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The Kli Yakar - Parshat Vayishlach

27/11/2015

Battling Evil in All Its Guises:
- a Fly
- a Loving Brother
- an Enemy Armed to the Teeth
- a Terrifying Force that Attacks You with a Power and Skill Far Greater than Your Own When You are Most Vulnerable
- Someone Who Fights You by Tossing into Your Eyes Something as Seemingly Insignificant as Dust

Predatory "Love"

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother, to Esav, and he is also going out toward you, and four hundred men are with him." (32:7)

….as if demonstrating brotherhood and love, yet even in this, which is in contrast to [Esav’s standard attitude toward Yaakov], we still see this contrary to how it appears – it’s confusing because “he is going out toward you. [As if Esav is taking the first steps toward reconciliation.]

And so Yaakov said, “Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esav, who is presenting himself as a brother. But really, he is Esav in all his evil and a deceitful hunter. And Hashem is to me as One Who helps me against those who present themselves as helpful, loving people while the hatred is hidden in their heart.”

Taavah is Blind

And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. (32:25)

The word ish, which is generally translated as “man,” is also the name of a type of angel. (Similar to how malachim can mean either “messengers” or “angels.”)

This is a famous verse that has also been made into a very uplifting song in Hebrew.

The Kli Yakar explains:

….the majority of Sages decided that this angel is Same"l, the angelic representative of Esav, who is called “Same"l Esav” because all his desire and his salvation is to blind the eyes of a person and to strike him with blindness and to blind his mind’s eye until one who looks can no longer see the Truth and come toward and see the Face of Hashem in the secret meanings Hashem hid in the Torah for those who truly fear Him because [Same"l] is satan (the main Heavenly prosecutor).

He is the Angel of Death, and he is the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) [Bava Batra 17]….all his schemes are meant to blind the eyes of a person until he cannot even see the Sun.

Then the Kli Yakar explains the machinations of the Yetzer Hara so that we can protect ourselves accordingly, explaining things according to Brachot 61, which compares the Yetzer Hara to a fly, using the verse “sin is squatting at the entrance” (Beresheit 4:7):

….because a fly will not just squat on a person’s intact flesh because his mouth does not have the ability to create a new opening in intact flesh.

Therefore, the fly must squat between the edges in a place where he finds a small opening.

He will squat there and expand the opening of the wound.

Likewise, the Yetzer Hara does not bond with a person who is spiritually intact and has not “broken through his own fence” and has not made an opening for sin and has banned sin.

And if a person is whole in all his deeds, then he has no affiliation or dealings with the Yetzer Hara because the Yetzer Hara cannot overcome him at all.

However, when a person himself makes a small opening….even with a small transgression, then the Yetzer Hara comes immediately to bond with him and says to him, “You are my bone and my flesh.”

….and so Same"l, the Guardian Angel of Esav….could not bond with Yaakov as long there was no sin in Yaakov….

….but when Yaakov went out a tiny bit from the “fence” of histapkut (being satisfied with whatever he had), then “Yaakov remained alone.” And there are those who say that he was trapped in a place of danger because night is the time when all the mizikin (harmful spiritual entities) gather together and Yaakov remained alone at night for the sake of “small bottles” (pachim katanim)….and for the sake of a small item considered totally discardable, he remained alone in a place of danger.

Then Same"l said, “Aha! I have found a sin* for myself.”

And Yaakov started to descend spiritually and made himself a little bit blinded, for who is blind like those who love money?

....And then Same"l said, “Now is the time to battle and to wrap my arms around him (l’chabek). And behold, I will increase impurity and fill his eyes with dust and dirt so that his mind’s eye will be completely blinded.

Obviously, the Kli Yakar is taking a lesson for all of us out of this event, and not demeaning Yaakov’s great stature as being materialistic in the way that normal people tend to be. (And I can't resist pointing out that Rebbe Nachman has a story about this very issue called The Fly and the Spider.)

