The Person in the Parasha

The Person in the Parasha Discovering the Human Element in the Weekly Torah Portion

Person in the Parasha 2.3 TM clean.indd 1

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Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb

OU Press Maggid Books


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Person in the Parasha Discovering the Human Element in the Weekly Torah Portion First Edition, 2016 Maggid Books An imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd. POB 8531, New Milford, CT 06776-8531, USA & POB 4044, Jerusalem 9104001, Israel www.maggidbooks.com OU Press An imprint of the Orthodox Union 11 Broadway New York, NY 10004 www.oupress.org © Tzvi Hersh Weinreb 2016 The publication of this book was made possible through the generous support of Torah Education in Israel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews. isbn 978-1-59264-462-9, hardcover A cip catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library Printed and bound in the United States


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‫‪In Loving Memory of Our Beloved Brother‬‬ ‫‪Jamie Lehmann‬‬ ‫חיים מנחם בן מנשה רפאל ושרה‬

‫;‪Jamie was an ish eshkolot – a loving, joyful, gentle, brilliant soul‬‬ ‫‪the embodiment of Torah im derech eretz.‬‬ ‫‪He is missed more every day.‬‬ ‫ַעל יַ ד ֶק ֶבר ְּבנִ י ֲא ׁ ֶשר ְּב ַהר ַה ְמנוּחוֹ ת‬ ‫ַּכ ְך ַאנִ י עוֹ ֵמד דוֹ ֵמם‬ ‫ָאב ַ ּג ְלמוּ ד ְמיֻ ָּתם‬ ‫מוּ ל ַמ ָ ּצ ְב ְּת ָך‬ ‫ַה ְ ּצרוּ ָרה ִּב ְצרוֹ ר‬ ‫ַע ְר ּ ְפ ֵלי ֶע ֶרב‬ ‫ַה ּיוֹ ֵרד ַעל ָה ֵרי יְ הוּ ָדה‬ ‫ַוּב ְצרוֹ ר ַענְ נֵ י ּב ֶֹקר‬ ‫ַה ְ ּצלוּ ִלים‬ ‫ָהעוֹ ְל ִלים ַאט ַאט‬ ‫נֶ ֶגד ּ ָפנֶ ָ‬ ‫יך‬ ‫ִעם ֲעלוֹ ת ַה ׁ ֲש ַחר‪.‬‬ ‫ֵהן ֵהן ִשֹ ְפתוֹ ֶת ָ‬ ‫יך‬ ‫ַהדּ וֹ ְבבוֹ ת ֵא ַלי ַּב ֶ ּק ֶבר‬ ‫וְ אוֹ ְמרוֹ ת‬ ‫ֵאינֶ ִּני ַג ְלמוּ ד ּפֹה‪ַ ,‬א ָּבא‪,‬‬ ‫ְּב ֶא ֶרץ ַה ַח ִ ּיים ַה ְ ּקדוֹ ׁ ָשה‪.‬‬ ‫וַ ֲאנִ י עוֹ נֶ ה וְ אוֹ ֵמר‬ ‫ָא ֵמן‪ֵּ ,‬כן ְּת ִהי‬ ‫נַ ְפ ׁ ְש ָך ְצרוּ ָרה‬ ‫ִּב ְצרוֹ ר ַה ַח ִ ּיים‬ ‫הוּבי‪.‬‬ ‫ְּבנִ י ֲא ִ‬ ‫מנשה רפאל ליהמן‬ ‫‪Dr. Manfred Raphael Lehmann‬‬ ‫‪Dedicated by‬‬

‫‪Yitzchok and Barbie Lehmann Siegel and Family‬‬

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In Loving Memory of Rabbi Nachum Muschel ‫הרב נחום בן מאיר‬ ‫מחנך למופת‬

“An Educator’s Educator” “The Persons of the Parasha” were his extended family, his soulmates, his mentors, and the subjects of his life’s study. He so memorably taught their lessons – and how to teach those lessons – to generations of family, students, colleagues, friends, and all who wished to learn. Dedicated by

Elizabeth and Michael Muschel and Family


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In Honor of Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb whose wisdom, friendship, and sensitive leadership continue to guide us Dedicated by

Lani and Shimmy Tennenbaum and Family

In Loving Memory of Our Dear Parents Abraham and Sylvia Weinreb ‫אברהם בן חיים יצחק‬ ‫טשארנע סאשע בת גיטל‬

Chaim Yitzchak and Yona Taub

‫חיים יצחק בן האדמו״ר שאול ידידיה אלעזר‬ ‫יונה בת עזריאל‬

who remain our constant inspiration Dedicated by

Chavi and Tzvi Hersh Weinreb


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Contents

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix

Genesis Bereshit Creation Conversation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Self-Control, Marshmallows, and Human Destiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Noaĥ Filling in the Blanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Easy Spirituality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Lekh Lekha One Day We Will All Be Together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Walking With and Walking Before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The Reunion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Ancestral Decisions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Vayera Abraham the Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Hospitality Before Heaven. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 ix


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An Inn and an Orchard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Optimism Pays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Ĥayei Sara Mourning Sarah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 To Eulogize and To Weep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Spiritual Slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Better the Servant than the Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Toledot Disillusionment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Friday Night with Grandpa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Vayetzeh Two Meanings of Maturity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 What’s in a Name?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 The Thankful Jew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Vayishlaĥ Unheralded Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Nameless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 See You Later. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The Better Angels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Vayeshev No Favorites on Ĥanukka!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Man Plans, God Laughs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 The Wisdom of the East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Thinking and Dreaming. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Miketz Joseph, Ĥanukka, and Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 But By My Spirit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

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Vayigash Forgiveness: A Jewish Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Wagons, Calves, and Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Reconciliation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Vayeĥi No Two Snowflakes Are Alike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Each One Is One of a Kind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 The Horse Thief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Changing the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Exodus Shemot Sleepless Nights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Open Eyes and an Open Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Spiritual Time Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Reading the Footnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Va’era On the Shoulders of Giants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Work and Will. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Hopeless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Bo Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Tell Me a Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Beshallaĥ Song of the Sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Horse and Rider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 An Ounce of Prevention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Don’t Forget the Tambourines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

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Yitro Fathers-in-Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 The Seeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 Redemption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 The Maternal Influence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Mishpatim Responsibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 The Many Lessons of Half. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Teruma The Missing Tzedaka Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 A Tale of Two Grandfathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 One of the Angels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Tetzaveh The Stigma of Fame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221 Appearances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 Clothes Make the Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Ki Tissa Don’t Take Down the Sign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 The Hindu Princess and the Golden Calf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 The Inevitable Comedown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Little Did I Know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Vayak’hel Three Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Culture, Counter-culture, and Creativity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 Black Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 Words of Fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 xii


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Pekudei Count Me In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262 Above Suspicion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Endings and Beginnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Leviticus Vayikra Courtesy and Confidentiality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Forgiving Fallibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 The Victorious Victim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Tzav Increasing Gratitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 The Practical Mystic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Gratitude, Not Solitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 The Open Curtain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Shemini And Aaron Was Silent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 The Stork and the Heron. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302 Aging Grace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 Religion Versus Spirituality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Tazria My Earliest Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 Going at it Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Metzora A Time for Silence, A Time for Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 Pinkus the Peddler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Aĥarei Mot No Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 xiii


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Kedoshim I Get No Respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 It’s All Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 Holiness: A Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Emor The Unburied Corpse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 Becoming a Kohen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 Introvert/Extrovert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 Like All Other Boys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

Behar The Time of Your Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 Anniversary, Birthday, Jubilee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 Bullying. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 The Process of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Beĥukkotai Walking the Walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372 The Walking Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 The Work-Study Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Numbers Bemidbar You Too Can Be a Levite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 My Teacher, My Father. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388 The Wilderness First. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

Naso Sanctity and Sanctimony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 Can Ĥen Mean Charisma?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398

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The Mood of the Priestly Blessing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 Distinctly Different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

