Parshat Vayishlach - 5773

7/30/2019 Parshat Vayishlach - 5773

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Parshat Vayishlach 5773

Drasha

Anger andGelt

Have you ever wondered why we give our children Chanukah Gelt?

A number of theories have arisen throughout the years and are

recorded in the work Likutei Levi Yiztchak (Rav Levi Yitzchok

Schneersohn of Lubavitch):


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First he cites the Magen Avraham who in his commentary to the

Shulchan Aruch suggests that the origin of Gelt was that it was given to

poor children as a gift around Chanukah, although he does not make it

clear what the connection to the holiday of Chanukah would be:

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He then relates another approach, citing the Gemara in Shabbos whichsays:

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It is forbidden to count money in front of or using the candles of

Chanukah. Why was there such a concern about counting money infront of the Chanukah licht? It must have been a custom to give out

Chanukah Gelt even in Talmudic times. Although it is still not

explained, rather simply asserted that there existed a custom to give

out Chanukah gelt.

But then Rav Levi Yitzchak provides another interesting historical

factoid.

Chanukah is the holiday of Chinuch, (education) in general, as is implied

by the name and because the had been re-dedicated (A

of the ) by the . And in particular, it is the holiday of

Chinuch because the had attempted to cause us to forget our


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Torah, and so it is our duty to focus especially on the mitzvah of

Chinuch this time of year. And so, the custom had developed to throw

coins at the children as they studied Torah as incentive, to make the

Torah sweet and exciting to them.

The last Rebbe of Lubavitch added that some felt that it was overkill to

give children gelton every night, and that parents and should

restrict it to one night, the Rebbe added that this is because it was

connected to education and the fear was that if children receive a coin

every night it will not remain special or exciting:

I have even seen quoted in the name of one of the Talmidim of the Baal

Shem Tov, that the customs origin was actually that children would

bring gelt in to their rebeeim on Chanukah, as they were often verypoor.

Either way, what the coins represented was an appreciation ofchinuch,

Torah educators and Torah education.


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And so, I would like to spend a few minutes on the matter of Jewish

Education. What is the ingredient of a good teacher? Which qualities

must he or she possess?

Allow me to jump momentarily to a seemingly unrelated topic, a story

that occurs in our parsha; the tragic tale of Dina and Shechem, and of

Shimon vLevi.

After Shechem ben Chamor abducted and violated Dina, the daughter

of Yaakov Avinu, Shechem had the audacity to ask for her hand in

marriage. Evidently, the Palestinians are not the only ones who attack

Israel and moments later hope to be recognized as a peaceful partner.

But in the aftermath of this tragedy two different approaches emerge

in the family of Yaakov. For Yaakovs response is to remain silent, to

see how things develop, never to rush into a decision.

Shimon Valevi, on the other hand concoct a subterfuge, convincing all

of the men in Shechem to perform a Brit Milah on themselves and

subsequently decimated the entire community.

Yaakov is furious with his sons, rebuking them with the following harsh

words (:) :

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.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: 'You

have troubled me, to make me odious among

the inhabitants of the land, even unto the

Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being

few in number, they will gather themselves

together against me and smite me; and I shall

be destroyed, I and my house.'


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Yaakovs harsh words do not go unanswered though, in response

Shimon and Levi make a very rational assertion:

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31 And they said: 'Should one deal with

our sister as with a harlot?' {P}

Strangely, Yaakov does not respond to their claim, giving us the

impression that Shimon Vlevi have bested their father and that they

were correct.

One might have presumed that Yaakov has acquiesced if not for hisfinal words to Shimon VaLevi as he lay dying in his bed in

Egypt ) (:

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5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons

of violence their kinship.

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6 Let my soul not come into their council;

unto their assembly let my glory not be

united; for in their anger they slew men,and in their self-will they houghed oxen.

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7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,

and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will

divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in

Israel. {P}

The Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 9:14) comes to the defense of our

vigilantes:


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Given the Rambams view and the fact that Yaakov himself has

difficulty answering the claim of " " how can we

understand the approach of our Patriarch Jacob?!

Certainly our sympathies lie with Shimon VLevi but Yaakovs point of

view deserves careful consideration as well; after all, is it proper for the

Jewish people to conduct themselves with such blind rage and

unrestrained fury every time they are challenged or attacked?

And even if they are right, is it wise to always act out on their anger?

There are ramifications to their actions which perhaps cannot be fully

understood in the moment. Shimon VLevi had morals, but they were

young and impetuous. It could be that there will be more residual

damage and bloodshed to befall Jacobs family as a result. Yaakov,

certainly a loving father, does not contend with their argument, as he

may very well agree, but challenges only their method of achieving

retribution. Ramban, in fact, explains that Yaakov agreed with Shimon

Valevis ruse, but believed that the result should be rescuing Dinah

once the men were weakened by their surgery (as opposed to killing

them). Yaakov maintains that one must exercise self control and

equanimity even in the most trying times.


