An eighth of an eighth

There is a Gemara in Sota 5a says that it is good to be humble, and quantifies this as an eighth of an eighth (1/64). This is seemingly arbitrary as the number is random, and how would we measure 1/64th of arrogance to find the suitable degree of humility?

The Vilna Gaon (biography here) has classic answer, that the 8th pasuk in the 8th parsha (Vayishlach) says "קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ - I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truth that You have rendered Your servant" - on which Rashi elaborates " קטנתי מכל החסדים : נתמעטו זכיותי על ידי החסדים והאמת שעשית עמי - I have become small: My merits have diminished because of the kindnesses and the truth that You have rendered me". This is a classic answer to what the Gemara is referencing, that we should assume that our merits have become small and that we are not actually all that, considering all G-d has done for us.

The Koheles Yitzchak delves deeper into the number 64, and says that the Gemara in Megila 29 tells the story of how all the mountains spoke to G-d, as it were, and competed for the right to have the Ten Commandents given on them, and Mt. Sinai "won" the right, and we are informed that one of the mountains was call Tabor.

In a Gemara in Bava Basra 73, the measurements of Tabor are listed, that it was 4 parsa tall, which is 16 mil, and a mil is the distance a person can walk outside a poulated area on Shabbos - 2,000 amot (cubits), so 16x2,000 cubits = 32,000.

There is a Mishna in Midos 2:1 that says that Mt Sinai was 500 cubits high. 500 fits 64 times into 32,000, ie Mt Sinai was 1/64th as tall as Tabor, and it was selected.

There is a third answered suggested by the Maharsha (biography here), that the word for arrogance in Hebrew - גס - has the numerical value of 63. Being a part of something greater (1/64th) is the way we should perceive things.

A Lame Excuse?

ויאבק איש עמו עד עלות השחר...ותקע כף ירך יעקב בהאבקו עמו - 'and a man wrestled with him until dawn...and his hip-socket was dislocated when he wrestled with him.'

Once we are told that "a man wrestled with him", isn't the repetition - "when he wrestled with him" a little redundant?

The Ksav Sofer points out that Rashi gives two interpretations on the word ויאבק: firstly, the word is from אבק - dust - that they kicked up a lot of dust through their movements. Or שחבקו ואבקו בזרועתיו - that they were embracing with their arms (which is also an essential part of wrestling, of course).

The first interpretation is in line with the way that enemies fight with each other, whereas the second has echoes of the way that friends embrace. This is precisely what Chazal mean when they discuss Maaseh Avos Siman LeBonim (This is a principle that very basically, histroy repeats itself to people's descendants) - see last week's post by SG for another example: there are two ways in which the enemies of the Jewish people try to bring them down (as is famously noted by Chazal in a number of a places - מיד אחי מיד עשו - he needed to be saved from both aspects of Esau as we are about to discuss). The first is by harsh decrees, pogroms, crusades etc. But what happens when they try this? You only need to hear what the Mossad agent who caught Eichmann (according to some - Isser Harel) stated that Eichmann said upon his capture - שמע ישראל ה' אלקינו ה' אחד - Shema Yisrael!

When questioned about how he knew this, he testified- as did many other Nazis, that it didn't matter which type of Jew was in the gas chamber, this was the constant phrase on the lips of those holy martyrs. When oppressed, the Jew gets closer to G-d. This doesn't work for our enemies. So they try another way - they befriend us, influence us, try to make us one of them. Through this, says the Ksav Sofer, they make us be פוסח על שתי סעיפים - straddling both worlds, so that we have one foot in both worlds and thereby are not totally part of either one, making us unable to walk properly...hence the limp This is the second interpretation of Rashi - because the initial wrestling did not work in overcoming us, they resort to the embrace. Unfortunately, history has shown the second method to be deadlier, as it distances us from G-d. Through this ותקע כף ירך יעקב - the point of the Bris is dislocated!

Amazingly, what follows is ויזרח לו השמש - the sun shone for him - i.e. after the dark period which equates to the harsh treatment of Galus, they attempt the sunshine or friendly treatment. This is the bit that damages us the most and we are פוסח על שתי סעיפים - in two places. And - this is the best part - it is this which indicates the inability to walk properly, or the limp. What are the words which follow ויזרח לו השמש? That he had a limp on his hip, the area of the Bris that signifies are relationship with G-d!

Incidentally, this explains the reason he asked to be saved "miyad achi miyad Eisav", on the one hand the destroyer, on the other, his brother, how could he resist?

Geshmack !

I am indebted to my dear chavrusa Gav C for alerting me to this most beautiful idea. Let us hope that, although we all have our imperfections, we still have the strength to lead each other towards the real sunlight. Remember: In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!

What's so special about Jewish children?

The Pasuk says "ה. וַיִּשָּׂא אֶת עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת הַנָּשִׁים וְאֶת הַיְלָדִים וַיֹּאמֶר מִי אֵלֶּה לָּךְ וַיֹּאמַר הַיְלָדִים אֲשֶׁר חָנַן אֱ־לֹהִים אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ - And he (Esau) lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and he said, "Who are these to you?" And he (Yakov) said, "The children with whom God has favored your servant." (33:5)

Esau wasn't a fool, he knew Yakov had his family and entourage with him. This is obvious, as he brought a small army with him to kill them all. So why then, does this conversation take the form of a chance meeting, as if it weren't apparent who they were and what their connection to Yakov - the head of the family, was?

Clearly, there is something else afoot. The Chafetz Chaim says that Esau saw something different in these children, and he was correct for identifying this difference. They were the first Jewish children - we are Bnei Yisrael, and Yakov's children were the first of the lot! He saw a difference in them from other children he'd encountered, and we need only look at Yishmael and Esau themselves to see how children behaved in that society, so naturally Yakov's children owuld act differently.

The Chafetz Chaim explains that the answer to what made them different is in Yakov's answer. He answered "אֲשֶׁר חָנַן אֱ־לֹהִים אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ - with whom God has favored your servant". Why did it not say the normal word for giving - נתן, instead it says חָנַן. The Chafetz Chaim teaches us that there is something else to be learned here that what made these children different was the merit of חָנַן- the Roshei Teivos of the 3 Mitzvos only women can perform - חלה ,נר , נידה - the laws regarding the seperation of Challah, lighting Shabbos candles, and family purity. Yakov said within his reply to his brother what made his children special, that his wives observed these laws. (Hamekubal's blog pointed these obligations out just the other day).

There are other interpretations of the נר part of observance, which just translates as light. The Sforno explains it to mean the light of Torah - it is a mother's obligation to ensure her children know Torah - "v'al titosh Toras imecha". How do we see this? There is a Gemara in Niddah which says that every baby in its mother's womb has 2 things - an angel that teaches the baby the whole Torah, which it forgets at birth when the angel taps its lip, and a light above its head. We don't see babies born with lights above their heads, so what does this mean? This means that the mother provided the circumstances through which the light of Torah shone on the child before its birth, and the mother is meant to nurture this "spark" into a full blown flame throughout the child's life.

There is a short story told about R' Yaakov Galinski and the Chazon Ish circa 1953, that explains us what the light or Torah does. They were walking together in the street at night, and were walking under streetlights. The Chazon Ish said "Wow!" every time he walked under a light, and his student, R' Yaakov asked what was going on. The Chazon Ish obliged, and explained a phenomenal lesson that Neil will appreciate. We are not meant to be arrogant people, but how does one work on this character trait if it is innate? The further away from the streetlight/light of Torah we are, the bigger your shadow appear. The closer we get to the streetlight/the light of Torah, the smaller we realise we actually are.

Geshmack ! Feedback appreciated :)