December 3, 2005 Parshas Toldos

2 Kislev 5766 Volume 20, Number 9

T
A Grain of Salt Contemporary
Halacha
Taxation and Dina
Rabbi Joshua Hoffman
he Torah tells us that when the flow of the passuk: Yitzchak was asked his father how one tithes straw

Ya’akov and Eisav grew up, Eisav
became an “ish yodeya tzayid” – a man
who knew trapping, while Ya'akov
became an “ish tam, yoshev ohalim” – a
complete man who abided in tents.
able to retain his natural love for Eisav
(despite his general deviation from
God's path) because Eisav had been
representing himself as being obser-
vant of the mitzvos. Even according
Demachusa
and salt. In point of fact, only things
which grow from the ground need to
be tithed, and, so, Yitzchak was Rav Hershel Schachter
impressed by Eisav's scrupulousness
in trying to fulfill the mitzvos. Rashi's
n the days of the Talmud

“And Yitzchak loved Eisav, because
trapping was in his mouth, and Rivkah
loved Ya'akov” (Bereishis 25:27-28).
The difference between Yitzchak and
Rivkah in their respective love for their
children appears, at first blush, to be
disturbing, and needs to be understood.
to the midrash, however, Yitzchak's
love came as a natural result of the
physical benefit that he derived from
him. Rivkah, however, loved Ya'akov
beyond the natural love of a parent,
because he spent more time at home,
being a dweller of tents, and she there-
apparent understanding of the
midrash, explaining it to mean that
Eisav deliberately fooled Yitzchak, is
very difficult because it is in conflict Rabbis formulated the princi-
with his approach to other midrashim
about Eisav, as reflected in his com-
mentary later in the parsha.
Itaxes were collected for the
purpose of enriching the king.
Based on the Parshas
HaMelech in Sefer Shmuel, the
ple of dina demalchusa dina,
literally, the “law of the land is
the law”: everyone must pay

Rabbi Avraham ben HaRambam fore simply saw him more than she When Eisav discovered that Ya'akov
taxes. In Shulchan Aruch, the

explains that Yitzchak loved Eisav
because he provided him with food, as
the Targum explains. R. Avraham adds
that some midrashim explain “ki tzayid
befiv” (“because trapping was in his
mouth”) to mean that Eisav trapped
Yitzchak with his mouth by saying
things that deceived Yitzchak and led
him to believe he was careful about
saw Eisav.
Rashi first cites the explanation of the
Targum, just as R. Avraham does. He
then cites the midrash, but he seems to
understand it differently. Whereas R.
Avraham finds a way to reconcile the
midrash with the simple meaning of
the verse, Rashi seems to understand it
as being in contradiction to its simple
deprived him of their father's bless-
ings, he said in his heart: "The days of
mourning for my father will draw near,
then I will kill my brother Ya'akov"
(Bereishis 27:41). Rashi there writes
that this is to be understood 'as it
sounds,' meaning, in its literal sense,
that Eisav did not want to cause his
father pain. Therefore, he would wait
Rishonim are quoted as having
pointed out that if the taxes are
unfair, or discriminatory (which
is also unfair,) this would not
constitute “dina” demalchusa –
“the law of the land,” but
rather “gazlanusa” demalchusa
– “the embezzlement of the
land,” and such tax laws are
not binding. A system of grad-

keeping mitzvos. This midrash clarifies
meaning. Eisav, says the midrash,
to kill Ya’akov until after his father's
uated income tax is considered
fair and reasonable.
continued on page 3
There was a theory among

I
some of the Baalei HaTosfos
T a b l e Torah Reflecting upon our Mortality that the idea behind paying

n this week’s Parasha we are confronted knew that just like all other men, some day he The Chafetz Chaim notes that the manner in
Noah Cheses continued on page 2

with the story in which Ya’akov buys the
firstborn privileges from his older brother
Eisav. In this passage, Eisav declares: “Here I
am about to die – what good is the birthright
to me?” (Genesis 25:32). The Chafetz Chaim
explains this declaration to mean that Eisav
too would die. Eisav, however, saw his day of
death as a reason to enjoy this world as much
as possible while he had the chance. In this
manner, Eisav justified his hedonism and lazi-
ness. The burden of the birthright did not fit
into Eisav’s reason for living.
which a person approaches his day of death is
indicative of what kind of person this individ-
ual is. In Jewish literature, the day of death is
viewed as a source of motivation to inspire
people to life full lives. May we all strive to
attain such levels of spiritual growth.

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Which mitzvos did Avraham keep?

