Parashat Ha'Shavuah: Shemini

Time is of the Essence

            Part of this week's parashah is dedicated to discussing the sin offerings that Aaron and B'nei Yisrael will bring. One of the korbanot to be sacrificed is a goat. Why was B'nei Yisrael required to offer this korban? Chazal explains that this korban parallels another event in B'nei Yisrael's history: the selling of Joseph by his brothers into slavery.

            This seems like an odd time to remind B'nei Yisrael about an incident that occured years before. Why would God want to draw this connection now?

            Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that, “To everything there is a season” and lists a number of different “times” to live, die, weep and dance. Yet one of these verses discusses something else: “A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together” (3:5).

            Analyzing Joseph's brothers’ sin, we see they had “casted” away one of their stones, their own brother Joseph. Cruel as it may seem, this ultimately helped B'nei Yisrael: since he was sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph and his family were saved from starvation. In comparison, B'nei Yisrael, in the desert, is a nation and not the eleven brothers that sold Joseph into slavery—now, they are a full-fledged nation. This nation saw the Tabernacle as a communal gathering place, where they gathered on Yom Tov and other holidays. As opposed to casting away stones, they are “collecting” their stones together, and become a community.

            During the time of the Brothers, it was necessary to separate Joseph for the greater good of his family, now it is necessary for B'nei Yisrael to congregate and “gather” the individual stones to become part of a larger community.

The brothers needed to separate; B'nei Yisrael needed to come together.

Parashat Ha'Shavuah: Tzav

Then and Now

            It is commonly accepted that we read Parashat Zachor before Purim because Haman was a descendant of Amalek, and Zachor is the commandment upon B'nei Yisrael to “[N]ot forget” (Deuteronomy 25:19) what Amalek did to them. We are also charged with remembering what happened on Purim. Why do we need to remember both things? Additionally, it says in The Scroll of Esther that Haman was an Agagi, or a descendent of the Amaleki king Agag (who fought Saul in Samuel I). Why doesn't the Megillah expressly tell us the connection between Haman and Amalek, thereby not requiring us to read Zachor at all?

            When we look at B'nei Yisrael in the desert (which is when the commandment of Zachor was given to them), they would have been what one might call a “fledgeling nation.” They relied on God for almost everything — food, shelter, and protection from their enemies and the harsh desert climate. In comparison, when we look at the Jews in Megillat Esther, they are a nation, albeit in exile. They are able to band together — as a nation — and fend off their enemies, and ultimately save themselves from annihilation.

            Perhaps these two passages that we read on Purim are not meant to complement each other, but to be compared to one another. When we look at Zachor, we see a nation that is being given everything by God, and that seems to be one of the underlying themes of the last four books of the Torah: B'nei Yisrael's dependence on God. In comparison, we see that God's name is not mentioned once in the entire Megillah; the Jews were able to fend off their enemies without God's direct intervention. In the Megillah, there is no manna falling from the sky. Perhaps these passages show us the growing and maturation of the Jews as a nation that ultimately became what we are today.