Torah Teasers
Parshas Vayakeil – Pekudei
1. After the tragic death of Yehuda’s first two sons that were married to Tamar, Yehuda told Tamar (Vayeishev 38:11) “Shvi Almana Bais Avich Ad Ki Yigdal Sheila; Return to your father’s house until Sheila gets older.” Rashi explains that Yehuda had no intention of letting Sheila marry Tamar, since as the pasuk says he was scared that any husband of Tamar was doomed. If so, why did he keep her waiting for Sheila? Even if he had a good reason, wasn’t he lying? Ans…The Maskil L’Dovid answers that Yehuda was the first one to keep the Mitzva of Yibum, as his son Onan married Tamar after Er’s death. After Onan’s death, Yehuda didn’t want Sheila to do Yibum because he was scared, but he did want him to do Chalitza. Since he was still a Katan, he couldn’t perform Chalitza, so he wanted Tamar to wait. However, Yehuda was afraid that if he asked Tamar to remain unmarried until Sheila is old enough for Chalitza, she would not listen. Therefore, he led her to believe she would marry Sheila eventually. The Maskil L’Dovid says that Yehuda did not lie to her, but he chose his words very carefully. He told her to return to her father until Sheila got older. She understood this meant that he will marry her when he becomes of age, but he in fact meant old enough to do Chalitza.
2. When Yehuda met the unidentified Tamar, he promised to send her G’di Izim or goats. What was the meaning behind this? Ans… Rav Yehonoson Eibshitz says that these goats held deep meaning to the outcome of this whole event. “The entire episode of Yehuda and Tamar was not befitting a man of Yehuda’s stature,” says Chazal. It only came about through the hand of Hashem, as this was the earliest beginning of Malchus Bais Dovid which was destined to descend from Tamar. “The goats,” says Rav Yehonoson, “symbolized that the great leaders of Klal Yisrael were all shepherds by profession, such as Dovid HaMelech.” “Furthermore the, leadership of Klal Yisrael,” says Chazal, “is given to a person with tarnished origins.” This happened with Yehuda and Tamar, again with Boaz and Rus, and then again with Dovid and Basheva. Rav Yehonoson explains that the Satan does not pursue people with severe imperfections. Rather, he goes after the cream, trying to drag them down. Without the Satan’s interference a person can rise to great heights of Avodas Hashem. The reason why Yaakov needed to take the Brachos in an underhanded way was to trick the Satan into thinking that they hold little value, because they were acquired through deception. “The Gdi Izim,” says Rav Yehonoson, “was a remez to Yaakov’s taking the Brachos with the the Gdi Izim that made him feel hairy like EIsav, and to draw a parallel and learn the lesson of this debacle.”
3. All the Meforshim write that the Shvatim had absolutely no jealously or hatred towards Yosef personally. Rather, it was purely a pursuit of justice. “Yet,” says Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky (Emes L’Yaakov) “many people believe these Peirushim are just a cover-up, to spare the Shvatim a bad name.” Which is it? Ans… Rav Yaakov says that if one looks carefully at the psukim, it is obvious that it was not personal. At first, the Torah tells us that they decided to kill him. If this was about revenge, why when Reuven said that they should not kill him but rather throw him into the pit, did they unanimously agree? “The truth is,” says Rav Yaakov, “that personal feelings notwithstanding, they paskened that Yosef was Chayav Misa and they were obliged to carry out the verdict. However, when Reuven said that throwing him in the Bor without killing him is sufficient in place of death, they were all very happy not to have to kill him.” Similarly, when Yehuda found an angle to carry out the verdict by taking him out of the pit and instead sell him, again there was no hesitation and they all agreed. Furthermore, after seeing Yaakov’s pain, they even blamed Yehuda because had he found a psak that would allow them to spare Yosef altogether, they would have surely listened. “All this,” says Rav Yaakov, “is a proof of the Shvatim acting purely L’Shem Shamayim, without any personal feelings of hatred mixed in.”
4. “V’Hu Naar,” (Vayeishev 37:2) Rashi says that this means Yosef was acting like a Naar always fixing his hair to look nice. Rav Shimon Schwab asks, “How could this be? Yosef was a tzaddik and the prized child of his Holy father, Yaakov. How could he have a weakness for something so trivial like playing with his hair?” Rashi again says the same thing later on when Yosef was promoted in Potifar’s house; he again starts to play with his hair and forgets that his father is suffering because of his unexplained disappearance. Is this the “Nazir Echav” that the Torah talks about? Ans… Rav Schwab answers that we find the Torah also calls Shchem ben Chamor a “Naar”. Yet we know Shchem was the oldest and most important person in the kingdom after his father. There Rav Schwab therefore concludes, that “Naar” does not mean young, but rather impatient like young people. It means acting on impulse without thoroughly thinking things through. This is what Shchem was guilty of. Yosef had two dreams that told him he would be King. The Halacha is that a King must be freshly groomed every day as the pasuk says (Yeshaya 33:17), “Melech B’Yafyo Techezena Einecha; A King should be seen in his glory.” Yosef acted impatiently and on impulse when at the young age of seventeen he already behaved as if his dreams of Kingdom materialized. Similarly, in Potifar’s house, as soon as he was promoted and sensed an ascent to leadership, he once again jumped too fast and began to take an interest in his regal appearance. For this, the Torah calls him a “Naar”, as he should have waited for the right time and not jump at the first sniff of power.

