Festivals | Tishrei
Backgrounder: Brief Portraits of the Ushpizin
Barbara Weill
Abraham
The Patriarch and founder of monotheism, who gave birth to the
Jewish nation, as well as to the Arab peoples. The primary historic
source for his life is found in the book of Genesis (11:26-25:11).
A son of the idol maker Terach, Abraham was born in the city of
Ur in the Chaldean peninsula. In accordance with Divine decree,
he left his country and travelled to the land of Canaan, where
he arrived at age 75.
Childless with his wife Sarah, he took as a concubine his servant
Hagar at age 86, and had from her a son, Yishmael. Thirteen years
later, G-d revealed himself to Abraham and renewed His covenant
with him. G-d then commanded him to circumcize himself and promised
him that Sarah would at last bear him a child. Thus, Abraham's
son and spiritual heir, Isaac, was born.
Abraham died at the age of 175 and was buried in the Cave of the
Machpela in Hebron, which - together with its surrounding field
- he had purchased years before at full value for his family as
a burial place (Genesis, 23:3-18).
Abraham's Dominant Qualities:
- His appointment: It is he who was chosen by G-d to found the
Jewish people.
- His unshakeable faith (see the Midrash) that expresses itself
most notably in the following events:
* During his childhood, he did not hesitate to smash the idols
that constituted his father's livelihood;
* he undertook a journey of more than 4,000 kilometers to arrive in
Canaan;
* he performed the daunting task of self-circumcision;
* finally and most dramatically, he was tested again in his acquiescence
to the Divine will and accepted the task of offering up his son
and spiritual heir as a sacrifice to G-d.
- His love of justice and of peace:
During the war that raged in Canaan (Genesis ch.14), he managed
to reconcile the kings of Salem (Jerusalem) and of Sodom. Subsequently,
he interceded on behalf of the evil inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah
before G-d, whose he did not wish to be perish and managed to
save his kinsman, Lot, from the destruction. Later, he did not
quarrel with Lot and allowed him preference in choosing territory.
- His goodness, his extreme consciousness of hospitality: It is
said that his tent was open on all four sides to welcome travellers
from any direction.
Isaac
Son of Abraham and of Sarah, the second of the Patriarchs and the
first Jew circumcised on the eighth day after birth, Isaac was
a young man when G-d tested his father Abraham with the forbidding
task of bringing him as a burnt offering. Isaac consented to be
bound to the pyre, but at the last moment was saved by an intervening
angel who substituted a ram in his place (Genesis 22:1-19).
Isaac took Rebecca--daughter of Bathuel who himself was a cousin
of Abraham--as a wife, and they had twin sons, Jacob and Esau.
In his old age, having become blind, he bestowed upon Jacob the
blessing destined for the firstborn, Esau. Isaac died at the age
of 180 in Hebron, and was buried there in the Cave of Machpela
with his parents.
Isaac's Dominant Qualities:
- Heroism: He accepted with a full heart being bound to the pyre
at the event of his imminent sacrifice.
- Conjugal love: He is the only personality of the Tanach (Pentateuch)
of whom it is said that he loved his wife. (Genesis, 24:67)
- Attachment to Eretz Israel:
Of the three Patriarchs, he is the only one to have lived out
his entire life in Eretz Israel without crossing its borders.
He lived in perfect harmony with the land that he cultivated:
"Isaac sowed in the land and reaped that very year a hundredfold,
so much the Lord favored him." (Genesis 26:12)
Jacob
The third and last of the Patriarchs. The Torah recounts that he
is the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the younger twin of Esau.
Following an altercation with his elder brother concerning the
birthright and the blessing his mother instructed him to receive
from their father by masquerading as the elder son, Jacob fled
to Haran. On the way, G-d revealed himself to him and promised
to his descendants the land of Canaan ("the dream of the ladder,"
Genesis 28:12).
In Haran, he married Lea and Rachel, daughters of his maternal
uncle. Together with their two handmaids, Bilha and Zilpa, Lea
and Rachel bore Isaac one daughter (Dina) and twelve sons who
were to found the twelve tribes. On the path that would return
them to Canaan, Isaac enters into a struggle with an angel near
the stream of Jabok. It is here that he received the blessing
and his new name, "Israel" (Genesis 32:25).
In his later years, during the famine in Canaan, he went down to
Egypt with his sons and their descendants (70 people in all) (Genesis
46:26- 27). They settled in the land of Goshen, and it is there
that they became a great nation. Jacob died in Egypt at the age
of 147, and his remains were subsequently transported to Israel
by the Hebrews to be interred in the Cave of Machpela with his
ancestors.
Jacob's Dominant Qualities:
- Loyalty to the faith of his fathers:
He successfully resisted the influences of his brother Esau and
of his uncle Laban. He resisted their idolatrous ways and for
this received the blessing of Isaac.
- A love of peace:
He repeatedly tried to avoid conflicts with his brother and uncle
and to live peacably with them. Similarly, he endeavored to have
order and harmony prevail in his own home.
- He is the founding father of the Jewish nation: In fathering
twelve sons who in turn founded the twelve tribes of Israel, he
transformed the line of Abraham into a full nation.
Joseph
The eleventh son of Jacob, the favored child and the first son
of Rachel (Genesis 30:23-4). His life is described in the book
of Genesis (chap.37 to 50).
His brothers, jealous of him, sell him into slavery to the Egyptians.
In Egypt, he is thrown in prison for having refused the advances
of the wife of his master, Potiphar, but is released after successfully
interpreting the several dreams of Pharaoh. Appointed head magistrate
to the king, he saves the land from the lengthy famine that follows.
After accidentally discovering their brother's identity in Egypt,
Joseph's brothers join him in Egypt along with their father Jacob.
