Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vaera
These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 177, Magic
Shows: More Than Meets the Eye.
Good Shabbos!
Reuven & Shimon's Grandchildren Never Saw Rabbi Meir's Back
At the beginning of this week's Parsha, the Torah lists the genealogy of
Moshe Rabbeinu [our Teacher]. The Torah begins by listing the sons of
Reuven and Shimon, without listing their grandsons. Then the Torah lists
Levi's sons and grandsons and even some of his great-grandsons (Moshe and
Aaron), and finishes with Aaron's sons and grandsons [who were Levi's
great-great- great-grandsons].
The Seforno asks why in discussing the first two tribes the Torah only
lists the names of the children, but when it reaches Levi, the Torah lists
the names of the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren as well. The
Seforno answers that Levi's grandchildren were special individuals so they
merited having their names mentioned. Reuven's grandchildren and Shimeon's
grandchildren were not significant individuals so they did not merit having
their names mentioned.
The reason why Levi's grandchildren were special, the Seforno explains, is
because Levi lived longer than Reuven and Shimon. Therefore Levi saw and
lived with and taught his grandchildren. Since Levi had a personal
connection with his grandchildren, the grandchildren became special.
This teaches us that there is something special about having a zeida
[grandfather] around. A grandfather can impart something that a father
cannot. Unfortunately, Reuven and Shimon died earlier and never had a
chance to learn with and share with their grandchildren. Levi's
grandchildren had the benefit of having Zeida Levi in the house. That made
all the difference in the world.
Part of the background to the Seforno's explanation is that Levi was not
just any grandfather. Levi was the son of Yaakov Avinu. Levi's
grandchildren had a grandfather in their house that was from a different
generation, a generation that saw Yaakov Avinu and even Yitzchak Avinu.
Therefore, Levi was a special person.
The Talmud [Eruvin 13b] relates that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi [Rabbeinu
HaKadosh] attributed his own greatness to the fact that he had seen "the
back" of Rabbi Meir. Rabbeinu HaKadosh, the editor of the Mishneh felt that
the fact that he saw Rabbi Meir from his back made him better in learning
than all of his colleagues. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi added, "Had I seen him
from his [Rabbi Meir] front, I would have been even greater".
This passage is perhaps allegorical. I once heard a very nice
interpretation of this Gemara from Rabbi Berel Wein. The Gemara is saying
that Rabbi Meir was from a different generation. Rabbeinu HaKadosh was the
last of the Tanaim. But there was a whole generation of Tanaim that
preceded Rabbeinu HaKadosh and Rabbi Meir was the last of that generation.
What Rebbi is saying is, "I at least saw the tail end of a different
generation. I saw Gedolim! I saw Rabbi Meir. I saw what it meant to really
be a Tanna. Even if it was the tail-end, even if it was Rabbi Meir towards
the end of his life, that made an indelible impression upon me."
Rabbi Frand added the following observation:
I feel bad for my students, because I can say that at least "I saw Rabbi
Meir from the back." I was fortunate to have at least seen the Rosh
Yeshiva, Rav Yaakov Ruderman, zt"l. I can at least say that I saw someone
who knew the Chofetz Chaim. Those who learned in the Yeshivas Ner Yisroel
during the Rosh Yeshiva's lifetime knew someone who talked to Reb Chaim
Ozer, who sat at Reb Chaim's table. We at least saw the back of that
generation. Therefore, we are different. And so are all those of my
generation, who saw the giants of the past generation in whatever Yeshivas
that they may have studied. But my students did not see that. They never
even saw the "back of Rabbi Meir".
That is what the grandchildren of Levi saw. They at least saw someone who
saw Yitzchak Avinu and Yaakov Avinu. They at least had a relationship to
that generation. That made all the difference. Therefore Levi's
grandchildren were different. They had a link to something irreplaceable, a
connection to a more beautiful generation, something that was unfortunately
lost from the grandchildren of Reuven and Shimon.
Don't Start Tampering With the "Little Yuds"
There is an interesting Medrash in this week's Parsha: When G-d gave the
Torah to the Jewish people, He gave them positive and negative
commandments, and He gave the king his own set of commandments such as "Do
not take too many wives". King Solomon said that this law did not apply to
him. He felt that he could have many wives without being negatively
affected. At that moment, the letter yud at the beginning of the word
Yarbeh in the verse 'Lo Yarbeh lo Nashim' (do not take too many wives) came
and complained before G-d that Solomon was ignoring him. "Today it is a
little yud, tomorrow it will be the word, until the entire Torah is
nullified". G-d responded to the yud, "Solomon and a thousand like him will
become nullified, but even the little point of the yud will not become
nullified." The Medrash concludes, "Solomon took many wives and in fact
they affected him."
The Sefer Beis Av by Rav Elyakim Schlessinger quotes an opinion that gives
a tremendously keen insight into this Medrash. Technically speaking,
Solomon was right. He saw in himself that he had the ability to take many
wives without being affected and he was right! But G-d caused it to affect
him, because the little yud was also right. The yud was right that if
Solomon can start tampering with Torah and saying this applies and this
does not apply, then the whole show is over. The whole Torah will become
nullified.
If Torah becomes a smorgasbord from which one can pick and choose, then it
is no longer Torah. This is the meaning of the Medrash. Let Solomon fall
from his stature (where in fact the multiplicity of wives should not have
affected him) -- I will cause Solomon embarrassment, but that will be
worthwhile because if we start up with the 'kutzo shel yud' then the whole
package will unravel. Therefore, in order to set a precedent, G-d caused
Solomon to be influenced.
Glossary
Gedolim -- Great (Torah scholar)s
Tana(im) -- Rabbi(s) from the time of the Mishneh
Sources and Personalities
Seforno -- Rav Ovadiah Seforno (1470-1550); Italy.
Rav Elyakim Schlessinger -- a Rosh HaYeshiva in London
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion (#177). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is:
Magic Shows: More Than Meets the Eye . The other halachic portions for Parshas Shemos from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
