Serenity -- a reality or just an aspiration? Vayeshev 5785

Yaakov settles in the Land of Israel, the Land of Canaan, the land of his forefathers. In that first sentence of this week’s parsha lies the hope of Yaakov and of all his descendants. Rashi, quoting the Midrash, states that Yaakov wanted to rest from his earlier troubles and remain serene and at peace for the balance of his life. This is a natural human wish and desire. But the troubles of Yaakov are not over by any means. 

The incident of the dispute and resultant tragedy of Yosef and his brothers will erase any hope of Yaakov being able to remain serene and at peace with himself. The truth of Jewish history indicates that the years of serenity of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel were relatively few and far between. We always thought that the creation of our national home in the Land of Israel would be the ultimate panacea for Jewish life. 

Herzl promised that anti-Semitism would disappear with the creation of an independent Jewish state. Tragically, history has shown the case certainly to be otherwise. In fact, the Jewish state has in many respects exacerbated the campaign of anti-Semitism in today’s world. The longing for serenity oftentimes blinds people to unpleasant realities and forthcoming dangers. 

Yaakov is aware of the problem between Yosef and his brothers, but he is not proactive in preventing the violence that lies below the surface of this dispute. His desire to rest and settle in peace in the Land of Israel – simply to be left alone by all of his neighbors and potential enemies – essentially prevents him from attempting to prevent the civil war brewing in his house. 

The Lord is critical, so to speak, of Yaakov’s desire for serenity at all costs. Serenity is in the World to Come and not in this world of problems and challenges. 

The Jewish community here in Israel desires peace and serenity at almost all cost. The desire is so strong that it has led to a great dispute between different sections of Israeli society. The desire for peace overwhelms all other issues and creates great rivers of division and even violence amongst us. 

The desire for peace and serenity has sucked all the oxygen out of the other issues of Israeli life. In pursuing a goal that may currently be beyond our abilities, we abandon the opportunity to truly achieve success with the more mundane challenges that face us. 

Ben Gurion, not noted for his great piety, said that there are certain issues that will have to be left to messianic times for permanent solution. Undoubtedly, he meant that certain problems do not lend themselves to resolve currently. We are entitled to aspire for serenity and peace, but not at the expense of the realities and dangers that face us. Yaakov’s example remain an important lesson for us as well in our present challenges and difficulties. 

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein 

When the lion roars, we question our values

 Here, thanks to our member Max Stern, is a cantata which he composed for his students at Ariel University and which is based on the haftarah that accompanies this week's parashah, Vayeshev. 

This haftarah, explains Max, features extracts from a prophecy by Amos that condemns the value system that led to our exile -- the same scale of values that led to Joseph's brothers selling him to the Ishamelites for "a pair of shoes". 

Below you will find a link to a performance of this cantata by Max and his students. The first four minutes make for tough listening, before it transitions to a more lyrical theme with a subtly hypnotic effect. 

The text is based on Amos 3:1-2 and 3:6-8.

For the link to the cantata click here.

For an explanation of this haftarah on My Jewish Learning click here.

More on halachic challenges in the State of Israel

In his previous lecture (noted with a link to YouTube here) Rabbi Kenigsberg asked whether halachah was equipped to cope with the challenges posed by a modern Jewish state? His answer was an emphatic “yes!”, because the very existence of the State of Israel provides a live factual context that enables us to express the halachah more clearly. He then related this conclusion to the position taken by Rav Moshe-Tzvi Neria in his debates with Yeshaya Leibowitz that it is fundamental to our Jewish belief that the Torah has a divine source of Torah, being applicable in all places and at all times.

In this lecture Rabbi Kenigsberg expanded on the need to the State to provide greater factual detail in order to apply halachah with greater precision, in particular with regard to hilchot Shabbat, where it is so important to distinguish routine factual scenarios from emergencies. He also raised the question as to what sources are most appropriate for resolving she’elot on issues of national security. While Israel was an autonomous state in the era of Tanach, Rabbi Asher Weiss has observed that one cannot pull halachot straight out of the Tanach because its contents are not presented to us in a structured manner in which we are made aware of relevant surrounding circumstances. We also do not know whether applications of halachah in Tanach reflect normal circumstances of states of emergency.

