SIBLING RIVALRY

“The Lord said to her: Two peoples are in your wombs, and two nations shall be separated from your innards. One nation will prevail over the other nation and the elder shall serve the younger.” (Bereishit 25:23)

During her difficult pregnancy, Rivkah set out to inquire of Hashem as to the spiritual meaning behind the pain in her belly. She was informed that the twins she was carrying would become two nations and that these nations would strive with each other. Initially, the argument between Yaakov and Esau concerned the legacy of their father, Yitzchak and their grandfather, Avraham – who would lead the nation founded by the first two patriarchs? A similar struggle had taken place between their father, Yitzchak and their uncle, Yishmael (see Rashi to Bereishit 21:9). In that case, God made it very clear to Avraham that his younger son would be his heir (ibid verse 12), “God said to Avraham: Let it not be grave in your eyes about the lad and about your maidservant. Everything that Sarah says to you, heed her voice, for it is through Yitzchak that descendants will be accounted to you.” The issue of who would lead the Jewish people extended to the children of Yaakov. The natural choice was Reuven, the firstborn. But Yaakov preferred Yosef who also had dreams (or delusions, according to his brothers) of greatness. In that case, as with the previous two generations, the firstborn son was passed over for the position of patriarch of the family and this resulted in bitterness, jealousy and attempted murder.

At the heart of the matter is the understanding that there can only be one true leader at any given time. The Sages illustrate this concept in reference to God’s creation of the heavenly bodies (Bereishit 1:16), “And God made the two luminaries, the greater luminary to dominate the day and the lesser luminary to dominate the night; and the stars.” The Talmud  (Chullin 60b cited by Rashi on Bereishit 1:16) explains that initially both luminaries – the sun and the moon – were created identical in size. However, when the moon came forward and complained, “It is impossible for two kings to wear the same crown”, God shrunk it to its current size. Thus, from the dawn of time, it was understood that two people cannot share the same office. In dynastic institutions (such as the monarchy, the high priesthood and in modern times, the leadership of yeshivot and Chassidic movements), the problem of succession was usually solved by appointing the oldest son. But this often led to strife when it was assumed – rightly or not – that the firstborn was not a fitting candidate. 

Another example of contested monarchy is to be found in the haphtarah of parshat Chayei Sarah (I Kings 1:1-31). King David is old and ill and not quite aware of what is happening around him. His son, Adoniya, by his wife Chagit, takes advantage of the situation and proclaims himself king. He gathers an entourage and hosts a great meal. But the prophet Natan knows that the heir to the throne is the young Shlomo. He discusses the matter with Shlomo’s mother, Bat Sheva, and they devise a plan to convince the king to proclaim Shlomo as king. The scheme works and Shlomo becomes king. Centuries later, in the times of the Second temple, a bitter struggle broke out between two brothers from the Kingdom of the Hasmoneans, both of whom wanted the crown. The Talmud (Sotah 49b) records: “The Sages taught: When the kings of the Hasmonean monarchy besieged each other in their civil war, Hyrcanus was outside of Jerusalem, besieging it, and Aristoblus was inside. On each and every day, they would lower dinars in a box from inside the city, and those on the outside would send up animals for them to bring the daily offerings in the Temple. A certain Elder was there, in Jerusalem, who was familiar with Greek wisdom. He communicated to those on the outside by means of Greek wisdom, using words understood only by those proficient in Greek wisdom. He said to them: As long as they are engaged in the Temple service, they will not be delivered into your hands. Upon hearing this, on the following day, when they lowered dinars in a box, they sent up a pig to them. Once the pig reached halfway up the wall, it inserted its hooves into the wall and Eretz Yisrael shuddered four hundred parasangs. When the Sages saw this, they said at that time: Cursed is the person who raises pigs, and cursed is the person who teaches his son Greek wisdom.” This event is the subject of a short story by the surrealist author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) entitled A Tale of Jerusalem.

