[Par-reg] For parshat Chaya Sarah
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Thu Nov 13 00:06:38 EST 2014
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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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