Behaalotekha A Candle of God Is the Soul of Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410 A Second Chance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 Earning Self-Esteem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 Humble, Not Meek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Shelaĥ Caleb at the Crossroads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 History Repeats Itself. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 Of Grasshoppers and Jewish Pride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 Memory Loss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Koraĥ Can Everybody Be Somebody? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438 Better They Learn From Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 The Secret of Remaining Correct. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 Two Jews, Three Opinions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Ĥukkat Discovering our Mortality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 The Many Songs of Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455 Let Me Repeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459

Balak Doing It My Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Balaam and Dostoevsky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466 The Ancient Near East: Its Relevance Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 No to Here and Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

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Pinĥas I Act, Therefore I Am. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 Lessons in Leadership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 Avoiding a Hateful Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482 Zealotry and Tolerance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Matot Honesty and Integrity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Breaking Promises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493

Masei Journeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 Zionism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499

Deuteronomy Devarim A Sublime Autobiography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 A Time and a Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 The Path to Eloquence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512 The Jewish Obsession. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

Va’etĥanan What To Pray For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 Unanswered Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 What, Me? Worry?!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 Religion Is Good for You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Ekev Discipline and Suffering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Re’eh How Am I Doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 The Thief of Blessing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 xvi


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Idealism and Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542 All That Glitters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546

Shofetim Justice, Justice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 We Are All Judges and Kings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Anarchy or Utopia?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 The Participant Observer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560

Ki Tetzeh Words Can Never Harm Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 And the Winner Is.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567 He Is Not What He Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 The Duty of Civilians in War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574

Ki Tavo Walls Have Ears. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577 In the Good Old Days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580 Didn’t You See Them?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Nitzavim This Season’s Leitmotif: Return. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587 An Attitude of Gratitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591 Lessons of Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Vayelekh Forgiven, but Not Forgotten. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 Denying Death or Facing It. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 Reflections Upon the Year’s End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Haazinu Two Songs, Two Singers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607 Repression of the Sublime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610 Nationalism: Good or Bad?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614 xvii


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Vezot HaBerakha A Godly Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 More than Just a Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

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Preface

T

he book you have in your hands is a collection of some of the columns I have written on the weekly parasha during the past seven years. These columns have a history, which was initiated by Mr. Stephen Steiner, OU Director of Public Relations, in the spring of the year 2009. At that time, I was preparing to end my tenure as Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union. It was agreed that I would stay on with the OU in an emeritus capacity, but it was not initially clear to me what that capacity entailed. It was Steve who suggested to me that my new role would allow me to spend more time writing, something I had long dreamed of doing. Steve further suggested that I might write a weekly column on parashat hashavua. He identified a need for a column that would reach all Jews, whatever their educational background and whatever their degree of religious observance. But Steve went further than that. Because of our many years of collegiality, he was aware of my professional background and abiding interest in psychology, and particularly of my fascination with the inner spiritual lives of human beings. It was out of our initial discussions that xix


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Preface I consented to write such a column and to focus upon the human element contained in every weekly Torah portion. This human element often goes unnoticed or is, at the very least, under-emphasized. In the early stages of my excitement over the prospect of writing such a column, the title The Person in the Parasha occurred to me. That title would allow me to concentrate upon the biblical characters who play a part in the drama of almost every chapter of the Pentateuch. But that title would also allow me to introduce the reader to numerous other individuals, drawn from my own personal life experiences, as well as from the vast world of literature of which I am so fond. It was after several years of writing these columns that a reader approached me and told me that she had discovered my secret. She knowingly, and correctly, exclaimed, “Why, you are the person in the parasha!” Indeed, her observation was on the mark. Whereas I only rarely refer to myself directly in the columns, I do rely heavily upon the major personalities who had an impact upon my life. They include my own parents and grandparents, and occasionally my siblings, classmates, and friends. But mainly, I introduce the reader to my religious and spiritual mentors over the years and most especially, my paternal grandfather, Chaim Yitzchak Weinreb, of blessed memory, who was a Talmudist par excellence and who inspired me to adopt a lifelong commitment to the study of rabbinic texts. A preface such as this primarily serves the purpose of thanking those individuals who played a role in the conception of the book and in its writing, editing, and publication. Steve Steiner deserves first mention because he conceived of the idea and prodded me to do it. The many individuals whose lives, works, and teachings provided the material for the columns also deserve to be thanked, although it is impossible to enumerate them all. A special statement of gratitude is due to Mrs. Yocheved Goldberg, whose remarkable editorial skills, sensitivity to religious language, and commitment to proper English usage in every detail are admirable and laudable and very much appreciated by me. Yocheved has been my loyal and dedicated assistant for many years now, and she and her husband Avi and their lovely children deserve special thanks. xx


