In Parashat Ki Tavo this past week, we read the 98 curses. The reason for this, based on a Gemarah in Masechet Megillah, is that Ezra HaSofer made a Takanah, an enactment, that twice yearly, at two end points, the Jewish people should read the curses, followed by weeks of reading the blessings. This is based on the concept of
תכלה שנה וקללותיה
Let the year and its curses end,
תחל שנה וברכותיה
Let the new year and its blessings begin
That is the refrain of a piyyut that Sephardim sing, at the opening of Rosh Hashana, called Achot Ketanah. Each line ends with תכלה שנה וקללותיה
Let the year and its curses end,
So, we read the curses at the ends of the year, before both Shavuot and Rosh Hashana.
Then, after the whole holiday cycle, eventually we follow with V’Zot HaBeracha, the new year and the blessings begin, with the blessings on Simchat Torah.
I saw and heard a beautiful concept related to this, that the Chatam Sofer brings down, on Parashat Vayechi: Yaakov Avinu lived 147 years, and the Chatam Sofer says that those 147 years of Yaakov Avinu protect us against the curses. How so?
If we take the 49 curses that we read in Bechukotai, and add it to the 98 curses we read in Ki Tavo, it adds up to 147.
Thus, the 147 years of Yaakov Avinu protect us from the total of 147 curses.
What does this cryptic statement, about the years of Yaakov Avinu, from the Chatam Sofer and others, teach us?
What does Yaakov Avinu’s life have to do with protecting us from, or turning around, the curses?
The Midrash Rabbah on Bereshit ( צא)
quotes Reb Levi, in the name of Reb Bar Hanina, who said the following:
מעולם לא אמר יעקב אבינו דבר של בטלה אלא כאן.
There was only one time that Yaakov Avinu said a wasted word- when he said, לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתֶם לִי-He told the tribes, “Why did you do evil to me?”He said this regarding the fact that they told the ruler of Egypt that they had another brother. He felt that their divulging this information caused him problems.
To which Hashem replied,
אני עוסק להמליך את בנו במצרים והוא אומר “לָמָה הֲרֵעֹתֶם לִי'', הדא הוא דאתמר
“I am busy making his son (Yosef) the king of Egypt, and that’s what he says? He says, “ I’m doing bad?”
He quotes a pasuk from Yeshayah, which says
'לָמָּה תֹאמַר יַעֲקֹב וּתְדַבֵּר יִשְׂרָאֵל נִסְתְּרָה דַרְכִּי מֵה
Why is “Yaakov” talking? (this, simply speaking, refers to the Jewish people at large, but we are explaining it about Yaakov Avinu specifically) And Yisrael (this, again is Yaakov), says, “My ways are hidden from Hashem.” No, they aren’t.
Of course, this is only on Yaakov Avinu’s level. His son is seemingly dead, and now he wonders why in the world they would divulge information like that, when it seems like common sense that they’d have to do hishtadlut to protect themselves.
It’s hard to fathom the complaint against him.
Nonetheless, Rav Matityahu Salomon says that Yaakov Avinu, so to say, corrected this mistake. In what were very close to his final words, in Parashat Vayechi, Yaakov Avinu told his grandchildren,
הָאֱלֹקִים אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלְּכוּ אֲבֹתַי לְפָנָיו אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק הָאֱלֹקִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי מֵעוֹדִי עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.
Hashem (in His middah of Justice), walked in front of my forefathers, Avraham and Yitzhak,
G-d is my Shepard, from when I was brought into existence until this day.
He was saying, My Shepherd is taking care of me every step of the way.
Like David HaMelech, who says
(א) מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְדֹוָד רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר:
Rav Matisyahu Salomon points out that the word הרעה- The Shepherd, has the the same letters as הרעה, the One that did evil.
At the end of his life, Yaakov Avinu realized, and told his children (who told their children), that what looked like evil, was really the Shepherd, moving him to better pastures, placing him in a better position.
And if that’s the case, we can understand how Yaakov Avinu’s years are the Tikkun/ correction. At the end of the 147 years of his life, after his 17 years in Egypt, Yaakov Avinu realized with clarity that there is no such thing as evil. It was all shepherding. That’s the way we turn the curses into blessings. That’s the concept of Gam Zu LeTova- This too is for the good. That makes it good. That is the power of Yaakov Avinu’s years, to take those 147 potential curses and turn them around.
Furthermore, it’s interesting to consider how the 147 years developed, and the Chatam Sofer also hints to this:
When Yaakov Avinu came to Egypt at age 130, Paroah asked how old he was, because as the Ramban explains, Yaakov Avinu looked like he was 300 years old. Yaakov excused himself, by explaining that he was only 130 years old, but he looked older because he had a hard life of difficulties.
Here, the Midrash says that Hashem answers- “How can you say that you had a hard life? I saved you from Essav, I saved you from Lavan, I gave you back Dinah, I gave you back Yosef... how can you complain? Then Hashem said that
the amount of words that Yaakov used in this complaint were to be subtracted from his life. He was supposed to live 180 years like Yitzhak, but instead he’d live 147. Those 33 years taken off his life were equal to the amount of words in his complaint:
וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה אֶל יַעֲקֹב כַּמָּה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֶּיךָ. וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל פַּרְעֹה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי מְגוּרַי שְׁלֹשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי וְלֹא הִשִּׂיגוּ אֶת יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אֲבֹתַי בִּימֵי מְגוּרֵיהֶם
Rav Chaim Shemulovitz asks a famous question about this:
The word count is 33, but only if you start from
ויאמר פרעה-and Paroah said..”
Why is the question of Paroah included? That doesn’t seem fair. Why not just subtract the words of Yaakov? Why include Paroah’s question in the equation?
Rav Shemulevitz explains, (and of course this is only in Yaakov Avinu’s level that he is held accountable) why did he look so old??
Why so many grey hairs??
Why did he look so worried, so aged, that Paroah had to ask his age?
We don’t want gray hairs. We want nice black hair that doesn’t turn gray over worry, because everything is good. That was what turned the 180 into 147 years. But that 147, which was seemingly a bad thing, ended up being what protects us, because Yaakov Avinu took those 147, and turned them around.
What we are missing is the 33, says the Chatam Sofer. 33 is גל/
reveal.
As the pasuk in tehilim says
גל עיני ואביטה נפלאות מתורתיך
Open my eyes, (roll off) remove the impediments, so I can see the wonders of Your Torah.
Let me see the wonders, like it says at Yetziat Mitzrayim, G-d will show us wonders.
But it all depends on our attitude.
At the end of the year, we have to look back and say, yes it was hard, yes it was difficult, yes it was challenging, but הָאֱלֹקִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי
But Hashem is my Shepherd
When we say that, and appreciate it, that’s what brings about
תחל שנה וברכותיה
Let the new year and it’s blessings begin.