Pemikiran Yahudi Kejadian 49:22: Akeidat Yitzchak & Derush Chiddushei HaLevanah

The statement of the spies "we cannot go up, (Numbers 13, 31) embodies far more than physical fear of the people of Canaan. It expressed an unwillingness to elevate themselves spiritually. They were not willing to make the sacrifices necessary in order to merit the three gifts mentioned earlier. Their suggestion of the alternative, namely a return to Egypt, clearly shows that their orientation lay in the pursuit of physical and material pleasures, such as abounded in Egypt. Caleb's call "aloh na-aleh," we can go up, stands out in contrast. This is why G'd Himself describes it as ruach acheret, a different spirit. (14, 24) It fell to Joshua, a descendent of Joseph who had displayed the strength of character resisting physical gratification offered by the wife of Potiphar, to emulate the noble example of his ancestor.

Loss of the land of Israel to the Jewish people, is comparable to loss of the garden of Eden to mankind. Loss of Eden at the time was the introduction to the need of mortality. The Jewish people had conquered this mortality at Mount Sinai when they proclaimed the na-asseh venishma, the unqualified acceptance of G'ds law in its entirety. At that time, the domain of the angel of death was restricted, the Jewish people no longer being under his authority. The sin of the spies resulted in the angel of death regaining his authority over the Jewish people. (Bamidbar Rabbah 37) Life in the land of Israel is of a quality similar to what life in the garden of Eden had been. Midrash Eycha 1, states that whenever Israel is carrying out the Lord's will, it enhances His power. Whenever Israel fails to act in accordance with G'ds will, it causes His power to be diminished. The concept is based on the respective verses (Deut. 32,18) "The rock that begat you, you have weakened," as well as Numbers 14,17, "and now I pray let the power of G'd become great, as You have said for it to be proclaimed." The "weakness" of G'ds power referred to, does not stem from objective causes, but from a self imposed discipline that G'd has assumed. This fact, unknown to the gentiles, on occasion prevents G'd from displaying His power. When the Jewish people sin, and thereby forfeit G'ds promises or direct guidance, this may be perceived by the gentiles as a weakening of G'ds power. Similarly, when the Jewish people do perform the mitzvot, thereby qualifying for the reward promised them by G'd, the nations of the world who observe the good fortune of G'ds chosen people, will be impressed with His power correspondingly. When Moses prayed to G'd, pleading for the life of the nation, saying "now let Your power be great," he referred to this concept. Why, he asks, allow the nations to think that Your power has waned when they look at the misfortunes befalling the chosen nation? They will think that the denial of the land of Canaan to the Jews is simply proof of G'ds inability. They will not think that temporary causes have delayed the execution of G'ds avowed purpose. (as would be implied if we understood the word yecholet as a verb) Rather, they will be convinced that the task had proved somewhat beyond G'ds power. (using the word yecholet as a noun) Since, as we have seen, G'd Himself submits to the rules of laws He has created, to the point of allowing His freedom of action to be curtailed through the behaviour of others, we can understand the penalty of denying the land of Israel to the generation that accepted the majority report of the spies. The right to dispossess the Canaanites was embodied in the Jewish people’s superior moral conduct. Now the Jewish people had demonstrated that in spite of the revelation at Mount Sinai, and in spite of all the loving care lavished on the Jewish people ever since the Exodus, they had not risen to the challenge posed by the task of conquering the holy land. Now G'd had no legal means to expel the resident nation in favour of the Jews. The Jewish people belatedly declaring a readiness to risk their physical lives in order to achieve the conquest, had become meaningless. Once G'd had decreed that they would die in the desert, the only thing that they had left to lose was time. Therefore, they could not do the kind of teshuvah repentance that would demonstrate that their basic attitude had changed. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi in our opening Midrash summarizes the whole episode by showing the bride possessing three desirable qualities. Beauty represents visible attractiveness, an appeal to the senses, man's physical comfort. Wealth represents the useful. Nobility of ancestry represents the bride's superior moral qualities. Since all three qualities were combined in a single woman, union with a man becomes not only permissible but desirable, and an expression of G'ds purpose for man. Such a union would result in a life of discipline. A land blessed with similar attributes, would also enable the people on it to live a life of discipline. When the son insisted on looking over the bride, this was not because he did not trust his father who had,after all, always provided for him. It was because he did trust his father and because he knew him. The son looked for a way to avoid the moral commitment implied by this marriage. The father, though he realised his son's motives, was in a quandary all the same. Had he refused the son's request, he himself would have provided the fuel for the son's rebellion. The despatch of the spies needs to be seen in the same light. Regrettably, throughout the millenia, ever since the first Tishah be Av, we have still not learned to use the land of Israel and its bounty to help us discipline our lives and to assure ourselves of chayim shekullam aruchim, a life of infinite duration.

