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שבת שלום - פרשת וישלח
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Video Shiur
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Click play to watch the video shiur by Rav Pesach Wolicki
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News and Notes
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This week is an in-Shabbat,
hosted by Rav Moshe Lichtman
and family. Our students always
look forward to hearing Rav Lichtman's
inspiring divrei Torah and shiurim, as
well as his beautiful davening. This
Shabbat, in addition to speaking at the
Oneg and before Maariv, Rav Lichtman
will be presenting a special shiur
entitled, Zechut Avot v'Zechut Ha'Aretz
- "The Merit of the Forefathers and the
Merit of the Land".
On Sunday, the yeshiva embarks on a one-day
tiyul to the Dead Sea area. In addition to
swimming in the Dead Sea, our students will go
on several hikes, including a hike through
Nahal David, and a climb up Masada.
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Keeping the Waters Pure
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
In this week's parashah we are told that Yaakov went to live in Beit El.
There is a very cryptic comment in the Midrash Rabbah relating to this.
"Rabbi Berachya in the name of Rabbi Levi said, 'All of the months
that Yaakov was in Beit El he was honoring Eisav with the gift' [i.e.
the gift that he had prepared for him at their encounter]. ... Rabbi
Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Abba said, 'All those years that our
father Yaakov was in Beit El, he did not refrain from offering
libations to G-d.'
Rabbi Chanan said, 'Anyone who knows how many libations our father
Yaakov offered in Beit El, knows how to calculate the waters of
Teveria.'" (Bereshit Rabbah 78:16)
What is the meaning of this Midrash? What is the significance of
Yaakov honoring Eisav while living in Beit El? Why is it important to
know that he offered libations all that time? Lastly, what is the
meaning of Rabbi Chanan's statement connecting the libations of Yaakov
at Beit El to an understanding of "the waters of Teveria"?
The Talmud in Bava Batra (74b) quotes a Beraita that states, "The
Jordan river emerges from the cave of Pamias, traverses the sea of
Sivchi and the sea of Teveria, and continues to flow out to the great
sea..."
Tosafot cites an earlier midrashic source stating that the Jordan not
mixing with the "waters of Teveria" through which it passes is a
natural rather than miraculous process.
The sea of Teveria mentioned here is what we know today as the
Kinneret or Sea of Galilee. It is a scientific fact that the Jordan
flows through this body of water. The waters of the Jordan barely mix
with the surrounding Kinneret. This phenomenon is actually visible to
the naked eye. When one looks up close at the Kinneret, one can see a
strip that is a different color running through the water.
I'd like to suggest that this counter-intuitive natural phenomenon can
help us understand the cryptic Midrash above.
All the time that Yaakov was in Beit El, he paid homage to Eisav.
The same gift which he prepared for Eisav when he referred to him as
"my master" and bowed to him, was continually presented to Eisav
throughout the time Yaakov was in Beit El. Beit El - literally
translated as "the house of G-d" - was a place defined by worship to
G-d.
The Midrash is telling us that all the time that Yaakov was living in
Beit El, he continued to pay homage to Eisav. Nevertheless, he "did
not refrain from offering libations to G-d", i.e. he never wavered or
weakened in his dedication to the Almighty.
In light of this, one might be led to question how Yaakov could remain
so wholly and purely dedicated to G-d while at the same time he was
paying tribute to Eisav. Rabbi Chanan responds to this concern by
comparing Yaakov's behavior to the "waters of Teveria".
Just as the waters of Teveria do not mix, even though one body of
water is flowing through another, so too, Yaakov was able to "offer
libations", i.e. to serve G-d wholeheartedly despite also treating
Eisav as his master.
We, like Yaakov our father, live in multiple worlds. We interact with
the world around us. We are citizens of countries and subservient to
legal systems that are not based on the Torah. We engage the western
world, study its wisdom, and work alongside fellow men raised by its
values. At the same time, as Jews, we must remain wholly dedicated to
G-d and the fulfillment of His Will.
It is difficult for many people both within and outside our community
to understand how our dedication to G-d can remain undiluted by our
engagement of the world around us. While it is a challenge, it is not
only possible but imperative that we succeed.
If we fail to engage the modern world we risk losing touch with
reality and stand no chance of affecting the world in a positive way.
On the other hand, if we allow the waters of dedication to G-d to be
diluted, we risk losing our identity.
The answer lies in the words of this very same Midrash. "All those
years that our father Yaakov was in Beit El, he did not refrain from
offering libations to G-d." The way to keep our waters pure as they
flow through the world is to "not refrain" - to make our service to
G-d perpetual, a constant in our lives, part of the routine, day in
and day out.
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