Dear Friends,
I hope this note finds you well and managing these unusual times.
At the opening of the parsha, Yosef is described in two consecutive verses as a na’ar (youth), well connected to his contemporaries, and as the ben zekunim (child of the aged) of Yaakov who would relate to his father with the wisdom of an older person. Abarbanel highlights how this juxtaposition of the two descriptions suggests that Yosef was not simply a creature of his natural personality but had the dexterity to simultaneously and intentionally relate to different people of different generations on their own terms.
While that skill was remarkable, the crossover between those relationships ultimately caused great harm as Yosef differentiated himself from his brothers by speaking to their father negatively about them, by accepting a special status with his father relative to them, and by sharing with them his dreams of ruling over them. Sforno (37:2, 37:5) sees this failure explained by the Torah referring to him as a na’ar, a youth whose inexperience resulted in his failure to anticipate how his behaviors would antagonize and alienate his brothers.
All this underscores how goodness needs to come with a deep and mature understanding of ourselves and of those around us if we are to successfully navigate our relationships.
“One who wishes to become wise should engage in the study of dinei mamonos, monetary law.” This is the closing Mishna in Bava Basra, concluded this past Wednesday by tens of thousands of Daf Yomi and Mishna Yomi learners across the world.
What is unique about the Torah of monetary law that makes us wise?
Torah has two sides, chukim u’mishpatim. On the one hand, it is a system of truth and of justice that is admired by the world at large for its wisdom and understanding, chochmaschem u’vinaschem l’einei ha’amim (Devarim 4:6), while on the other it contains puzzling rules such as shatnez and kosher laws that invite their scorn (Rashi Vayikra 18:4). This is the difference between the mishpatim, the logical rules of Seder Nezikin that are the guidance system for the monetary laws and all our human relationships, versus the chukim, the religious rules that transcend human understanding and express our deference to Hashem and that fill the other five orders of the Talmud.
It is therefore specifically the study of monetary laws, the mishpatim, that necessarily generate wisdom. While our relationship with Hashem is predicated on our faith in His greater and inscrutable wisdom, our relationships with other people are grounded in mutual understanding.
The epic tragedy of Simchas Torah-October 7 came during a period of horrible division within Klal Yisrael, a massive national failure of mutual understanding reminiscent of Yosef and his brothers. A few weeks later, in early November 2023, tens of thousands of Daf Yomi learners began to study the monetary laws of Bava Kama, as if Hashem was assigning us the curriculum we needed to make us wiser and more understanding of one another.
Today, more than a year into this war, we continue to sincerely pray to Hashem for the hostages, the soldiers, the injured, the bereaved, and the displaced, and we express our sincere gratitude to Him for the remarkable miracles we have experienced and the rays of hope that have begun to shine, koh yosif. Let us also say that we have literally learned our lesson, that we will go forward truly wiser for the experience, and for the mishpatim – the Torah of mutual understanding – that we have learned this year.
Have a wonderful Shabbos, and may we be blessed with besoros tovos, truly good news.
Moshe Hauer