The Kli Yakar sees the event as a metaphor for us all to understand what this evil force wants to do us:

….he wanted to blind the mind’s eye like dust does as it rises and blinds the eye of a person. Likewise, it occurred to him to blind the mind’s eye in order to bring a person to the denial of the Supreme God.

The Monotheistic Paradox

It can't be emphasized enough that Judaism recognizes and deals with paradox.

It is this refusal to expand the mind to embrace and accept impossible truths (like how Hashem is behind EVERYTHING, yet we still have free choice and are even rewarded or punished - or forgiven, if we do teshuvah - for those decisions) that is the basic mistake of every other religion.

Judaism forces your thinking to become more complex, yet clearer and simpler at the same time.

The evil force described here does not operate outside of Hashem's Grasp.

It actually serves Hashem. The reason why Jewish history is literally bursting with so many people who were able to attain unfathomable levels of spiritual greatness and goodness is because of their battles with this overwhelming and overreaching force of evil that comes to us in many disguises and guises without ever giving us a break.

Paradoxically, without this Esavic force, we would never even have the chance to achieve our true spiritual potential.

May we never have to face the worst of these battles & may we experience victory every single time at every single level of the battle.

(*The Malbim defines the word used here - aven - as a sin that results from a certain impetuousness, unrestrained by the "fence" of correct behavior and belief.)

Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which is today Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.

The Malbim (1809-1879) was Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel who was born in Russia and served as a rabbi all over Eastern Europe. He was bitterly fought by the Reform Movement for most of his adult life, even suffering brief imprisonment over a false accusation in Rumania by wealthy German Reformers. Fortunately, he left us an amazing commentary on the entire Torah among other valuable works he composed.

This is my own translation and any errors are also mine.

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The Kli Yakar - Parshat Vayetzeh (& Malbim on Yeshayah)

19/11/2015

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This week’s Kli Yakar on Parshat Vayeitzeh (“And he went out….”) is dedicated to Yehonatan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard).
May he be released from captivity speedily and easily, and may he be brought speedily b’komemiut to Eretz Yisrael.

Profound Comfort and a Reality Check

“….and you shall gain strength/spread out westward and eastward and northward and southward….” (28:14)
First, the Kli Yakar quotes Midrash Tehillim: “The salvation does not come to Yisrael until the time that they are in a state of complete lowliness (shiflut).”

The reason for this is that all the time that they aren’t in a state of complete lowliness, they don’t place their trust in Hashem and they think of strategies on how to be rescued from a trap by means of human strategies, and therefore, Hashem distances a person and increases sorrow because they didn’t trust in the salvation of Hashem….

The Kli Yakar points out that the West Wind and the East Wind are parallel, yet opposites because the East presents sunrise and the West presents sunset. And that sometimes Yisrael’s “sun” sets completely (like in the West), but it will rise again (as the Sun does daily). At the same time, Yisrael’s “sun” does not always rise with its full light, just like in the season of Tevet (winter), the Sun certainly rises in the East, but with a dimmer light (due either to weather conditions or one's geographical location, i.e. the farther North you are, the less the sun rises).

The Talmud says "northward and southward" because even if they will be like the North Wind that contains "a source of torment and light shall be eclipsed" (Isaiah 5:30) and it has no light at all, thus will be Yisrael completely devoid of light. From that state, they will ascend to the last edge that will face the South Wind, which is called here "dar rom" (dwells on high) because the Sun shines eternally, calling it "and it dwells on high." And so the shining of the sun of Yisrael will continue forever as it says, "Your sun shall no longer set...." (Isaiah 60:20) And they will dwell in the world on top of the world (rumo shel olam).
And this is a promise regarding the final Redemption.

