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. These are the Sons of Yaakov [5] There is a village called Salaam just outside present day Shechem and this may have been a temporary encampment of Yaakov. "Yaakov encamped there intentionally since he did not want to be a mere transient, but wanted to buy a piece of land on the outskirts of the city right at the outset of his entry into the Land, thereby staking his claim to the Land" (Ramban). "His action teaches us the greatness of Eretz Yisrael and that one who has a portion in it, is considered to have a portion of Olam Haba (Ibn Ezra). Shalem may refer to the original name of the city of which Shechem ben Hamor was then the overlord, that was later renamed Shechem by the sons of Yaakov (Rashbam); this would tie in as we shall see with the spiritual conflict with Shalem, the city of Malkitzedek, Yerushalem. Chazal however saw shalem as referring to the sh'leimut, the complete harmony within Yaakov: in peace from his exile (Ibn Ezra), secure from Eisav (Ramban): "complete physically [despite the injury inflicted by the angel of Eisav], materially [despite the valuable gifts given to Eisav], in his Torah [despite his 20 years exposure to the idolatry and divinations of Lavan]" (Shabbat 33b). "This is especially noteworthy considering the moral dangers facing a person making the most strenuous efforts to secure material independence. All true peace, even of civil life, is not made according to stereotyped external patterns but comes from within one, from one's ideal of the harmonious order of life" (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch). "Rabbi Jose taught that Shechem is a place predestined for misfortune: there Dina was ravished, there the brothers sold Yosef and there the Davidic kingdom [2 Chronicles 10:1] was divided in the days of Rechavam ben Shlomo" (Sanhedrim 102a). "How can this be, when Shechem is one of the three places of which the nations of the world cannot dispute Israel's eternal ownership, when Shechem is one of the three cities of refuge that provide atonement for accidental killing and when it is the chosen inheritance that Yaakov bequeathed to Yosef? It was precisely its heightened spirituality that made it the site of distention and misfortune. That spirituality created in its inhabitants an awareness of themselves and their special religiosity. So Shechem imagined himself to be of a stature that enabled him to join Beit Yaakov through Dina. The dissension between the tribes flowed from their spiritual greatness that made it difficult to subject themselves even temporarily to Yosef. It was the same awareness of self-worth that prevented Yeravam ben Nevat from subjecting himself to the Davidic dynasty. [In the same way the Shem MiShmuel explains the inability to give mutual honor by the talmidim of Rabbi Akiva that caused their deaths, as does the Netziv in the introduction to B'reishit regarding the sinat chinam of Bayit Sheni]. This heightened spirituality that creates a knowledge of the value of one's worth, while causing one to reach greater heights, can lead to arrogance and so to evil. That was the cause of Kayin's sin. Korach believed that he could rectify that sin, but he lacked the humility needed to temper that self-worth, whereas Moshe, who was a king but also the humblest of men, could rectify Kayin's sin "(Shem MiShmuel). The avoidance of ingratitude is one of the reasons advanced for the obligation of Kibud Av vaEim. It was for their ingratitude that Moav and Amon were eternally not permitted for inter-marriage (D'varim 22:4-7), while the prophets saw Israel's idolatry as ingratitude for the constant many and varied gifts, kindnesses and chesed granted them by G-d. Now 'encamped' in our opening verse is one translation of VAYICHAN, however, it also can mean to find favor or do a favor. "From this verse we learn that one should be beholden to a place from which one benefits and show gratitude for those benefits [as Yaakov did for the hospitality of the city]. He sought to find favor in the eyes of the leading citizen, P'NEI HA'IR, so he sent them gifts. Alternatively, he established stores and sold goods cheaply thus contributing to the welfare of the inhabitants" (B'reishit Rabba 79). "Rav taught that he inaugurated a stable coinage, Shmuel taught that he established market places, and Rabbi Yochanan taught that he constructed public bath houses; all these ways were to the benefit of the citizens" (Shabbat 33b). "When Shimon bar Yochai and his son Elazar came out of the cave where they had hidden for 13 years from Roman persecution, their very skin was rusted from the carobs that had formed their diet. They went and bathed in one of the springs of Teveriya and were cured. Rabbi Shimon then said: "We have to repay this kindness as did our forefathers, in that they set up stores and sold cheaply". So they went and planted beans which showed where the bodies slain by the Romans were hidden, brought them to burial and so purified Teveriya. If one has to repay the kindness even of inanimate objects, how much more so are we required to do so for human beings' (B'reishit Rabba 79:6). This is installment #141 in Dr. Tamari’s series [The
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