Spiritual and
Ethical Issues in the Historical Books of Tanach;
SPIRITUAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE BEREISHIT STORIES These four books ostensibly are merely the history of Israel from the entry into the Promised Land until the destruction of the Temple and the temporary loss of independent statehood. In fact they are actually, in a specifically Jewish sense, the most deeply religious and spiritual books of the Bible. One does not have to be specifically Jewish to see or feel the religion and spirituality in the revelations of the prophetic writings or in the words of the Tehillim. They speak to all people, as evidenced by the fact that the Bible is still the world's bestseller and there are millions of non-Jews who regularly recite the Psalms. However, it is specifically and intrinsically Jewish to understand that G-d is revealed in the prosaic material, in the political, social and military events in the lives of ordinary men and women, kings and leaders that are described in the Nevim Rishonim. Here are described the ideology and religious thoughts in Judaism, while in Chronicles we have the purely historical. "Creating Beit Yisrael" [2] The wars and the sacrifice of both supersedes Shabbat - Milchemet Mitzva that is obligatory on Israel irrespective of which tribes, and Pesach that is independent of the tribal association of the person offering it" (B'reishit Rabba 70:15). "From the Zohar we learn that Rachel is the revealed world while Leah represents the world of inner spirituality. The sons of Leah are the embodiment of the inner sanctity of Israel; Levi, ancestor of the Kohanim and Leviyim who served in the Bet Hamikdash, Issachar from whom came the scribes and spiritual teachers, and Yehuda the ancestor of Israel's leaders and kings, even of the Mashiach. Rachel, of whom it is written that the descendants of Eisav will only be overcome by her sons; Amalek first by Yehoshua of Efrayim, then by Shaul and Mordechai of Binyamin, provides the protection for that inner sanctity; Mashiach ben Yosef preparing the way for the Son of David" (Harav Frank, Mei Marom). Perhaps that is why Yosef is the protector of Israel in its very first galut, that of Egypt. "There are 2 ways of worshiping Hashem, one that is silent, hidden in mystery and secret while the other is public, visible and clear. The former is the way of Rachel, one that she transmitted to her descendants, while the latter is the ways of the sons of Leah" (Shem Mi Shmuel). Rachel steals the terafim of Lavan and conceals them. Yosef, clothed in the coat of many colors, with his dreams, conceals himself from his brothers. Binyamin who knows of the sale of Yosef yet does not reveal it to Yaakov. Shaul, who hides amongst the baggage and who does not tell his uncle about his being anointed king of Israel. Mordechai, who clothes himself in sackcloth and Esther who sends him clothes to hide the sackcloth and who does not reveal her nation as Mordechai tells her; indeed Purim the salvation brought about by the children of Rachel, is the story of hidden things even of God's Name, of sub-plots and mystery and is observed by masks, costumes and turn- about. The sons of Leah are different. Yehuda who publicly admits the truth of Tamar's claim and takes responsibility for Binyamin's return, Nachshon whose leap into the Red Sea paves the way for Israel's passage, the flag of the tribe of Yehuda which leads the camp through the desert and David, who although he sins, confesses them and repents thus justifying a dynasty, and his descendent Melech HaMashiach who will openly redeem Israel and the world. "The eyes of Leah were soft but Rachel was beautiful of form and beautiful to look at" (Ber. 29:17). Rabbi S. R. Hirsch, noting the Torah's repetitive mention of by Yaakov of 'being her father's sister's son' at his meeting Rachel and Lavan, remarks that it was the characteristics of Rivka that he saw in Rachel; like Yitschak had seen in his wife the beauty of Sarah. "Leah was beautiful but was marred by her eyes which were soft and tender while the beauty of Rachel was without blemish" (Radak). "The Torah, that used additional words to avoid insulting animals, saying the 'animals that are not ritually pure instead of impure ones', surely would not insult tzadikim in this way? Answered Rava: "Leah heard people talking about the 2 sons of Rivka and the 2 daughters of Lavan , and that the eldest son was destined to marry the older daughter and the youngest to marry the younger daughter. She therefore asked after the spiritual character of the two sons and was told that the elder was evil and robbed people while the other one was a complete man and a dweller of tents. Hearing of her fate, she wept until her very eyelashes were wasted, so that her tender and soft eyes were signs of her righteousness" (Bava Kama 123a). "Rabbi Huna taught: See the power of prayer; Leah's set aside even the decrees of Heaven and she thereby merited preceding her sister in marriage to Yaakov and bearing sons " (Ber. Rabba 70:16). "Eisav was the basheret of Leah, so how could she imagine that her prayers could avoid this? Whenever one part of the divided male-female soul distorts and falsifies their intrinsic spirituality then it loses the status of basheret [AriZ"l]. So Leah felt her prayers may set aside her predestined basheret" (Shem MiShmuel). Actually Leah could have simply refused to marry Eisav as we know that a woman cannot be forced to marry against her will. Midrash Rabba (76) tells that Yaakov hid Dinah in a box so that she could be safe from Eisav. God then said: "You withheld her from a circumcised man, verily, an uncircumcised one [Shechem] will take her". To avoid this Leah could have felt that perhaps it would be preferable to marry Eisav than to marry somebody else. "Rather than doing this, she was prepared to storm Heaven with her prayers and by virtue of that she merited being buried with the tzadik in Ma'arat HaMachpela together with the saintly pairs. Had shenot prayed till her very eyes were damaged she would not have merited this and Rachel would have been buried there instead; then there would not have been anybody to plead for Israel. Now, because Leah's eyes were soft from her prayers, Rachel was not buried in Ma'arat HaMachpela but in Bet Lechem. There she could intercede for us on our way to exile; "Rachel is weeping for her children because they are not. Refrain thy voice from tears for they shall come back" (Yirmiyahu 31:15-16)." (Divrei Yonatan, Rabbi Yonatan Eybschutz, 1690-1764, Germany). This is installment #133 in Dr. Tamari’s series on “Tanach and its messages for our times” [The
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