The quote above from Yeshayahu 5:30 deserves a closer look, especially in these times. Let’s see it with Rashi, which I’ve taken from here with a couple of adjustments to follow the translation according to the Malbim.
“And he shall rumble over it on that day like the rumble of the sea, and he shall look to the land and behold darkness; the tormented one and the light shall be eclipsed when its darkening comes.”
And he will rumble: That enemy [will rumble] at the people of the Lord, mentioned above.
like the rumbling of the sea: whose waves roar, so will he come with roaring armies.
and he will look to the land: Heb. וְנִבַּט, an expression of looking. Israel will look and hope that the kings of the land, upon whom they rely, will assist them, like the matter that is stated (infra 31:1): “Those who go down to Egypt for aid.”
and behold darkness: for they will have no support.
the tormented one and the light shall become eclipsed: Comp. (infra 31:3) “And the helper shall stumble and the one who is helped shall fall.” He who is tormented, upon whom the trouble has come, as well as he who comes to bring light to him, both of them will darken. Some interpret צַר as the moon, whose light was diminished, צַר [meaning narrow,] and אוֹר as the sun, [meaning light].
in its darkening: Heb. בַּעֲרִיפֶיהָ. When its darkening comes. An expression similar to (Deut. 32:2): “Shall drip (יַעֲרֹף) like rain,” for so is the nature that when rain falls, the light darkens.

It sounds exactly like what's goin on in the world right now, with the above-stated results.

The Malbim's Interpretation of Yeshayah/Isaiah 5:30
There is nothing like Torah poetry and metaphor. The Malbim explains the above verse:

After it describes the terror of the enemy (oyev)* as the image of an attacking and roaring lion, it presents another metaphorical description of terror. This image depicts a nation conquered by an enemy as if it's a ship under assault by the ocean. The ocean is raging and the waves are rising and crashing, and the ship seems about to break apart.
And regarding this, it says:
"And he shall rumble over it on that day like the growling of the sea"….to show how the loudness of the enemy (oyev) resembles the rumble of the water to its waves.
"And he shall look to the land" describes how the ship’s passengers struggle and exhaust themselves by rowing to dry land to human settlement – yet they are unable because they have been overwhelmed by all the dangers threatening to break apart the ship.
"And behold, the darkness" – engulfing darkness surrounds them and they cannot see the coast.
"The source of the torment (tzar)*" – a rock and a huge boulder stand before them and they fear they will be shipwrecked on the reefs [a hidden danger even today, large rock reefs hidden under water can sink ships that run into them - Dassie].
"And sea fog (ohr)*" – before them are dense fog and clouds that descend to drink of the ocean waters and it is a danger to ships, as is known.
"When its darkening comes" – Because the cloud - which is the sea fog - poured its rain upon them and its cloud scattered its sea fog in bursts and floods and darkness eclipses everything from the darkness and rain and there is no hope of rescue because all the sailors’ knowledge is then swallowed up.
And this is an excellent description of great torment and utter despair.

*Enemy (oyev) – Elsewhere, the Malbim defines oyev as a hidden enemy who hates you and wishes you evil.
*Source of torment (tzar) – Elsewhere, the Malbim defines tzar as an enemy who actively torments you (as opposed to, for example, a soneh, which he defines as one who hates you without wishing evil upon you)
*Sea fog (ohr) – Though ohr usually means light, Eyov/Job 36 uses the word ohr to describe a type of precipitation derived from the root of the word ye’ohr – meaning generally a river or specifically, the Nile.
Sea fog differs from regular fog because it consists of sea spray and salt crystals that become sea fog via the process the Malbim describes above.
Interestingly, this totally different interpretation does not seem to contradict Rashi’s interpretation of ohr as light. In times of torment, it certainly does seem as if all light has been eclipsed and also that there is a kind of blinding fog or spray that is doing the eclipsing and making the darkness even darker and more bewildering.

May we take this opportunity to throw the full weight of our trust upon Hashem.

Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which is today Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.
The Malbim (1809-1879) was Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel who was born in Russia and served as rav all over Eastern Europe. He was bitterly fought by the Reform Movement for most of his adult life, even suffering a brief imprisonment on a false accusation in Rumania by wealthy German Reformers. Fortunately, he left us an amazing commentary on the entire Torah among other valuable works he composed.

