STAM TORAH
PARSHAS MIKETZ 5781[1]
“ON ME”
Dedicated l’refuah shleimah for נטע יצחק בן רחל
“Response-ability”
is the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people do not blame
circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior
is a product of their own conscious choice, based on values, rather than a
product of those conditions, based on feeling. "
-Stephen Covey
“The man who
complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who
dropped it.”
-Lou Holtz[2]
In his book,
“Echos of the Maggid”, Rabbi Paysach Krohn relates the story of Mrs. Esther
Haas. Esther was a fourteen-year-old girl when she was forced on one of the
Nazi’s infamous death marches. Beaten, overworked, and malnourished from the time
spent in the Concentration Camp, she felt her strength ebbing away. At one
point, she collapsed on the ground out of sheer exhaustion. A moment later a
Nazi loomed over her and mercilessly barked, “If you want to work, then get up
now. Otherwise, you are dead right here! We have no use for weak people.”
Esther felt she
was about to become just another Nazi martyr. But then, inexplicably, from
seemingly out of nowhere, she felt a surge of strength and was able to walk
back to the barracks and collapse into the arms of her shocked and teary-eyed
comrades.
After the war, Esther recounted that the
Nazis convinced them that every girl in the world was imprisoned in
Concentration Camps worldwide. Every night she davened that if Hashem would let
her survive, she would raise a family as devout Jews.
Rabbi Krohn noted
to Mrs. Haas that her pledge was similar to the words of King Yeshayahu who,
upon witnessing the devastation and desolation of Torah in Eretz Yisroel at the
end of the first Temple era, stood up and proclaimed, "Alay l’hakim-
It is incumbent upon me to uphold it (i.e. the Torah)". He initiated a
wave of unprecedented repentance throughout the country[3].
Rabbi Krohn told
Mrs. Haas that perhaps it was the merit of her constant proclamation of “Alay
l’hakim” that saved her.
When the long and painful saga of Yosef
and the tribes was finally over and Yaakov was informed that Yosef was alive
and well, Yaakov prepared for his descent to Egypt to be reunited with his
long-lost son. Before leaving Yaakov sent ahead Yehuda. “Yehudah he sent before
him to Goshen, to instruct ahead of him in Goshen.”[4] Rashi
explains that Yehuda was sent ahead to establish a Bais Medrash from which laws
would be studied and taught.
Shimon’s
descendants were destined to become the teachers and Levi’s descendants were
the Kohanim and Levi’im who were also leaders and teachers. Yissachar produced
the greatest scholars. Would it not have been more appropriate for one of them
to establish the Yeshiva? Why was Yehuda specifically chosen to establish the
Yeshiva in Goshen?
The Mishnah[5]
teaches that at the age of thirteen, a Jewish male becomes obligated to perform
the 613 commandments.
Rav Mibartenura
explains that the source of this law is derived from Shimon and Levi. When they
killed out the males from the city of Shechem, the Torah[6] refers
to them as men, and they were thirteen years old.
After Shimon and Levi killed out the
city, Yaakov chastised them said to them. “You have discomposed me, making me
odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanite and among the
Perizzite; I am few in number and should they gather and attack me, I will be
annihilated – I and my household.”[7] If
Yaakov viewed their actions as imprudent, why do we learn this fundamental
Torah law from them?
The answer lies
in understanding why a thirteen-year-old boy becomes obligated in mitzvos. The
Torah views a thirteen-year-old boy as mature enough to feel a sense of
responsibility. The Gemarah[8]
relates that one who does something when commanded is greater than one who does
so when he’s not commanded. At first glance, this idea seems strange; isn’t it
a greater symbol of devotion to do something without having been asked?
Ritva explains
that as soon as one is commanded to do something, there is an immediate desire
to not submit to those instructions. By nature, we crave independence and abhor
being told what to do. Therefore, one who fulfills what he is instructed shows
greater devotion than one who acts on his own accord.
Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky explained that the
difference between an act performed by one commanded and one not commanded lies
in his attitude and mindset. One who is instructed feels a sense of obligation.
But one who lacks obligation doesn’t feel that urgency or pressure.
Until the age of
thirteen, the Torah does not view a young man as mature enough to bear a yoke
and sense of responsibility. It is only when he turns 13 that he has matured
enough to have an appreciation for obligation and responsibility.