A
continued from page 1

Yechiel Robinson

s Yitzchak dwells in Gerar
during a famine, Hashem
instructs him to stay there and
promises to fulfill the covenant
that He made with Avraham.
This promise is appropriate,
says Hashem, "because
Avraham obeyed My voice, and
he kept My decrees, My com-
mandments, My regulations,
and My instructions." (Hebrew:
antecedent elsewhere in the
Torah.
Thus, Rashi defines "mishmar-
ti" as rabbinical ordinances,
such as forbidden secondary
relationships and shvus prohibi-
Ramban writes [that] the
family of Avraham did not
had not stated them.
"Chukosai" are the seemingly
illogical commandments, such
as the restrictions against eating
pig-meat or wearing sha'atnez.
"Torosai" include the tradition
means that the "mitzvos" that
the Torah says Avraham kept
must be limited to the instruc-
tions that appeared earlier in
the Torah.
Thus, at the end of his com-
ment, Ramban identifies "mish-
marti" as Avraham's belief in
one God. "Mitzvosai" are once-
only personal instructions, such

keep all 613 mitzvos before

as "lech lecha" (leaving his
"vayishmor mishmarti mitzvosai homeland), Akeidas Yitzchak,
chukosai vesorosai" - Bereshis
26:5).
Matan Torah. and banishing Hagar and
Yishma'el. "Chukosai" repre-
Which commandments did sent the mission to follow and
Avraham keep? tions on Shabbos, which pre- of the Oral Torah and halacha to teach Hashem's noble attrib-
vent people from violating the le-Moshe mi-Sinai – laws that utes of mercy, justice, and the
Rashi, following a Midrashic
Torah commandments them- were given to Moshe on Har like. "Torosai" include all per-
precedent, adopts (in this con-
selves. "Mitzvosai" are logical Sinai of which there is no refer- manent family-wide command-
text) what Rabbi Hayyim Angel
commandments, such as the ence to in the Torah. ments, which are circumcision
has called the "open canon"
prohibitions against murder and Ramban, like most medieval and the seven mitzvos bnei
approach. This means that an
theft, that would be ethically commentators, adopts the Noach – commandments given
unidentified person, place, or
imperative even if the Torah "closed canon" approach. This to non-Jews.
object need not refer to an

Taxation and Dina Demalchusa

taxes is the principle of rent. The land of
each country belongs to the ruler (or the
government) of that particular country, and
the owner of any real estate is entitled to
charge rent from all those who want to live
on their property. The one exception to this
rule (according to this view) is Eretz Yisroel,
which the Torah declares belongs to
Hashem. Since Hashem is the true proper-
ty owner, and he has encouraged all of Bnei
Yisroel to live in Eretz Yisroel, no government
in control there ever has the right to charge
taxes (rent,) because they are not the right-
ful landlord. The Landlord (with a capital
“L”) has granted permission for all of Bnei
Yisroel to live in His country (what is called
the “paltin shel melech” – “the palace of the
king.) This view is quoted by the Ran in his
commentary to Nedarim. There are many
religious people who are not that knowl-
edgeable of any other comments made by
the Ran in his commentary on Nedarim,
either before or after this and are only famil-
iar with this one position of the Ran. The
truth of the matter is that not only has this
view not been accepted in Shulchan
Aruch, it didn’t even gain honorable men-
continued from page 1
tion. The Shulchan Aruch quotes verbatim
from the Rambam that one is obligated to
pay taxes both in Eretz Yisroel as well as in
other countries.
It is important to note that today the basis
for taxation is totally different from what it
was in Talmudic times. Today, all modern
countries provide a variety of services: They
provide streets and highways, and main-
tain forests and museums. They provide
fire, police, and military protection. They
collect garbage and deliver mail. They do
medical research to discover cures for dis-
eases, etc. The taxes are collected for the
purpose of covering the annual budget,
which pays for all of these projects. The
halacha views all of the people living in the
same neighborhood as “shutfim” – “part-
ners,” sharing a common need for a shul,
yeshiva, mikveh and an eruv, and there-
fore, the “partners” can force each other to
put up the needed amount to further their
partnership. So too, all people who live in
the same city, state, and country are consid-
ered “shutfim” with respect to the services
provided by that city, state, and country.
The purpose behind the taxes is no longer
continued on page 3
“to enrich the king” in the slightest. In addi-
tion to all the other expenses, the govern-
ment officials have to be paid as well, but it
is because they serve as the employees of
all the citizens for the purpose of looking
after all these services, and seeing to it that
they are properly taken care of. In our
modern world, one who does not pay his
proper share of taxes is no longer viewed
as cheating the king (or the ruler) of the
country, but rather as cheating (i.e. stealing
from) his partners. The amount of money
not paid by the one who cheats will have
to be taken care of by having the rest of the
“partners” put up more money from their
pockets to cover all the expenses of the
partnership. And even if much of the tax
money goes towards expenditures that are
not to one’s personal liking and that one
gets nothing out of, such is the halacha of
any partnership: the majority of the part-
ners have the right to determine what are
the reasonable needs of the partnership.
Therefore, this majority has the legitimate
right to force the minority to contribute
their share towards properly furthering the
partnership.

