ANSWERS
(1) Q: What is the simple meaning of Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim?
A: The simple meaning of Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim is that "the deeds of the ancestors are a sign for the children." We need to learn from the deeds and attributes of our ancestors, and emulate their kindness, justice and truth.
(2) Q: What does Rabbi Blech suggest is the deeper meaning of Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim?
A: The phrase Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim also has an aspect of prophecy in it. There are predictions in the Torah that we can see, if we know how to go about looking for them.
(3) Q: How are the lives of our ancestors linked to the history of the Jewish people who came after them?
A: The lives of our Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – represent in microcosm what will happen to the Jewish people in macrocosm. Jewish history is therefore divided into three periods in history.
(4) Q: Give an example of Abraham's role in Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim.
A: In Genesis we learn that Abraham went down to Egypt because of a famine. The king of Egypt took Abraham's wife, Sarah from him, but God intervened before anything bad could happen to her. God threatened the king of Egypt with plagues. Not only were Abraham and Sarah able to leave Egypt without being harmed, the king made sure that they left with many gifts.
The first third of Jewish history replays this story and is found in the Book of Exodus. There we see that children of Jacob went down to Egypt because of a famine. They stayed in Egypt many years. After much suffering, their Egyptian oppressors were smitten with plagues. God took the Jewish people out of Egypt, laden with gifts, in a story that parallels that of Abraham's.
(5) Q: Give an example of Isaac's role in Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim.
A: Isaac never left the land of Israel. He had two children, Esav and Jacob, who both went their separate ways. Isaac's life is the prototype of a time in history when the Jewish people did not leave the Land of Israel.
The second third of Jewish history replays the life of Isaac, and indeed, it is a time when the Jewish people were living in the Land of Israel. During this time, the Jewish people were split into two – the Ten Tribes, who became 'the lost tribes', and the two tribes, Yehuda and Benjamin.
(6) Q: What does 'Yaakov' (Jacob) mean, and what is his role in contemporary history?
A: Yaakov (Jacob) means "heel." Throughout his lifetime, Yaakov was on the run, never secure in any one place. He is the prototype of the Jewish people in exile.
(7) Q: What event caused Jacob's name to be changed? What was his name changed to?
A: Jacob's name was changed after he successfully battled with an angel. His name was changed to Israel.
(8) Q: What mitzvah do we learn from Jacob's battle?
A: During his battle with the angel, Jacob suffered a significant blow to his thigh. Because of this, the Torah commands us not to eat from the Gid Hanashe, the sciatic nerve.
(9) Q: How does Rabbi Blech link the story that brought about Jacob's name change to contemporary history and the foundation of the State of Israel?
A: Jacob was alone when he fought the angel. During this battle, as we learned, he suffered a terrible blow to his thigh. This blow is a sign that Jacob will lose many of his descendents. After the angel hits him, Jacob asks him for a blessing. The angel blesses Jacob, saying, "Now your name will be Israel."
Nachmanides (Ramban) says that that there will come a time, in the aftermath of an age of death and destruction, that the Jewish people will be alone, left without millions of their people. At this point they will turn toward the representatives of Esav – the nations of the world – and ask for a blessing. The representatives of the world will then turn to the Jewish people and proclaim, "Now you can be called Israel."
Rabbi Blech highlights the sequence of events that we witnessed – from the blow of the Holocaust to the founding of the State of Israel. These events, he says, represent a replay of the Jacob period of Jewish history in our time.
(10) Q: The song Chad Gadya ("One Kid") concludes the Passover Seder. What does this prayer come to teach us? How does Rabbi Blech show that this story hints to our generation being the beginnings of Messianic Era?
A: All of history has a divine order. Each part of the "One Kid" song represents a different kingdom or empire that played a role in human history. It includes the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire to name but a few. The song concludes with the revelation of God in this world, telling us that the Messianic Era concludes the history of this world.
The step that precedes the conclusion of the song is the coming of the Angel of Death. Rabbi Blech explains that the song tells us that the step before the conclusion of history is the Angel of Death. We have already witnessed and endured the Angel of Death who took six million in the Holocaust, says Rabbi Blech. We must now be on the verge of the revelation of God.
SUMMARY
Rabbi Blech introduces the concept of Ma'aseh Avot Siman L'Banim - "the deeds of the ancestors are a sign for the children." The simple explanation of this is that we should strive to emulate the attributes of our forefathers. Rabbi Blech explains that this statement also alludes to the fact that the Torah contains an aspect of prophecy, predictions that we can decipher if we know how to look for them.
The lives of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob represent one way in which God communicates the order that Jewish history will take. The lives of our forefathers represent in microcosm what will happen to the Jewish people in macrocosm. Jewish history can therefore be divided into three periods in history. The first third is a replay of the life of Abraham, the second third a replay of the life of Isaac and the last third – that in which we find ourselves today – the life of Jacob.
For example, the events that lead Abraham to go down to Egypt and his return to Israel are paralleled by the events that lead the Jewish people to go down to Egypt in the time of Pharaoh, endure slavery and leave Egypt with great plenty.
Isaac never left the Land of Israel. He had two sons that both went their separate ways. The second third of Jewish history parallels his life. At a time when the Jewish people were living in the Land of Israel, the Twelve Tribes split into two entities. The ten tribes became known as the "lost tribes." They became split from the two tribes of Yehuda and Binyamin, from which the rest of the Jewish people were born.
Jacob (Yaakov) was always on the run, never secure in any one place. Jacob's life represents the third and final period of history that we are living in today. He represents the prototype of the Jewish people in exile.
Perhaps the most significant event in Jacob's life was his battled with an angel, a representative of his brother Esav. Jacob suffered a tremendous blow to his thigh, after which he turns to the angel and asks for his blessing. The angel blesses him, tells him that he will no longer be known as Jacob, but will now be called Israel.
Nachmanides states that these events are a prediction of a time in Jewish history when the Jewish people will be alone. We will be attacked in the thigh – the procreative area – causing the death of countless of Jacob's descendents. In the aftermath of that terrible blow, Jacob's descendents will turn to the representative of Esav and ask for a blessing.
During the Holocaust, the Jewish people suffered a blow that caused the death of millions of Jacob's descendents. Says Rabbi Blech, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the Jewish people turned to the representatives of Esav – the representatives of the world – and asked for a blessing. The representatives of the world responded to Jacob by saying, "Now you can be Israel." In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the State of Israel was born. The events of our Patriarchs are a sign that we are now close to the end of the exile.
Rabbi Blech uses the Chad Gadya (One Kid) prayer, the last prayer of the Passover Seder, to show us how close we are to the final revelation of God. Each part of the prayer represents a period of history and the empires that characterized that period of history. The final period of history is the coming of the Messiah. Immediately preceding this time comes the Angel of Death. Rabbi Blech tells us that we have seen the Angel of Death through the devastating atrocities of the Holocaust. Now, with God's help, we are on the verge of seeing the coming of the Messiah and the final revelation of God.