The Torah derives this from Shimon and Levi. After Yaakov
chastised them, they replied, “Should he treat our sister like a woman of ill
repute?”[9] They
felt a sense of responsibility to avenge the honor of their sister. Although
they acted rashly, they demonstrated a sense of mission and responsibility.
What separates the men from the boys is
a sense of responsibility.
When Yosef demanded of the brothers that
Binyamin be brought before him, Yaakov refused. Even when Reuven offered the
lives of his two sons as a guarantee for Binyamin’s safe return, he would not
yield. It was only when Yehuda stood up and boldly proclaimed, “I will
guarantee him; of my own hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him back to
you and stand him before you, then I will have sinned before you for all time.”[10]
Yehuda put everything on the line as a guarantee that Binyamin would return
home safely. It was only then that Yaakov relented and sent Yosef. That is why
when Yosef wanted to imprison Binyamin it was Yehuda who insisted that they
would not leave without Binyamin.
One can possess the sharpest mind and
the greatest drive for learning but if he cannot state with conviction, "Alay
l’hakim- It is incumbent upon me to establish it," he will never be
successful in building a house of Torah study. Therefore, it was specifically
Yehuda who was chosen to establish the Yeshiva in Goshen because Yaakov knew
that Yehuda could bear its yoke. This is also the reason why the monarchy and
the eventual birth of Moshiach comes from Yehuda. A monarch must bear the
weight of his entire kingdom and such a job is only fit for one who can assume
such an overwhelming task.
Rav Ephraim
Shapiro from Miami Beach explained that the letters of the Hebrew word for
taking responsibility for others, achrayus, is spelled aleph, ches, reish, yud, vuv,
and tuf. Within itself the word instruct us in the proper
progression we should follow in assuming responsibility for one another: The
first letter is an aleph representing the number one, and the
notion that before looking to help others, we must first make sure that we have
taken responsibility for our own actions and needs. The following letter
is ches which together with aleph spells the
word ach or "brother". Only after we been successful
in taking care of ourselves can we begin to take responsibility for our
brothers, families, and relatives. The next letter is reish, which
together with the first two letters spells acheir, or “other”. Once
our families are secure, we can use that stability as a platform to aid and
help others as well. The following letter is yud, which turns the
word acheir in to acharai or “behind me” or “follow
me”, because one who takes responsibility for others becomes a natural role
model and leader within the community.[11] The
next letter is vuv which added to the previous letters
changes acharai to acharav or “after him”,
since a role model who takes responsibility for others will inspire people to
follow their example. Finally, the letter tuf, because achrayus begins
with aleph, the first letter in the alphabet, and ends with tuf,
the last letter in the alphabet. This symbolizes that taking responsibility for
others should occupy us constantly, and that it can embolden, enrich, and
uplift every aspect of our lives all the way from aleph to tuf!
During the period of the Greek
occupation of Eretz Yisroel, the Jews who agreed to live in the manner and
cultural lifestyle of the Greeks, were not persecuted, in fact they lived quite
comfortably. It was only the minority who stubbornly refused to forsake the
ways of their forefathers and tenaciously clung to the Torah and its teachings
who suffered the oppression and torture of the Greeks. In fact, much of the
Jews’ persecution came from their own brethren who had Hellenized and joined
the Greek way of life. The miracle of Chanukah emerged only because a small
group of Jews announced, "Alaynu L’hakim". They embarked on an
impossible mission to fight off the far superior powers of the Greeks.
Chanukah is an opportunity to reflect on and
renew our acceptance of the responsibility of G-d and the Torah.
“I will guarantee
him; of my own hand you can demand him.”
“Alay l’hakim”
Rabbi Dani Staum
stamtorah@gmail.com
[1] This essay was
originally disseminated in 5762. I thank Eli Hirschman who has maintained these
“early Stam Torahs” on his website
http://www.angelfire.com/super2/eshworld/stamtorah/.
[2] former NFL player, coach (Notre
Dame, NY Jets 1979), and analyst
[3] Melachim II, Chapter 23
[4] Bereishis 46:28
[5] Avos 5:21
[6] Bereishis 34:25
[7] Bereishis 34:30
[8] Kiddushin 31a
[9] Bereishis 34:31
[10] Bereishis 43:9
[11] In most armies, the commanders stand
back and command their soldiers: “Forward!” In the IDF (Israel Defense Force)
however, the most legendary phrase is “Acharai” or “Follow me.” Israeli
commanders lead the way into the battle.
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