Our Parsha, which concludes Sefer Bereshit – Sefer Ha’Avot, opens with the words:
Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. The days of Yaakov, the years of his life were one hundred and forty seven years.
The commentators all discuss why the Torah needed to say that Yaakov Avinu lived seventeen years in Egypt, as these words seem superfluous; if the Torah already says he lived a total of 147 years, and last week we read that when he arrived in Egypt he said he was 130 years old – everyone can do the math and determine for themselves that he lived 17 years in Egypt. Why did the Torah need to summarize this for us?
The Ba’al HaTurim writes, וַיְחִי יַעֲקֹב means Yaakov did not enjoy good days without sorrow except for the number of ויחי – 34. The seventeen years from when Yosef was born until he was sold, and seventeen years in Egypt.
The Tanna debei Eliyahu Rabbah writes (5), Yaakov came from the house of Lavan and when Yosef was sold, he cried and mourned for twenty-two years, refusing to be comforted by his children. Was he crying for Yosef? The Midrash says, Yaakov said: “Perhaps I am liable and am being punished because I married two sisters, or perhaps I benefited from Lavan's or Shechem's bounty, and the covenant that Hakadosh Baruch Hu made with me was nullified.” Immediately, the mercy of Hakadosh Baruch Hu was triggered, and He gave Yaakov seventeen good years close to his old age; good like Olam Haba. From this case, Chazal say, one who experiences a good year close to his old age, it is a good sign for him, and one who has a bad year close to his old age, it is a bad sign for him. Yaakov Avinu had seventeen such good years in Egypt that Hakadosh Baruch Hu considered it as if all his days were good.
The Tosfot Ben Yechiel, a commentary on Tanna debei Eliyahu, writes that Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave him these good years in such a way that it was worth all the troubles he had suffered all his life. He saw his son leading his kingdom, and righteousness for all his other sons who enjoyed goodness, and high honor for Yosef in Egypt; an honor not found for any king, as evident from the unprecedented weeping that took place when he died. Tosfot Ben Yechiel concludes: So it will be for each and every one of us in the future; Hakadosh Baruch Hu will bestow so much goodness on each of us to offset all the suffering we endured in exile, as it says: הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ – They who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy.
The Ba’al HaTurim focuses on an interesting point. There are two places in which we find such language regarding one’s death growing near; here and regarding David HaMelech, וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי דָוִד לָמוּת – And David’s life was drawing to a close. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to David: “You composed 147 Psalms corresponding to the years of Yaakov’s life, you will merit like him. Just as he and his son ruled together, so too, Shlomo will rule in your lifetime.” Based on this connection made by the Ba’al HaTurim, both the Levush and Abudraham say this is why the reason we read וַיִּקְרְבוּ יְמֵי דָוִד לָמוּת as our Haftarah this week (Melachim I, 2:1).
In both our Parsha and Haftarah we also find the issue of a will (צַוָּואָה) handed down by Yitzchak Avinu and David HaMelech, respectively. I would like to study an interesting topic, and perhaps find a new connection between our Parsha and the will given by David HaMelech to his son, Shlomo.
Rebbe Natan of Breslov, whose yahrzeit is this week, wrote in one of his letters that as soon as Chanukah ended, he’d begin preparing for Purim. This does not mean he started packing tuna cans and candy into neat little packages; but rather, that he began to prepare himself spiritually for Purim. We can follow suit and do the same. It’s not hard to find Purim in the Parsha.
The Ba’al HaTurim writes, twice in Tanach we find the word הַמִּטָּה. Here in our Parsha and then again with regards to Haman, where it says: וְהָמָן נֹפֵל עַל־הַמִּטָּה – and Haman fell on the bed. The righteous, even when they are weak, strengthen themselves to sit or stand upright, whereas the wicked, even in their strength, fall right down. That’s Purim right after Chanukah, but I’d like to proceed in a different direction.
At the end of the Parsha, Yosef and his brothers return from Yaakov's burial in Chevron. This was a lengthy 3-month process with multiple stops for mourning, which the Chatam Sofer says began on Chol Hamoed Succot and ended only on Asara B’Tevet. The Torah tells us that after it was over, the brothers came to ask Yosef for forgiveness:
Yosef returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all those who went with him, to bury his father, after he had buried his father. Yosef’s brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said, Perhaps Yosef still bears a grudge against us. He will then certainly repay us for all the evil that we did him. They sent a command to Yosef saying, Your father issued a command before his death, saying: This is what you should say to Yosef, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. Yosef wept as his brothers spoke to him.