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If one looks at the particular fate of these two tribes one can easily

see that Yaakov acts in a consistent manner with his rebuke.

Yaakov first divides Shimon vLevi - , because together

they are a little too zealous, and too combustible for them to reside in

one location. This may be likened to the parent who cannot prevent his

two boys from fighting in shul, and so he separates them by one seat,

placing himself in the center.

Levi is not only distanced from , but he personally is divided

throughout the land and the trans-Jordan in 48 different locales, (42

cities for Leviim, and 6 ).

And one can even suggest that Levi is intentionally placed in the

as a lesson to those who allow their anger to get the best of them

as if to say, this is the fate of those who act without caution in a

moment of passion!

But according to one " there is something peculiar about Levi

and Shimons assignments. For Levi became the and , the

clerical leadership and the masters of the Holy Temple. They are

granted, without a doubt, the most coveted post in the nation.

And Shimons assignment is even more surprising. According to one

Midrash (cited by Rashi, Bereishit 49) the descendants of Shimon are to

become the educators, the Rebeeim, the teachers for all of the children

of the :

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-,.

,


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How can we make sense of this? Why would Yaakov, after all of his

reservations about Shimon, give the most volatile of all of his

descendents, the role of caring for children?

Would you send your child to such an academy? Who would want ablood thirsty vigilante acting as the custodian for the most vulnerable

and impressionable minds!? Why would Yaakov, who is most disturbed

by Shimons actions, give him such a post? Rashi explains that it was in

order to spread them out throughout the land, after all one needs schools

and teachers wherever they are located, but they could have just as easily

been given the role of waste management!?

Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky zl, in his , takes this Midrash and

explains that perhaps this appointment was intentional:


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Yaakov selects Shimon as the head of school because they understand

something essential about imparting Torah wisdom to children it

requires passion. Though he is disappointed in his sons actions,

Yaakov cannot imagine a more qualified educator than the ardent andzealous Shimon.

In the words of R Kaminetzky, we need teachers who will experience

the " ", only those who feel the

pain as their own pain, who are on fire, can adequately sit in the schools

around Israel and prepare the next generation.

Education has obviously come a long way, teachers are now far better

equipped to deal with the challenges which present themselves in the

classroom. They are organized; they have multiple degrees and are

always armed with a lesson plan. Teachers nowadays are blessed with

so many tools, but the most crucial tool cannot be purchased or taught -

it has to be authentic.

You can teach kids about the mitzvah to love Hashem and to fear

Hashem, but unless the Rebbe is a living embodiment of those traits, thechildren will never acquire those attributes .

Education cannot just be about new techniques and gadgets, and its not

about classroom ratios and PhDs, rather it is about enthusiasm and

authenticity.

One of our biggest problems is that we lack that excitement in our

Judaism. There is no passion in tefila anymore. Many of us see tefila as

a rite of passage to the Kiddush because we have sucked all of the

excitement out of our avodas Hashem.


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There have been people who have mentioned to me that they would

rather have a poor baal tefila who finishes quickly than a great Chazan

who takes longer.

We need some more zealots in our communities, a few more Shimonsin our shuls, scattered throughout the rows!

I fear sometimes that there is this mental block we have to emotion and

warmth. Its not something I can put my finger on with absolute

certainly, but at times it feels as though there were a layer of frost

covering our souls.

We have been scarred by the frightening effect of impassioned andcharismatic leaders, by Shimons who take their zealotry too far, and as

a result we have closed ourselves off to all of the positive attributes that

Yaakov saw in his son.

But ultimately we cannot ignore that Tell-Tale heart which beats beneath

the floorboard. Its beat will get louder and louder until we have no

choice but to pull out the old man who we buried there for some

inexplicable reason.

Just last week something striking took place at shaleshudoswe sang an

extra songin addition to the regular two melodies. And what was even

more remarkable was that people actually joined in. They stopped their

conversations and just had a moment that was both joyous and stirring.

And at that point, the actual content of Torah I shared afterwards didnt

even matter, because everyones hearts were all ready open and

receptive for the ' . The sponsor of Shaleshudos, who was

sponsoring in commemoration of his fathers Yarzheit, turned to me and

smiled and he saidmy father would have really enjoyed that niggun.

And he didnt have to say it, but I knew it was true for it was code

language for I really enjoyed that niggun as well. Lets try to revive


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that spirit, the magic that made the rebeeim of old such effective

educators. And as we enter the Yom Tov of Chinuch, let us rededicate

ourselves to the ideals of Chinuch, the values of the Torah we fought to

preserve, and most importantly to the methodology of Chinuchthe" , the inner ache we feel in our hearts.

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Parshat Vayishlach - 5773