[Par-reg] For chaya sara - shiur 1
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Thu Nov 8 21:27:30 EST 2012
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THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]
In Memory of
Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by
Menachem Leibtag
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PARSHAT CHAYEI SARA
A WIFE FROM 'TOLDOT TERACH'
'Yichus' [family lineage] has
always been an important consideration when
selecting one's spouse. Nevertheless,
Avraham's insistence that his 'chosen' son
marry specifically a descendant of his
brother Nachor requires explanation.
In this week's shiur, we
return to our discussion of the 'toldot' in
Sefer Breishit in order to answer this
question.
INTRODUCTION
As you surely must have
noticed, the phrase "eileh toldot..." appears
numerous times in Sefer Breishit. In our
shiur on Parshat Noach, we explained how
these toldot [genealogies] form the
'backbone' of Sefer Breishit.
In that shiur, we also
explained how Sefer Breishit divided into two
distinct sections. The first eleven chapters
included three units that began with
"toldot", each unit containing a primary
story relating to God's dissatisfaction with
mankind's behavior:
Adam's sin in Gan Eden (and Cain's sin) /
chapters 2-4,
The corruption of dor ha-mabul / the
Flood -chps. 5-9
The story of Migdal Bavel & their
dispersion / chps 10-11.
After the story of Migdal Bavel, Sefer
Breishit introduces its second (and primary)
section with "toldot Shem" (see 11:10). From
this point and onward, the focus of the Sefer
shifts to God's choice of Avraham Avinu to
become the forefather of His model nation,
followed by numerous stories that explain who
is chosen (and who is rejected), as why they
are chosen.
Similar to the first section of Sefer
Breishit, each unit in this second section is
also introduced by the phrase "eileh
toldot...", be it 'toldot Yishmael' or
'toldot Yitzchak' etc. - until "eileh toldot
Yaakov" (see 37:2) which introduces the
concluding with the story, describing how all
of Yaakov's offspring are chosen to become
God's special nation - and hence the
"bechira" process is complete.
A PARALLEL PROGRESSION
Even though this 'linear'
progression of "toldot" throughout the Sefer
appears to be rather technical; when we
consider the two sections of Sefer Breishit
(discussed above), a rather amazing
'parallel' progression emerges, as well -
which may allude to the underlying theme of
the entire book!
To show how, we must chart the "toladot"
in the first section of the book, and compare
them to the "toladot" of the second section
of the book. While doing so, we will also
see how the phrase "eileh toldot Terach"
becomes rather significant, and how this may
explain why it was necessary for Yitzchak and
Yaakov to take a wife from Terach's
offspring.
CHARTING THE TOLDOT
The following chart records
the specific names that are included in the
phrase "eileh toldot...". As you study this
chart, note the parallel nature of their
progression.
SEFER BREISHIT - UNITS OF 'EILEH TOLDOT...'
CHAPTERS 1-11
CHAPTERS 11-50
* ADAM (see 5:1)
* SHEM (see 11:10)
ten generations to:
ten generations to:
* NOACH (6:9)
* TERACH (11:27)
3 sons:
3 sons:
Shem, Cham, & Yefet
AVRAHAM, Haran, & Nachor
|
| *YISHMAEL (25:12 -rejected)
* BNEI NOACH (10:1)
* YITZCHAK (26:1)
|
| * ESAV (36:1) - rejected
|
*YAAKOV (37:1-2)
|
| |
70 nations (10:1-32)
'70 nefesh become God's Nation
Note also how the "bechira" process
includes a "dechiya" [rejection] stage
together with each stage of "bechira".
Finally, note how each section concludes with
seventy! [Additional parallels will be noted
as we continue.]
'TEN GENERATIONS' - TWICE!
As the chart shows, each
'section' of Sefer Breishit begins with a
detailed listing of 'ten generations'
Section One: - 5:1-32 / from Adam to
Noach)
Section Two - 11:10-26 / from Shem to
Terach
[Technically speaking one may be 9
generations, but it's the overall pattern
that is very similar. Note also how the
mishna in Pirkei Avot 5:2-3 relates to this
structure.]