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Preface Thanks too to Mr. Matthew Miller, who heads Koren Publishers Jerusalem, for agreeing to co-publish this work and for the many opportunities he has given me to utilize my fascination with the world of books. Matthew’s outstanding staff also deserves honorable mention, especially assistant editor Tomi Mager and proofreaders Shira Schreier and Shoshana Rotem. I am privileged to be on the editorial board of the Orthodox Union’s publishing arm, known as OU Press. My dear friends and colleagues, Rabbi Menachem Genack and Rabbi Simon Posner, spearheaded this important undertaking, and I feel especially honored that this book is now numbered among the many excellent contributions that OU Press has made to the world of traditional English-language Jewish learning. There is one person who heads the list of “persons in the parasha.” I refer, of course, to my dear wife Chavi. I may never have explicitly mentioned her by name in any of my hundreds of weekly columns, but she has been the inspiration of each and every one of them. Her loving encouragement has enabled me to produce a column every week of the year for many years on end. She has helped me overcome innumerable episodes of writer’s block and has been the first reader to see each column after its final draft. Her invariably positive reactions have propelled me to persist with this project and to undertake the writing and editing of other publications. I extend my blessings to all who have helped me achieve this goal. I close by inviting the reader to share his or her responses to this book with me. I have long ago learned the value of feedback, and I assure those of you who will respond that I will take your comments very seriously. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb 12 Nissan, 5776 Monsey, NY

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Genesis


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Parashat Bereshit

Creation Conversation

A

nyone who has ever taught anything can confirm the adage of our sages, “I have learned from all my teachers, but I have learned most from my pupils.” It is especially true that one learns a great deal from his students if one does not limit himself to lecturing to them, but rather engages in face-to-face conversation with them. It is in candid and interactive dialogue that one learns most from his students. The immense value of simple conversation between teacher and student was brought home to me many years ago in a conversation I had with two very different students. They both attended a series of lectures I gave for individuals with very little prior exposure to the Jewish religion and its teachings. One of them was almost exclusively interested in what he called, “the rules and regulations” of Judaism. The other was far less interested in Jewish law. He was more of the “spiritual” type and had a plethora of questions about the nature of God. The first individual, let’s call him Rick, was interested in a meaningful way of life. He wanted to be part of a congregation, to celebrate the holidays, and to learn how to live daily life as a Jew. The other student, let’s call him Seth, was consumed by questions of cosmology and 3


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Bereshit the origins of the universe. He saw God as an almost impersonal force behind nature. He wanted a relationship with God, but questioned whether that was at all possible. Both students had in common an interest in engaging me, their teacher, in conversation after class. Usually, those conversations took place in the local kosher pizza shop. I vividly recall the evening I gave a lecture on the opening chapter of Parashat Bereshit in the Book of Genesis (Gen. 1:1–6:5). Rick and Seth appeared equally eager to corner me in the pizza shop after that lecture. Rick began the conversation by firmly questioning why the Torah even bothered to give us details about the creation of the world and God’s role in it. “As a Jew,” he maintained, “I just need to know how to live my life, how to celebrate the holidays, what food is kosher and what is not, and what is right and wrong in the spheres of ethics and morality. I can satisfy my curiosity about the origins of the universe by consulting some scientific book on the matter. For me, this has nothing to do with religion.” Seth, sitting across the table, was absolutely astounded. “What?!” he exclaimed. “This opening chapter of Genesis is precisely what I need to know as I begin my exploration of Judaism. I need to know about God, from beginning to end. And this is His beginning.” I was fascinated by this conversation because it helped me put into a new perspective the conflicting opinions of two of the greatest rabbinic commentators on the Bible, Rashi and Nahmanides. Rashi (Shlomo ben Yitzhak), in the very first words of his magisterial commentary on the entire Pentateuch, asks the same question that was bothering Rick. He begins by quoting a Rabbi Yitzhak who, some have maintained, was none other than his own father. He avers that the Torah should have begun with the chapter in the later Book of Exodus, which outlines the mitzvot that Jews were supposed to fulfill. Rashi struggles to find a reason for the Torah’s description of creation and the detailed narratives of early human history. “Rick,” I was able to say, “your question was anticipated many centuries ago by a great man whom you never heard of.” I continued to introduce him to the man who was Rashi and to his indispensable commentary. Rick was gratified that Rashi too seemed to conceive of 4


