Exploring Connections in Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit

Some Questions Why is this a psalm that is specifically addressed to Chanukat HaBayit ? The theme of the psalm seems to resolve around God s personal salvation of David. Why is this related to Chanukat HaBayit in particular, the dedication of the Mikdash? Let s play where have we heard these words before and see what we find

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit What s the only other time we have mah betza in Tanach?

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

Blood and Listening But the connections go even deeper. For recall that when Judah said what do we gain , he spoke of covering his brothers blood and then the brothers listened to him. We find the same echoes in Mizmor Shir

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

Killing What s more, Judah spoke of plotting to kill his brother, right after he said mah betza . So too, in Mizmor shir, right after we speak of mah betza , we also hear about death

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

Covering Blood What s more Judah speaks of covering blood. With what would you cover blood?

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

The Pit And, if we are really talking about the story of Joseph again, how could we do so without speaking about going down into a pit ?

Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit Sale of Joseph

Back to the Beginning So now let s go back to the beginning of the Mizmor and try to read it as a whole. While doing so, let s watch out for more echoes and let s try to piece together the larger picture as we work why is it that this Mizmor parallels the story of Yosef? What is it trying to say with all these hidden references? In order to do this, though, we need to introduce one more background text: The words of Judah s blessing in Parshat VaYechi

The Blessings of Shimon, Levi and Yehudah It is unclear from the Torah whether Yaakov ever learns what happened that fateful day at the pit But in the blessings he gives these three children, we hear eerie echoes of the Sale of Yosef

The Blessings of Shimon, Levi and Yehudah This word is rather suggestive, wouldn t you say? And as we read, let s pay attention to these areas But in particular, let s look at this . We seem to be reminded of tarof taraf Yosef

Rashi Which, in fact, is exactly how Rashi reads this: Yaakov had suspected Judah of killing Yosef Joseph has been torn apart; a wild beast has devoured him , is, according to Rashi, a veiled reference to Judah, symbolized by a lion the ultimate beast of prey.

Rashi But Jacob goes on to praise Judah, stating: miteref bl ni alita That is, you extricated yourself you elevated yourself from the torn up prey that would have been Joseph. And so you did with Tamar, when you refused to kill her

Elevation What Rashi is saying here is that Judah, by nature is a lion; a king of the jungle who rules by power alone. A lion shows no mercy to his prey; he tears it into pieces. Judah s greatness is that when he was faced with prey in his own family, he extricated himself, elevated himself, from it. His instinct would have been to devour Yosef, devour Tamar. That s what a lion does. But Judah did not. And for this, he is praised.

Reading Judahs Blessing So if we were to read Judah s blessing as a whole, it is saying the following: Judah, you are a lion cub your hand is pressed against the back of your enemy s neck, ready to break it. I.e. Judah s greatness, what leads him to the throne, is that he is able to do the most important thing a ruler can do: Provide defense against a nation s external enemies. But his greatness is also: Miteref, b ni alita when faced with a defenseless prey in his own family, those he could have convinced himself threatened him he did not go in for the kill, but spared them.

Rashi: David and Judah While we are talking about Rashi, it is worth pointing out that, in his interpretation to the blessings of Vayechi, Rashi connects David, the scion of Judah s dynasty, to the progenitor of the tribe himself, Judah:

Judah and David In line with this, note just a few of the many similarities between the David story and the Joseph / Judah story: A shepherd, youngest of many brothers, stays home with father while brothers go on a mission. The youngest is despised by the older brothers. Father sends youngest to check on shalom of brothers. And says make sure to take the orev [arubotam] along. What could that mean?

Tanchuma, Vayigash 8 A fascinating Midrash explains the orev nothing but a reference to the collateral that Judah pledged, long ago .

Where the Temple Stands According to the Midrash, it was David s redemption of this collateral for Benjamin / Saul a reprise of his ancestor s act for the original Benjamin that allowed the Temple to be built at the nexus of Judah and Benjamin s territory. All of which helps us understand why Mizmor Shir Chanukat HaBayit has to do with the Joseph story Judah must somehow rectify the great stain of the Sale of Joseph in order to truly lead, and build the Temple. That s what the mizmor is about.

The Bear, the Lion and the Lamb We are now in a position to understand the poignant fable hidden in David s words to Saul as he is about to go out and fight Goliath; as he is about to redeem his pledge to Benjamin