This opening 'structural' parallel
supports the thematic parallel between these
two sections, which we discussed in our shiur
on Parshat Breishit. In that shiur, we
explained how the second section of Sefer
Breishit begins with 'toldot Shem', and hence
the story of Avraham's "bechira". As God
chose his offspring in order of lead mankind
in the direction of God - it becomes
significant that this section began with
'Shem', whose name reflects man's purpose -
i.e. to call out 'be-'shem Hashem'.
Strikingly, this structural
parallel extends beyond the similarity of
these two 'ten-generation' units. Note from
the above chart how both the middle and
concluding sections of each list are also
parallel. Most obvious is how we find the
number 70 at the conclusion of each unit.
But more intriguing is the parallel that
emerges in the middle!
Note how:
*Toldot Adam concludes with Noach,
after which we find toldot Noach,
& the story of his 3 sons Shem, Cham, &
Yefet.
(See 5:28-32; 6:9)
* Toldot Shem concludes with Terach,
after which we find toldot Terach,
& the story of his 3 sons Avram, Nachor,
& Haran.
(See 11:24-26; 11:27)
Furthermore, the three sons
of Noach, like the three sons of Terach
receive either a special blessing or curse:
* Avraham, like Shem, is blessed
with the privilege of representing God.
* Haran's son Lot, like Cham's
son Canaan, is involved in a sin relating to
incest.
* Nachor's offspring Rivka,
Rachel & Leah return to 'dwell within the
tent' of the children of Avraham, just as
Yefet is destined to dwell within the 'tent
of Shem'. [See 9:24-27 / 'yaft Elokim
le-Yefet ve-yishkon be-ohalei Shem'.]
Even though the meaning of
these parallels requires further elaboration,
for our purposes here - the parallel itself
calls our attention to the significance of
'toldot Terach'.
TOLDOT TERACH vs. TOLDOT AVRAHAM
In fact, the phrase 'toldot
Terach' appears right where we may have
expected to find a unit beginning with
'toldot Avraham'! To our surprise, even
though we later find units that begin with
'toldot Yitzchak' and 'toldot Yaakov' [and
even 'toldot Yishmael' & 'toldot Esav'], we
never find a unit that begins with 'toldot
Avraham'!
Instead, at the precise spot
where we would expect to find a unit
beginning with 'toldot Avraham', we find a
unit that begins with 'toldot Terach'. This
alone already hints to the fact that there
must be something special about Terach.
This observation also
explains why Sefer Breishit dedicates so much
detail to the story of Lot. Since the
phrase'"toldot Terach' forms the header for
parshiot Lech Lecha, Vayera and Chayei Sara,
this unit must include not only the story of
Avraham, but the story of the children of
Nachor and Haran (Lot), as well.
Thus, in addition to the life story of
Avraham himself, these 'parshiot' also
discuss:
* Lot's decision to leave Avraham Avinu,
preferring the 'good life' in Sdom (13:1-18(
* Avraham's rescue of Lot from the four kings
(14:1-24)
* God's sparing of Lot from destruction of
Sdom (19:1-24)
* The birth of Lot's two sons - Ammon & Moav
(19:30-38)
* The 12 children of Nachor (22:20-24) [8
sons from his wife and 4 from his pilegesh.
(Sounds familiar?)]
* Avraham's marrying off his son to Nachor's
granddaughter
Hence, Parshat Chayei Sarah
forms a most appropriate conclusion for this
unit that began with 'toldot Terach'.
Avraham makes a point of selecting a
daughter-in-law specifically from the family
of his brother, Nachor, thus bringing the
history of 'toldot Terach' full circle. As
we will show in our shiur, all of Terach's
offspring may have potential for bechira.
Therefore, if Yitzchak is to be married, his
wife should be chosen from the family in
which this potential lies.
[This may also explain why Nachor and Avraham
themselves married 'within the family' - the
daughters of Haran (see 11:29 and Rashi's
identification of Yiska as Sara).]
WHY TERACH?
What was so special about
Terach that he 'deserves' his own toldot? It
is really hard to know since the Torah tells
us so little about him.
On the one hand, Sefer
Yehoshua introduces Nachor as almost a
paradigm for the life of an idolater (see
Yehoshua 24:2). Yet, as the end of Parshat
Noach teaches us, Terach was the first person
to recognize the spiritual importance of
Eretz Canaan. He set out to 'make aliya'
even before God had commanded Avraham to do
so (see 11:31 & Seforno's explanation).
