Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayechi

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

Rabbi Frand's first vort related to Ya'akov crossing his hands when blessing Ephraim and Menashe so that his right hand would be on Ephraim, although Yosef had aligned the boys in age order so that Ya'akov would have placed his right hand on Menashe's head.

But why did Ya'akov cross his hands? Wouldn't it have been easier to just move the boys from one side to the other?

R' Frand quoted the Chizkuni who answered that this was done out of sensitivity for Menashe who was the bechor. It already was an affront to him that his grandfather was placing his right hand on his younger brother because his grandfather had nevuah that Menashe's descendants would be greater. But to physically move him to a lesser position would be a more public slight and Ya'akov did not want to hurt his feelings any more.

R' Frand told a story about an MD from Minnesota who was an expert on epilepsy who attended a conference in Jerusalem. While speaking at the conference, he noticed a Yerushalmi who was sitting in the audience. The doctor approached him and asked, what is your specialty? The man responded, I am not a doctor. The man explained that he had a daughter with epilepsy and whenever there were conferences he would attend to hear the latest treatments.

At the close of the conference the Yerushalmi approached the doctor and asked if he would like to spend Shabbos at their home. The doctor accepted the invitation and when they were walking to the home, the Yerushami told the doctor that he had five daughters and he was certain that the doctor would not be able to tell which was the epileptic. This daughter was perfectly normal and did not act differently unless she was having an incident. The doctor said - yes I can tell. They even bet on it.

After the Friday Night meal, the doctor correctly identified who was the epileptic (of course out of earshot). The Yerushalmi asked - how did you know? The doctor answered that he saw that when the Yerushalmi gave the Brochos he had more intense concentration when he gave that daughter the Beracha - even his heart rate increased. There was nothing that the girl had done to give away her condition. It was her father's concern which gave it away.

R' Frand said a second vort on the pasuk where Yosef tells his brothers not to feel bad, as Hashem had this as part of his plan. The Torah states in Bereishis 50:20 - וְאַתֶּ֕ם חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָלַ֖י רָעָ֑ה אֱלֹהִים֙ חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ לְטֹבָ֔ה לְמַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהַֽחֲיֹ֥ת עַם־רָֽב. Although much of the pasuk seems simple, why did Yosef use the words לְמַ֗עַן עֲשׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה - what happened on a day like today?

R' Frand quoted the Be'er Moshe who tied the pasuk to a pasuk in Parshas Vayeshev which is in the middle of the story of how the wife of Potiphar attempts to seduce Yosef on a daily basis. The Chumash writes in Bereishis (39:11) that one day -וַֽיְהִי֙ כְּהַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה וַיָּבֹ֥א הַבַּ֖יְתָה לַֽעֲשׂ֣וֹת מְלַאכְתּ֑וֹ וְאֵ֨ין אִ֜ישׁ מֵֽאַנְשֵׁ֥י הַבַּ֛יִת שָׁ֖ם בַּבָּֽיִת. 

When Yosef invokes the term Kayom Hazeh in Parshas Vayechi, he is in effect telling the brothers that Hashem had a plan and He needed me to be there in Egypt to resist the urges of the wife of Potiphar. Based on my resistance, the Jews will be able to survive their time in Egypt and emerge from a country which was on the lowest level of tumah, intact. As a result I am not only keeping the people alive based on the food I have gathered, but I will be able to keep the Jews spiritually alive so that the Jews could fight the yetzer harah to be mezaneh in Egypt.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayigash

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Dovid Heber as R' Frand had a back issue which prevented him from giving shiur on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Heber. 

R' Heber began his parsha vort by asking why Yosef did not send word back to his father that he was alive once he was made the second in command? It was understandable why he did not send a message when he was enslaved to Potiphar and later when he was in prison. But why not tell his father that he was alive and well and Pharaoh's number 2?

R' Heber gave an answer by the Shvan HaSofer in the back of the Yerushalmi in Zeraim. He said that when Yosef was sold into slavery after being thrown in the pit, he never had a chance to discuss the issue with his father. As a result he thought that maybe his father was involved in the sale and that his father was upset at him for telling loshon hara about his brothers.

Once he spoke with the brothers and they told him that his father was mourning his loss and that he would not allow Binyamin to go down to Egypt, he knew that his father was not involved.

R' Heber tied this to a famous gemara in Gittin where two siblings were thrown into a jail because their masters wanted their slaves to mate. They cried all night until in the morning they realized that they were siblings. There was such Agmas Nefesh because they did not realize that they were siblings but could not see it because of the galus. So too, Yosef because of his galus in Egypt could not see the truth that his father was not involved. 

R' Heber linked this to the tragic story of the hostages in Gaza who were accidentally killed because the soldiers could not tell that they were Israeli hostages and not terrorists. This due to the pain and cloud of Galus. During Galus there is confusion as Yavan is Choshech - they mistranslated the Torah and distorted it (with the anniversary being earlier this week) so that other religions could miscast the truth.