Rabbi Kenigsberg then referred to Rav Kook’s writings on the halachot of war in his Mishpat Kohen. In that work of war he discusses issues of pikuach nefesh (saving life) within the context of the war that is not mandated by Torah law—Milchemet reshut – and whether it can be allowed when it endangers lives. We see that wars of that nature were fought for the State’s economic benefit. However, laws relating to the collective (i.e. the State) are not found within Shulchan Aruch, this being a code that deals with the yachid, the individual, not the State. Seridim (remnants) of State halachah do still exist within Tanach: it is for us to trawl through Tanach for these seridim and seek to reconstitute them.

By way of a practical phenomenon that did not exist in bygone times and which is a matter of State responsibility, Rabbi Kenigsberg focused at length on the problems of cyber-defence on Shabbat. Cyber-attacks might be of obvious threat to life, such as those designed to contaminate the water supply, or they might pose risks for one of more individuals, as in the case of data capture that would enable foreign governments to identify Israeli soldiers on active service and arrest them for war crimes if they visited those countries.  The rabbi discussed the applicability to these scenarios of the long-established halachot relating to extinguishing a fire on Shabbat as well as the principles that govern self-protection on the part of cities on Israel’s borders.

From what Rabbi Kenigsberg told his audience, it appears that there are two general principles that can be invoked when weighing up whether to allow a breach of Shabbat prohibitions. The first is that, even if a threat or danger is initially very small, one must look ahead and calculate how much greater might the damage be to the public and the State if it is not immediately abated. The second is that, if action is not taken to defend oneself even against an apparently small loss, an enemy will learn to attack the State on Shabbat on the basis that there will be no response or retaliation by those who are Shabbat-observant.

This note cannot really do justice to Rabbi Kenigsberg’s presentation, which was replete with references and citations and came with printed source materials—but you can listen to it in full on YouTube here.

The Ottomans decline, while Jewish opportunities grow: Rabbi Wein

In the sixth of his eight-part lecture series, Rabbi Wein tackled the gradual disintegration of the Turkish-based Ottoman Empire and its impact on the many Jews who lived within its sprawling borders. This empire spread all the way from Balkans and the Mediterranean to the Middle East, Egypt, Libya and much of North Africa. Starting from the 15^th and 16^th centuries, this militantly Moslem even reached the gates of Vienna.

Because of its vast geographical spread, this empire began to decline. At the root of its failure was endemic internal corruption which was the consequence of its Caliph, based in the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (right), farming out governorships to different tribes, clans and families. Local autonomy was the norm, which meant that no two areas were governed in the same way. Eastern Sephardim were the main Jewish culture, and they lived within the Ottoman Empire as a self-contained society. Local rulers were less harsh on the Jews than were Western rulers, but in many communities they had no rights. Notably, however, there were no pogroms before 1948.

Israel, Rabbi Wein explained, was a sparsely populated wasteland with a tiny Jewish and mainly Sephardic population. The country had no effective economy. During the early 1800s, there was a small trickle of Eastern European Jewish immigration; these migrants came for purely religious reasons and had no expressed intention of founding a state. Safed, Tiveria, Yerushalayim and Chevron were the main centres of Jewish life. When Mark Twain visited the land in the late 1890s, he recorded that he had never seen a more desolate place. Incidentally, there was no real connection between the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities, especially since the former had had no real exposure to mussar or chassidut.

The Turks had a large Christian population within their borders, particularly in Armenia and Syria. Moslems viewed them, rather than the Jews, as their enemy. This, said Rabbi Wein, had the paradoxical effect of making the local Christian churches more antisemitic than their Western counterparts. During the 1800s, as the West started eroding portions of the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem grew in significance: it was no longer just a place but had become an ideal, a vindication. Colonies were founded there by the Germans, Russians, French and others—and the Ottomans were helpless to stop this.  Many consulates based in Jerusalem claimed they were justified in being there to protect claims of locals living in these colonies. Curiously, at this time there was also a nascent movement among evangelical Christians who believed that Jewish settlement was needed as a precursor of the Christian Messiah.

