Rashi in His Own Words
בראשית מ"ט ,א :'וַיִּקְרָא יַעֲקֹב אֶל בָנָיו וַיֹאמֶר הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם אֵת אֲשֶר יִּקְרָא אֶתְכֶם בְאַחֲרִּ ית הַיָמִּים : ב': הִּקָבְצוּ וְשִּמְעוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב וְשִּמְעוּ אֶל יִּשְרָאֵל אֲבִּיכֶם:
רש"י ד"ה ואגידה לכם :בקש לגלות את הקץ ונסתלקה שכינה ממנו והתחיל אומר דברים אחרים:
Bereishis 49:1: Yaakov called for his sons and said, "Gather and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days. 2: Gather and listen, sons of Yaakov, and listen to Yisroel, your father.
Rashi Heading - and I will tell you: He attempted to reveal the End of Days, but the Shechinah withdrew from him. He, therefore, began saying other things.
Synopsis
In this week's portion, Vayechi, we are told of Yaakov's passing. Before his death, he told his children to gather together for him to say to them what would happen at the End of Days. He then said they should gather and listen to his words. After this, he blesses his children and tells them prophetically various things that would occur to their descendants, the Tribes of Israel, in the future.
Rashi cites the words of the first verse, "and I will tell you," and explains that "he attempted to reveal the time of the Messianic revelation, but Hashem's presence withdrew from him. He, therefore, began saying other things." Why doesn't Rashi immediately explain that it refers to their father's prophetic words regarding their tribes? Why must he say that "the End of Days" literally means the end of days as we know them?
The explanation is that there are three Hebrew words for verbally relating something to someone else. One is "Dibbur - דיבור – speaking." Another is "Amirah - אמירה - saying." The third is "Haggadah - הגדה - telling." Despite the apparent similarity between these three words, they are not precisely synonymous. The first, Dibbur, speaking, refers to saying something merely with one's mouth. He may not believe in or agree with what he is saying. The second, Amirah, meaning saying, is communicating what he believes superficially but not with all of his heart. Haggadah, telling, is called by the holy Zohar "words of wisdom." It refers to words that come from the depths of one's heart.
Here, Yaakov prophetically told his children, "הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם – gather, and I will tell you," using the word "Haggadah," meaning that he wished to impart to them the innermost secret of the Torah. This secret is the time of the Messianic Redemption. At that time, the innermost, most concealed part of the soul will connect with Hashem's innermost part through the innermost part of the Torah.
Rashi's Explanation
In this week's Torah portion, Vayechi, the Torah tells of our forefather Yaakov's passing. Before his passing, the Torah tells us, "Yaakov called for his sons and said, 'Gather, and I will tell you what will happen to you at the End of days. Gather and listen, sons of Yaakov, and listen to Yisroel, your father.'" Rashi comments on the words "and I will tell you," that "He attempted to reveal the End, but the Shechinah withdrew from him. Therefore, he began saying other things." Immediately after that, he prophetically describes to his children things that will occur to their descendants, the tribes of Israel, in the future. He also blesses them.
Rashi is explaining Peshat. According to the simple explanation of the verse, what reason is there to say that he wanted to tell them the time of the Messianic Redemption? Perhaps all that he wanted to say was that which he did tell them, the future of the twelve tribes that descend from them?
Some supercommentaries say that Rashi's proof is from the expression "the End of Days." This expression is used throughout the Tanach to reference the end of this world as we know it, i.e., the ultimate Redemption.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
This explanation seems to have several difficulties. First of all, while it is true that the expression "the end of days" often refers to the ultimate Redemption, we do find instances where this is not true. For example, Bilaam said, "... I will advise you what this nation will do to your people at the end of days." Rashi explains that this refers to the time of King David. Secondly, even if this does refer to the End, why must Rashi say that Yaakov intended to reveal its time?
Regarding the exact time of the ultimate Redemption, Hashem says, so to speak, that "I have kept My intentions in My Heart, and not revealed them to My Mouth." In other words, this means Hashem has not revealed the time of the End. Perhaps Yaakov wanted to tell his children about events at that time, i.e., the time of the ultimate Redemption. We see from Rashi further on in the Parshah that he did reveal several future events. Finally, we need to understand why Rashi feels compelled to explain it in this manner, according to Peshat, the simple explanation.
