6656 —"דן ידין" בפירוש הרשב"ם – פשט ודרש

B"H, 24 Teves, 5719
Brooklyn.

The veteran Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, whose work is the work of Heaven^[1],
Reb Zev, may he live long^[2]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 15 Teves, in which you raise a question on the words of the Rashbam on the verse^[3] "Dan shall judge" (Bereishis 49:16), that one who explains it as referring to Shimshon "did not know the depth of its plain meaning," etc., whereas several Midrashim of our Sages explain it in that very way^[4]:

The Rashbam is precise in his wording^[5]: their explanation mentioned above belongs to the part of Torah that is derush, not to the part that is pshat. And the Rashbam's connection with this is explained further in his commentary at the beginning of Parshas Vayeishev; see there^[6].

With blessings for good news^[7],

On behalf of the Rebbe^[8], shlita,

Secretary

Publisher's notes

Reb Zev (מו"ה זאב): Weber, Jerusalem. Further letters to him: above, vol. 15, letter 5386, and the references in the notes there.

Notes

1. The veteran Chassid… whose work is the work of Heaven (הוו"ח אי"א נו"נ מלכתו מלאכת שמים): הוו"ח = הוותיק וחסיד, "the veteran Chassid"; אי"א = איש ירא אלקים, "a G‑d-fearing man"; נו"נ = נעלה ונכבד, "distinguished and honored". "Whose work is the work of Heaven" echoes R. Yishmael's words to R. Meir the scribe (Eruvin 13a): בני, הוי זהיר במלאכתך, שמלאכתך מלאכת שמים היא, "My son, be careful in your work, for your work is the work of Heaven." The title suits the recipient, who taught children in a pure Torah education (see letters 4087 and 5386 to him); the Rebbe opened earlier letters to him with the same words (3710, 3806, 4280*).

2. Reb Zev (מו"ה זאב): Weber, Jerusalem. R. Zev (Tzvi) Weber of Jerusalem, an educator who often put questions from his learning to the Rebbe: on giving tzedakah before davening (3710, 5715); on mazal and kelipas nogah (3806); on "receiving the Torah with joy and inwardness" and on studying Tanya (3852, 5716); on the serpent in Gan Eden (4087); on the angels who rescued Lot (4280*); and on the order of the Shabbos meals according to the Zohar and on a Rashi (5386, 5717). This letter too answers his question, here on the Rashbam, and was written on the Rebbe's behalf by the secretary.

3. On the verse (עה"פ): עה"פ = על הפסוק. Bereishis 49:16: דן ידין עמו כאחד שבטי ישראל, "Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel." The Rashbam there writes: המפרש על שמשון לא ידע בעומק פשוטו של מקרא כלל. וכי יעקב בא להתנבאות על אדם שנפל ביד פלשתים וינקרו את עיניו ומת עם פלשתים בענין רע?! חלילה חלילה. אך על שבטו של דן נתנבא שהוא מאסף לכל המחנות, "One who explains it as referring to Shimshon did not know the depth of the plain meaning of the verse at all. Would Yaakov come to prophesy about a man who fell into the hands of the Philistines, who put out his eyes, and who died together with the Philistines in an evil way? Heaven forbid! Rather, he prophesied about the tribe of Dan, which was the rear guard of all the camps." In the Rashbam's view the plain meaning concerns the whole tribe of Dan, not Shimshon.

4. Several Midrashim of our Sages explain it in that very way (בכמה מדרשי חז"ל פירשו באופן האמור): For example, Sotah 10a: וא"ר יוחנן: שמשון דן את ישראל כאביהם שבשמים. שנאמר: (בראשית מט, טז) דן ידין עמו כאחד וגו', "R. Yochanan said: Shimshon judged Israel like their Father in Heaven, as it says: Dan shall judge his people as one…"; and Rashi on the verse (Bereishis 49:16): ועל שמשון נבא נבואה זו, "he prophesied this prophecy about Shimshon" (from Bereishis Rabbah 99:11 and Tanchuma Vayechi 12). That is the recipient's difficulty: how could the Rashbam say that one who explains it so "did not know", when this is how our Sages explained it?

5. The Rashbam is precise in his wording (דיוק הרשב"ם): The Rashbam did not say that one who applies the verse to Shimshon is mistaken, only that he "did not know the depth of its plain meaning". The implication is that the Sages' explanation about Shimshon is true, but it belongs to the derush of the Torah, while the Rashbam set out to explain only the plain meaning of the verse.

6. See there (עיי"ש): עיי"ש = עיין שם. On Bereishis 37:2 the Rashbam writes: ישכילו ויבינו אוהבי שכל מה שלימדונו רבותינו, כי אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו. אף כי עיקרה של תורה באה ללמדנו ולהודיענו ברמיזת הפשט וההגדות וההלכות והדינין ... והראשונים מתוך חסידותם נתעסקו לנטות אחרי הדרשות שהן עיקר, ומתוך כך לא הורגלו בעומק פשוטו של מקרא, "Let lovers of understanding understand what our Rabbis taught us, that a verse never departs from its plain meaning, even though the essence of the Torah comes to teach us, by hints within the plain text, the aggados, the halachos and the laws… The early ones, out of their piety, occupied themselves with the derashos, which are the essence, and therefore they were not accustomed to the depth of the plain meaning of Scripture." He adds that his grandfather Rashi admitted to him that, had he had the time, he would have needed to write new commentaries according to the plain meanings that come to light every day. (The principle "a verse never departs from its plain meaning" is from Shabbos 63a.) The same phrase, "the depth of its plain meaning", appears there, together with the explicit statement that the derashos "are the essence". So at "Dan shall judge" too the Rashbam is not rejecting the Sages' derush; he is saying it is not the plain meaning, and the plain meaning is his own field.

7. Good news (בשו"ט): בשו"ט = בשורות טובות.

8. The Rebbe (כ"ק אדמו"ר): כ"ק אדמו"ר = כבוד קדושת אדוננו מורנו ורבנו.

Summary

Answering a question on the Rashbam, who wrote that one who reads "Dan shall judge" as referring to Shimshon "did not know the depth of its plain meaning", although the Sages read it so, the Rebbe's secretary explains that the Rashbam is precise: the Sages' reading is true derush, not pshat. The Rashbam explains his approach at the start of Vayeishev, where he calls the derashos "the essence".