The Precursor

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May 12 2017
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Below is one of the most cryptic stories in the Torah.



"וַיֵּצֵא בֶּן-אִשָּׁה יִשְׂרְאֵלִית וְהוּא בֶּן-אִישׁ מִצְרִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּנָּצוּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה בֶּן הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית וְאִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי: וַיִּקֹּב בֶּן-הָאִשָּׁה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית אֶת-הַשֵּׁם וַיְקַלֵּל וַיָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל-משֶׁה וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ שְׁלֹמִית בַּת-דִּבְרִי לְמַטֵּה-דָן: וַיַּנִּיחֻהוּ בַּמִּשְׁמָר לִפְרשׁ לָהֶם עַל-פִּי ה':וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל-משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:  הוֹצֵא אֶת-הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְסָמְכוּ כָל-הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֶת-יְדֵיהֶם עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ וְרָגְמוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל-הָעֵדָה: וְאֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל תְּדַבֵּר לֵאמֹר אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי-יְקַלֵּל אֱלֹקיו וְנָשָׂא חֶטְאוֹ: וְנֹקֵב שֵׁם-ה' מוֹת יוּמָת רָגוֹם יִרְגְּמוּ-בוֹ כָּל-הָעֵדָה כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח בְּנָקְבוֹ-שֵׁם יוּמָת: וִאישׁ כִּי יַכֶּה כָּל-נֶפֶשׁ אָדָם מוֹת יוּמָת: וּמַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ-בְּהֵמָה יְשַׁלְּמֶנָּה נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ: וְאִישׁ כִּי-יִתֵּן מוּם בַּעֲמִיתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה כֵּן יֵעָשֶׂה לּוֹ: שֶׁבֶר תַּחַת שֶׁבֶר עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן כַּאֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מוּם בָּאָדָם כֵּן יִנָּתֶן בּוֹ: וּמַכֵּה בְהֵמָה יְשַׁלְּמֶנָּה וּמַכֵּה אָדָם יוּמָת: מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה כִּי אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹקיכֶם: וַיְדַבֵּר משֶׁה אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת-הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל-מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ אָבֶן וּבְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֶת-משֶׁה: " (ויקרא כ"ד:י-כ"ד)


“And the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of Israel; and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp. And the Israelite woman's son blasphemed the name of God, and cursed. And they brought him to Moshe; and his mother's name was Shlomis, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan. And they put him in custody, that they might make a decision according to God's Will. And God spoke to Moshe, saying: 'Banish the person who has cursed from the camp; and let all who heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation pelt him with stones. And you shall speak to the People of Israel, saying, "Whoever curses his God shall bear [the consequences of] his sin. And he who blasphemes the name of God shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him; as well the stranger, as he who is born in the land, when he blasphemes the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.... You shall have one kind of law for the stranger, as for one of your own country; for I am the Almighty your God.' And Moshe spoke to the People of Israel, that they should bring forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and pelt him with stones. And the People of Israel did as God commanded Moshe.’



Who is this curser? Who is this woman Shlomis? Why is her name important, as it is the only name mentioned here.  Why is this passage here in the first place? After all, it’s only one of two narratives in the entire book of Vayikra (the other being the death of Nadav and Avihu)?



Our sages provide a few explanations for the context, shielding of names and the history behind this untoward and unfortunate account.



Rashi provides three rationales.



First, Rabbi Levi suggests he “went out” from this world, he ceded his eternity. The word prior to this episode (at the end of verse 9) is olam, or world. He committed an act for which he would die in both this world and the next.



Second, Rashi quotes Rabbi Berachya, who juxtaposes this story to the paragraph prior, describing the lechem hapanim (Show Bread) in the Tabernacle. This man – the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman – felt it was unbecoming for the priests to eat week old bread. The passage of the showbread describes how the bread would be eaten by the priests after remaining on the Shulchan (Table) for over a week. How is this appropriate for the nation’s leaders? What king would eat such food? They should be given piping hot and fresh bread daily! We know the Pharaoh executed his baker for lesser sins. Oznayim l’Torah even suggests that he brought this question/challenge to the Court of Moshe.



Third, cited in the name of a Midrash (Toras Kohanim14:1) we learn that he brought suit against the Tribe of Dan in Moshe’s courtroom. He felt that he should pitch his tent within the emcampment of the Tribe of Dan. Since one’s tribal affiliation runs through the father, the leaders of Dan rejected his residence application. The case came to Moshe who ruled in favor of the Tribe of Dan.



The Torah makes it clear that he fought with another Israelite man and in the course of that fight he blasphemed the name of God, a capital offense.



The Midrash also fills in some of his biographical information. His mother, Shlomis, was a beautiful, kind and charismatic Israelite woman married to a fellow Jewish slave. The Egyptian taskmasters would wake up their charges in the morning to rouse them to work. In the course of these activities, this un-named Egyptian taskmaster sent the Israelite husband to work and entered his tent where he had relations with Shlomis, the Israelite man’s wife. Most Midrashim assume he posed as the husband so Shlomis assumed she was with her husband. As a result of this adulterous relationship, a bastard baby was born, who became this curser.



That is not the end of the story. The Egyptian taskmaster, struck by the beauty of Shlomis, sought to put her husband out of the picture. He began striking the Israelite in order to murder him, so he could have Shlomis to himself. It was then, continues the Midrash, when Moshe saw this Egyptian killing this Hebrew and he killed this very Egyptian taskmaster. To make matters more interesting, many Midrashim state that Moshe killed him using God’s ineffable name. So this curser’s Egyptian biological father, according to some Midrashim, died via Moshe’s pronouncement of God’s Holy name, the very name he abused and for which he paid with his life.



Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov adds one more layer. He notes that the Israelite whose life Moshe saved was none other than Dassan, the infamous complainer who served as Moshe’s foil in Rabbinic literature. Dassan joined with Korach’s insurrection and died in that story. Rabbi Kotov suggests that this story is found here because it occurred right after the Korach episode. Dassan and his wife Shlomis never shared the story of the child’s conception with anyone. They raised him as their son, a scion of the tribe of Reuven, Dassan’s tribal affiliation. When Dassan and his family perished in the rebellion, it became apparent that this young man who was unscathed was not the biological son of Dassan. He sought out a place to set up his tent. He was rejected by the tribe of Reuven, his father’s tribe, and even the tribe of Dan, his biological mother’s tribe. He then went out to quarrel and ultimately blasphemed.



Based on the above, one could feel compassion for this poor child, a mamzer, the only such one, Rashi complimentary points out, during the Jews’ sojourn in Egypt. Other commentators understand Shlomis’ very name as meaning to be very chatty and social. Shlomis, they interpret, means she went around saying “hello” to everyone i.e. Shalom. Dibri, the name of her parent, also bears the Hebrew root d.b.r. to talk. It makes sense that Moshe “appealed” this case to the Almighty. He certainly was nogeya badavar, party to the case, given the history. Nonetheless, blasphemy is a very serious capital offense. This young man was warned and duly executed. His behavior was not heroic, nor justifiable.



In order to appreciate the importance of this story and the character of Shlomis, I’d like to suggest that there may be somewhat of a parallel narrative in the book of Bereshis. I admit the connection is made mostly through the words of our sages, but there are Scriptural allusions that connect them. I have not heard this connection made elsewhere.



The sages called Shlomis a dabranis, for lack of a better term, a chatterer. Dina, the daughter of Yaakov was called ayatz’anis, one who went out, stemming from the beginning of chapter34 in Bereshis which is dedicated to the story of her violation by Shchem the son of Chamor and the revenge her brothers wrought on her kidnapper and the community they felt harbored and justified his actions. Both the story of the curser and the kidnapping of Dina begin with the same word (adjusted grammatically): and he/she went out.



There are more parallels. Although the rationale for Dina’s name goes unexplained in the text (as opposed to her twelve brothers), the sages explain why she was named such. Leah became pregnant with her seventh child. She knew through ruach hakodesh, (the Divine spirit) that Yaakov was destined to have 12 sons through 4 wives. She knew the two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, would jointly birth 4, leaving 8 for her and her sister Rachel. Our sages tell that she was indeed to have a seventh son. If that were to occur, that would leave Rachel with at most, only one of the twelve tribes, even less than the concubines. Leah prayed that the male be turned into a female. Indeed, she was born as a twin to Zevulun (Ibn Ezra). She was named Dina (from the root to judge) because Leah made a judgment with herself to birth a girl, not a boy (Brachos 60a). The story of the son of Shlomis also mentions cognates of the word Dina. Shlomit was a descendant of the tribe of Dan and the third opinion of Rashi suggests the curser emerged from the Beis Din of Moshe.



The Midrash relates that as a consequence of her violation, Dina birthed a daughter. This daughter was put up for adoption and sent to Egypt. Potiphar and his wife, who were childless, adopted this girl, Osnas, who ultimately married Yosef. According to this rendering, Menashe and Ephraim, the sons of Yosef and Osnas, were both grandsons and great-grandsons to Yosef. (Other Midrashim claim that Dina married her bother Shimon, and yet others, Job, who was not Jewish.) Both Shlomis and Dina, according to the Sages, birthed children with challenged statuses.



Leah’s selfless act – of thinking of her sister – resulted in the birth of Dina. After all, it was Rachel who gave Leah the “signals” so her sister would not suffer embarrassment when her evil father switched the brides. When women beautified themselves for their exhausted husbands in Egypt in order to procreate, that too is viewed by the sages as laudable and selfless. Recall when Moshe hesitated to make the Mishkan’s laver out of the women’s mirrors, God reminded Moshe of the holiness of those particular vessels of vanity.



Was Shlomis’ chattiness a friendly method of connecting, or somewhat immodest? What about Dina’s curiosity to see her neighbors? The Abarbanel praises Dina. He notes that Leah normally assumed a more domestic role while it was Rachel who went out and served as a shepherd for her fathers’ flocks. All Dina wanted to see, he suggests, was how the other girls dressed. After all, she was the only girl among 12 brothers. Pirkei d’Rebbe Eliezer (chapter 37) describes the lengths Chamor had to take to get Dina’s attention in her tent.



There is much discussion among the commentators about a Midrash which notes Dina’s absence when Eisav and his troops come to meet Yaakov and his family. The sages opine that Yaakov placed Dina in a box, fearing that Eisav would lust after his niece. Many blame Yaakov for not allowing Dina to rehabilitate Eisav. As such, Dina is seen as a uniting force of very disparate parts. Our Sages saw her as uniting the tribes, uniting with her sister, and even possessing the ability to restore Eisav to a more ethical path, or perhaps even the non-Jew Iyov (Job) who is viewed as a righteous man.



In the end, Dina’s daughter, cast away from her birth family (making her a kindred spirit to her husband Yosef) gives birth to the sons in whose names we bless our children. Dina serves as their grandmother. Her impact, perhaps, was as great as that of their paternal grandfather Yaakov (we know that Dina did descend to Egypt with Yaakov and his family. See Bereshis 46:15). Dina and her daughter merged the children of Leah with the children of Rachel (by marrying Yosef). We’ve already discussed the esoteric connection between Yosef and Dina when they were “switched.”



How is any of this relevant to Shlomis’ son, the blasphemer?



Rav Tzadok Hakohen, attempts to understand what was really bothering this young man. It wasn’t a crusade for fresher bread. This young man understood that the 12 loaves –fresh or not – represented the twelve tribes. Since his father was not a descendant of the tribes, he was somewhat homeless. He was fated to live in a city (probably one of the Levitical cities) without a tribal affiliation, without a history. He wanted to bypass the system and affiliate through his mother. Alas, that could not be. (Jewish law would mandate if a Kohen marries a non-Jewish woman, God forbid, and the male child subsequently converts, he would not be considered a Kohen, like his father.).



The episode of Dina teaches us that one can make lemon-aid out of lemons. Dina was able to truly become the grandmother of the children whose names are invoked when blessing our children. In a certain sense, she became the co-grandparent with her renowned father. The story of Dina and Osnas, while perhaps paralleling the narrative of Shlomit and her son, ends differently, ends on a happy note. Ironically, Shlomis’ son has no tribe while Ephraim and Menashe are the only ones of their generation to actually have their own tribes. Alas, it seems that the two stories are antipodal.



The book of Vayikra, in general, and parshas Emor, specifically, teach us the different manifestations of kedushah, of sanctity or nobility. After speaking about offerings, the sanctity of life versus death, the sanctity of food, and here we introduce the nobility of space and time, we also discuss the nobility of every Jew. This child, born out of an adulterous relationship (whether Shlomis was aware or not) also has the sanctity of a Jew. Yiddishe kint (Jewish children) are kodshei k’doshim (the Holy of Holies.)



We can go on and on listing children who had painful and unfair upbringings, with the odds stacked against them. If one looks at the last five US presidents, three were born into great wealth and privilege and two were raised by their strong mothers without their biological fathers. There are those who overcome the adversity and, sadly, those who do not or, perhaps, cannot. This unnamed young man may have had the deck stacked against him, but like Osnas, his story could have ended differently.



Ultimately, the book of Vayikra teaches us about kedushah. The story of this blasphemer merges the desire forkedushah of space (wanting a portion, addressing the Tabernacle’s Show Bread), with the desire for the kedushah of individuals (having a tribal affiliation) ultimately ceding his eternity, as Rashi quotes Rabbi Levi in the beginning of the passage, the ultimate sanctity of time. Knowing that we are all beloved Children of God, the greatest comfort, was that which the curser refused to acknowledge by his blasphemous act. Our filial relationship with the Almighty is the ultimate kedushah, which the curser irreverently dismissed.

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What is the deeper meaning of the story of the blasphemer? Why is his mother's name important? Why is it placed here? What other narrative in the Torah may shed light on this sad and cryptic story?

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