A Real Blessing
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Yaakov is going to die and the exile begins. He
delivers parting blessings - at least
that is what the text says [49:28].
All these are tribes of Israel, twelve [of
them]; and this is what their father spoke to
them and
he
blessed them. He blessed them each with
his own unique blessing.
But
one wonders? Consider some choice excerpts from
the first three blessing recipients: Reuven,
Shimon and Levi:
Reuven, you are my firstborn, ..
Unstable as water, you shall no longer be
superior, for you have gone up your father's
bed. You profaned my couch by going up.
Shimon and Levi are brothers. Instruments of
violence are their wares. My soul will not enter
their secret council, let my honor not be
identified with their assembly. .. Cursed be
their anger for it is powerful, and their fury
for it is cruel. I will disperse them throughout
Yaakov and scatter them throughout [the land of]
Israel.
Leaving one to wonder with blessings like
these .. Given Yehuda's history, it is
no wonder that a famous midrash (cited by Rashi)
relates Yehuda's predictable angst when
approaching father Yaakov for his
blessing:
Because he [Yaakov] reproved the first brothers
with harsh words, Yehudah began retreating
backwards (so that he not reprove him for the
incident with Tamar;) whereupon Yaakov called
him with comforting words: "Yehudah, you are not
like them."
The
Torah however calls them blessings - and thus
blessings they must; the keen reader must
conclude that a deep analysis of Yaakov's words
must indeed yield blessing. We seek to find it.
We
commence with Rashi's words regarding Shimon &
Levi:
Even while reprimanding them he cursed only
their anger. This is what Bilam meant when he
said: "How can I curse one whom G-d has not
cursed?
Even
in the heat of rebuke, Yaakov knows how to
criticize. It is their anger, not they
who are cursed. The skilled parent knows to
criticize the behavior, not the kid. Bad
behavior - not bad boy! For the one
who is a bad boy, when facing a good/bad choice
might subconsciously reason: well if I am a
bad boy then.. Yaakov thus teaches us an
artful form of critique - one that elevates
person even as it critiques behavior.
But
there is more here. Let us focus on Shimon/Levi
through the prism of three meforshim:
1. Seforno
- Their anger shall be
diminished because of their humble
state and search for sustenance [caused by their
division and being spread out].
2. Rashi/Ibn
Ezra:
Divide and Conquer -I will
separate them from one another ... they [Levi
and Shimon] will be divided.
3.
Akeidat Yitzchak:Anger and temper,
although undesirable qualities, may sometimes
prove useful in arousing the heroic in man.
Soldiers in battle are spurred to bravery and
courage by anger and indignation. Yaakov had
the same idea in mind. It was advisable that
the qualities of anger and passion that had been
concentrated in Shimon and Levi should be
dispersed among all the tribes of Israel.
All of them would share some of it. A little
spread everywhere would prove useful, but if
concentrated in one place would be dangerous.
Diminish, Divide or Sublimate . Notice that no
one says vent. Dealing with anger by
punching a bag or ripping a garment might yield
a short-term good feel but does not deal with
the essential problem. To the contrary, it
strengthens the bad attribute.
And
where is the blessing to be found? For Akeidas
Yitchak, the answer is in the proper channeling
of the God-given anger that Shimon/Levi [and
ourselves] are bestowed with. For Seforno/Rashi/Ibn
Ezra, it is in figuring out a strategy to to
peck away and dilute the anger. For both, the
blessing is to be found in dealing with the
issues. And that precisely is Yaakov's blessing.
Consider the converse - a life of evasiveness,
blind to one's imperfections and a slave to
desire. Is that not an accursed
life? Nobody ever said that blessing is easy!
A
deeper problem remains: When it happened, the
Torah describes Yaakov's response to
Shimon/Levi's bloody behavior [Bereishis,
34:30-31]
Yaakov said to Shimon and Levi, "You have made
trouble for me, making me obnoxious to the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the
Perizzites. [Since] I am few in number, they
will gather together and attack me. I and my
house [family] will be destroyed. They said,
"Should he make our sister into a harlot?"