Rabbi Wein then focused on the activities of Sir Moses Montefiore (left), who devoted his life to the cause of the Jewish people and intervened in the notorious1840 blood libel in Damascus. Montefiore visited Israel a total of seven times and generously donated money—but within the Jewish community there was no organisational infrastructure that could put it to good use. In short the Jews as a community were not ready for monetary support, but even private donations such as those of Montefiore would have the effect of weakening the Ottoman Empire first and, when the First Aliyah came, the Turks proved to be incapable of resisting it.

Within the crumbling Caliphate, the force of inertia was becoming impossible to overcome. Theodore Herzl had originally tried to buy Israel for the princely sum of 15 million British pounds, hoping to get this sum from the Rothschild family. The Turks however did not want to sell. In the 1890s, Greece broke away from Turkish rule (this assertion of freedom was romanticised by Lord Byron). Next, Serbia broke free from both Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian control. Cracks also appeared at the very core of the Empire, as hostilities increased between the Sunni Moslem majority and Shi’ite minority. Happily, the Jews were not caught in the crosshairs of their disputes.

Returning to Herzl and Zionism, Rabbi Wein showed that the Ottomans saw Jewish nationalism as a direct threat: it was not only European in origin, and therefore alien, but also featured secular Jews—something that the Ottomans regarded as a direct threat to an empire was founded on religion. Following Herzl’s unsuccessful bid to purchase the land of Israel, the JNF set out to buy land on a piecemeal basis and had far more success. In this way the Zionist movement succeeded in implanting itself in the Galilee during the First Aliyah through the establishment of kibbutzim and moshavim. How odd, commented Rabbi Wein, that the land of Israel should be built by the non-religious.

With Jewish settlement came Jewish disputes, largely between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. The Turks gave kashrut rights to the Sephardim, which the Ashkenazim said they couldn’t accept. Disputes amongst Jews were always referred to the Turkish authorities and, since those authorities were corrupt, the arguments put before them were corrupt too. Also, the 0od Yishuv refused to recognise the new Yishuv, finding the newcomers to be so rebellious and condescending towards traditional Jews that there was no dialogue.

Treasures of the Knesset -- and a trip round the President's house

Since our Women's League has unveiled the date for our next visit to the Knesset -- Thursday 16 January -- we thought you might like to have a sneak preview, courtesy of our very own Heshy Engelsberg. This is "Treasures of the Knesset" (length: just under eight minutes), which you can watch on his YouTube channel here. 

While we are in the mood for visiting popular local attractions, it's a couple of years since we ran two very popular visits to the President's House. If there is sufficient interest, we may offer this trip again. If you are undecided, maybe Heshy's The House of the President (a fraction over 4 minutes) here will persuade you that it's worth the effort!

Why Yeshivat HaKotel?

This coming Shabbat we host a group of talmidim from Yeshivat HaKotel for an inspiring Kabbalat Shabbat service, dinner in our homes, followed by an Oneg Shabbat. But why, you may be wondering, in a city that is so full of yeshivot, have we chosen Yeshivat HaKotel? Did we just happen to like the name? Did we pick it out at random? Did we consult the city’s sages?

The true answer lies in the yeshiva’s place in our country’s recent history and in our nation’s ancient commitment to Torah.

Yeshivat HaKotel was founded in the summer of 1967, just weeks after the miraculous victory of the Six day War let us return to the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City means so much to so many of us: for some it is a place of emotional outpouring, for others a focus for national pride—and for others it is the ideal place to learn Torah and perpetuate its values. This is why it is not by accident that the yeshiva is firmly embedded in the heart of the Old City.