This is my own translation and any errors are also mine.

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Question Time with God - How to Do It Right

16/11/2015

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In Parshat Toldot, Rivka Imeinu discovers that when she walks past a place of occult worship, she feels her unborn child struggling to come out. Yet when she walks past the study hall of Shem and Ever, she also feels her unborn child struggling to come out.
Rivka Imeinu realizes this disturbing situation means something, but she isn’t sure what.

We know that Chazal presents us with several layers of meaning regarding what was going on here, but now we’re going to focus on what the Kli Yakar says about it.

He says that Rivka Imeinu did not realize that she was carrying twins, but feared that it was one child who was equally attracted to both belief systems. When she asked, “Why is this happening to me?”, the Kli Yakar says she meant: “I am just like the other idol-worshipping women [who will produce an idol-worshipper]! In that case, how am I better than them if, chas v’shalom, there are two Authorities?” (Meaning that their idol possesses equal power to Hashem, chas v’shalom.) "Therefore, 'she went to seek out Hashem' – meaning, to investigate God’s existence."

This is a shocking statement about Rivka Imeinu who, despite having grown up among the most repulsive and leading occultists of that time, clung to monotheism and core Jewish values and exemplified emuna and attachment to Hashem to the point that she achieved ruach hakodesh.

Of course, some Sages say that she went to ask Shem and Ever about this and some say she asked Hashem directly. The Kli Yakar maintains that she communed directly with Hashem, Who replied: “It is the opposite of what you think. There is just One Authority. Really, there are two children in your womb – one will be a servant of Hashem and one will be an idol-worshipper – and God has always been One and there is no other authority besides Him.”

The important thing to note here is that when Rivka Imeinu had doubts, she went straight to the Source. She did not make a whole big “objective” study of the opposing belief system for comparison. Whether you go with the sources that say she asked the greatest Sages of her generation or whether you go with the sources that say she accessed Hashem directly on her own, she still took her question to the True Source.

What Not to Do
Due to having been under the yoke of Christian influence for centuries, even frum people may believe that such basic questioning denotes heresy. According to the Kli Yakar’s interpretation of Rivka Imeinu’s example, it clearly doesn’t.

When people face disturbing situations in life, they often surrender to one of two harmful options:

They question God’s Existence/Goodness/Involvement and decide that they need to investigate outside sources (which actually understand and explain very little, relatively speaking), which then often leads to a slide in their emuna and Torah observance or even to outright atheism.
They repress their feelings and thoughts, which lead to a kind of dissociative state, cognitive dissonance, and a Torah observance which, rather than being vibrant and rich with joy and meaning, becomes superficial and “plastic.”

But really, we are supposed to take our distress, our doubts, and all of our issues directly to Hashem. We don’t need to feel guilty or bad when we run up against a wall because the situation that led to a crisis of faith (or whatever) in the first place is also from Hashem.

Struggle is an inherent part of spiritual growth.

If you don't wrestle with your issues, you won't grow and you won't achieve the potential for which Hashem put you here.

(Although we needn’t necessarily share this struggle with others because many people have not worked out their own issues and will be judgmental and otherwise unhelpful. It depends on who you speak with.)

But first, you need to be able to acknowledge that you have the issue.

It’s interesting (and tragic) that when many people first wrestle with their issues, they ruminate about it in their minds – sometimes delving further into Torah study and mitzvah observance in order to escape their discomfiting thoughts and feelings – and consult with someone else (who is often not entirely helpful), and then start investigating outside sources, often “testing” Hashem by transgressing some core mitzvah to see whether they’ll be struck with lightening or something (generally, they won’t be).

What they usually don’t do is turn directly to Hashem and discuss it with Him using the same amount of time and energy they invest in dealing with it via the other methods.