Yaakov's critique of Shimon/Levi's behavior is a
[significant] technical problem. Yaakov
did not principally object to their killing of
the Shechem men[1]
- his problem is existential [it may be right
, but can we survive it?] That objection
however, eventually fades away: [Bereishis,
35:1-4]
Elokim said to Yaakov, "Arise, go up to Beis Eil
and live there; make an altar there to the
Almighty .. Yaakov [then] said to his
household, and to everyone .. "Get rid of the
foreign gods in your midst. Purify yourselves
and change your garments. .. They gave Yaakov
all the foreign gods that were in their hands..
Yaakov buried them under the oak [tree] which
was near Shechem. .. The terror of Elokim
was upon the cities that were around them, and
they did not pursue the sons of Yaakov.
Given
that Yaakov [and Bnei Yisrael]'s survival is no
longer a question - shouldn't Yaakov have been
silent? Yet, now in his Shechem retrospective,
Yaakov's criticism of Shimon and Levi grows
ever-more harsh.
My
soul will not enter their secret council, let my
honor not be identified with their assembly. ..
Cursed be their anger for it is powerful, and
their fury for it is cruel.
Ramban expounds:
For they the men of Shechem did not sin against
them at all; they entered the covenant
(circumcision)
and
perhaps they will return to Hashem and be part
of the house f Avraham.. and he was
also angry so that no one should say that it was
Yaakov's counsel that this matter was done and
it will be a great profaning of God's name that
from a prophet of Hashem such a massacre could
happen
Yaakov's critique is no longer technical; his
essential critique is a. you blew a big kiruv
opportunity and b. exposed us to a
potentially massive chillul Hashem! -
leaving us to wonder: why did Yaakov wait for
so long to register that critique - all along
the way withholding his true feelings from
his children?
One
resolution might be a matter of timing. Not
every critical thought need be expressed,
period. And when absolutely necessary, it can
and [often] should wait. The art of
appropriate critique can be found in the timing
as much as in the form. Right after the
Shechem episode - the brothers were not in
mekabel mode and would simply be unable to
hear real rebuke. They might be able to hear the
danger argument. Yaakov knew when to say what
and thus waited for many years [and for his
impending demise] to bare his soul. In our
myriad web of relationships, the notion of
appropriate timing and form is one that as
spouses, children, employers, employees,
friends, rabbis and parents we might want to
consider
But
many commentaries look beyond timing and posit
that something in the interim happened that
reframes Yaakov's perspective -
for
even as the Shechem story was complete, Yaakov's
perspective was dynamic. Listen to
Yaakov's enigmatic words to Shimon/Levi
For in their anger they killed a man [Shechem]
and through their willfulness they maimed an
ox.
Rashi: they wished to exterminate Yosef
who is called "ox," as it is said: "His glory is
like a first-born ox"
Yosef's downfall and sale is spearheaded by
Shimon/Levi. Ok. But somehow,
Yaakov
links the Shechem episode with sale of Yosef
[2] , making for a puzzling equation? In
piercing the enigma, the commentaries emerge
with something very deep.
For
Yaakov first considered his children as pure and
pristine zealots - motivated only by their
sister's dishonor. As such, his only critique
was a technical one.
Subsequent events demonstrate otherwise. Shimon
and Levi spearhead Yosef's downfall. Certainly
we are talking about people of great piety and
subtle argumentation; nevertheless, Yaakov's
new critique is: if you were really as
sincere as you claim regarding your sibling
[sister] Dinah, how could you have sold your
sibling [brother] Yosef? Your subsequent
actions belie your articulated righteous
motivations! Yaakov now proceeds to
express his substantive problems with Shimon and
Levi's actions - reminding us of a
Complex man might articulate and advocate
passionately for self-righteousness. Indeed he
might convince others (and e even himself); but
the question that one must always ask [away from
the mic/camera] is: what's my real emes - the
truth of truths. Beyond what I say, what
motivates me- nobility, self interest or
something in between?
As
Yaakov departs from this world, his demand for
all his children - to Shimon and Levi [and you
and I] is to be really real with ourselves. When
we achieve this, it shall surely be a blessed
life.
Good Shabbos [from Los Angeles],
Asher Brander
[1] Cf. Ramban/Rambam
Bereishis 34 for an explanation of the halachic
justification - an issue that is beyond our
scope.
2 Did Yaakov know that
the brothers' sold Yosef? Ramban says
explicitly:no! Rashi, in several places
indicates that Yaakov had serious suspicions.
This Rashi would indicate that there was
minimally suspicion and perhaps at some point
even had definite knowledge.