EINAYIM L’TORAH • 2
Which mitzvos did Avraham keep?
vhv, ohn,
Ramban writes before this that even
according to Rashi, the family of Avraham
did not keep all 613 mitzvos before Matan
Torah. For example, Ya'akov married
Rachel and Leah, who were sisters of each
other, even though in Vayikra 18:18 this is
prohibited. Rather, Avraham learned the
entire Torah through ruach hakodesh –
divine inspiration - and chose to keep its
commandments only within the land of
Israel. Ya'akov was thus allowed to marry
two sisters outside of Israel.
A Grain of Salt continued from page 1
death. Rashi then points out that there are aggadic
midrashim which explain the verse in several ways.
Nechama Leibovitz, in a seminal essay on Rashi's
approach to citing midrashim, points out that there
are often many midrashim to any particular verse,
but Rashi very seldom tells us this. When he does, he
means to reject those midrashim as not being in
conformity to the simple meaning of the verse. In
this particular instance, the other midrashim view
Eisav as representing an additional stage in the
development of evil in the world. Why did Eisav
wish to wait until after his father’s death to kill
Ya’akov? Eisav thought that when Kayin killed his
brother Hevel, he made a mistake in not waiting
until their father had passed away and could not fur-
ther divide his estate. Therefore, Eisav decided to
wait until after Yitzchak died, and then kill Ya’akov,
so he would not lose his inheritance.
Rashi disagrees in that this view of Eisav represents
him solely in a negative light, as a symbol of evil.
Rashi maintains that Eisav, in fact, had a variegated
Tzvi Simcha Cohen • (646) 387-8573
continued from page 2
As mentioned before, Rashi clearly states
that Avraham and his family began to keep
the entire Torah before it was commanded.
Rambam, however, essentially agrees with
Ramban, and says that Avraham's partial
Torah observance was a step in the organic
process that led to matan Torah at Sinai.
Rambam writes (hilchos Melachim 9:1):
"Adam was commanded on six
things…[Hashem] added for Noach [the
prohibition against eating] limbs of a living
animal…So it was throughout the world
personality, as he really did care for and honor his
father. Therefore, Rashi felt that the midrash, while
important for the message it conveyed, did not
reflect the simple meaning of the Torah, which pres-
ents people as human beings, with all of their com-
plexities.
In light of Nechama Leibovitz's insight, it seems
very difficult to understand why Rashi in the begin-
ning of the parsha would cite a midrash that seems
to contradict the simple meaning of the verse, and,
moreover, calls into question the love Eisav had for
his father.
Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz answers that, in reality,
Eisav was sincere in his questions. Indeed, both
Rabbi Yosef Rosen (the Rogatchover Gaon) and
Rabbi Chaim Kanyevski point out that Eisav’s ques-
tions were valid: there are situations in which one
must, in fact, tithe straw or salt. One could add that
Eisav specifically asked his father detailed questions
about tithing because this was a mitzvah that
Yitzchak took special care to keep, as pointed out by
until Avraham. Avraham was commanded,
besides the foregoing, to do circumcision,
and he prayed in the morning. Yitzchak sep-
arated a tithe and added a prayer in the after-
noon. Ya'akov added [the prohibition
against eating] the sciatic nerve and prayed in
the evening. In Egypt, Amram was given
additional commandments, until Moshe
Rabbeinu arrived and the Torah was com-
pleted by him."
the Rambam in his Laws of Kings. Eisav, then, was
not consciously trying to fool his father. However,
one cannot ignore the fact that his scrupulousness in
performing the mitzvos of honoring his father and
tithing his crop were exceptions in his general
demeanor.
Rabbi Levovitz says that this is the meaning of the
words “ki tzayid befiv” – Eisav's mouth and his
heart were not consistent. When speaking to his
father and tending to his needs, he did and said all
the right things. However, in his heart, he did not
have an overall dedication to God. Ya'akov, on the
other hand, is described as an “ish tam,” a complete
man, in that everything he did was fitting and con-
sistent with his overall demeanor. Ya'akov, unlike his
brother Eisav, did not adopt stringencies in one area
of divine service and completely neglect other areas;
rather, he was a complete and integrated person, and
thereby merited to be the one to carry on the tradi-
tion to future generations.
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PARSHAT TOLDOS • 3
Parsha Points in Toldos
Ephriam Meth
• Yitzchak and Rivkah pray for children after 20 years of infertility. Hashem responds by
giving them Yaakov and Eisav.
• Eisav sells his first-born privileges to Yaakov for a pot of beans. Einayim L’Torah
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• Hashem commands Yitzchak to remain in Israel, even though it was struck by famine.
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There, Yitzchak has altercations with the Philistines who are jealous of his and his father’s
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accomplishments. These conclude when he signs a treaty with Avimelech their king.
editor@einayim.org
• Eisav marries, and his wives embitter his parents’ lives.
• Yitzchak’s sight dims as he ages. He instructs Eisav to prepare him a feast to merit his Editors In Chief
pre-mortem blessings. Rivkah helps Yaakov take these blessings by disguising him as Pinchas Friedman
Eisav and giving him the feast. Eisav returns, discovers their trick, and vows to kill Yehuda Brand
Yaakov. Yitzchak and Rivkah send Yaakov to Lavan, to find a wife and to escape
Executive Editors
Eisav’s wrath.
Zev Koller
• Yaakov’s blessings include wealth and sovereignty over his brother; Yitzchak blesses Eisav Dovid Skversky
to live by the sword, and to gain power if Yaakov’s descendants sin.
Associative Editor
Josh Weinberg

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EINAYIM L’TORAH • 4 PARSHAT TOLDOS