Parshas Miketz begins with the liberation of Yosef from the prison of Potiphar. Through his success in interpreting the dream of Pharoah Yosef is finally freed. The Gemarra says that this took place on Rosh Hashanah. Chazal go on to say that the enslavement of the Jews also ended on Rosh Hashanah.
The Gemarra relates that the advisors of Pharaoh claimed that Yosef was not fit for a position of authority. He was lacking a crucial skill. Only someone who knew all seventy languages could become an official in Egypt, and Yosef only knew Lashon Hakodesh. That night the malach Gavriel came to Yosef and taught him the other seventy languages. The next morning, he was able to converse with Pharaoh in all seventy languages. But Pharoah did not know Lashon Hakodesh. Through Yosef’s knowledge of the languages of the world he was redeemed.
The Ramban teaches based on Chazal that the incidents of Sefer Bereishis have a specific theme. The actions of the Avos foretell the actions of their descendants. One way to describe this is pre-history. The redemption of Yosef is the pre-history of the redemption of Klal Yisrael. If so, where do we see this idea that the geula comes through the knowledge of seventy languages?
The world was created in Lashon Hakodesh through ten Maamaros. When Adam was created, he spoke Lashon Hakodesh. When he sins, he loses the ability to connect to the source of speech and instead of Lashon Hakodesh he speaks Aramaic . This descent continues. When the builders of the tower of Bavel are punished the world disperses into seventy languages. They all disconnect from the source and are languages with no connection to kedusha.
Gavriel does not just teach Yosef all the languages. Yosef learns their connection to the source, of Lashon Hakodesh. When you are connected to the source, that is the opposite of the dispersion of galus. Knowing all the languages is the personal geula of Yosef. That is how he gets out of prison and becomes a ruler. Knowing Lashon Hakodesh places him above Pharoah. Pharoah knows the details. Yosef has the basis of all the seventy.
But then the galus in Egypt begins. Chazal say that in Egypt the power of speech itself was in exile. The world was created through ten maamaros, utterances. Those were meant to be perceived and proclaim that Hashem created the world. When Pharoah says, “Who is Hashem that I should listen to his voice?”, he is rejecting the power of Hashem’s speech.
One hundred and thirty years after the descent to Egypt Moshe is born. When he is born the entire home is filled with the light of the Torah. It is the light of the first day of creation that was hidden in the Torah for the tzadikim . Moshe was born with the ability to counteract the galus. He can speak Torah and fill the world with the knowledge of Hashem.
But since this is the time of the deepest darkness and subjugation, that light does not remain. Moshe is taken to the house of Pharoah, and there his power of speech is removed. The same malach Gavriel who taught Yosef to speak, causes Moshe to reach for the coal, and Moshe loses the power of speech.
After that Moshe cannot reveal Hashem’s presence in the world. And till Pharoah was forced through the ran makos to understand and hear the speech of Hashem, the world and Moshe were mute. The light of the Torah is once again hidden, like the light of the first day of creation.
The ARIZ”L points out the dichotomy . When Yosef is freed which is a precursor of the ultimate redemption form Egypt, Gavriel expands his power of speech. But in the darkest days of the persecution the malach Gavriel limits Moshe’s ability to Torah. Till the Torah is given Moshe cannot speak.
The greatest oppression is when the language and the ability to speak words of Torah in Lashon Hakodesh is suppressed. But there is a higher level of freedom than speaking Torah in Lashon Hakodesh. When Torah can be taught in all seventy languages, the entire speech of the world is connected to its roots in Lashon Hakodesh. That is the ultimate Geulah for the entire world.
This concept is not only seen in the exile in Egypt but is seen in all the four galuyos. Each in turn denies the ability of Lashon Hakodesh to express its purpose. They reject the creation of the world through the language of the Torah and the ten utterances. But that is only temporary. The Gemarra says that the oppression in Egypt was the catalyst for Matan Torah. The same is true for each galus. Each one in turn brings another revelation of the Torah.
The Leshem explains the concept . When there is a Bais HaMikdosh, the name Elokim is apparent in the world. Elokim means that Hashem is the source of all the power in the world. The gematria of that Name is eighty-five. That is the same as the word “peh” – mouth. The name Elokim means that the world proclaims that it was created by Hashem.
During the time of Churban the letters Yud and Heh of the Name Elokim are hidden. Those are the letters that the world was created with. The letters left are Aleph, Lamed, and Mem. They spell Eileim – mute. During the Churban the Bais HaMikdosh does not enunciate Hashem’s name. And the world seems disconnected from its source.
The sefer of Galus Bavel, the book of Daniel, begins with the royal youth of Yehuda being taken to study in the academy of Bavel. The specific course of study are the books and the language of the Kasdim . It is to learn the language of galus and reject Lashon Hakodesh.
