Parshas VaYaKeil-Pekudei - a thought on the first Rashi

Vayakhel Moshe Es Kol Adas Bnei Yisroel.... And Moshe gathered the entire Assembly of the Children of Israel...." (Shemos 35:1). Rashi responds to his (as always, silent) question - "When did this take place?" by indicating it was on the day after Yom Kippur, when Moshe had returned for the second time with the luchos. The Ramban focuses more on the portion of the phrase "Kol Adas Benei Yisroel" to point out that Moshe assembled the entire congregation (both men and women) because they were about to embark on a new portion of Jewish history reunited with HaShem much as a young couple embarks on its new married life in a state of emotional closeness.

The Kli Yakar offers a unique insight that might well be the combination of these two views. He points out that Rashi explains in Parshat Yisro that Moshe also sat as a judge of Bnei Yisroel on the day after Yom Kippur. The Kli Yakar suggests that Moshe had a new and special need (here in Parshat Vayakhel) to gather and speak to Bnei Yisroel - the building of the Mishkan. It appears the Kli Yakar holds this gathering of Bnei Yisroel took place immediately after Yom Kippur because Moshe needed to stress that the sanctity of the Mishkan could not be impaired by the use of stolen property, and the only way to make sure only proper materials were used, each person would need to ask themselves whether the property they intended to donate or use in the construction of the Mishkan was really theirs and not just in their possession but really the property of another person.

Just like Moshe sat in judgment of property claims following Yom Kippur (as related in Parshat Yisro) Moshe gathered Bnei Yisroel here after Yom Kippur to make sure no one would donate or use property that did not belong to them when the Mishkan was built. Pulling in the perspective of the Ramban, the Kli Yakar offers that the clarification of property rights could best be accomplished immediately after Yom Kippur when all the Jewish people had just come through the (joint) passage of teshuvah.

Vayakhel Moshe Es Kol Adas Bnei Yisroel. - Seven words (if you count the "Es") Six if you don't, and our Mephorshim offer multiple lessons through their explanation of the words of the Torah. From these few words, we learn the importance of close emotional bonds (with one another and with HaShem), the sanctity of the Mishkan and how important it is to respect the property rights of our fellow Jews, and perhaps the hardest lesson of all, that Moshe recognized we are ripe for learning and accepting these lessons perhaps only on the day after Yom Kippur, when we are in the mood to be careful with our fellow Jews. Room for improvement? You bet. Hopefully the lessons in these few words can bring us to the point where we can wake up every day with concern for the sanctity of our fellow Jews property and regard for one another with the care and affection of a newly married couple.

Guest posting by
David Katzenstein

Parshas Beshalach - A curious Rashi

“And it was when Pharoah sent out the nation that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, which was near, for God said: ‘Perhaps the people will reconsider when they see a war and they will return to Egypt.’     So God turned the people toward the way of the Wilderness to the Sea of Reeds. And the children of Israel chamushim when they went up from the land of Egypt.”

Shemos 13:17-18

The Biblical commentators grapple with the meaning of the Hebrew word, Chamushim, in the middle of verse 18; apparently, it is either an uncommon word or one that is not simple to translate in this context. Rashi, as do a few others (such as Seforno and Rabbi Samso Raphael Hirsch), translate the word as “armed”. As a proof Rashi notes that the Children of Israel later engage in a number of wars, with Amalek in Sefer Shemos (Exodus) and with Sichon, Og, and Midian in Sefer BaMidbar (Numbers). This verse, then, is merely providing background information on where the Jewish people got their armaments.

The question we could ask on this comment of Rashi is – why is this information offered now? And why is it offered here? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to include this information in the recounting, one chapter earlier (in Parshas Bo), of the different things the Jews took with them when they left Egypt – silver and gold items they Egyptians gave them, unbaked dough that became matzoh, and a lot of livestock (Shemos 12: 34-39)?

Ramban (Nachmonidies) offers one possible way to understand the placement of this information in this week’s Parsha. In his commentary on this verse Ramban, citing the Ibn Ezra, suggests that the Jews regarded the weapons they took as triumphant proof that they were redeemed by God as opposed to escaped slaves (who would, presumably, not have access to weapons stockpiles). This information is placed in this parsha because shortly thereafter we see the Jewish people’s triumphant attitude melt away quickly when they notice the Egyptian military bearing down on them as they encamp at the Red Sea (14:11). The information that they were armed is placed here to tell us a distinct message – that no matter what tools or toys we hold, our self-regard can change in an instant. The only sure factor that offers us protection against a range of dangers is our devotion to God.   

VaYigash - Righteous Grumblings

Shortly after his family resettles in Egypt, Joseph brings his saintly father to meet Pharoah. Struck by how old Jacob looked, Pharoah asks him one question: “How many are the days of the years of your life?” Jacob replies: “The days of the years of my travels are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the years of my life and I have not attained the years of life of my fathers in the days of their travels” (47:8-9). Accepting that Jacob faced many trials in his life with his brother Esau, his wives, and his father-in-law, as well as the abduction of his daughter, bitter infighting between his sons, and the disappearance of his son, his response to Pharoah is still perplexing. Is this the way a righteous man, who (we would think) models an acceptance of God’s will, speaks about his life to a major world leader?   

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban), a noted community leader and scholar in 13^th century Spain, asks this very question. He suggests that Jacob’s answer was intended to address Pharoah’s puzzlement at Jacob’s aged appearance, which was uncommon in Egypt. Jacob’s reply stated, in essence: “I look older than most people because I’ve faced many painful situations.”

I would suggest another rationale for Jacob’s seemingly bitter response to Pharoah. Jacob’s practice was to keep a distance from people who he viewed as unsavory or as potentially poor moral role models for his children and grandchildren. We can see this practice reflected in Jacob’s negative response to his brother Esau’s offer that they travel together (33: 12- 14), and his quick flight from his father in law’s house (Chapter 31). Jacob may have sensed that Pharoah would take a keen interest in the elderly father of his top official, Joseph. So Jacob did what he could to discourage Pharoah’s interest, by offering a sour and bitter outlook on life in their first encounter. It seems that Jacob’s tactic was successful, because the Torah records no further contact between the two men.