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Zugger613Participant
Vayeitzei: Unseen Beauty
In describing Rachel and Leah, the Torah tells us עיני לאה רכות, ורחל היתה יפת תאר. The Zohar cryptically comments that the Torah tells us only Leah had eyes, and not Rachel. The Zohar goes on to label Rachel “beautiful, but without eyes”.
R’ Akiva Tatz explains that Leah is the mother of the nobility of Klal Yisroel, such as the כהנים and the מלכים. But Rachel is the mother of the common Jew, who may not view him or herself as being anything special.
But in truth, every Jew brings something unique and amazing to the world, whether they know it or not. If anything, the unassuming actions of someone who doesn’t consider themselves to be anything major have an extra special charm. Therefore Rachel (and by extension, her descendants) is referred to as being beautiful, but without eyes to see her own beautiful actions with – she didn’t think of herself as being anything special.
לעילו נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום
Zugger613ParticipantChayei Sarah: Look Behind & Look Ahead
The acceptable methods of קנין that can begin a marriage are learnt from a surprising place; from Avraham buying a plot to bury his wife. Why does the Torah teach us how to start a marriage from such a morbid place?
On a philosophical note, R’ Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that in order to go into the future, one needs to first look back into the past. To be successful, every Jewish home must view itself as a continuation of the mission of our ancestors, as a link in the chain going back to this cave in Chevron where the Avos and Imahos lie.
On a psychological note, we can suggest that this is meant to remind us that nothing lasts forever, and we should never take our most cherished relationships for granted.
לעילו נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום
Zugger613ParticipantNoach: The Beauty of the Rainbow 🌈
We know that seeing a rainbow is considered a bad sign: it means that Hashem is so angry that he would destroy the world, if not for the fact that He promised not to.
And yet, this can be hard to internalize. Rainbows are just so beautiful and so nice to look at. Why is it that this sign of wrath is so pleasant?
Perhaps the beauty of the rainbow is supposed to remind us of the second half of Hashem’s statement. True, He is angry enough that He would destroy the world. But why doesn’t He? Because He loves us so much that He simply can’t do it, no matter how much we may deserve it.
The rainbow is the sign of Hashem’s promise never to turn His back on us. No matter how low we may sink, Hashem’s love for us is always there. And that’s beautiful indeed.
לעילוי נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום
Zugger613ParticipantKi Savo: Don’t Deny It
When one brings his ביכורים to the Beis HaMikdosh, one is required to recite a long list of all the good that Hashem has done for us as a nation. Rashi explains that this is so we shouldn’t be כפוי טובה, deniers of the good that Hashem has given us. But why does Rashi say this as a double negative, don’t deny, instead of just saying the simpler phrase הכרת הטוב, recognize the good?
Many suggest that in truth, we can never fully acknowledge everything Hashem has done for us. Literally everything we have is a gift from Hashem: we could never make a list of His gifts that is close to complete. All we can do is not deny how much Hashem has given us.
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, we should be careful not to think only of the all the things that we’d like to ask of Hashem. We must also recognize, or at least not deny, how much Hashem has given to us, and how much we really owe Him.
לעילוי נשמת ר׳ חיים דוב בן בןציון שלום
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