How do we rectify this? Only through Shalom as the Sinas Chinam comes from misunderstanding and confusion. The offset to this is Ahava, where we love fellow Jews without condition.

R' Heber closed the vort by saying that the only Friday afternoon that we ever lain is when Asarah B'Teves falls on Friday. He then noted the gemara in Eruvin which states that Eliyahu HaNavi will never come on Friday because everyone is busy getting ready for Shabbos. Which means that every time that we fast for the Churban we know that Eliyahu HaNavi can come that day, except for tomorrow. 

On Asarah B' Teves which falls on Friday we know that Eliyahu HaNavi cannot come. But we also do something unique. The Rama (251) states that on Friday we are supposed to minimize our learning in order to prepare  for Shabbos. This is why we never lain on Friday. But the one time that we do lain is that one moment that we are fasting for the Churban but knowing that Eliyahu HaNavi cannot come now. In so doing we are saying to Hashem, every other Friday we don't lain, but today I am ready for Shabbos - because we are coming to Shul in lain. We are showing that there is no tircha because we are ready for Shabbos and sitting in Shul doing something that we never do. In so doing we say to Eliyahu HaNavi - we are ready for you to come now, there is no tircha - so Hashem now that we are ready please send Eliyahu HaNavi. 

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Mikeitz

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

Rabbi Frand's vort related to Bereishis 42:3 which states וַיֵּֽרְד֥וּ אֲחֵֽי־יוֹסֵ֖ף עֲשָׂרָ֑ה לִשְׁבֹּ֥ר בָּ֖ר מִמִּצְרָֽיִם. Rashi asks - why are they called the brothers of Yosef and not the sons of Ya'akov or Yisrael? He answers that they are called the brothers of Yosef because at this time they had charata - regret for the sale of Yosef.

Rabbi Frand then asked - if they were showing regret for the sale of Yosef now, why did they need to undergo the ordeal of the rest of Mikeitz and Vayigash where they were accused of being spies and had various imprisonments and were threatened with the loss of Binyamin? 

Rabbi Frand answered by quoting the Sfas Emes who observes the same quandary by Yosef. When Yosef did not stray when being seduced by the wife of Potiphar he earned the title HaTzadik. The Rambam in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah writes that someone who does not commit a sin because of fear or for kavod can be compared to Yosef HaTzadik. So why did Yosef undergo multiple years in prison after rising to the challenge?

The Sfas Emes answers that when Hashem sees that a person has made a major step up in his teshuva or yirah, now I can test him. The brothers realized that they were wrong and did real teshuva and that put them on a higher level, so Hashem said - they can handle more. So too by Yosef, once he showed that he could withstand the wife of Potiphar, he demonstrated to Hashem that he could handle more.

Rabbi Frand gave his own example of a person who takes steps in becoming a ba'al teshuva - eventually closing their business on Shabbos and becoming frum in all ways. And there are stories about people who lose their business, or their spouse leaves them because they don't want to be frum. This may not seem fair to us, but Hashem knows that this person can handle more and He knows what is best.

Rabbi Frand said a second vort based on the pasuk in Bereishis 41:50 - וּלְיוֹסֵ֤ף יֻלָּד֙ שְׁנֵ֣י בָנִ֔ים בְּטֶ֥רֶם תָּב֖וֹא שְׁנַ֣ת הָֽרָעָ֑ב. The Ba'al HaTurim notes that the word וּלְיוֹסֵ֤ף appears one other time in the Torah - in V'Zos HaBracha where the Torah writes in Devarim 33:13 - וּלְיוֹסֵ֣ף אָמַ֔ר מְבֹרֶ֥כֶת יְהֹוָ֖ה אַרְצ֑וֹ מִמֶּ֤גֶד שָׁמַ֨יִם֙ מִטָּ֔ל וּמִתְּה֖וֹם רֹבֶ֥צֶת תָּֽחַת.

What is the connection?

The Ba'al HaTurim explains that Yosef held back from marital relations during the time of famine as although he lived in the palace, everyone else was suffering. As a result he was rewarded that his tribe would receive the most fertile land in Israel

R' Frand quoted R' Matisyahu Solomon who notes that the word Sneh appears twice in the Chumash. Moshe's first encounter with Hashem is at the Sneh and in Devarim 33:16 Yosef is blessed - וּמִמֶּ֗גֶד אֶ֚רֶץ וּמְלֹאָ֔הּ וּרְצ֥וֹן שֹֽׁכְנִ֖י סְנֶ֑ה. When Hashem greets Moshe He is in the Sneh to show that he is with the Jews in the their time of oppression in Egypt. Yosef who showed that he was together with the people in their time of trouble, is blessed with the land of sweetness by the One who dwelled in the Sneh.

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