by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

We are a blessed generation that we have a remarkable gadol in our midst in Rav Yeruchem Olshin shlita.  What follows is a restatement of the Vaad he has given on this week’s Parsha in a simpler English with guided headings to facilitate greater readability and comprehension.  I mostly used the ENglish names of things so as to help those not-so-familiar with the language of Divrei Torah.  If there is any public interest in this please email me at [email protected].  Have a great Shabbos, yh

INTRODUCTION: ABRAHAM’S FIRST DIVINE REVELATION AND THE PROMISE OF LAND

At the beginning of this week’s Torah portion, the text tells us: “And Hashem appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your children I will give this land.’ And he built an altar there to Hashem who had appeared to him.”

RASHI’S INTERPRETATION OF ABRAHAM’S ALTAR

Rashi explains that at that moment, the Creator was giving Abraham two incredible pieces of news:

1. That he would finally have children
2. That his children would be given the Land of Israel According to Rashi, it was in recognition and gratitude for these two pieces of news that Abraham built an altar.

OR HACHAIM’S ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION

However, the Or HaChaim gives an entirely different explanation for the altar that Abraham built. According to the Or HaChaim, this verse reveals the incredible love that Abraham had for the Creator. Here, Hashem had appeared to him and given him the amazing news that he would finally have children, and those children would be given the Land of Israel. Yet, that wasn’t his reason for building the altar. The altar was built as a show of gratitude and joy that he had merited to experience divine revelation.

ABRAHAM’S PRIORITIZATION OF DIVINE REVELATION

The Or HaChaim explains that in Abraham’s eyes, compared to the merit of experiencing divine revelation, those two incredible pieces of news were worth nothing at all. Consider this: For decades upon decades, Abraham had waited for and begged for a child. Pleading with the Creator, he had said, “What will You give me, as I go childless?” The pain was unbearable. And now, finally, Hashem appears to him and tells him that he will have children and a land of his own. Yet, that isn’t what causes him to build an altar.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DIVINE REVELATION

While he was, of course, thankful and joyful about those two pieces of news, in comparison to the merit of experiencing divine revelation, they were insignificant. So, he builds an altar for one reason only – “to Hashem who had appeared to him” – in recognition of and gratitude for the fact that he had merited to experience divine revelation. In his eyes, there could have been no greater reason for joy.

THE PSALMS CONNECTION

This altar demonstrated the verse in Psalms 16: “The fullness of joy is in Your presence.” The altar was Abraham’s expression that no joy could possibly be greater than the merit of experiencing divine revelation.

BAAL HATURIM’S INTERPRETATION AND JOSEPH’S CONCERN

However, the Baal HaTurim gives an entirely different, incredible explanation. “Tivaresh,” says the Baal HaTurim, means “lest you become impoverished in your learning.” Joseph was therefore telling Jacob, “It is better for you to come here, even though it means leaving the Holy Land, lest you become weak in your Torah study, because due to the famine you will be unable to learn properly there (in the Land of Israel)!”

THE PRIMACY OF TORAH STUDY

Imagine! Of all the horrors that famine could bring, Joseph knew that his father’s primary concern would be “pen tivaresh” – that if he were hungry, he wouldn’t be able to study properly.

MESILLAT YESHARIM’S TEACHING ON PERFECTION

This sole concern of both Jacob and Joseph was, of course, an expression of what we’ve quoted many times from the Mesillat Yesharim (Path of the Just). In Chapter 4, he writes that those who are complete in knowledge realize that the only thing truly worth desiring and striving for is perfection in divine service. In fact, he continues, “there is nothing worse than lacking perfection and being distant from it.” Later, he similarly refers to lacking in perfection as “a great trouble and abundant evil.”

UNDERSTANDING JOSEPH’S CONCERN FOR JACOB

With these words, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal) is teaching us that for those who have the proper perspective in divine service, being lacking in perfection is an extremely painful existence. There is simply nothing worse.

JOSEPH’S UNDERSTANDING OF JACOB’S PRIORITIES

With this understanding, we can truly comprehend the concern Joseph was expressing. Joseph understood that for those complete in knowledge, like Jacob, “there is nothing worse than lacking perfection and being distant from it.”

RABBI BARUCH BER’S STORY

In fact, this reminds me of a story about Rabbi Baruch Ber. Times were difficult in Kaminetz. The yeshiva needed money. However, Rabbi Baruch Ber didn’t want to travel to America. He wanted to remain in the study hall, learning with the students. Yet, when he was told that due to the minimal food in the yeshiva, although the students were learning, they weren’t able to learn with the same depth – with the same understanding of the early and later commentators – he immediately set off for America. For Rabbi Baruch Ber, any deficiency in the completeness of the students’ learning was a tremendous trouble. And it was well worth the arduous journey to America.

JOSEPH’S DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF JACOB’S VALUES

Joseph was well aware of all the hardships and difficulties that a famine could bring. But he also knew that for Jacob, “there is nothing worse than lacking perfection and being distant from it.” For Jacob, even the slightest lack of understanding – of depth – of clarity – was the greatest trouble of all.

ISAAC’S CONCERN FOR JACOB’S MOURNING

In truth, it was perhaps this same concern for Jacob that Isaac demonstrated in Parshat Vayeshev. After being told that Joseph had been killed, Jacob began to mourn his death. The Torah tells us, “And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, ‘Because I will descend due to my son as a mourner to the grave.’ And his father cried for him.”

THE SFORNO’S INTERPRETATION

In explaining the words “Because I will descend due to my son as a mourner to the grave,” the Sforno says that Jacob felt responsible for what had happened and therefore accepted upon himself mourning for the rest of his life. And it was for that reason, says the Sforno, that his father Isaac cried for him.

THE OR HACHAIM’S INSIGHT ON JACOB’S HARDSHIPS In fact, with this we can perhaps understand some other words of the Or HaChaim. At the very beginning of Parshat Vayeshev, in explaining the words “These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph,” the Or HaChaim writes that the word “these” negates all previous hardships that Jacob had endured.

THE GREATEST TROUBLE: LOSS OF DIVINE PRESENCE

This Or HaChaim can be understood through the words of the Mesillat Yesharim that we mentioned. The complete in knowledge – the great ones of Israel – can endure many troubles. However, any lack in perfection is a trouble they simply cannot endure.

CONCLUSION: THE ULTIMATE JOY OF DIVINE PRESENCE

With this we can well understand the Or HaChaim with which we began. Abraham had just been given two incredible pieces of news. Hashem appeared to him and informed him that he would yet have a child and that his children would be given the Land of Israel. Yet, as joyous as he was about that news, says the Or HaChaim, that is not why he built an altar. He built an altar in gratitude for having merited divine revelation.