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Creation Conversation the Torah as primarily a book of “rules and regulations,” so that he felt compelled to seek a reason for its beginning with an account of the creation. Seth was obviously hard put to restrain himself, but before he began to protest against Rick, and against Rashi, I attempted to placate him. “There was another great rabbinic commentator on the Bible,” I explained. “His name was Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman. Some call him Nahmanides. Traditionally, we call him Ramban and consider him second only to Rashi as a rabbinic commentator.” I told Seth, and Rick who was listening reluctantly, that Nahmanides, in his opening paragraph of his commentary on Genesis 1:1, contests Rashi’s very question. “Of course,” he asserts, “the Torah had to begin with a description of the creation. That is the root of our faith, so anyone who believes that the world always existed but was not created by the Almighty at one specific moment in time, has no share in the Torah at all.” Rick and Seth were gratified to discover that their differing views on what is important in Judaism has precedents in the writings of two great medieval rabbis. I hastened to disappoint them. I told them that it was incorrect to conceive of two mutually exclusive definitions of Judaism. It is not a matter of a “rules-based” religion versus a “Godbased” one. I quoted to them the marvelous passage in the writings of Maimonides in which he speaks of the mitzva to love God, and he explains that there are two ways to achieve this. One way is by studying His Torah and its laws, and the other way is by contemplating His astonishing creation, the world of nature. I admonished them to carefully avoid reducing our faith to one or the other conception. “Our faith is not a simplistic one,” I argued. “As you proceed in your study of Judaism in general, and of the Five Books of Moses in particular, you will come to realize that our religion emphasizes that our God is both Creator and Lawgiver. Any conception of Him as one but not the other is not authentic Judaism.” I thanked them for once again demonstrating to me the great value of conversation between student and teacher. Before we parted that evening, I shared with them a story of another conversation between a 5


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Bereshit teacher and a student that I had read about in philosopher Samuel Hugo Bergmann’s memoirs. Bergmann recounts the story of Hermann Cohen, the GermanJewish philosopher who drew closer to religious Judaism in his later years. The climax of his life’s work was his book, Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism. It seems that the philosopher Cohen once entered into a long conversation with an old and old-fashioned Jew who resided in the university town of Marburg with him. The philosopher attempted to explain to the old Jew his elaborate and highly intellectual theory about the nature of God. The old man listened with the respect due to a university professor. When Cohen was finished with his learned and lengthy discourse, his elderly partner in conversation responded in Yiddish, “I understand everything you said, but something is missing. Vu iz der Bashefer? Where is the Creator?” Cohen heard the old Jew’s response, and “got it.” His eyes welled up with tears, but he remained speechless. The opening chapter of Parashat Bereshit assures that everyone who reads it will not make the philosopher’s mistake, but will realize, along with the old-fashioned Jew, that whatever else God may be, He is primarily der Bashefer, the Creator.