(Note: I am not belittling in any way Torah learning or mitzvoth as a way of dealing with spiritual angst, but sometimes they’re used as escape or repression when, really, Hashem is throwing a curve ball in order to bring you closer to Him in a very personal and intimate way.)

The Ideal Way to Lead an Examined Life
In Rebbe Nachman’s story of The Cripple, the cripple finds himself alone in a forest with nothing to eat except herbs and grasses and no way out. He forages for a while and then:

Once, he came to an herb the likes of which he had never eaten before. This herb pleased him very much, because he had been eating grasses for a long time, so he knew them very well, and such an herb he had never seen before. He came to the decision to tear it out with its root. Under the root was a diamond.

The Leviat Hachen (Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Bender ztz”l) explains:

….when the cripple found a new herb possessing a flavor he’d never tasted before, he didn’t think it was a coincidence. But even in the difficult situation in which he found himself, he was able to compose his mind and delve into the root of the matter. And this comes to hint to us that it is forbidden to ascribe anything to natural occurrence and coincidence, God forbid. On the contrary, one must pay good attention to everything and to every change that occurs under the sun, to analyze with his mind and to delve into the root of every matter, to examine and to ask why Hashem made it like this.
And the root of every matter is emuna.

The cripple’s scrutiny of the herbs and grasses led him to find the diamond which eventually led him to complete spiritual and physical healing, signifying the achievement of his spiritual potential, which in turn, allowed him to heal the world.

So when we come across something in our life or in ourselves, we shouldn’t just brush it off. We should face it and take it to Hashem – and then see where He takes us.

The translation of the Kli Yakar is from Rabbi Elihu Levine’s superb rendering of Shemot I from Menucha Publishers.
The translation of the Leviat Hachen is my own and any errors are also mine.

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The Kli Yakar - Parshat Toldot I

12/11/2015

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A Guide to Eating Red Meat and the Main Advice for Dealing with Esav

“….and hunt me some game.” (27:3)
The Kli Yakar notes that it seems kind of odd to send your beloved son out to hunt among wild animals when you have a large domesticated flock of quality meat just waiting to be shechted right there at home.
The Torah is teaching us the right attitude and approach toward meat – specifically red meat, as opposed to poultry.

The Kli Yakar points out that all the predatory animals and birds subsist primarily on meat and are known for their cruelty. (To illustrate, contrast lions with cows and hawks with parakeets.) He quotes Devarim 12:20-22: “You may eat as much meat as you desire…. However, you may eat it as you would eat a deer or gazelle; so shall you eat it.”

Because of the dangers and difficulties inherent in hunting, the Kli Yakar notes that game meat cannot be eaten often - which he understands to mean that it should not be eaten frequently.

So do not habituate yourself to eating red meat regularly since it leads to cruelty and evil traits in a person…. For this reason, it says that in the future 'the lion will eat straw like cattle' because there will be peace in the world among all living creatures.

_________________________
“The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esav.” (27:22)
The Kli Yakar refers to Midrash Rabbah, which says that Yaakov (the Jewish people) “chirps” (mitzaftzef) with his voice – “chirping” being an allegory for the Jews learning Torah or praying.
And our Sages derived from this verse that as long as Yaakov “chirps” with his voice, the hands of Esav can have no authority over him.
The Kli Yakar emphasizes that Esav’s blessing cannot be in effect as long as Yaakov “chirps” with his voice – as long as the Jewish people are engaged in prayer (praise, gratitude, and pleading) and Torah study – then that voice will prevail over the “hands” (hands symbolizing involvement in the material and physical world).
He adds:

Rather, certainly the reason he preceded the voice of Yaakov to the hands of Esav is to teach you that the “voice” takes precedence over the “hands.”
And what voice is this?
You must submit that it is the voice of Yaakov in the study halls.

Interestingly, the word used – mitzaftzef – is a type of birdsong, often translated as “chirping” or “whistling.”

