Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
At the end of his life, Yaakov offers final poetic words to each of his sons. Some of these are blessings, others are more harsh.
One that stands out is when Yaakov speaks to Shimon and Levi, criticizing the anger which led them to kill people in Shekhem (back in Parashat Vayishlah).
בְּסֹדָם אַל־תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי
כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ־שׁוֹר׃
אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה
אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל׃
I shall not come in their company; in their congregation my presence will not be,
since in their anger they killed people and tore through bulls.
Cursed be their anger, as it is so fierce, and their wrath is so harsh.
I will divide them in Yaakov, and scatter them in Israel.
What does Yaakov mean when he tells Shimon and Levi that “cursed be their anger?”
אֲפִילּוּ בִּשְׁעַת תּוֹכֵחָה לֹא קִלֵּל אֶלָּא אַפָּם.
Even in a moment of rebuke, he did not curse them, but rather their anger.
אֵין זֶה קְלָלָה אֶלָּא בְּרָכָה.
כְּלוֹמַר יְהִי רָצוֹן שֶׁלֹא יַצְלִיחוּ בְּאֲפָם כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹא יַרְגִילוּ לִהְיוֹת רַגְזָנִים.
This is not a curse, but a blessing. Meaning, that their anger should not lead to success, so that they will learn not to act out of anger.
According to Rashi, Yaakov’s statement is intended as a curse. However, there is a lesson to be learned from the way Yaakov chooses his words. Rather than cursing Shimon and Levi themselves, Yaakov limits the curse to their anger. Even while criticizing them, he limited the curse to the behavior they needed to improve, not to them as people.
Hizkuni, though, reads “cursed be their anger” as a blessing! The blessing is that Shimon and Levi will learn to not act through anger, by finding that anger does not make them successful. In this way, they will be blessed to leave their anger behind.
- What evidence in the text can you find to support each position?
- How does it feel to be criticized? Can you relate to the difference that Rashi highlights, between criticizing a person and criticizing a specific behavior?
- Is it realistic to think that a person would stop acting in anger if they see that anger isn’t effective? Is anger ever effective?
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