But ultimately in galus Bavel there is more revelation of the Torah. Sefarim of Tanach are written in Aramaic to return the language of Adam Harishon to kedusha .
The Rambam alludes to this in Hilchos Tefila . When the Jews were in Galus they forgot how to speak Lashon Hakodesh. Their speech was a mixture of Bavel and all the other languages that were spoken in exile. Therefore, the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah needed to institute specific Tefilos in correct Lashon Hakodesh. This was part of the return from galus.
A close examination of Megilas Esther shows this same idea in the galus of Achashverosh. Memuchan, who is Haman, advises Achashverosh to remove Vashti. Achashverosh sends public letters to all the nations of the empire explaining what he did. Memuchan advises that they should be written to each nation according to their own language and script. But he does not mention Lashon Hakodesh .
After Haman is executed another set of letters is sent that allow the Jews to defend themselves. In those letters the language of the Jews is specifically mentioned . It seems that Haman wanted to remove the language of Klal Yisrael, so the first letters were not written Hebrew. Part of the Geulah was to return the primacy of Lashon HaKodesh and send the letters in Lashon HaKodesh.
Galus Persia was when the Torah was reaccepted. The Gemarra says that in the time of Achashverosh the Jews accepted the Torah with love. Till then the power of accepting the Torah was missing. Since this is a new acceptance of the Torah, there is a new revelation of Lashon Hakodesh.
The original darkness of Galus Yavan was the attempt to translate the Torah into Greek. When the translation was completed three days of darkness descended on the world . The attempt to translate the Torah should have been to extend the Torah and allow the Greek language to reveal one aspect of the Torah. The Greek’s purpose was the opposite. It was to limit the Torah to the philosophy of Greece. Instead of the light of the Torah utilizing the Greek language to extend to another part of the world, it tried to stifle and darken the light of the Torah.
But instead, there was the beginning of the Oral Law. The Gemarra describes a momentous confrontation between Yavan and Klal Yisrael. Alexander the Great had already conquered most of the world. He was on his triumphant way to conquer Yerushalayim. Shimon HaTzadik put on the garments of the Kohen Gadol and went out to meet him. When Alexander saw Shimon, he bowed down to him. His advisors were aghast, “How can you bow down to this Jew?” Alexander responded, “This is the figure that I see before me, as I am victorious.”
Rav Tzadok explains the deeper meaning of this encounter . The advisor of Alexander was Aristotle, the greatest of the philosophers of Greece. He objected to the submission of Greece to the Jews. The Ramban writes the approach of Aristotle is the exact opposite of the Torah. His approach is that anything that he cannot understand with his wisdom does not exist.
Pirkei Avos teaches that the beginning of Torah Shebal Peh begins at the end of the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah. The transition figure is Shimon HaTzadik. This meeting is the first encounter between the wisdom of Yavan, and the chochma of Torah Shebal Peh. Alexander’s submission is the beginning of the teaching of the Oral Torah.
The final exile is that of Edom. The Gemarra describes Edom as a nation that has no language or script of its own. Their language is taken from others. The galus of language is so complete that the entire world cannot speak at all.
The Maharal explains that since Eisav is the representative of the Satan, he has no real existence. He is not one of the seventy languages and is not considered a real nation.
(The Ben Yehoyada of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Bagdad who lived in the late 1800’s describes this as America . America is a land of no language. Their language is English which they took from the kingdom of Britain.)
Eisav is described as having prey in his mouth . But even though he is renowned for the power of his speech, it is empty speech. It seems to be words of Torah. He asks his father how to take maaser from salt. But they are empty words. There is not even a beginning of a question. It is only to impress his father.
But in the time of Edom the prey in the mouth of Eisav is the expansion of Torah Shbal Peh. We need to speak our Torah where there is no other speech. In the time of this galus the Torah expands. Chazal say what Rabbi Akiva and his chavrusas revealed is greater than what Moshe revealed. (This Chazal needs a great degree of explanation, but not for now .)
The Tanchuma completes the circle . When Hashem sent Moshe to Pharoah he said, “But in the palace of Pharoah one is expected to know all seventy languages! And I cannot speak at all.” Hashem responds, “I will heal you and teach you all the languages.” And after forty years of learning Torah, Moshe explained the Torah in all seventy languages. This is a fulfillment of the Pasuk, “And then the mute will sing.”
And what is true for Moshe is true for Klal Yisrael.
There is a piyut from Donash ben Labrat that is added to the opening of benching for sheva Brachos . The initial phrase describes the transition from galus to Geulah: (from Reb Zalman translation.)
“Remove all pain, all wrath take wing; Then even ones who are mute will sing.”
This is from a Pasuk in Yeshaya . The end of the galus is described as the mute will begin sing. The letters of Hashem’s name will return to the mute. Elokim will be complete once again. And then all seventy languages and all the galus will proclaim Hashem.
Torah Thoughts from Rabbi Zave Rudman 