Rashi says, they sent a command to Yosef just as Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded Moshe and Aharon to be messengers to Bnei Yisrael. And whom did they command? The sons of Bilhah – Dan and Naftali – who were friendly with Yosef, as we’re told early on that Yosef grew up close to the sons of Bilhah: וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת־בְּנֵי בִלְהָה. As to the commandment, relayed in the name of their father, the brothers altered the truth for the sake of peace, as Yaakov didn’t actually command this, as he didn’t suspect Yosef would seek revenge. But why now? Why not do so while their father was still alive?
It is brought in Chazal that when they all returned from Yaakov's burial, Yosef asked to pass by the exact pit where his brothers had dumped him, in order to recite the bracha of שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי נֵס בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה – Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in this place. He survived a pit of snakes and scorpions, after all! Many people still recite this bracha; I have a friend who, every time he passes by the school where he studied and survived, recites it! To each their own pit. When the brothers saw the kavanah (focus and intensity) Yosef had when reciting these words, they were immediately frightened. They said to each other: "Thirty-nine years have passed since then, and he has such kavanah when he makes the bracha despite being viceroy of Egypt and the wealthiest man in the Mideast?! Who knows what he’ll do to us back in Egypt!"
Adding to this, according to Targum Yonatan ben Uziel, is after they returned from Yaakov's burial, Yosef stopped inviting his brothers for meals – and why? Because he didn’t want to sit at the head while Reuven and Yehuda sat below. As long as their father was present, he determined where everyone sat. But when he was no longer present and Yosef had to determine where everyone sat, he didn’t feel comfortable sitting above his brothers. Therefore, he concluded it was better simply to not have meals together. But from the brothers' perspective, they viewed this revoked invitation as a sign Yosef hated them; as the original invitation was only a courtesy to their father, so long as he was alive.
These two points led the brothers to conclude that they needed to ask Yosef for forgiveness, and therefore they approached him. All matters of asking for forgiveness between a person and his fellow are actually learned from this story. The Gemara teaches (Yoma 87a), anyone who asks for forgiveness from his friend should not ask more than three times, as it says: וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא, שָׂא נָא, אָנָּא. Of note, Bnei Sefarad and Bnei Eidot Mizrach open their tachanun with the word אָנָּא: אָנָּא ה' אֱ-לֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ תָּבֹא לְפָנֶיךָ תְּפִלָּתֵנוּ, whereas Bnei Ashkenaz omit that first word. On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol begins his viduy with אָנָּא: אָנָּא הַשֵּׁם חָטָאתִי. Chazal ask why the Kohen Gadol does this and point to the brothers usage the term in asking forgiveness from Yosef. The Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh Kodashim in the merit of the shevatim – בְּזֹאת יָבֹא אַהֲרֹן אֶל־הַקֹּדֶשׁ; the same זֹאת as found in וְזֹאת אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם אֲבִיהֶם וַיְבָרֶךְ. These examples help demonstrate the power of this story of forgiveness.
Yosef's Response and the Kiseh HaKavod
I’d like to zoom in and focus on Yosef's response to his brothers. Here is what he said to them:
Yosef said to them: Fear not. For am I in place of G-d? You meant to do evil to me, but G-d meant it for good, in order to do as it is today, to preserve the lives of a great people.
The Ba’al HaTurim writes, there are three places where we find such language – הֲתַחַת – in a response. Yosef’s response uses the same language used by Yaakov when he responded to Rachel who asked that he daven for her. He rebuked her, asking if it was truly him who was withholding children from her: הֲתַחַת אֱ-לֹהִים אָנֹכִי אֲשֶׁר־מָנַע מִמֵּךְ פְּרִי־בָטֶן. The third occasion where this language is found is with regards to David HaMelech: הֲתַחַת זֹאת לֹא יוּמַת שִׁמְעִי – Should Shimi not be put to death for this? In the same language that Yosef responded to his brothers, Shimi was punished, for his brothers learned from him to speak in this language. I’d like to focus on this story, found in Sefer Shmuel Bet (19):
He said to the king, “Let not my lord hold me guilty, and do not remember the wrong your servant committed on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem; let Your Majesty give it no thought. For your servant knows that he has sinned; so here I have come down today, the first of all the House of Yosef, to meet my lord the king.” Subsequently, Avishai son of Zeruiah spoke up, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for that – insulting G-d’s anointed one?”
