Commentaire de citation sur La Genèse 25:27

The definition of being תמים, perfect, includes the requirement that a person’s external appearance mirrors his internal but invisible virtues, and that what he says reflects what he truly feels. It is a fact that our patriarch Avraham was the root of faith in G’d and of those who believe in the exclusivity and uniquness of G’d. When it comes to matters of faith it is indispensable that what one professes to believe and what one does in fact believe must coincide. Anyone who says one thing while believing another belongs to the group of individuals of whom the psalmist (Psalms 78, 36-37) has said: ויפתוהו בפיהם ובלשונם יכזבו-לו, ולבם לא-נכון עמו ולא נאמנו בבריתו, “Yet they deceived Him with their speech, lied to Him with their words; their hearts were inconstant toward Him; they were untrue to His covenant.” This is why the Torah has formulated the requirement to be “perfect” as a positive commandment in Deut 18,13 by writing תמים תהיה עם ה' אלוקיך, “be wholehearted with the Lord your G’d.” Being “wholehearted” is one of the highest virtues, and the Torah refers approvingly to such people as Noach, Yitzchak, and Yaakov as having practiced this virtue (compare Genesis 6,9; 25,27; Bereshit Rabbah 64,3). We read in Psalms 15,2 הולך תמים ופועל צדק, “he who lives without blame and does what is right and acknowledges the truth in his heart;” these words refer to Avraham. Psalm 101,2 “אשכילה בדרך תמים, “I direct my reason in the path of moral integrity,” extols the virtue of תמימות as one that David tries to attain. In Psalm 41,13 David credits G’d’s support of him by attributing it to his integrity; ואני בתומי תמכת בי ותציבני לפניך לעולם, “You will support me because of my integrity and let me abide in Your presence forever.” Solomon also was keenly aware of the importance of this virtue and this is why he referred to it both in Proverbs 10,9הולך בתומים ילך בטח , He who walks in integrity walks securely,” and in Proverbs 11,20 where he writes ורצונו תמימי דרך, “but G’d delights in those who are blameless in their ways.”

8) The ideal personality is engaged in Torah study on a permanent basis like our Patriarch Jacob whom the Torah (Genesis 25,27) describes as a ישב אהלים, a dweller of tents. The word ישב refers to a permanent presence. Moses alluded to this quality when he said וחצרות, and referred to the courtyards of the Lord as the study halls.

According to a Midrashic approach as found both in Tanchuma and Bereshit Rabbah, Joseph was selected as Yaakov’s prime issue as he was so like his father. This is what the Torah meant when writing כי בן זקונים הוא לו, that his features resembled those of his father. He also resembled his father in that many experiences which Yaakov endured were more or less duplicated in the life of Joseph. Whereas Yaakov had been pursued by his brother Esau, Joseph was persecuted by his brothers. Just as Yaakov’s mother had been barren for many years, so Joseph’s mother had been barren for many years. Just as Yaakov was born without a foreskin, so Joseph was born without a foreskin. We derive this from the fact that Yaakov was described by the Torah as איש תם, a perfectly formed human being, i.e. one that did not need to be circumcised in order to make him whole. The term תם is only used in connection with circumcised people as G’d told Avraham that in order to become תמים, perfect, whole, he had to circumcise himself (Genesis 17,1). The reason the sages believe that Joseph too was born without a foreskin is because the Torah equates Yaakov and Joseph in writing יעקב יוסף, as if to say that what applied to Yaakov applied to Joseph also. These similarities also showed up in that just as Yaakov’s mother experienced a difficult pregnancy and birth, so did Joseph’s mother experience difficulty when giving birth to Binyamin. Just as Yaakov’s mother gave birth to only two sons so did Joseph’s mother give birth to only two sons. Yaakov and Joseph both married while outside the land of Canaan. The children of both Yaakov and Joseph were born outside the land of Canaan. Both Yaakov and Joseph experienced the company of angels protecting them. Rabbi Yannai (compare Bereshit Rabbah 84,14) claims that Joseph was met by three angels while he searched for his brothers. He bases himself on the word איש, “man,” appearing three separate times in verses 15-16 in our chapter. Just as Yaakov emerged from a dream containing a vision spiritually uplifted, so Joseph emerged similarly uplifted after having certain dreams. Just as the environment of Yaakov (the house of Lavan, and, according to some sources the entire region) experienced G’d’s blessing, as well as the famine coming to an end when he descended to Egypt, so Joseph’s presence both in the house of Potiphar and in Egypt generally proved a blessing for all those around him. Just as Yaakov died in Egypt and his remains were embalmed there only to be buried in the land of Israel eventually, so Joseph died in Egypt, was embalmed there and eventually was reburied in the land of Israel.

Sons of man The sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are called man. About Abraham it is stated (in Gen. 20:7): “Restore the man’s wife.” About Isaac it is stated (ibid. 24:65): “Who is that man...?” About Jacob, it is stated (ibid. 25:27): “and Jacob was a plain man.”

And the Lord is the God of the hosts Just as I was then, so am I now, and had you walked with Me wholeheartedly, like Jacob your father, I would have acted toward you as I acted toward him.