As the Netziv explains, Sefer Breishis, Sefer HaYashar (AZ 25a), teaches us the fundamental social and moral characteristics of Klal Yisrael. In that spirit, allow me to point out three recurring examples of family dynamics that I find in Breishis. These are: the superior status of the first-born; the loving relationship of brothers; and the proper wife's graceful subordination to her husband.
Theory:
The superior status of the first born.
Reality:
- Without exception, the first-borns in the Torah squander their potential and are supplanted by their younger brother. Without exception.
Theory:
The loving relationship of brothers.
Reality:
- Until Moshe and Aharon, in every fraternal relationship in the Torah (where we know something about the family,) one of the brothers tries to kill the other. Moshe and Aharon are the first exception. (Moshe grew up away from home.)
(I was challenged by the sons of Noach and by Avraham and his brothers. Neither is a pircha on my yesod. See end note.)
Theory:
The proper wife's graceful subordination to her husband.
Reality:
- Sarah: Shema b'kolah - most famously, regarding Yishmael.
- Rivkah: Substituting Yaakov for Eisav in receiving the Brachos.
- Rachel and Leah: Rachel enabled Lavan's substitution to succeed, to Yaakov's extreme dismay;
- Yaakov consulted with Rachel and Leah before leaving Lavan's house, despite having been given orders in a nevu'ah; and they, apparently, were the ones to decide who would sleep with Yaakov.
- The pivotal influence of Korach's wife and of On ben Peles' wife on, respectively, utter destruction and from-the-edge-of-the-precipice survival. (San 109b)
- Tzlalfonis, Manoach's wife. The Gemara (Brachos 61a) says that her husband correctly deferred to her superiority.
- Devorah and her husband, Barak. When they went to war, he was afraid to go alone (Shoftim 4:8.) He was right to be afraid. He was the general, but she won the war.
I'd like to add "the importance of avoiding favoritism within a family," both among children and co-wives, but I don't have quite enough examples.
I did not post this for entertainment. I find this pattern strange mitchila v'ad sof, and I am sharing my puzzlement. You're not likely to find it mentioned, and certainly not discussed, in the ubiquitous and oleaginous Parsha Sefarim.
Note
Regarding the constant war among brothers; I found this was a Tanchuma in Parshas Shemos by וראך ושמח בלבו that not only says what I said, but also presents it in the same way. (Buber Parshas Shemos #24.)
Theory:
The superior status of the first born.
Reality:
- Without exception, the first-borns in the Torah squander their potential and are supplanted by their younger brother. Without exception.
Theory:
The loving relationship of brothers.
Reality:
- Until Moshe and Aharon, in every fraternal relationship in the Torah (where we know something about the family,) one of the brothers tries to kill the other. Moshe and Aharon are the first exception. (Moshe grew up away from home.)
(I was challenged by the sons of Noach and by Avraham and his brothers. Neither is a pircha on my yesod. See end note.)
Theory:
The proper wife's graceful subordination to her husband.
Reality:
- Sarah: Shema b'kolah - most famously, regarding Yishmael.
- Rivkah: Substituting Yaakov for Eisav in receiving the Brachos.
- Rachel and Leah: Rachel enabled Lavan's substitution to succeed, to Yaakov's extreme dismay;
- Yaakov consulted with Rachel and Leah before leaving Lavan's house, despite having been given orders in a nevu'ah; and they, apparently, were the ones to decide who would sleep with Yaakov.
- The pivotal influence of Korach's wife and of On ben Peles' wife on, respectively, utter destruction and from-the-edge-of-the-precipice survival. (San 109b)
- Tzlalfonis, Manoach's wife. The Gemara (Brachos 61a) says that her husband correctly deferred to her superiority.
- Devorah and her husband, Barak. When they went to war, he was afraid to go alone (Shoftim 4:8.) He was right to be afraid. He was the general, but she won the war.
I'd like to add "the importance of avoiding favoritism within a family," both among children and co-wives, but I don't have quite enough examples.
I did not post this for entertainment. I find this pattern strange mitchila v'ad sof, and I am sharing my puzzlement. You're not likely to find it mentioned, and certainly not discussed, in the ubiquitous and oleaginous Parsha Sefarim.
Note
Regarding the constant war among brothers; I found this was a Tanchuma in Parshas Shemos by וראך ושמח בלבו that not only says what I said, but also presents it in the same way. (Buber Parshas Shemos #24.)