In the modern era, the Satmar Chassidic community has been split asunder by a bitter dynastic dispute. The sect has been plagued with division since the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum, died in 2006 without leaving a clear heir. His sons Rabbi Zalman and Rabbi Aharon were both declared Rebbe by their respective followers and there are now two Satmar groups who are not on good terms with one another. The same thing almost happened when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, passed away in 1950. He had no sons but he did have two sons-in-law. The Rebbe left no instructions as to whom should be his successor. The obvious choice was the older son-in-law, Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary. But many favoured the younger son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, who was also a relative. After a year, Rabbi Menachem Mendel accepted the role of Rebbe and although this did cause some enmity in the family, it never led to a split in the movement and Rabbi Gurary accepted Rabbi Menachem Mendel as Rebbe and had a deep respect and admiration for him.   

An exception to the inevitable disagreement that follows the death of a leader took place in the small city of Telshe (or Telz), Lithuania in 1930. The town was home to a world-famous yeshiva. The last Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe before the Nazis massacred the Jewish population in July 1941 was Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Bloch (1891-1941). He was the grandson of the founding Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Eliezer Gordon (1841-1910), and the son of the second Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yoseph Leib Bloch (1860-1930), who was Rabbi Gordon’s son-in-law. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak was the second son of Rabbi Bloch and the mantle of leadership should have passed to his brother, Rabbi Zalman, upon their father’s death. Yet in a moment that was unfortunately quite rare in Jewish dynastic institutions, the elder brother ‘abdicated’ his firstborn birthright and transferred it to his younger brother. This occurred at the funeral of Rabbi Yoseph Leib. Immediately after the funeral, at the graveside, Rabbi Zalman announced for all to hear that his brother, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak, should become the Chief Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe. And so it was that at the relatively young age of 38, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak succeeded his father in the dual positions of leadership in one of the most prestigious communities of Lithuania. He led the yeshiva with great distinction until he was martyred by the Nazis. Rabbi Zalman remained on the faculty of the yeshiva and met the same fate as his brother in 1941. I heard this story many times during my yeshiva years from my Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Azriel Chaim Goldfein, of blessed memory. Rabbi Goldfein learned in the Telshe Yeshiva in America that was founded by Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak’s youngest brother, Rabbi Eliyahu Meir Bloch, and his brother-in-law, Rabbi Mordechai (Mottel) Katz. During Rabbi Goldfein’s period of study in the yeshiva, there were still a number of eye-witnesses alive who had been at the funeral when Rabbi Zalman Bloch made the announcement. It was an event that left an indelible impression on all who were present.  The uniqueness of this event is that it flies in the face of what normally occurs when there is only one position of authority available for members of a family. 

Lee, Chani Merryl & Naomi join me in wishing you Shabbat Shalom.  Rabbi Liebenberg

My family and I are away from 2 to 17 December. We wish you all a healthy and enjoyable December break.

Rabbi’s YouTube message for Shabbat: https://youtu.be/rC_oiN8LyZw?si=1qRB53Z9Y39pyFkE

*Sunday 1 & Monday 2 December – Rosh Chodesh Kislev

Kislev contains the Festival of Chanukah which begins on the 25^th day of the month and continues for eight days, ending in the month of Tevet. The Molad (appearance of the new moon) for Kislev is on Sunday 1 December, at 04h49 and 15 chalakim (a chelek, literally a “portion”, is a Talmudic measure of time equal to one-eighteenth of a minute, or 3 and 1/3 seconds).

ADDITION TO DAILY PRAYERS FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHT 4^TH DECEMBER:

From Wednesday night, 4 December, we begin to recite the phrase, “v’tein tal u’matar l’vracha”, “grant dew and rain as a blessing” in the ninth blessing of the daily Amida. Although our rainy season has passed, in the Northern Hemisphere where the major Jewish Diaspora was situated in Talmudic times, the winter rains fall at this time of the year.