Collateral Confirmed

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Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein

Hashem has blessed and cursed Bnei Yisroel. He declares He would lay waste to the land and exile the people. But in spite of the sins of Bnei Yisroel that brought about this desolation, Hashem promises, "I will remember My covenant with Jacob and also My covenant with Isaac and also My covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land... The Land will be bereft of them... because they were revolted by My ordinances... But despite all this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not... have rejected them to obliterate them... I am Hashem."

In the original Hebrew of this first verse, one will note an unusual spelling of the name Yaakov. Here, as in only four additional places in Tanach, Yaakov is written maleh, full, with an added vov for the vocalization of the "oh" vowel. These five times seem to be related to another name also spelled in an unusual manner five times. The prophet Eliyahu appears five times missing the final vov, being written as Eliyah. How can we explain these contrasting discrepancies?

Rabbi Munk notes that while our first exile began with Yaakov's descent to Egypt, our final redemption will be heralded with Eliyahu's announcement of the imminent arrival of Moshiach.  Rashi teaches us, thatYaakov "borrowed" these letters to ensure that Eliyahu would fulfill that mission and redeem his descendents. The Maharal notes that the straight shape of the letter vov is similar to the shape of a finger. By taking five vovs from Eliyahu, Yaakov was symbolically finalizing the deal with Eliyahu and shaking Eliyahu's hand.

Our verse contains another anomaly. Usually when citing the Patriarchs, we begin with Avraham and end with Yaakov. Here the order is reversed. Rabbi Epstein in Tosfos Bracha considers this order to be the logical order in this context. Since Yaakov was the father of the twelve tribes, he is closest to Bnei Yisroel, as our name connotes, and mentioned first, followed by the grandfather and great grandfather.

The Ner Uziel, Rabbi Uziel Milevsky z”l, takes this idea one step further. Citing the Zohar, Rabbi Milevsky points out that Eliyahu and Pinchas were one and the same. Each was zealous in their service to God. Pinchas risked his life by killing Zimri, the head of the tribe of Shimon, and the Midianite princess for their public display of immorality, and Eliyahu for challenging the priests of Baal during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel. Each zealously guarded the continuity of the Jewish people and their moral and spiritual mission to the world. That is why it will be Eliyahu/Pinchas who will herald the "great day"when the hearts of fathers and sons will be united in knowledge of and service to Hashem. Vov is the letter of connection, translated as "and". When Eliyahu will come, he will link all the generations of the Diaspora together under the banner of God's Torah, just as he is witness to the continuity of the generations as he attends each Jewish baby's bris. In this capacity, Yaakov Avinu is the logical choice to be the first link in repaired chain of the generations. He is the father of the twelve tribes, for the redemption will begin with the children and move upward, generation to generation, as children bring their parents back to Hashem and fathers are reconciled with their children.

This process is happening today. How many young people are returning to the Torah lifestyle and bringing their parents with them on their journey? The generations are coming together under the banner of Torah, and Moshiach is waiting in the wings.

So the process has begun. When will it be complete? Hashem has vowed with His hand on His throne - Keis KaH[Yud Heh] -  that His throne will not be whole until Amalek is eradicated from the world. Rabbi Kofman z”l notes the spelling of Hashem's Name. We would expect the four letters of God's Holy Name, but two letters are missing from this vow, the Vov and an additional Heh. Therefore, Yaakov took the vov five (numerically heh) times to guarantee that Eliyahu would complete his mission and God's throne would be completely restored. This final redemption will be permanent.

More than any other condition, however, we must yearn for the redemption and follow Hashem. We need to have the same desire that Hashem's name should be complete as did Yaakov Avinu. If we merely sing Leshana Habaah b'Yerushalayim, with our lips but not our hearts, we haven't connected as Hashem wants us to. How can we show our desire? Rabbi Gamliel Rabinowitz notes that the reason it is customary to sing about Eliyahu Hanavi at the close of Shabbos is that we want Mashiach to come and tell us of the redemption at this first available moment of the new week. Since we are told Eliyahu will not come on Shabbat, on a Yom Tov, or on an Erev Shabbat or Erev Yom Tov, now that Shabbat is over, Hashem, please send Moshiach immediately to announce the coming of Moshiach, especially since we have just had a "taste" of olam haba by experiencing Shabbat.

Although it may be difficult to find kedushah today, holiness exists permanently on three planes. Shabbat represents the permanence of holiness in time. The Kotel from where the Beit Hamikdosh will be built represents the permanence of holiness in space. The luz bone from which, according to tradition, man's body will be resurrected at the time of Moshiach, represents that permanence in every person. Finally, Eliyahu and Yaakov represents the spiritual component of man that never dies. We bring these to the fore on Motzoai Shabbat when we remember three people associated with that time. First is David, the ancestor of Moshiach. Then is Yaakov, for it says, "A star will emerge from Yaakov." Finally, we sing of Eliyahu, the herald of the redemption. Our job is to yearn for that time so that Eliyahu can retrieve those five vovs.

It was the Beit Hamikdosh that purified the world and infused kedushah in everyone's life, because from Zion went forth Torah and the word of God from Yerushalayim. This was manifest in the miracles that occurred in the Beit Hamikdosh, one of which was that the column of smoke that arose from the sacrifices rose in a straight pillar heavenward no matter what wind blew. Rabbi Kofman z”l writes that the kohanim would point to this column and urge the people that their hearts should also go straight heavenward and not be distracted by the winds of time and the distractions of life.

Rabbi Friedman, the Shvilei Pinchas, wrote a wonderful and profound essay discussing these borrowed vovs. The letter vov is associated with the attribute of emes, truth, the attribute for which both Yaakov Avinu and Eliyahu Hanavi are famous. However, Yaakov's emes is manifest as tiferes, glory, and is a synthesis of emes and chesed, truth and loving kindness. Rabbi Friedman continues by recounting the medrash about Hashem's discussion with the angels concerning the advisability of creating Man. Some angels for whom truth was of primary importance voted against Man's creation, (not that it was a truly democratic process) citing Man's proclivity for lying and sin. Sympathetic angels cited Man's compassionate nature and his acts of kindness. In the end, God threw emes/truth to the ground and created Adam.

The Shvilei Pinchas here makes a profound observation. When looking down from above, as the angels were doing, one has a very clearly delineated perspective of truth. However, when on ground level, those lines are often not exact. The perspective of each person in different, and where he is may provide a different "truth". Therefore, it is only God Himself Who can judge any individual, for only He knows all the factors involved. Our Sages tell us not to judge another until we have reached wherever he is at. But no man can truly reach the exact circumstances of another, and therefore no man can judge another.

God's seal is E-m-es/Truth, for only He sees all, knows all, and understands all. Rabbi Friedman then presents an interesting observation. If we include all the letters of the aleph bet, including all the final letters, we will note that aleph is the first letter, tof is the last letter, and mem is exactly in the middle. The allusion here is that Hashem knows that some people are close to the beginning, on a very lofty spiritual level. They must be judged more strictly, with relatively unbending din. Others may be at the other end of the spectrum and alphabet, far removed from any spirituality, symbolically a tof. These people must be judged most flexibly. And those in the middle must be judged with a mixture of strict judgment and compassion. Since only Hashem is capable of seeing each individual clearly, only He can judge with absolute truth. The truth for a tzadik is different from the truth for a rasha.

Yaakov understood the fine points of emes. When he blessed his sons before his death, he blessed each according to that son's attributes. But Yaakov wanted to incorporate chesed into absolute din; he wanted to include Hashem's thirteen attributes of mercy. So putting six sons on one side and six on the other with himself signifying truth in the center he could fuse the emes/din/gevurah of his father with the chesed of his grandfather and create tiferet. If we itemize the thirteen attributes according to the Arizal's enumeration, we will find v'emes at the exact center, with truth thus connecting the first six attributes of mercy with the final six. As such, continues the Shvilei Pinchas, Yaakov understood that the element of truth must be pervasive, or compassion and judgment will be confused, each being extended to inappropriate individuals.

Yaakov cleverly borrowed the five vov's from Eliyahu to signify a handshake of five fingers. One generally shakes hands with one's right hand, the right side signifying mercy while the left side signifies judgment. (Similarly, in wrapping a meis/meisa for his/her final journey toward judgment, one completes the process by wrapping the right side over the left side, asking Hashem to temper judgment with mercy. CKS)

The Sokochover Rebbe, the Shem MiShmuel, brings us back to the constant battle Hashem has with Amalek. One may notice that Amalek does not battle any other nation except Bnei Yisroel, and he strikes immediately before we receive the Torah. Now we can understand that while Yaakov represents the truth of Hashem, manifested through Bnei Yisroel who bring truth and light to the world through Torah, Amalek represents falsehood and darkness. Yaakov is Yisroel, Prince of God, and Yeshurun/yashar/straight, truthful, while Amalek is twisted falsehood. Yaakov took the vov to remind us to be straight and true. Before Moshiach comes, there will be a war over truth. As individuals, we will constantly be tested as to the truth and validity of our words and actions. Nations will be tested through truth. (The war is already being waged in all the media. What is real news and what is "fake news"?  How far away can Moshiach be?)

Truth must extend beyond superficial appearances, writes the Sifsei Chaim, Rabbi Friedlander z”l. What is the truth of our relationship with others, with family, and especially with Hashem? How "truthful" and focused are we when we daven? Is our public persona the same as our private persona? When we remove the veneer, what lies at our core? (And are we truthful and honest about ourselves, our capabilities and our faults?)

The Sifsei Chaim gives us some pointers. Take just ten minutes a week to internalize and meditate. Am I living my life truthfully? Am I on the right path spiritually and making progress? Certainly, begin with speaking truthfully, not just without lying but also without exaggeration. Don't put on airs. Admit when you don't know something. (The great Rashi saw no shame in admitting he did not understand a particular point.)

The final blessing right before we begin the Shemona Esrei/Silent Meditation implores Hashem to redeem us. We include the name Yisroel five times to arouse Hashem's love for us writes Rav Eliezer Lopian in Letitcha Elyon. There are also five books in the Torah. As we begin the Shemoneh Esrei prayers of supplication, we should try to be aware of what we are asking for and why. In the merit of the truth within the Torah and the way we try to live our lives, we pray that Hashem will send us Eliyahu Hanavi speedily to announce the coming of Moshiach, if not today, then hopefully right after Shabbos as we escort the Queen Shabbos away for the coming week.

As we celebrate next week Yom Yerushalayim, the reunification of Yerushalayim, may Hashem send Eliyahu and Moshiach so that the entire world will recognize the truth that Zion and Yerushalayim is the eternal capital of the land Hashem promised to Bnei Yisroel, "Ki m'Zion tetzeh Torah udvar Hashem M'Yerushalayim/For from Zion, shall Torah come forth and the word of God from Yerushalayim."