ד"א לך לקראת משה המדברה. זש"ה מי יתנך כאח לי (שה"ש ח א), ישראל אומרים להקב"ה מי יתנך כאח לי, כאיזה אח, את מוצא מתחילת ברייתו של עולם ועד עכשיו האחין שונאין זה לזה, קין שנא להבל והרגו, שנאמר ויקם קין אל הבל אחיו ויהרגהו (בראשית ד ח), ישמעאל שנא ליצחק, שנאמר ותרא שרה את בן הגר המצרית אשר ילדה לאברהם מצחק (שם כא ט), ואין מצחק אלא שביקש להרגו, שנאמר יקומו נא הנערים וישחקו לפנינו (ש"ב ב יד), ועשו שנא ליעקב, שנאמר ויאמר עשו בלבו וגו' (בראשית כז מא), והשבטים שנאו ליוסף, שנאמר וישנאו אותו (שם לז ד), וכאיזה אח, אמרו ישראל כמשה ואהרן, שנאמר הנה מהטוב ומה נעים וגו' (תהלים קלג א), שהיו אוהבים זה לזה, ומחבבים זה לזה, שבשעה שנטל משה את המלכות, ואהרן כהונה גדולה, לא קנאו זה לזה, אלא היו שמחין, זה בגדולת זה, וזה בגדולת זה, תדע לך שכן אתה מוצא בשעה שאמר לו הקב"ה למשה ועתה (לך) [לכה] ואשלחך אל פרעה וגו' (שמות ג י), א"ל משה שלח נא ביד תשלח (שם ד יג), את סבור שמא עיכב משה שלא לילך, לא עשה אלא כמכבד לאהרן, אמר משה עד שלא עמדתי היה אהרן מתנבא להם שמונים שנה, הוא שנאמר ואודע להם בארץ מצרים (יחזקאל כ ה), ומנין שאהרן היה מתנבא להם, שנאמר ויבא איש אלהים אל עלי, ויאמר אליו כה אמר ה' הנגלה נגליתי (לבית) [אל בית] אביך בהיותם במצרים לבית פרעה ובחור אותו מכל שבטי ישראל לי לכהן (ש"א ב כז כח), אמר לו כל השנים הללו היה אהרן מתנבא להם, ועכשיו אני בא להם בתחום אחי שיהא מיצר, לכך לא ביקש משה לילך, א"ל הקב"ה אהרן אחיך אינו מיצר בדבר הזה, אלא ישמח תדע לך שהוא יוצא לאנפטי שלך, שנאמר הנה הוא יוצא לקראתך וראך ושמח בלבו (שמות ד יד), לא בפיו בלבד אלא בלבו, לבו יותר מפיו, וראך ושמח בלבו, אמר ר' שמעון בן יוחי הלב ששמח בגדולת אחיו ילבש אורים ותומים, שנאמר ונתת אל חשן המשפט את האורים ואת התומים והיו על לב אהרן (שמות כח ל), הוי וגם הנה הוא יוצא לקראתך וראך ושמח בלבו, כיון שאמר לו כך קיבל עליו לילך, מיד נגלה הקב"ה על אהרן, א"ל צא לקראת משה אחיך, כדי שידע שאתה שמח בדבר, לכך נאמר לך לקראת משה המדברה, הוי מי יתנך כאח לי כמשה ואהרן, שהיו אוהבין זה לזה, אמצאך בחוץ אשקך (שה"ש ח א) וילך ויפגשהו בהר האלהים וישק לו (שמות ד כז).
Avraham Nachor and Haran seemed to enjoy a pleasant fraternal relationship, not that this affects your point at all.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the other two, but as regards the elevated status of the firstborn, the Malbim repeatedly says (usually quoting the Kuzari, but occasionally from others) that these parshiyos show the development of the leiv usegulah of the world, and that just as the peel necessarily develops before the fruit, so, too Yishmael and Eisav needed to be born lish'ov es hazuhama prior to the birth of the prodigal sons.
In a more kloliyosdike way, perhaps the highlighting of the unique circumstances of all these cases is, itself, the lesson on social and moral characteristics. The fact that these were unusual happenings, requiring the Torah to extensively comment on them, shows that the default is not like this, while also teaching that we need to not become slavishly bound to social conventions, but break them as necessary in the service of larger ideals.
When Terach arranged that Avraham be thrown into the kivshan at Kasdim, whose side was Nachor on?
DeleteRegarding the Malbim - so you're saying that the lesson here is not regarding a natural fraternal hatred, it is about the tension between the Yeitzer HaTov and the Yeitzer HaRa, with that battle being most pronounced prior to Klal Yisrael at Sinai. Ok, I'll think about that.
I understand that in schools we tell kids they're unique. In fact, I was just maspid a friend, and my point was that he was, like Rebbi Simun in the Yerushalmi in Brachos (אבל תלמיד חכם שמת מי מביא לנו חליפתו, מי מביא לנו תמורתו, והחכמה מאין תמצא ואי זה מקום בינה ונעלמה מעיני כל חי) a unique talmid chacham. But unique starts to fade when you see the same thing over and over and over.
oleaginous?
ReplyDeleteSome of your examples probably fit into Robert Alter's idea of the type scene.
Yes, what we call "Greasy" in yeshivish - excessively pious and willfully blind to issues that require critical thought.
DeleteI never heard of Robert Alter or the idea of the type scene. Thank you for introducing them to me.
I think you find a lot of the yeshivishe world is blind to issues that require critical thought. The divrei torah are sharp, clever etc but they are limited to a restricted number of rules as to how you play the game, what questions you ask etc. Someone once gave me a moshol that the learning of the yeshivishe world is like a game of chess - it has its strict rules, what moves you can make etc. The people learning in yeshiva are excellent at that game. But questions outside of the box, or the why questions are generally not dealt with. So the question as to why we learn so much, what is the point of learning gemara etc is usually answered with it is the greatest mitzvah, and leads you to so many wonderful things, and becomes your greatest love. That is the extent of the answers to the why questions in my limited experience.
ReplyDelete