Interesting comments upon the history of some masorah.
-RRW
THE DAF YOMI DISCUSSION LIST
brought to you by Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Yerushalayim
Rosh Kollel: Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld daf@dafyomi.co.il
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General: The Three Zechusim
Barry Robinson asked:
Dear Kollel,
I have been asked to find the mekor for the well-known statement that Klal Yisroel were saved from Mitzrayim B'Zechus of the three things they kept - they did not change their names, their language and their clothing.
I have found several variants on this maamar in various Midrashic sources. Almost all of the variants list four Zechusim - for example, many of the variant versions remove mention of clothing and add that Klal Yisroel did not speak Lashon Hara and were careful about Arayos.
But everyone I talk to seems to remember learning the first version in school. Were we misled by our teachers or does this form of the Midrash really exist?
Thank You.
Barry Robinson
Cong. Or Torah, Skokie, Illinois, USA
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The Kollel replies:
The earliest source seems to be Eliyahu Bachur (c. 1500), who quotes it the way we often hear it in the introduction to his Sefer Meturgeman. Shlomo Buber, in his notes to Pesikta d'Rav Kahana (Parshas Vayehi Beshalach fn. #66) makes your point and says Eliyahu Bachur has absolutely no source in Midrash. (It is not clear to me how the quote became so popular, perhaps it was used to defend Chasidic garb.)
There is one Midrash (Lekach Tov to Shmos 6:6) which counts among the four Zechusim that they didn't change their names or their "Salmos" (clothes). However, almost certainly the Lamed is a scribe's mistake. In either case it doesn't use the word "Levushan."
To me it would seem that the truth is Eliyahu Bachur's source is Bamidbar Rabah 13:20 where 3 (not 4) Zechuyos are counted and the third is that they were Gedurim Min ha'Ervah (and not that they were not Parutz b'Arayos - as it appears in every other Midrash). Gedurim means they took measures to prevent Arayos and it might refer to adopting the immodest Egyptian mode of dress. We find such Gedurim m'Ervah in practice in Chazal, such as in Rashi,
Sanhedrin top of 74b.
May we be Zocheh to fulfill all these Midrashim ourselves!
Best wishes for a Chag Kasher v'Same'ach!
Mordecai Kornfeld,
Kollel Iyun Hadaf
1 comment:
Although I do not have the actual cite of this source handy, Rav Moshe Feinstein's comment regarding this medrash should be noted. He states that the power of these three zechusim were specific to the time period, ie before Matan Torah. IOW, in the fact that Klal Yisrael did not have the Torah, what allowed them to survive Egypt were these three commitments. But for us, after Har Sinai, these three specific behaviours are not as significant and should not be our focus. Our commitment must be to following Torah. As such Rav Moshe downplays the importance of these three behaviours, i.e. not changing names, language or clothing. Obviously we must meet halachic standards in all three areas but the extended connotation of this medrash is not a lesson for us today. For klal Yisrael in Egypt, without Torah, the way they survived is by not wearing Egyptian dress. For us, there is no need to not wear a North American business suit for Torah supercedes this need and in following Torah we are protected from assimilation.
I mention as it is an important point in regard to this medrash but also for the importance in knowing how to read a medrash. While the question of the nature of a source is important, on many levels, it is most important to know how to respond to any source and that the question is not just what a source is, or says, or even whether it is valid. There is the question of how we read it and the nature of a source to our ears. Torah talks to us. We are thus part of that connection. Torah does not just speak to blank pages. The context and our natures are part of the process.
Rabbi Ben Hecht
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