According to the Torah, the Hebrews of the Exodus carried Joseph's
remains to Eretz Israel to bury them there. He is the only of
Jacob's sons not to have given his name to a tribe, although two
of the twelve tribes bear the names of his own sons, Ephraim and
Menashe.
Joseph's Dominant Qualities:
- Prophetic vision that found expression in the dreams he interpreted
in the dreams he had himself.
- His political savvy and organizational ability that allowed him
to impose legislation upon the Egyptians to enable them to prosper
as a nation.
- His keen sense of justice (he is called "Joseph the Righteous"):
He demonstrated his virtue in refusing the advances of Potiphar's
wife, and great judiciousness in pardonning his brothers who had
sold him into slavery as a young man.
Ultimately, he saved his entire family from the famine that had
been ravaging Eretz Israel, and established them in the prosperous
Egypt of his exile, trials and success.
Moses
Born in Egypt to Yocheved and Amram, both of the tribe of Levi,
Moses' two distinguished siblings were Aaron and Miriam. When
Pharaoh decreed all male Jewish children were to be killed (because
of his magicians' prophecies), Moses' wise mother put him in a
cradle that she placed in the Nile, and it was in this way that
Pharaoh's daughter came to fish him out of the river and adopt
him into the royal family and court of Ancient Egypt.
When Moses rediscovered his people subject to the oppressive slavery
prevailing in the land, he sought to mitigate the brutal treatment
inflicted upon them by their Egyptian captors. At one point, he
slew an Egyptian overseer and so had to flee the land.
Eventually, he settled in Midian, where he encountered the great
personality of Jethro--and his daughter, Tzipporah, whom he married.
It is there that G-d revealed himself to him and commanded him
to return to Pharaoh to convince him to release the Hebrew slaves.
The book of Exodus tells of the plagues, Moses taking the People
of Israel across the parted Red Sea and went up to Receive the
Torah at Mount Sinai. It was under his leadership that the People
lived in the Sinai Desert and Tabernacle in the--the precursor
and model for both subsequent two Temples in Jerusalem--was constructed
in the wilderness. Through his profound soul the law of G-d was
revealed to the Hebrews who become "Jewish" at Mount Sinai.
Moses died at the age of 120 without having entered his beloved
and most longed for land of Israel, and his exact burial site
is unknown.
Moses' Dominant Qualities:
- He is the consummate prophet: "There has never arisen in Israel
since, a prophet like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face."
(Deuteronomy 34:10)
- Humility: "Now this man, Moses, was of the utmost humility, more
humble than any man who ever walked the earth" (Numbers 12:3).
- His capacity as leader: He understood his people, defended them,
intervened on their behalf--even before G-d himself--and yet did
not hesitate to impose his own authority with impunity when it
became necessary.
Aaron
One of the central characters in the unfolding of the Exodus from
Egypt (beginning of the Book of Exodus) and in the dramatic events
of the generation that wandered the desert. He was the high priest
("Cohen gadol") and the founder of the dynasty of priests ("cohanim")
in Israel.
Born in Egypt to Yocheved and Amram, both descended from the tribe
of Levi, he was the older brother of Moses and Miriam. He conspired
with Moses to deliver the Hebrews from their Egyptian bondage
and to lead them through the desert.
When Moses was atop Mount Sinai receiving the holy tablets of the
law, Aaron weakened before the people and played for time in the
hope Moses would soon descend the mountain, agreeing to their
demands to construct the Golden Calf, and going so far as to allow
that the altar be placed before him.
Aaron and his sons had been elected by G-d to serve as the nation's
priests, and after the construction of the Tabernacle, they donned
the priestly garments to inaugurate the holy service.
Aaron died at the age of 123, also without having merited entry
in the land of Israel.
Aaron's Dominant Qualities:
- His charisma and his superb leadership abilities:
He was the mouthpiece of Moses, who only expressed himself with
great difficulty due to a speech impediment incurred in childhood.
He was well-schooled in evaluating the immense power of the masses,
and it is for this reason that he agreed to build the Golden Calf
much against his better judgement.
- His saintly character: Aaron represents the ultimate power of
the priestly class. He alone was able to penetrate into the Holy
of Holies.
David
David is regarded as the greatest king of Israel (1037 B.C.E.-967
B.C.E.). He had exibited tremendous bravery since his early years,
when he slew the Philistine giant, Goliath, in single combat.
At age 25, David became an officer in Saul's army, and rapidly
distinguished himself in the war against the Philistine nation.
Yet later on, he was forced to flee the raging jealousy of the
one he had so faithfully served in war, King Saul himself. It
was not until Saul's death that David returned to Hebron and was
anointed King of Judah. Seven years later, all of Israel's tribes
swore allegiance to him.
In the eighth year of his reign, David conquered Jerusalem and
proclaimed it his capital. He succeeded in defeating the armies
of Philistine, Edom, Amon and Moab, and through these victories,
was able to substantially extend the borders of his kingdom and
to sign a treaty with Tyre and Sidon.
After having waged these military campaigns, he dedicated himself
to the internal affairs of state, to the more administrative and
commercial aspects of rulership. David also laid the foundations
for the construction of the Temple that would be built in the
days of Solomon, his son and successor. David's history can be
found in the books of Samuel and in the first Book of Kings.
David's Dominant Qualities:
- Courage, cunning and military genius.
- A passionate nature and a powerful creative energy.
- Musical and poetic gifts: The Psalms are attributed to him.
- David is perceived above all as the father of the Jewish Royal
House in Israel and Judah until the destruction of the First Temple.
Reference to the leadership of the Nation is always in terms of
the "House of David".
His greatness is such that tradition teaches that in the "End
of Days," the Messiah will be a descendant of the House of David.
Acknowledgement:
Translation - Hannah Salm.
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