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Parashat Bereshit

Self-Control, Marshmallows, and Human Destiny

I

t didn’t take very long after man was created for the history of the world to change its course. It seems clear that the Almighty had a very different narrative in mind for the story of the human race. For one thing, death was not part of the narrative. Nor was the need to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. We were originally designed to be immortal, and to reside in a paradise that required very little of us. Our immortality and our idyllic abode were assured to us with but one caveat: The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.” (Gen. 2:15–17) 7


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Bereshit As an additional blessing, designed to remove from man the sad state of loneliness, God created woman. The Almighty, who is as benevolent as He is omnipotent, clearly expected man and woman to live up to this single expectation. We can even assume that He was rooting for them to come through this simple challenge successfully. The course of human history was at stake. Would it be a story of a perfect existence or would it be a tale ridden with misery and woe? Man and woman failed the test: When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. (Gen. 3:6) This type of failure has been repeated innumerable times in human history. It is certainly a failure with which we are all personally familiar. But we don’t tell our stories in the sublime language of the Bible. In fact, we recently have found a much more mundane way to refer to our moral shortcomings. We now say, “We failed the marshmallow test.” This new term has become part of our parlance because of the many years of research on the subject of self-control by a professor at Columba University, Dr. Walter Mischel. His book, The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control, describes the extensive research he conducted over the course of his long professional career. It all began with a simple experiment in which he observed how a group of five-year-olds reacted when he placed some tempting marshmallows before them. They were given the choice between consuming one marshmallow immediately or being allowed two marshmallows if they waited fifteen minutes. Some ate the one marshmallow right away, while others engaged in a range of hilarious attempts to overcome temptation. Some averted their gaze from the marshmallows. Others squirmed in their seats or sang to themselves. Others counted to one hundred repetitively until the fifteen minutes passed by. Some fantasized that the marshmallows were poisoned or that they weren’t marshmallows at all, but insects or sugar-coated cardboard. 8


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Self-Control, Marshmallows, and Human Destiny The point, of course, is that one can use one’s mental skills to divert one’s attention from the forbidden object. In psychological terms there is such a thing as willpower and it is possible to succeed at the vitally important task of self-control. Mischel followed the original group of children forty years later and found that the five-year-olds who passed the marshmallow test developed into adults who were much more successful in life than their counterparts who failed the test. More importantly, Mischel used the results of his research to develop a system of guidelines for gaining the ability to delay the pressures of immediate gratification and to exert selfcontrol in a wide range of real life situations. How different the course of history would have been if Adam and Eve had the benefit of Dr. Mischel’s instructions for mastering self-control! It has occurred to me more than once that the Jewish religion requires a great deal of self-control, perhaps more than any other religion. There are numerous foods that we are forbidden to eat. There are days of the year when we must forego all sorts of otherwise important and often pleasurable activities. There are times of each day when we must interrupt our activities in order to pray. There are urges and passions that we are forbidden to satisfy. We must inhibit tendencies to speak maliciously of others, and it is essential that we deny our very human temptation not to tell the truth (emet). Of course, from time to time we fail, but, by and large, we succeed in controlling ourselves and in avoiding those behaviors that others in our social environment, not bound by the restrictions of our faith, perform without the slightest hesitation. What is the secret of our success? To some extent, it is the secret that Mischel’s five-year-olds knew intuitively. We do go through internal mental processes, either telling ourselves, for example, “This is not kosher,” or, “This is a great mitzva.” We may even control ourselves to the extent that we physically avoid situations that might confront us with irresistible temptations and compel us to compromise our religious standards. But I think that the secret of the successful observant Jew lies deeper within us than these exertions of willpower. Dr. Mischel provides us with a clue when he distinguishes between the “hot” and “cool” 9


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Bereshit systems of the brain. The former is designed to deal with immediate rewards and threats, while the latter is designed to deal with long-term consequences. Although the “hot” system is necessary in certain situations, the practicing Jew learns the importance of the “cool” system. For those born into Jewish observance, it is learned in the earliest formative years, from parents and grandparents, from stories and songs. For those who come to Jewish observance later in life, it is learned intentionally, through study, reflection, and discussion. One way or another, we internalize a world view that looks beyond the immediate present to an ultimate future. As we read Parashat Bereshit, which is all about beginnings, we have the opportunity to begin to be more conscious of our decisions and to appreciate how different and more rewarding our spiritual lives could be if we learn the lessons of self-control. More so, we can ponder how different the world would be if many more of us would learn to pass the marshmallow test.

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The Person in the Parasha

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