Let's delve into the topic, and first and foremost, begin with the words of Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropola, one of the great Kabbalists, who was murdered in the Chmelnitzki massacres. One of his famous explanations is on the dream of the ladder that Yaakov Avinu dreamt. In the dream, Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed Yaakov the destruction of the First Beit Hamikdash and its rebuilding, the destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash, and the Third Beit Hamikdash in the future. Among the things Yaakov saw in the dream was also the Kiseh HaKavod – the Throne of Glory, which has the image of a lion, the image of an ox, the image of an eagle, and the image of a man. Regarding this, Yaakov Avinu said: וַיֹּאמֶר אָכֵן יֵשׁ ה' בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְאָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי.
Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropola says (Nitzotzei Shimshon, Vayetzei), according to Chazal (Chullin 91b), the image of a man among the four creatures of the Merkava is the likeness of Yaakov Avinu. And now Yaakov Avinu, through the vision of the ladder, saw the Kiseh HaKavod Throne of Glory and became aware that his form was also engraved on it. Until now, he knew that engraved on it were a lion, ox, and eagle – the initials of אכ"ן, and thus he said: אכן יש ה' במקום הזה. However, אָנֹכִי לֹא יָדָעְתִּי – he did not know אנכ"י was present, the initials of י'עקב א'ריה נ'שר כ'רוב.
When Yaakov Avinu slept on Har HaMoriah, it is written in Chazal that the ministering angels wanted to harm him – "His image is engraved on the Kiseh HaKavod, and he’s sleeping on Har HaMoriah?!" וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱ-לֹהִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ – they ascend above and see his image engraved on the Kiseh HaKavod, and descend to see him sleeping on the spot, and the ministering angels sought to kill him, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu drove them away like one drives away flies.
Jumping ahead, when Yaakov left the house of Lavan, he forgot small jars and returned to retrieve them. There, the angel of Eisav awaited him: וַיֵּאָבֵק אִישׁ עִמּוֹ עַד עֲלוֹת הַשָּׁחַר – and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. The Gemara says (Chullin 91a): מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהֶעֱלוּ אֲבַק מֵרַגְלֵיהֶם עַד כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד – this teaches that the dust from their feet ascended to the Kiseh HaKavod. Can dust be sent skyward in such a fashion and what impact could that even have? Clearly, it’s not literal dust. Rabbeinu Bachya comments, the angel sought to find a sin in him to overpower him but did not find one, and from this, it says: וַיַּרְא כִּי לֹא יָכֹל לוֹ – And he saw that he could not prevail against him. Meaning, he had no ability to overpower him due to any sin, except for the sin of marrying two sisters during their lifetime; this is וַיִּגַּע בְּכַף־יְרֵכוֹ – And he struck the socket of his hip – the punishment was in the place of the sin. Therefore, from Eisav's perspective, the moment Yaakov married two sisters, he was no longer called שָׁלֵם – complete, and one who isn’t complete cannot be on the Kiseh HaKavod! Although there was no sin here, just as there is the dust of lashon hara (אֲבַק לָשׁוֹן הָרַע) and the dust of theft, there is also the dust of immorality – the angel of Eisav said: "He cannot be on the Throne of Glory!"
Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropola writes (Nitzotzei Shimshon, Vayechi), the brothers came to Yosef and said: "Listen, you can do with us as you wish – and you’d be justified in doing so! But know this, whoever touches us will not be on the Kiseh HaKavod! And since you are there – as the ox corresponds to Yosef – therefore we warn you!” The four creatures of the Merkava are a lion, an ox, an eagle, and a man, and Yosef is the likeness of the ox. The word אנ"א – from שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ אָנָּא וְחַטָּאתָם – is an acronym for three of the four images: א'ריה נ'שר א'דם. The brothers were hinting to Yosef that if he is cruel and does not forgive them, the likeness of the ox will not be fixed in the Kiseh HaKavod. Therefore, שָׂא נָא – please forgive. ש"א נ"א is an acronym for the complete set: ש'ור א'ריה נ'שר א'דם; “Forgive us so that the Kiseh HaKavod will be complete." Yosef answered הֲתַחַת אֱ-לֹהִים אָנִי – he was at the feet of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so to speak, on the leg of the Kiseh HaKavod. And he was not about to give up that honor – meaning, he was indeed going to forgive them and not jeopardize losing that position on the Merkava, as they are warning.