Even though this may sound a
bit too 'zionistic', considering that this is
the only detail we find in the Torah
concerning Terach - one could suggest that
Terach's merit lay simply in his having been
the first person to move his family towards
Eretz Canaan.
[In the 'spirit' of 'ma'aseh avot siman
la-banim' - Terach could actually be
considered the first 'Zionist' (in a modern
day sense). Like any good Zionist, Terach
plans to 'make aliya' and even encourages his
family to do so, but he himself never makes
it there.]
We may suggest, however, a
more thematically significant approach.
Terach and his offspring may represent a
certain aspect of the bechira process -
wherein there lies a potential to be chosen -
but only if worthy. Terach's initiative in
this regard may have granted the possibility
of becoming part of 'chosen family' to any of
his offspring who prove themselves deserving
of this distinction.
Avraham Avinu not only
follows his father's lead and continues to
Eretz Canaan, but also becomes a faithful
follower of God's will. He then becomes the
progenitor of God's special nation. Nachor,
however, stays behind. Lot (Haran's son) had
the opportunity to remain with Avraham, but
detaches himself by choosing the 'good life'
in Kikar Ha-yarden (see shiur on Parshat Lech
Lecha). However, Nachor's granddaughter,
Rivka, and great-granddaughters, Rachel &
Leah, prove themselves worthy of joining the
distinctive nation, and work their way back
into the family of Avraham.
In fact, this may explain the reason for
the Torah's minute detail of Rivka's
hospitality - in the story of how she was
chosen to become the wife for Yitzchak.
Even though the bechira
process at times may appear random and
indiscriminate, the framework of 'toldot
Terach' may reflect the importance of
personal commitment in earning that bechira.
These observations can serve as a 'reminder'
that our nation was not chosen simply for the
purpose that we are to receive divine
privilege, but rather towards the purpose
that we understand and internalize the
eternal responsibility of our destiny.
shabbat shalom
menachem
=========
FOR FURTHER IYUN
1. See Ramban on 15:18 where he beautifully
reviews each of God's promises to Avraham
Avinu in Parshat Lech Lecha, and the nature
of their progression, and most important -
how each additional promise reflected some
type of reward to Avraham for his idealistic
behavior. Relate the underlying concept
behind this Ramban to the main points of the
above shiur. See also Seforno on 26:5 in
relation to God's promise to Yitzchak, and
the need of the Avot to 'prove' that they
were worthy of their bechira.
2. 'Ten' generations - in our shiur, we
noted that there were ten generations from
Adam to Noach, and ten as well from Shem to
Terach. To be more precise, there are really
ten from Noach to Avraham (as Pirkei Avot
mentions) and only eight from Shem to Terach,
but we used the 'phrase' ten generations to
reflect the common pattern of continuous list
of a succession of toldot from one generation
to the next beginning with one statement of
'eileh toldot' and ending with a final
statement of 'eileh toldot'. The parallel
remains the same; for the sake of uniformity,
we simply refer to this pattern as 'ten'
generations.
3. TOLDOT AVRAHAM
We saw earlier that every
chosen individual in Sefer Breishit receives
his own 'eileh toldot' except Avraham! If
indeed the header toldot reflects this
bechira process, then certainly Avraham
himself deserves one. Yet, for some reason,
the Torah includes the story of Avraham's
bechira within the category of toldot Terach.
This enigma may suggest something unique
about either Avraham's own bechira or his
ability to have children (or both). In other
words, Avraham's lack of toldot [remember:
literally, offspring] may relate to his
infertility. He and Sarah have a child only
after a long and exasperating process.
Avraham and Sarah's names must be changed
and a miracle must be performed simply for
the child to be born. Even then, the process
has yet to be completed - the child must
return to Hashem at the Akeida. Thus, the
lack of any mention of 'toldot Avraham' could
reflect the difficult travails Avraham must
endure in order to father and raise his
child. [This may also explain why 'Avraham
holid et Yitzchak' is added to 'eileh toldot
Yitzchak'.]
Nonetheless, the question
still remains stronger than the answer.
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