These parshiot that explore the relationship between Yehuda and Yosef, and in the following weeks deal with the redemption from Mitzrayim, provide a fitting occasion to examine the classic Kol HaTor, written by disciples of the Vilna Gaon led by Hillel of Sklov.
Hillel, along with his brother Menachem Mendel, their families, and several others of the Gra’s choice students headed what was almost certainly the first modern religious Zionist Aliyah to Israel in 1809. The First Zionist Congress was held in 1897, by which time several generations of the descendants of these pioneers had been born and raised in Eretz Yisrael. As the secular Zionists arrived and began to build the land, they sometimes spoke of the “Old Yishuv” they had found there. These were chiefly these same families, as well as immigrants from Yemen who had arrived at around the same time. For this reason, until the present day, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel follows the rulings of the Vilna Gaon on most halachic issues, even when this is at odds with the practice of most of the rest of the Ashkenazi world.
Kol HaTor is frequently misattributed to the Gra himself, but although he certainly inspired and influenced its contents, he did not have a hand in writing the book. Broadly, the book teaches of the various stages and processes of the final redemption and how these can be identified. In this regard it resembles the “Essay on Redemption” of the Ramchal that we encountered in this column previously.
It also devotes considerable space to defining the tasks of the Mashiach Ben Yosef, in the context of asserting a claim that the Vilna Gaon himself fulfilled this role. This week we will review the chapter distinguishing between the Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David (although this appears around the middle of this book) because it is relevant to our weekly Torah reading.
Following precedent in Gemara and Midrash, but chiefly in Kabbalistic literature, the book introduces the distinct roles of the two Mashiachs. The Mashiach ben Yosef always precedes the Mashiach ben David, and the work of the former is necessary to set the stage for the latter. The author of Kol HaTor also seeks to make clear that these are not simply individuals; they are representatives of a “miraculous force” that sustains Israel through the exile and finds its consummation in bringing about the end of that exile. Fundamentally, the Mashiach ben Yosef is concerned with rectifying affairs in the physical world, and the Mashiach ben David in the higher realms.
Nevertheless, in the political and historical affairs that unfold here in the world of events, we find manifestations of higher spiritual truths, and there are designated roles to be played by each of the two Mashiachs in the final conflicts and clashes that will precede the final redemption. So, for example, the book asserts that the work being done by the students of the Gra in settling the Land and gathering exiles is in fact spiritual labor in furtherance of ultimate redemption. These activities are performed together with this intent by the G-d-fearing members of the community, but they fall into different categories associated with Yosef and David respectively.
The introduction to this section (chapter 2, part 2) emphasizes that the goal of a generation that strives to bring about the redemption is to unify these two purposes. We see in our parsha how Yosef and Yehuda might find themselves at odds with one another, seemingly seeking opposing aims or emphasizing different priorities. The goal in learning of their different missions is to consider how we as a nation of individuals might act in ways that both enhance their respective successes, but also reconcile them to one another. This point was very important to Rav Kook.
Rav Kook was a product of the Lithuanian yeshivas established by the Vilna Gaon through another one of his students, R’ Chaim Volozhin. When he elected to move to Israel and became Chief Rabbi of Yafo and Tel Aviv, it was just shy of a century after Hillel and Menachem Mendel of Sklov. Upon the death of Theodore Herzl in 1904, Rav Kook delivered a stirring address that was definitely not a eulogy, according to Bezalel Naor who translated it beautifully into English in 2003. In this speech Rav Kook examines the archetypes of Yosef and Yehuda in light of Jewish tradition and especially the descriptions of the two Mashiachs found in Kol HaTor.
In a similar vein, but with an eye towards history, he explains how these guiding spirits – the “miraculous force” – manifest in different political movements that achieve prominence in Israel. He specifically distinguishes between Yehuda and Yisrael, referencing the ancient kingdoms that had been led by the house of David and descendants of Yosef, respectively. This way of looking at the cultural differences and opposing values between different camps in Israel has become increasingly prominent in recent years. However, Rav Kook, similar to Hillel of Sklov, insists that the role of pious individuals is to reconcile the two camps. The redemption can only come when all of Israel work together as one unified and indivisible association.
This is the meaning of the words of the prophet which both Rav Kook and Kol HaTor invoke: “I take the tree of Yosef in the hand of Ephraim… and I place them upon the tree of Yehuda and make them into one tree, unified in my hand” (Yechezkel 37:19). Rav Kook explains that Yosef, and by extension Yisrael, is concerned with material needs such as building the land and raising money and purchasing arms for protection from our enemies. Yehuda, in the spirit of the scion of David, is dedicated to the spiritual uniqueness and sanctity of the Jewish nation. At times they seem to be working at cross purposes and it is difficult for them to respect the importance of one another. However, it is the will of Hashem that Yosef and Yehuda work together to bring about the redemption of Israel and, through Israel, of all mankind.
