Stiff Neck People - Parsha Vayechi And Current Events

(10) The judgment of the wicked in hell, twelve months, for it is said, "And it will be from [one] month until the [next appearance of the same] month" (Isaiah 66:23). Rabbi Yohanan the son of Nuri says: From Passover to Shavuot, for it is said, "And from one sabbath until the [next] sabbath" (ibid.).

The Gemara continues its discussion of punishment in general and the relationship between a person’s actions and the punishments meted out against him in particular: Rav Ami said: There is no death without sin; were a person not to sin, he would not die. And there is no suffering without iniquity.

(3) rabbi Ishmael son of rav Nachman said: Derech eretz precedes Torah by 26 generations, since it is written “and to guard the way to the Tree of Life” (Genesis 3). “Way” is the derech eretz, and only after that comes “Tree of Life” which is Torah. [Back to the verse in question, Ps 50:23] I will show him the salvation of God, said rabbi Abahu: this is one of the sources for the idea that God’s salvation is Israel’s salvation (Ps. 80:3) “and come and save us”

(2) On the other hand, if a man hired a murderer to kill somebody, or sent servants to kill him, or tied him up and put him in front of a lion or similar beast and it killed him, and also if an individual attempted suicide, each of these is guilty of shedding blood and bears the crime of murder; he deserves to die by an act of God, but is not executed by the court.

(3) How do we know that to be the law? It is written : "Whoever sheds human blood, by human hands shall his own blood be shed" (Genesis 9:6). This refers to one who commits murder himself and not through an agent. "I will require your lifeblood" (9:5) refers to suicide. "I will require it of any beast" refers to one who puts a man in front of a beast to devour him. "Of man I will require a reckoning for human life, of every man for that of his fellow man" (9:5) refers to one who hires others to kill his fellow man. The verb require is explicitly iterated in the three cases to show that the verdict is left with God.

(11) When a person commits suicide [kills oneself with clarity of mind], we do not engage in activity on their behalf at all. We do not mourn for him or eulogize him. We do, however, stand in a line to comfort the relatives, recite the blessing for the mourners and perform any act that shows respect for the living. What is meant by a person who commits suicide? Not necessarily one who climbs up on a roof, falls, and dies, but rather, one who says: "I am going up to the top of the roof." If we see him climb up immediately in anger or know that he was distressed and see him fall and die, we presume such a person is one who committed suicide. If, however, we see him strangled and hanging from a tree or slain and lying on the back of his sword, we presume that he is like all other corpses. We engage in activity on his behalf and do not withhold anything from him.

(1) 96:3 "And Israel approached the time of dying" (Gen 47:29). It is written, "No one rules over the wind to restrain the wind, and there is no ruling over the day of death" (Eccles 8:8). Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The trumpets which Moses made in the wilderness were hidden by the Holy One, who is blessed, when Moses neared death so that no one else would sound them while they were coming to him, as it is written, "Gather to me all the elders of your tribes" (Deut 31:28), in order to fulfill what is stated, "And there is no ruling over the day of death"....And so too when Jacob neared death he began to lower himself before Joseph and said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes" (Gen 47:29). When [did he say this]? As he was approaching death, as it is stated, "And Israel drew near to the time of dying" (ibid.).

(8) "And Yosef and his brothers and their entire generation passed away," to teach you that as long as one of them was still alive from the original ones that came down to Egypt, the Egyptians did not enslave the Israelites. "And the children of Israel reproduced and spawned," even though Yosef and his brothers died, their God did not die, instead "the children of Israel reproduced and spawned." Another point: Each one gave birth to six children in one litter, as it says: "And the children of Israel reproduced and spawned ..." Some say: Twelve [children in each litter] as it is written: "reproduced" - two, "spawned" - two, "they were many" - two, "they were massive" - two, "very much" - two, "and the land was filled with them" - two, for a total of twelve. "They were massive," some say: six children in each litter. And don't be incredulous, since the scorpion is one of the crawling creatures, and it gives birth to seventy at a time. Rabbi Natan says, "And the land was filled with them," like a field of reeds. "A new king arose," since the Egyptians saw this, they enacted new decrees upon them. That which is written: "A new king arose," Rav and Shmuel [interpret it]. One says: literally new. The other says: his decrees were new, he established decrees and punishments on them. The rationale of the one that says it was literally a new king, as it is written: "new." The rationale of the one that says it is referring to new decrees, since it is not written: "and he died, and a king was anointed." "Who did not know Yosef" -- according to the one who said it was a new king, this makes sense. According to the one who said he established new decrees, how does he explain ["that did not know Yosef"]? That he was _like_ one who did not know Yosef at all. The Rabbis say: Why does it call him a "new king"? Wasn't this the same Pharaoh as before? But the Egyptians said to Pharaoh: "let us mix it up with this nation." He said to them: "You are crazy! Until now we have eaten only because of them; how can we mix it up with them?! Were it not for Yosef we would all be dead." When he didn't listen to them, they deposed him from the throne for three months, until he said to them: "Whatever you want to do I am with you," and they re-appointed him. That is why it says, "A new king arose." The Rabbis took their opening text from this verse (Hosea 5:7): "Against God they have rebelled since they have given birth to foreign children, now the new moon will consume their parts." To teach you that when Yosef died they stopped performing circumcision; they said: Let us be like the Egyptians. From this you learn that Moshe circumcised them on their leaving Egypt. And when they did this [stopped observing circumcision], God converted the love of the Egyptians for them into hatred, as it says (Psalms 105:25): "He changed their mind to hate his nation, to harass his servants", to fulfill the verse (Hosea 5:7): "Now the new moon will consume their parts" [translator's note: the word "new moon," "hodesh," is re-vocalized by the Midrash to the word "new," "hadash."]. "A new king," since he arose and enacted new decrees against them. "Who did not know Yosef," and did he really not know Yosef?! Rabbi Abin said: It is like a parable of one who stoned to death the king's friend. The king said, Cut off his head, for tomorrow he will do the same thing to me. therefore Scripture says of him [Pharaoh] - in other words: today, "he did know Yosef," tomorrow, he will say (Exod. 5:2): "I do not know Adonai."

(1) And Joseph died, and all his brethren (Exod. 1:6). Nevertheless, the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly (ibid., v. 7). R. Yannai declared: Each woman bore six children at one time, while (because each word in the biblical verse is in the plural form, thus implying a minimum of two) others say that each one bore twelve, for the word paru (“were fruitful”) indicates two; vayishresu (“and increased abundantly”), two; vayirbu (“and multiplied”), two; vaya’asmu (“and waxed”), two; bime’od me’od (“exceeding mighty”), two; and the land was filled with them (ibid.), two, totaling twelve in all. R. Jonathan said: The land was filled with them implies that they filled the land like reed branches. When the Egyptians observed this, they issued new decrees against them, as it is said: Now there arose a new king (Exod. 1:8). Was he in fact a new king? Rather, he fashioned new decrees against them. Another explanation of Now there arose a new king. Was it not Pharaoh? Rather, the Egyptians cried out: “Come, let us attack this nation.” “You fools,” he said to them, “we have survived only because of them, how dare we attack them now? Were it not for Joseph, we would not be alive.” When he refused to carry out their request, they removed him from his throne for three months until he promised them: “I am with you in all you do.” Then they restored him to his throne. That is why it is written: And now there arose a new king.