The Be'er Moshe of Ozharov, however, insists that Yaakov Avinu did indeed issue such a command before his death. He quotes the Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 2) on the Pasuk reflecting Yaacov issuing burial instructions: וַיַּעֲשׂוּ בָנָיו לוֹ כֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּם.
Yaakov commanded his sons to carry him in the order of the banners (דְּגָלִים), which means to the four directions (just as was repeated for the Mishkan), and corresponding to the four legs of the Merkava. It was there he commanded his sons to be unified and in complete achdut, connected like the four legs of the Kiseh HaKavod. Thus, the brothers said to Yosef, “in addition to the command you were given to bring up our father, he commanded us all in the order of the banners, directly implying that we should all be united as one.”
The Chatam Sofer adds, it seems they hinted at their father having commanded before his death, because Yaakov Avinu said: אֵלַי לַשַׁדַּי נִרְאָה, which also forms an acronym for the four images of the Kiseh HaKavod: א'רי ש'ור נ'שר א'דם – אשנ"א.
David HaMelech's Will and Testament
After these learnings, we can now approach the explanation of the Haftarah we read this week. I have had the experience several times of signing a will – people who were about to depart from the world and wrote a will, and I signed that the individual made the will with a clear mind without pressure from family members. I cannot say it’s 100% of them, but at least 90% of wills deal primarily with financial matters. Who gets which apartment; which ones should be sold so that proceeds can be split; which investments should cashed out and given to who; which should be set aside for the writing of a Sefer Torah in my memory; and how much money to give to the Kollel so that avreichim can learn in my merit for eleven months as I clear gehennom. Wonderful, every last dollar is accounted for. However, not all wills are like this. When I read the will and testament of my rebbe, Rabbi Reuven Karelenstein zt"l, there was not a single word related to money – the entire will was about spiritual matters, filled with directives on how to recite brachot and how to deal with money, and many other items worthy of deep study.
In the Haftarah we’ll read this Shabbat, there is also a will and testament. David HaMelech is about to depart from the world and leaves a will. After directing his son and offspring to follow in the ways of Hakadosh Baruch Hu and abide by Torat Moshe, etc., he provides three instructions:
Further, you know what Yoav ben Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s forces, Avner ben Ner and Amasa ben Yeter: he killed them, shedding blood of war in peacetime, staining the girdle of his loins and the sandals on his feet with blood of war. So, act in accordance with your wisdom, and see that his white hair does not go down to the grave in peace. And deal graciously with the sons of Barzillai the Giladi, for they befriended me when I fled from your brother Avshalom; let them be among those that eat at your table. You must also deal with Shimi ben Geira, the Binyami from Bachurim. He insulted me outrageously when I was on my way to Machanaim; but he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by G-d: ‘I will not put you to the sword.’ So do not let him go unpunished; for you are a shrewd man and you will know how to deal with him and send his gray hair down to the grave in blood.”
Look closely at the three parts of this will – there is nothing about money. There is no report of how much money he leaves, in which savings plan, and what the division should be – and David HaMelech indeed left behind money, as is clear in Tanach (Divrei HaYamim I, 22:14). Despite his wealth, David HaMelech does not refer to financial matters in his will.
The commentators, including the Kli Yakar and Be'er Moshe, ask a wonderful question: How do these sections of his will fit with one another? David HaMelech commands to kill two people, Yoav ben Tzeruyah and Shimi ben Geira, and in the middle of these two commandments, he says to give food to the sons of Barzillai HaGiladi. This seems incomprehensible. Either command to kill both first and then command to give food, or command to give food first and then move on to the killing. Why does the command to give food to the sons of Barzillai come between the two killings?!
What happened with the sons of Barzillai? As is known, Avshalom, the son of David, declared a rebellion against him. When David fled from his son, he met Barzillai HaGiladi – a very old man, who said to him: "For me, you’re the true king! You sit at the head of our table, and we are your guests!" This is why David said…