Rav Eliyahu Lopian, z’tl, once underwent a serious operation on his eye, and complications arose in the midst of the operation. Rav Lopian’s blood pressure rose to dangerous levels and one eye burst. His life remained in danger for several weeks, and tefillohs were recited for him in all the yeshivohs in Eretz Yisrael. Eventually, with the help of Hashem, he recovered.
The eye surgeon who carried out the delicate operation said that he was surprised by the complications. The operation was going smoothly, when suddenly Rav Lopian’s blood pressure rose dramatically without any apparent cause. The doctors were unable to discover what had prompted the problem.
Several years later, Rav Lopian underwent another operation, and this time no complications arose. A talmid visited him in the hospital after the operation, and Rav Lopian said to him, “I’m sure you remember when I had an operation on my eye, and my life was in danger. The reason this happened was because prior to the operation, I did a cheshbon hanefesh since it was a time of Heavenly judgment. I thought about all my past actions, and I can vividly remember every one of my actions from the time I was twelve years old until today. (Rav Lopian was over eighty at the time). My fear of judgment caused my blood pressure to rise. This time I decided not to think at all, and Boruch Hashem, the operation went well.” (Recollections of Reb Eliyahu Lopian by his students – translated by Rabbi B.D Klein)
********************
The queen of the British Empire, Victoria, and her husband Prince Consort Albert were visiting family in Hanover, Germany, when the unexpected happened; Queen Victoria went into labor two months before her due date. Moshe Montefiore, who was a financial advisor to the British government, arrived at the Court of Hanover during this time, and found the members of the Court in an uproar. The premature birth seemed inevitable, but it would pose a major problem. If the baby was born on German land, his right to succeed the throne may be endangered, since he would then be considered a German citizen.

Later that afternoon, Montefiore went to daven in the shul of Rabbi Nathan Adler, a Rav in Hanover. After mincha, he related the dilemma of the British Royal family to Rav Adler, and Rav Adler had a brilliant suggestion. He advised that the Queen be placed on an English ship, which would travel three kilometers from German land until it reached international waters. The baby, who would hopefully cooperate with these plans, would be born on a British ship in international waters, and would thereby be considered as if he was born on British land. Montefiore rushed to the Court to relay this advice, and the royal attendants rushed Queen Victoria to the British warship, the Arc Royal. Later that night, the Queen gave birth to a boy, who was destined to become King Edward VII.

Many years later, Queen Victoria saw a notice from the Dukes Place synagogue in London. The shul was seeking applicants for a rabbi, which was considered a very prominent position. Many rabbis from all over the world applied for the position, including Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. The Queen, however, was partial to a certain applicant, whose name she recognized from years before, Rabbi Nathan Adler. She sent a note to the shul, stating her preference for Rabbi Adler, who had come to her aid many years before. The shul did choose Rabbi Adler, but the Queen was not yet satisfied. She proposed that Rabbi Adler become the Chief Rabbi of England, or even of the entire British Empire. A bill was voted in Parliament to decide whether the British Empire should elect a chief Rabbi, and a majority chose Rabbi Adler as Chief Rabbi of the British Empire.

Rabbi Adler filled the post of Chief Rabbi for forty-five years. And throughout Queen Victoria’s long reign (she lived until eighty-two), the Jews were treated positively, and were graced with more rights than Jews in other European countries. (Chance Encounters M.L. Mashinsky)
******************
A vagrant Jew had acquired a reputation as a thief, and was ostracized by society. However, when he came to Radin, he encountered Rav Naftali Tzvi Trop, the famed Rosh Yeshivah of the Chofetz Chaim’s Yeshiva. Rav Trop greeted him warmly, invited him to eat by his table, and even offered him a bed to sleep for the night in his home. The Jews of Radin began murmuring with each other, wondering why R’ Trop was exerting himself for this unsavory character.

Someone worked up the courage to ask R’ Trop directly why he was treating this thief with such warmth. R’ Trop answered in surprise, “It’s known that a thief pays back double the value of what he stole, and if he can’t pay it back, he’s sold as a slave. But where is it written that I’m exempt from fulfilling the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim? Isn’t he a Jew? Didn’t Avrahahm Avinu fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim even with Arabs who worshipped the dust of their feet? It’s true that it’s risky to bring a suspected thief into my house, but I can watch over him carefully the whole time he’s in my home. However, I have no excuse to exempt myself from the mitzvah.” The next day, the people in Radin heard that R’ Trop had done exactly what he had said. He had stayed awake the entire night to guard the thief while he slept in his home. (Sidras Tikkun Hamiddos)

IAHR (Yosef cared about the look) TOAC (Yaakov’s gift to Yosef) ARSDME (The brothers hated hearing about them)
EPCSSI (Yismaelim sold it) EENRVU (He didn’t sell Yosef) TDIABRHY (The day Paroh killed the baker and rehired the bartender)
Who Knows One
Q. Who didn’t eat or drink for upwards of 60 years?
Answer: Choni Ham’agel. The gemarah n Taanis recounts the events whereby Choni Ham’agel slept for seventy years. Hence, he neither ate nor drank during that time.
Q. I am a levi. There is one thing I have never witnessed in my entire adult life, and I never will either. Yisraelim sometimes see it, so do kohanim, but me and my fellow levi’im? Never! What is it?
Answer: If there is no levi present during the Torah reading, the kohen honored by being called first to the Torah stays up and receives the second honor as well. The levi has never seen it, though, and he never will!
Q. The halacha is that you say a bracha when you see a friend whom you haven’t seen in a long time. As the Shulchan Aruch states: “One who sees his friend after 30 days says ‘Shehechiyanu’; and after (not having seen him for) 12 months he makes the bracha ‘Mechayeh Hamesim’. Why the change in brachos?
Answer: Every year on Rosh Hashana we are judged regarding whether we will live or die. So if a person hasn’t seen his friend during any normal 12 month period, his friend has undergone a life or death judgment and been thus far saved from it.

Created By Rov Allen Sherman
[email protected]
786.222.2078