousness which is supposed to develop within us a desire to "perfect the world under the reign of God" which is spiritual world of our Father Abraham, who "will charge his sons and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice".

In his wonderful preface to the Book of Bereishet, the Netziv of Volozhin writes:

This book called the Book of Bereishit was called by the Prophets The Book of the Right (Hayashar) [in the sense of straight and honest]... and Rabbi Yochanan explains: This is the book of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were called 'straight', as is written "May my soul die the death of the straight" and it is important to understand why Balaam labeled them yashar rather than tzaddikim or hassidim, etc… This matter is clarified in the Song of Haazinu, regarding the passage "The Rock, His acts are perfect... true and right is He". The praise "yashar" is used in justification of God's sentence in destroying the Second Temple which was a perverse and twisted generation, and there [in our commentary on Haazinu] we explained that they were, in effect, righteous and saintly people who labored in Torah, but they were not straight in their 'ways of the world' - this was so because of the baseless hatred they harbored in their hearts towards others, they suspected whomsoever's religious practice differed from theirs of being a Sadducee and an Apikorus [heretic], and this led to extensive bloodshed and all the evils in the world until the Temple was destroyed, and this necessitated tzidduk hadin - justification of His sentence, to the effect that the Holy One, Blessed Be He, is straight, and cannot stand tsaddikim such as these, only if they walk the straight path also in 'the ways of the world', with no crookedness even though it [the crookedness] be in the name of Heaven, for this causes destruction of creation and the devastation of the land's settlement.

This was the praise of the patriarchs, not only were they tzaddikim and hassidim, and loved God to their upmost, but they were also straight, meaning that they also dealt with the nations of the world, even with the disgusting idolaters, they were together with them in love and rushed to the assistance, for this is the preservation of the creation, as we see how our father Abraham prostrated himself to plead for Sodom, even though he thoroughly hated them and their king because of their wickedness, as is clear from his words to the King of Sodom, in any case he wished for preservation..."

The Netziv, head of the Volozhin Yeshiva, a man of the 19^th century, severely criticizes people who lived during the Second Temple, despite their being tzaddikim and hassidim, and loved God to their utmost. He sets their "tzidkut" - their supercilious and separatist "righteousness"- in apposition to the approach of the patriarchs who were"yesharim" - "straight", and were concerned for the entire world. It seems to me that the Netziv, in his tactful fashion, is speaking not only to past generations, but also to his own generation and those to come, and it seems that he understands that no generation is immune to the phenomena of haughty and exclusive righteousness.

Is there a connection between the important words of the Netziv and the assassination of Yitchak Rabin? Do we, Israeli Jews and religious Zionists in the year 5772, 16 years after the murder, have anything to learn?

It seems to me that the Rabin killing reflects a dangerous mood which totally negates the existence of other ideological and political stances. The wise words of the Rishon LeZion, Chief Rabbi Bakshi Doron, which I heard from him many years ago, reverberate in my ears. He then said: It is forbidden that the political conflict become a religious conflict, because when a conflict is of a religious stripe, compromise and accord are difficult to reach. Rabbi Amital, of blessed memory, said after the murder that religious Zionism was not wise enough to educate the coming generation to complex thought. Aggressive acts are performed because of the zeal of persons who believed with all their hearts in the justice of their cause which negates all other belief, and therefore we must fight with determination every manifestation of justification of physical or verbal violence, even if there are those who attempt religious or ideological rationalization. There is no need to bring examples from our times to understand that there exist real dangers.

Chanan Porat, z'l, a founder of Gush Emunim, died between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kipppur, after a difficult illness. He was an exceptional person, a religious Zionist, a man of faith, a Torah scholar, a man of vision and action. Our paths met years ago in the Gesher organization, but since then, our paths parted, and his understanding of Zionism differed from mine. He, too, edited, almost until his end, a weekly Parashat Shavua sheet called "A Bit of the Light" and penned derashot with meaning. A few years ago we met, and he complained that we at "Shabbat Shalom" somewhat veer from the p'shat. I understood that for one so infused with the fire of belief as himself, fully believing that "the time of the nightingale has arrived", there was only one truth. This zeal led him to act consistently according to his belief, and he succeeded to enthuse many with his fiery faith which I do not share. Along with this, he always acted in accordance with the law and with a politically responsible approach which does not subvert the sovereign and democratic institutions of the State of Israel. Therefore, despite differences with his approach, I write in pain: "Alas for those who are gone and no more to be found."

It seems to me that the challenge before us, as religious Zionists living in the State of Israel, is to define the shared vision of all who strive for peace and justice - secular and religious alike - and at the same time learn to manage conflicts with mutual respect, even when we are certain in the justice of our cause.

Pinchas Leiser, Editor

 

 

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