BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS

Dear Family,

Hope everyone is well.

Mazal Tov again to Chanie Dahan whose birthday is today and Shmuel Levy whose birthday is tomorrow.

In this weeks Parsha Vayechi, Yaakov is giving blessings to his children before passing on.

I saw an interesting Essay in Chabad.org on the blessing that was given to ASHER (the eighth child), and this is also another aspect of OLIVE OIL which we discussed 2 weeks ago.

The portion of land which Asher had in Eretz Yisrael was very fertile, and the abundant olive oil that they produced for the whole country made them very wealthy.

And the blessing that Yaakov gives Asher is 'From Asher will come rich food (shmeina )....'

Rashi says 'There will be an abundance of olives in his region and the oil will flow like a fountain.'

Rashi also points to the blessing that Moshe gave to each Tribe before his passing, which for Asher was 'And he will dip his foot in oil.'

Here (with the blessings of Moshe) Rashi connects the dipping of feet in oil to the High Priests, who were anointed with oil, and he says,

'BECAUSE THE WOMEN WHO CAME FROM ASHER WERE BEAUTIFUL, THEY WERE SAUGHT AFTER BY THE HIGH PRIESTS.' The Midrash also finds other links to make this connection. The word shmeina also means oil, and eight, referring to the 8 garments worn by the High Priest!

The essay goes on to say, that this seems odd, ie why would such Holy men as the High Priests pursue a wife from a neighbouring Tribe just because she was beautiful?

But apparently, Asher's daughters were renowned for their beauty and refinement.

Their exquisite modesty demonstrated an internal commitment to spirit over flesh, and an immense respect for the body that housed their soul.

Unknowingly, they projected their inner commitment through their physical appearance - for the beauty of their soul shone unhindered through the body, reflecting there.

And the Priests recognised that these women would best understand and support their work.

Asher's daughters were also remarkable mothers.

With their modesty and integrity, they transmitted a firm sense of commitment to their children ie the unspoken message of one who values Hashem's impression more than the social impression, and the beauty in maintaining appropriate boundaries.

Their children were therefore not only fit to be Priests physically, (because their fathers were Priests), but also emotionally and spiritually.

Gut Shabbos to all our beautiful daughters, daughters-in-law, sons, sons-in-law, uncles, aunts and cousins