(To me, this implies prayer and Torah study being performed in a special way with a kind of tune or melody or song – as it seems today, in that there is a certain learning niggun and that many prayers are sung.)

Ultimately, the Jewish voice is supremely powerful. We must be careful with our voice and, especially in these harsh times, to use it with uplifting spirituality as much as we can.
______________________________
“It will be when you will be aggrieved, you will cast aside his yoke….” (27:40)
The Kli Yakar discusses the well-known concept that Yisrael and Yaakov cannot be together in authority; one must always be down while the other is up.
Then he concludes:

All this implies that Esav will be judged for subjugating Yisrael since he was not given permission to subjugate him, but only to throw off his yoke from upon his neck.

[Emphasis mine - D.]

You can chuck it off, guys. But you can't gore or trample the one who put it on you - no matter how silly you look.

(Note: It’s Rabbi Elihu Levine’s excellent translation that appears in this post. It’s a wonderful book with beautifully readable Hebrew and English fonts that include the Torah text, Rashi, and the Kli Yakar in Hebrew alongside Rabbi Levine’s marvelous translation of the Kli Yakar in English. It is footnoted with outside sources and explanations of what the Kli Yakar mentions in his commentary. The Kli Yakar’s style and Rabbi Levine’s translation are also conducive to just sitting down and reading it through. Only Bereishit I (Beresheit – Toldot), Shemot I, and Shemot II are available in English, but I highly recommend them. They’re available at Feldheim and Ohr Hachaim and I don’t know where else. What I post here is only a drop of the beautiful insights and lessons the Kli Yakar presents.)

Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which today are Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.

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The Kli Yakar - Parshat Chayei Sara

5/11/2015

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The Result of the Tzaar Inherent in Pregnancy and Birth &
How the World Cannot Exist Without Righteous Women

“And the life of Sara was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, these were the years of the life of Sara.” (Genesis 23:1)

The Kli Yakar's explanation of this verse has to do with all the stuff women go through in the process of enabling their husbands to fulfill to their utmost the mitzvah of being fruitful and multiplying.

Upon reading what he wrote, I felt so validated – the Kli Yakar understands what I'm going through!

The Kli Yakar compares the above verse to what the Torah wrote about Avraham’s years (“that he lived”), noting that regarding Sara, it does not say “that she lived.” Why?

Since a woman must bear the pain [tzaar] of birth and pregnancy and she is under the sway of her husband [reshut baalah aleyah], and therefore not all of her days can be called “living.”

I took this to mean that sometimes, a woman might feel she has no life, that all her days and weeks run together during overwhelming times.

Not always, but sometimes.

I took this to mean that feeling overwhelmed at times was not a sign that there's something wrong with you, but that it is a normal phase to go through, a very natural response to, well, the copious tzaar innate to this otherwise blessed experience.

Finding it so validating, I wanted to share this wonderful interpretation with everyone so that they could feel good, too.

But the first person I told it to, a seemingly very charedi lady, responded so negatively that I wanted to run and hide under the table.

After hearing this Kli Yakar, she blared, “BUT I THOUGHT OUR TAFKID WAS LIKE THAT OF THE COHANIM IN THE BEIT HAMIKDASH! HOW CAN HE SAY THAT?!”

Her response made me feel like I had spoken terrible lashon hara about the Kli Yakar.

And I am sure that any woman reading this is into actually understanding what the Kli Yakar actually means and not just having a negatively judgmental (and somewhat heretical) knee-jerk reaction.

But just in case, and because I wish to avoid any cause of revulsion toward such a holy person, I’ll do my best to explain why it seems like such a validating point:

The truth is, there is no contradiction between a woman’s tafkid being as holy as the Kohanic service AND feeling so overwhelmed that it's like her days and nights and weeks run together to the point that she may not feel as if she's really "living.”

I would also like to point out that in the Kli Yakar’s time, the maternal survival of pregnancy and birth were not as much of a given as it is today.