The Explanation
The explanation is as follows. In the first verse which we cited, the Torah says that "Yaakov called for his sons and said, 'Gather, and I will tell you what will happen to you at the end of days.'" In other words, he asked his children to gather together. In the second verse, he once again told them, "Gather and listen, sons of Yaakov, and listen to Yisroel, your father." We see that he gathered them twice, once in verse one and a second time in verse two. Yet, he did not say a thing between the two verses. He only began speaking to them after the second time that he gathered them together. Each "gathering" was to tell them something. What he told them must have been related to the second time he got them together. Why doesn't the Torah tell us what he told them the first time he gathered them? It must be that he intended to say something to them, but something prevented him from doing so. Therefore, Rashi says that Yaakov tried to reveal the End to his children. However, he couldn't because the Shechinah withdrew from him. That was why Yaakov gathered them again and began talking about other things.
We know that Yaakov wanted to say something but could not do so. The question is why Rashi says it was the time of the End that he wished to reveal; perhaps he wanted to announce events that would occur at that time.
The Hebrew language is unlike any other. It is called the "Holy Tongue." It contains no actual synonyms; instead, each word has a different shade of meaning. Three Hebrew words convey verbally relating something to someone else. One is "Dibbur - דיבור – speaking." Another is "Amirah - אמירה - saying." The third is "Haggadah - הגדה - telling." The holy Zohar and Chassidic philosophy explain the distinction between these words. The first, Dibbur or speaking, refers to saying something merely with one's mouth. It may be that he does not believe in or agree with what he is saying.
Amirah, or saying, is saying that he believes superficially but does not honestly believe with all of his heart. We can see this in a law that the Rambam writes. Sometimes, a Jewish person will say something contrary to the Torah; likewise, he may refrain from saying something the Torah obligates him to. As our Sages say, "The eyes see and (as a result of this) the heart desires." His "evil inclination" is coercing him to speak or remain silent, contrary to G-d's command. However, his innermost heart desires to fulfill Hashem's order. Haggadah, or telling, is called by the holy Zohar "words of wisdom," i.e., words that come from the depths of one's heart.
The same is true regarding the Holy One, blessed be He. When the Torah uses Haggadah, it conveys that He is drawing down His deepest, innermost secrets. Therefore, the Sages tell us about Aggadah: "Would you like to recognize Hashem? Learn Aggadah! You will thereby recognize the Holy One, blessed be He." Aggadah, the innermost part of the Torah, reveals the innermost aspect of Hashem.
Here, Yaakov told his children, "הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם – gather, and I will tell you." He used the word "Haggadah," indicating that he wished to impart the most hidden, profound secret. That is, namely, the time of the ultimate Redemption. At that time, the innermost, most concealed part of the soul will connect with Hashem's innermost part through the innermost part of the Torah.
A Deeper Lesson from Rashi
From this, we can learn an essential lesson in our service to Hashem. The generations following the giving of the Torah have declined. There are those who (mistakenly) think that our "orphaned generation" cannot possibly receive the revelations of the future Redemption. How can we if earlier generations, which were more significant than ours, did not merit this revelation?
We can learn the answer to this from our Rashi. The Sages tell us that "the actions of the Patriarchs provide a message to their children." However, they provide us with much more than a message. The deeds performed by Avrohom, Yitzchok, and Yaakov allow us to perform the same actions they did. Because Yaakov "attempted to reveal the End," he gave this power to all his children at all times. Even a generation from which "the Shechinah withdrew," an era like ours with incomparable concealment of G-d's presence and total (spiritual) darkness, can reveal the End. In the blink of an eye, we can bring the complete Redemption.
The fact that some claim that our generation does not deserve it, etc., is the most significant sign that now is the time for the revelation of Moshiach. The Sages tell us, "Moshiach will come when we are distracted." The most significant distraction is that we are in a generation where some say logically, Moshiach cannot come. It is the sign that the Redemption is so close.
The meaning of the above saying of the Sages is not that God forbid we must be distracted from the coming of Moshiach. On the contrary, it is a fundamental principle of our faith that we must await his coming daily. Instead, the meaning is that even though the arrival of Moshiach does not logically appear imminent, nonetheless, we fervently wait for his coming every moment of every day.
(Adapted from a talk given on Shabbos Parshas Vayechi, 5725)