Before I will begin explaining the next passage,³⁶I.e., before beginning the interpretation of the passage from the Zohar that follows. I would like to draw a possible connection between the statement of our Sages that the moon entered the domain of the sun and the words of the prophet Chabakuk,³⁷Chabakuk 3:11. “The sun and the moon stood in their domains.” In that verse, the hei of the word zevulah, translated as “in their domains,” is written without a mapik (i.e., a “diacritic,” a mark indicating that the letter should be read as a consonant).³⁸As will shortly be stated, Tosfos Yom Tov advances the interpretation of zevulah as “its (the sun’s) domain.” He prefaces his statements by saying that were that to be the interpretation, the hei should be written with a mapik. Hence, he agrees that this is not the simple meaning of the verse. Nevertheless, according to the approach of derush, there is room for the interpretation that he will advance. Thus, Rashi comments on that word:In their domains – Whenever a word requires a lamed at its beginning, a hei may be used at its end. The verse refers to the actions of the sun and the moon during the war against Givon, as reflected by the Targum.”³⁹See Yehoshua 10:12. Similarly, Radak comments on that verse: The sun and the moon – In the war of Yehoshua…. In their domains – In the heavens, which serve them as a domain and as a home, as it is written:⁴⁰Ibid. 10:13. “And the sun stood in the center of the sky.” The word zevulah contains an extra hei, like the hei of the word lailah, for the word is accented on the penultimate syllable. Radak is saying that the hei at the end of the word zevulah is extra and does not connote the feminine, just as the word lailah is masculine, as reflected in the verse,⁴¹Bereishis 41:11. Hebrew words ending with the letter hei are often feminine. However, this does not apply when the word is accented on the penultimate syllable. In such words the hei is called “extra,” i.e. it serves no grammatical function. Thus, although the noun lailah, “night,” ends in a hei, since the word is accented on the penultimate syllable, it is quantified by echad, the masculine form of the number one. Thus, we see that lailah is masculine, not feminine. “And we dreamt… on one night.” However, the way of the Midrashim is to give explanations even to extra letters.⁴²As Tosfos Yom Tov will proceed to explain, in the mode of derush, the hei may be understood as feminine possessive. Also, the phrase, “The sun and the moon” requires explanation because the words are written without the connecting letter vav, i.e., without the word “and”. Also, the term amad, “stood,” requires explanation because seemingly, it should have been written with a plural form. True, the singular form could be interpreted as meaning, “each stood individually,” as in the verse,⁴³Ibid. 49:22. See the commentaries of Rashi and Ibn Ezra, who explain that the singular form of the verb “strode” is used with “maidens”, which is plural, for the reason Tosfos Yom Tov offers here in the main text. “Maidens strode,” where a singular verb is used for a plural noun to imply that each one strode individually. Here, too, the intent is that both the sun and the moon stood individually. Nevertheless, there is room to explain, following the mode of derush, why the plural form is not used. Therefore, I maintain that the word “sun” in this verse can be understood as an introductory phrase, as if to say, “Let me tell you what happened concerning the sun.” Now, there are places in Scripture where the word “sun” takes a masculine form, as in the verses, “the sun emerged,”⁴⁴Bereishis 19:23. and “and when the sun sets.”⁴⁵Vayikra 22:7. However, there are other verses, e.g., “If the sun shines upon him,”⁴⁶Shmos 22:2. and “And as the sun was setting,”⁴⁷Bereishis 16:17. where the word “sun” takes a feminine form. Thus, the word zevulah could be understood as meaning “the sun’s domain.” Thus, the verse could be interpreted as meaning, “The sun – the moon stood in its domain,” i.e., to borrow the wording of our Sages mentioned above, the moon entered the domain and sphere of the sun.