Infant mortality was also much higher then.

This awareness could certainly add to the usual tzaar of pregnancy and birth.

Furthermore, the analogy to the Temple Kohanim can only be taking so far.

Their time of service was very limited (i.e., it did not go on constantly for, say, 20 years).

The Kohanim never needed to drop everything in the middle to go throw up because they were pregnant and the smell of all that roasting meat was making them nauseous.

They never needed to worry about their waters breaking while walking up the Mizbe'ach nor did they need to worry about any of their tasks causing miscarriage.

Nor did they need to complete their tasks using only one arm because a baby was in the other.

In fact, they did not have to engage in any childcare at all while occupied with the korbanot.

And that's the difference.

Nonetheless...

Feeling overwhelmed by your holy tasks does not mean they aren’t holy.

Sorry if you already know this, but there are many who don't, and maybe that needs to be addressed.

The fact is, in the very normal routine of wifely maternal life, there are certainly times when you feel like you aren't really "living" each day.

(This is also true for medical students on internships.)

Recovering emotionally and physically from birth, sleepless nights due to colicky babies or sick children, constantly running after toddlers to make sure they don’t kill themselves, along with dealing with running the actual home and all that entails, plus a woman’s innate need to make her husband happy and hopefully love her – this can all be overwhelming at times.

Unfortunately, today’s messages to women in this situation can be that she simply needs to develop a better attitude, prioritize better, or that she needs to go on a Shabbaton or hire help – all of which may be true....or may not be true.

And regarding the last two, sometimes those require effort and energy that she just doesn’t have (i.e. all the preparation needed to go away for the weekend and the disorder waiting for her when she comes back, finding competent help and supervising it, etc.).

And even with a good attitude and competent help, the experience can still be overwhelming.

For some of us, it’s just nice to have our tzaar validated.

Yes, there are also very good times and many rewards, and there is the fact that doing so is one of the most important and meaningful missions a woman can carry out.

But it can certainly be overwhelming.

And everyone’s situation is different.

Some people experience more tzaar than others.

Contrary to many Western messages that have crept into the frum world, we cannot always control our lives and it is nice that the Kli Yakar both acknowledges & appreciates this aspect of a woman’s role.

“Yitzchak went out to pray in the field toward evening….” (Genesis 24:63)

The Sages said that this indicates that Yitzchak Avinu instituted the afternoon prayer, Mincha. The Kli Yakar concurs, but adds another reason, too:

“Another reason that this prayer was said close to sunset was to hint that just before the setting of Sara’s sun [i.e., Sara’s death], Rivka’s sun rose [i.e., Rivka was born].

Therefore, the text informs us that Rivka arrived just before sunset to tell us that before Sara’s sun set, Rivka’s sun had already risen.

This was in order that the world would not lack righteous women [nashim tzidkanyot] who are to the world like the rotation of the Sun [i.e. vital to the world’s existence]….”

Shabbat Shalom!

(Note: It’s Rabbi Elihu Levine’s excellent translation that appears in this post. It’s a wonderful book with beautifully readable Hebrew and English fonts that include the Torah text, Rashi, and the Kli Yakar in Hebrew alongside Rabbi Levine’s marvelous translation of the Kli Yakar in English. It is footnoted with outside sources and explanations of what the Kli Yakar mentions in his commentary. The Kli Yakar’s style and Rabbi Levine’s translation are also conducive to just sitting down and reading it through. Only Bereishit I (Beresheit – Toldot), Shemot I, and Shemot II are available in English, but I highly recommend them. They’re available at Feldheim and Ohr Hachaim and I don’t know where else. What I post here is only a drop of the beautiful insights and lessons the Kli Yakar presents.)

Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Luntschitz (1550-1619) lived in Bohemia (which is today Poland and Czechoslovakia). He served as rabbi and dayan and wrote several books, the most well-known being his commentary on the Chumash known as the Kli Yakar.

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