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Vayeishev: Zemer of The Week

Tzaddik Katamar Yifrach – צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח

צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח, כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּה, שְׁתוּלִים בְּבֵית ה בְּחַצְרוֹת אֱלֹהֵינוּ יַפְרִיחוּ. עוֹד יְנוּבוּן בְּשֵׂיבָה דְּשֵׁנִים וְרַעֲנַנִּים יִהְיוּ לְהַגִּיד כִּי-יָשָׁר ה’ צוּרִי וְלֹא-עַוְלָתָה בּוֹ

A righteous man will blossom like a date palm.
Like a cedar in Lebanon, he will attain
Planted in the house of my Lord
In the courts of our God they will flourish.
Still thinking about returning
They will be rich and fresh.
To say, "Hashem is righteous."
My Rock, and there is no injustice in it.
(Tehillim 92:13, with additions)

The original Diaspora Yeshiva Band version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUs7av4nJOs

This beloved song takes on special meaning in the parsha that includes the story of Yehudah and Tamar.

Tamar shows remarkable integrity, patience, and moral clarity. She never humiliates Yehudah, even when she could have saved herself at his expense. Like the tamar tree, which produces sweet fruit despite harsh conditions, Tamar remains steadfast and righteous throughout her ordeal.

For his part, when Yehudah declares, “צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי” (“She is more righteous than I am” – Bereishit 38:26), he models one of the Torah’s greatest acts of righteousness: admitting fault openly and truthfully. This moment becomes the turning point in Yehudah’s life, and according to Chazal, it is why kingship ultimately descends from him.

The zemer  for this week: צור משלו (“Tzur Mishelo”)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kCEhp0vLAQ

This zemer might have been written in the early Tannaitic period, making it one of our oldest zemirot. Some of the evidence for that comes from the fact that the structure and sequence of this zemer matches that of the first three paragraphs of Birchat Hamazon. We would normally think that the zemer’s fourth stanza would then correspond to the fourth bracha of Birchat Hamazon. However, Artscroll Zemiros cites the Siach Yitzchak and others who say that the fourth stanza refers instead to the cup of wine over which we say Birchat Hamazon, instead of to the fourth bracha that was instituted by the Sages after the time of the Tanaim.

Central elements of this parsha include Yosef’s encounter with his brothers in Shechem, Yehuda’s encounter with Tamar, and Yosef’s prison encounter with the two officers of Paro.

Some of the connections to the parsha:

  • 1st line of 1st paragraph: “רוענו אבינו” (“Our Shepherd, our Father”) – Yosef was sent to Shechem to check on how the shepherding of his brothers was going (Bereishit 37:14).
      o A recurring theme of the entire story of Yosef in Mitzrayim is how we have to have faith that Hashem is shepherding us through every step of our lives.
  • 3rd and 4th lines of the 3rd paragraph: “בן-דוד עבדך יבוא ויגאלנו...משיח ד” (“The son of David Your servant should come and redeem us … the Moshiach of Hashem”) – Peretz, the older of the twins born from the union of Yehuda and Tamar, was destined to become the ancestor of David Hamelech, the progenitor of Moshiach (Aggadas Bereishis to 38:29).
  • 2nd line of 1st paragraph: “אכלנו את לחמו ויינו שתינו” (“We have eaten His bread and have drunk His wine”) – In prison, Yosef interpreted (Bereishit 40:9-19) the dream of the Officer of the Bakers (about birds eating from Paro’s bread baskets) and the dream of the Officer of the Cupbearers (about giving Paro his wine cup to drink).