Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto’s talks are known throughout the Jewish world. They combine chassidic teachings and philosophy, along with tips for a better life. We have collected pearls from his teachings that are relevant to our daily lives. This week he comments on the Torah section of Bamidbar, which is read before the holiday of Shavuot.
"And they declared their pedigrees according to their families according to their fathers' houses." (Numbers 1:18)
The Yalkut Shimoni (#684) cites:
When the Israelites received the Torah, the nations of the world were jealous of them because why were they more worthy to be close to God than the other nations? God closed their mouths by telling them, “Bring Me your lineage records as the verse says (Psalms 96:7), ‘Give to the Lord, families of the nations,’ just as My children bring theirs, as it says, ‘and they declared their pedigrees according to their families according to their fathers' houses.’” This shows that the Israelites only merited to receive the Torah because they had proof of their lineage.
We need to understand what it means "just as My children bring theirs." Also, don’t the nations of the world also have a lineage? Ishmael was the son of Abraham, and Esau was the son of Isaac. If so, when God challenged them, “Bring Me your lineage records,” they also had genealogy records they could have brought. So what is the meaning of demanding that they bring lineage records?
The holy Torah tells us, "I remembered My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham" (Lev. 26:42). The well known question that is asked on this verse is why is Jacob mentioned first, and only then Isaac, and finally Abraham?
To exclude Ishmael and Esau from receiving the merit of our ancestors and to establish that Jacob was the choicest of our three Patriarchs, the verse’s main focus had to be on the covenant with Jacob our father. To gain the merit of our fathers, we need a lineage that covers all three - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - but we begin with the choicest of them "I remembered My covenant with Jacob," and only then continue with Isaac, and end with Abraham. As G-d promised Abraham our father, blessings that mention the Patriarchs will be concluded with you and not the other fathers.
This verse shows that God excluded the other sons of Isaac and Abraham - Esau and Ishmael - from His promise to make their fathers’ special merits available to them. When God told the nations of the world, “Bring me your lineage records”, He meant the special lineage of the Patriarchs, which requires Jacob, Isaac and Abraham’s names all together.
What did God offer more to the Israelites when He proposed giving them the Torah than He offered to the other nations in the world? We know that God also offered the Torah to the other nations of the world. If so, what was the nations’ claim against God why He brought the Israelites closer than them if they also had the chance to receive the Torah?
A verse in the Torah answers this: "I will carry you on eagles' wings and will bring you" (Exodus 19:4). What is this reference to "eagles' wings" about? With what “eagles' wings” did God carry the Israelites?
It is mentioned in Pri Etz Chaim (Shaar 21, Chapter 1) in the name of the holy Ari that on the night of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, God emanated upon the Israelites spectacular revelations of love and awe and perceptions of the Upper Worlds. These great emanations and enormous powers of love and awe for God are the “eagles' wings” that G-d gave to the Israelites. To truly learn Torah, one must be inspired with great love and awe of G-d.
One who studies Torah without love and fear of God, his Torah study remains below and does not soar to the Upper Worlds. So at the exodus, God gave the Israelites "wings of eagles" - love and fear of Him - that He did not give to the nations of the world. This was the reason for the nations of the world’s complaint: Why did God give this special closeness as a gift to the Israelites? Why did He give them these gifts of love and fear of Him, these “eagles’ wings” which brought them closer to God and elevated them without the Israelites doing anything, while He did not give the nations this gift?!
G-d gave us this gift of love and awe on the night we left Egypt, but after that, we lost these gifts and had to regain them through our own personal spiritual toil during the 49 days until we were worthy of being given the Torah. Why did G-d give us these gifts if we had to personally toil to attain them again?
If it hadn’t been given to us originally as a gift, we could never have attained it ourselves. Only once we had it as a gift from God, was it possible to reach it on our own afterwards.
That was part of the nations’ complaint against us. Once the Israelites had received these revelations as a gift, they were able to attain them themselves. Why weren’t we given that opportunity too? Why didn't we also receive it as a gift?
God replied to them, “Bring me your lineage records.” In order to qualify for this gift of love and awe, your lineage must go back to Jacob, Isaac and Abraham. Without having the merit of these fathers, it is impossible to attain this gift of love and awe, which the Israelites were able to regain and strengthen through their own toil until the day when they received the Torah.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel
