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THE WEEKLY SIDRA- VAYAITZAI
Rabbi Moshe Greebel

Traditionally speaking, among the least financially rewarding of occupations, has been the M’lamed, the Torah instructor of young boys, who down through history, has usually suffered poverty, as Rashi described in B’raishis 49:7:

“…..There are no poor people, (poverty stricken) scribes, or teachers (of Torah) of children, who did not come from (the tribe of (Shimon)…..”

In truth, while being a M’lamed may not be the most profitable of professions, there is something very special about having the same career, metaphorically speaking, as HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who is also a M’lamed. This can be seen from the daily B’racha (blessing) we recite, “Ha’M’lamed Torah L’amo Yisroel” (Who is the M’lamed of Torah for His nation of Yisroel).

In this week’s Sidra, after Leah gave birth to four sons, R’uvain, Shimon, Laivi, and Y’huda, we find her sister Rochail bitterly complaining to her husband Ya’akov:

“And when Rochail saw that she bore Ya’akov no children, Rochail envied her sister; and said to Ya’akov, ‘Give me sons, and if not, I die!’” (B’raishis 30:1)

The Gemarah in N’darim 64b explains the words of Rochail:

“Rabbi Y’hoshua Ben Laivi said, ‘A man who is childless is accounted as dead, for it is written, ‘Give me children, or else I die!’ And it was taught that four are accounted as dead: A poor man, one with Tzoras (skin affliction), a blind person, and one who is childless…..”

And, in the Gemarah of Avodav Zara 5a, we see:

“Four may be regarded as dead, they are the poor, the blind, the one with Tzoras, and the childless…..The childless, as it is said, ‘Give me sons, and if not, I die!.’”

In LaShon HaKodesh, the expression ‘And if not, I die’ is ‘V’im Ayin Maisa Anochi.’ The last word of this phrase is ‘Anochi,’ which means ‘I.’ In the text Sarei Mai’ah, we find a rather humorous description of the five cries of a typical M’lamed, all identified by P’sukim (verses) in Tanach, which are built on the word ‘Anochi.’

At the beginning of the year, the M’lamed must go from house to house, attempting to enroll Talmidim (students). Because his entire meager sustenance is based on his teaching, as he searches for Talmidim, he cries out the phrase of Rochail, which is, “Give me sons, and if not, I die!”

In the middle of the year, when the fathers of the Talmidim complain to the M’lamed about not seeing a Siman B’racha (sign of a blessing) in the studies of their sons, the M’lamed cries again, with the response of Ya’akov to Rochail above, who bitterly complained about having no sons, “Am I in G-d’s place?” (ibid. 30:2)

If one of the fathers is in denial of a slow minded son, and wishes to put the blame on the M’lamed for his son’s failures to study, the M’lamed cries out with the words of Ya’akov, who came disguised to his blind father Yitzchak, “I? Aisav is your firstborn!” (ibid. 27:19)

At the end of the year, when the fathers decide what pitiful amount to pay the M’lamed for his services, the expression of Rivkah, who experienced terrible pregnancy pains, is cried out by the M’lamed, “If it be so, why am I alive?” (ibid. 25:22)

And, in the beginning of the new year, if the M’lamed is unsuccessful in enrolling Talmidim, and his wife makes his life bitter because of this, he cries the phrase of Elkana, who tried to comfort his wife Chana for not having children, “Am I not better to you than ten sons? (Shmuel I 1:8)

Is it an odd thing that the noblest profession of all, teaching Torah to young minds, is not the most profitable of undertakings? Perhaps, we can answer by saying that what makes this profession so noble, is that it is not undertaken for wealth, affluence, or power. Rather, in most cases, it is undertaken for the honor of being a small link in the Shalsheles HaKabala (chain of transmission), that began at the giving of the Torah in Sinai.

No man was ever as great as Moshe:

“And there has not arisen since in Yisroel a prophet like Moshe, whom HaShem knew face to face.” (D’varim 34:10)

The profession of this greatest man Moshe, was that of a M’lamed, the prototype for every future M’lamed, who would continue the Avodas HaKodesh (holy work) of disseminating Torah to the masses. May we always bear in mind the devotion of M’lamdim to their profession.

May we soon see the G’ulah Sh’laimah in its complete resplendency- and in our times.

Good Shabbos.

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