Two Approaches to Foreign Cultures
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT BY THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
PARASHAT
VAYESHEV
Sicha of
Harav
Two
Approaches to Foreign Cultures
Translated
by Kaeren Fish
Commenting
on the second verse of our parasha, These are the generations of Yaakov:
Yosef, Rashi writes:
After
the Torah lists the dwelling places of Esav and his descendants, in brief form
since they are not worthy of elaboration as to how they settled there and [a
description] of their wars by which they took possession of [the land of] the
Chorites [the Torah] now goes on to set down the dwelling places of Yaakov and
his descendants, [describing] at length how they came about, since God considers
them worthy of elaboration. Likewise we find in the ten generations from Adam
until Noach [that the text states simply] that So-and-so bore so-and-so, but
when [the text] reaches Noach, it elaborates in greater detail. Likewise, the
ten generations from Noach until Avraham are listed briefly, but when [the text]
reaches Avraham, it elaborates concerning him. This may be compared to a jewel
that falls into some sand: a person will grope about in the sand and sift it
with a sieve until he finds the jewel; once he has found it, he drops the
accumulated sand and takes up the jewel.
Thus,
after briefly listing the captains and kings of Esav, at the end of last weeks
parasha, the Torah now starts its lengthy and elaborate documentation of
Yaakovs actions and his descendants. According to Rashi, the reason for the
lengthy and detailed description of the history of Am Yisrael arises from their
importance: This may be compared to a jewel that falls into some
sand.
However,
the reason for the discrepancy in the length and detail of the respective
textual units also arises from another reason. Quite simply, Am Yisrael
experience many more trials and tribulations! Those processes that occur easily
and naturally among the other nations, follow a most complicated route amongst
Am Yisrael. For this reason, while the nation of Esav lives an uneventful
existence under the rule of eight successive kings, Am Yisrael experiences
problems, goes down to Egypt, emerges from Egypt, sins with the golden calf and
again with the spies, wanders in the wilderness for forty years, and so on,
until eventually establishing a monarchy, centuries later than
Esav.
This
reason leads us to the continuation of the Rashi cited
above:
Another
explanation: And Yaakov sojourned A flax merchants camels appeared, loaded
with flax. The coal merchant exclaimed, How can all that flax fit in [the
storehouse]? A sharp-witted onlooker replied, One spark from your bellows is
enough to burn all of it up! Likewise, when Yaakov beheld all of the captains
[of Esav] listed above, he wondered, Who can conquer all of them? The text
then goes on to say: These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef
, as it is
written, The house of Yaakov will be fire, and the house of Yosef a flame,
and the house of Esav straw (Ovadia 1:18). One spark emerging from Yosef will
consume and burn all of them.
To
my mind, the Midrash is not describing Yaakovs physical fear of Esav, for at
this point Yaakov faces no such danger. What Yaakov fears is the cultural,
spiritual threat. When Am Yisrael see that for Esav everything goes smoothly
while for them everything is long and complicated, they may well be led to think
that there is something wrong with their own culture. Yaakov fears that due to
Esavs early success, Am Yisrael will try to imitate them and their
culture.
This
problem is a familiar one, addressed in many different midrashim, and the
Midrash also offers a solution:
Earlier
on it is written, And these are the kings
, and here it says, And Yaakov
sojourned
. Rabbi Chunia said: This may be compared to a person walking on the
way who sees a pack of dogs, and he is fearful of them, and sits down in the
midst of them. Likewise, when Yaakov saw Esav and his captains, he was fearful
of them and he dwelled in their midst. (Bereishit Rabba
84:5)
This
parable proposes dwelling among the nations as a way of confronting the dangers
that they present to us. According to this approach, it is specifically through
self-confidence and faith in our beliefs that we will succeed in prevailing over
their culture. The midrash is saying that there is no need to fear an alien
culture; therefore we can become familiar with it and dwell in its midst. This
appears to have been the approach of Rav Shimshon
This
approach enjoyed some success, but also met with some failure. Sometimes we have
to keep our distance and not become too familiar with other cultures. Indeed,
this would seem to be precisely the message that Rashis parable of the
coal-merchant is teaching us. Sometimes we need to fight single-mindedly against
other cultures, not to try to get to know them. Sometimes the proper response is
to set off just one spark and thereby to burn down the straw mountain of foreign
culture.
Rashis
parable speaks of two sparks, one emerging from Yaakov and the other from Yosef:
The house of Yaakov will be fire, and the house of Yosef a flame.
Apparently, Yosef and Yaakov represent two different models, corresponding to
the two approaches outlined above.
Yaakov
dwells in the
(This
sicha was delivered on Shabbat parashat Vayeshev 5755
[1994].)