Mikeitz CN Source Sheet

(1) {“Take from the choice products of the Land in your pouches, and bring down to the man as tribute some balsam and some honey, and gum, resin, pistachio nuts and almonds” (Genesis 43:11).} Know! when our forefather Yaakov sent his sons, the ten tribes, to Yosef, he sent with them a melody of the Land of Israel. This is the deeper meaning of “Take from the ZiMRot (choice products) of the Land in your pouches…”—the concept of ZeMeR (song) and melody, which he sent through them to Yosef. This is as Rashi comments: me’zimrat—it connotes zemer ….

(2) For know! each and every shepherd has his own special melody, according to the grasses and specific location where he is grazing. This is because each and every animal has a specific grass which it needs to eat. He also does not always pasture in the same place. Thus, his melody is dictated by the grasses and place he pastures. For each and every grass has a song which it sings. This is the concept of Perek Shirah. And from the grass’s song, the shepherd’s melody is created.

(3) This is the deeper meaning of the verse “And Adah bore Yaval; he was the father of tent dwellers with cattle. His brother’s name was Yuval; he was the father of all who play harp and flute” (Genesis 4:20-21). As soon as the world had a shepherd of cattle, there were musical instruments. Therefore, because King David, may peace be upon him, was “a skilled musician” (1 Samuel 16:18), he was “a shepherd” (ibid. :11). {We find, too, that the patriarchs were all shepherds.}

(4) And this is the concept of “From the end of the earth we heard song” (Isaiah 24:16)—i.e., songs and melodies emerge from the end of the earth, because melody is produced through the grasses which grow in the earth, as mentioned above. And because the shepherd knows the melody, he instills the grasses with energy, and so the animals have what to eat.

(5) And this is the concept of “The first blossoms have appeared in the Land, the time of ZaMiR (singing) has arrived” (Song of Songs 2:12). In other words, the “first blossoms” grow in the Land as a result of their particular ZeMeR and melody, as mentioned above. It follows, that through the song and melody which the shepherd knows, he instills the grasses with energy and there is pasture for the animals.

(6) The melody is also beneficial for the shepherd himself. Because the shepherd is constantly in the company of animals, it could happen that they draw and drag him down from the category of human-spirit to animal-spirit. The shepherd might end up grazing himself, as in “they went to pasture their father’s flock…” (Genesis 37:12), which Rashi explains as: they went to pasture themselves.

(7) But through the melody he is saved from this. For melody is the refinement of the spirit, separating human-spirit from animal-spirit, as in “Who knows that it is the spirit of the human being which ascends on high and the spirit of the animal which descends below” (Ecclesiastes 3:21). This is the essence of melody—gathering and selecting the good ruach, as explained elsewhere. The melody therefore saves him from animal- ruach, because through the melody the human- ruach is separated from animal- ruach .

(3) Those who lived near [Jerusalem] would bring fresh figs and grapes, while those who lived far away would bring dried figs and raisins. An ox would go in front of them, his horns bedecked with gold and with an olive-crown on its head. The flute would play before them until they would draw close to Jerusalem. When they drew close to Jerusalem they would send messengers in advance, and they would adorn their bikkurim. The governors and chiefs and treasurers [of the Temple] would go out to greet them, and according to the rank of the entrants they would go forth. All the skilled artisans of Jerusalem would stand up before them and greet them saying, “Our brothers, men of such and such a place, we welcome you in peace.”