So what are the yeshiva’s core values? They can be summed up easily. First, there is the Torah:

Developing love for and ability to learn is the Yeshiva’s primary objective. Although concentrated on Gemara, Yeshivat Hakotel’s multi-faceted learning program includes significant opportunities to study Tanach, Halacha, Emunah, Machshava, and Mussar in a meaningful way.

Of course, the Torah can be learned anywhere, at any time. So why is learning in Israel special?

Hakotel sees learning in Israel as a means of connecting to Am Yisrael’s return to Eretz Yisrael. Being at Hakotel is not just learning about our history, but experiencing and becoming part of it. Talmidim connect to the history of Eretz Yisrael as well as the modern miracle of the State of Israel.

Is the yeshiva concerned only with book learning, or does it address also the social and cultural side of Jewish life in today’s highly mobile world?

Yeshivat Hakotel fosters achdut amongst its students by breaking down cultural barriers that often divide Jews of different countries of origin. This feeling of brotherhood permeates all aspects of Yeshiva life including classes, dormitory residence, and leisure time. It also very much identifies with the dictum of the Mishneh in Avot (4:1) that the wise man is the one who learns from all people. 

These are big claims. But are they realistic? Yes!

We broaden talmidim’s horizons and help them respect different types of Jews by teaching different types of Jewish philosophies and hashkafot (Litvish, Chassidish, rationalist, Kabbalistic …).   

So, with all of this going on, why does the yeshiva bother dealing with us?

We educate towards being part of the larger Jewish community, which includes the Jews of Yerushalayim, the State of Israel, and around the globe. 

Pretty impressive stuff! For further details you can browse the yeshiva’s website in Hebrew or in English

As a footnote, we should mention that our own Rabbi Kenigsberg studied at Yeshivat HaKotel, and we are all enriched by the learning and the perspectives that he acquired there.

The strength to overcome angels: Vayishlach 5785

Our father Yaakov sends emissaries to meet his brother Eisav, seeking to mollify him and to head off a possibly violent, even fatal, confrontation. Opinions in Midrash and the commentaries differ as to whether these emissaries were angels or humans. Either way it appears from the parsha that they failed in their mission and were unable to deflect Eisav and his four hundred armed men from confronting Yaakov. 

If we agree that the emissaries were mere humans, it is understandable that they might fail in their mission of dissuading Eisav and of convincing him to leave Yaakov and his family alone. However, if we believe that Yaakov’s emissaries were truly angels, then how could they have failed in their mission?

Another incident in the life of Yaakov does however reveal that human will and strength can overcome even an angel. Yaakov wrestles the angel of Eisav to a standoff, whereupon his name is changed to Yisrael because he was able to wrestle with angels and men and emerge triumphant. Never underestimate the power of a human being for good or to wreak havoc. Eisav’s determination to harm Yaakov is so intense and fixed that even a horde of angels cannot deflect him from his evil purpose. Angels have no freedom of will and are inherently weaker than are human beings. They possess no hidden resources of will and strength: they are what they are. Humans in contrast, when taxed, can be righteous or evil in the extreme. 

Only when Eisav finally sees Yaakov and his family before him does his will waver and he becomes more conciliatory. He is naturally influenced by the vast amount of money that Yaakov showers upon him. That is also part of human nature—to be susceptible to matieral inducements and weakened by monetary corruption. It is not the sight of heavenly angels that softens Eisav’s heart towards his brother as much as it is the largesse that Yaakov bestows upon him. 

Over the long history of the Jewish people, many a decree conceived against Jews has been thwarted because money has been paid to the proposed enforcers. As distasteful as this may seem, this method was always employed to aid Jewish survival in difficult times and places. Angels are not however subject to such temptations. Though humans can overcome angels, rarely can they escape temptation and its resulting troubles.

The same necessary strength of will that is part of the human makeup to overcome angels is also present when humans face temptations and difficult choices in life. There was once a campaign against drug use by teenagers in the United States. The campaign’s slogan was “Just Say No.” I realize that this is a very simplistic way to deal with the problem of drug use but it has the ring of truth to it. The strength to say no to angels is the same strength to say no to harm and evil.

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein