Sacks 6/7:6 or 7 Insights by Rabbi Sacks in the Coming Parshiyot

Vayigash, Vayechi, Shemot

As an official grandfather and person deep into his middle age years, I know I am not alone as someone who has fallen into the trap of “6/7:.

The first time I fell into the 6/7 trap, I was teaching 10th graders who caught me when I was talking about Shabbat and said, “It’s 6 and 7, 6 days of work, 7 makes it complete”. The response was laughs. 

6/7, according to AI,  “is intentionally nonsensical, often used as a meaningless response online, originating from a rapper's song… Its meaning is to be undefinable, sometimes meaning "so-so," but its primary function is to be a nonsensical and frustrating placeholder.”

As nonsensical as it is, say 6/7 to anyone under 30 and you will get a look.

This year, in my parsha learning, I have been diving into the new Koren edition of the Chumash with translation and commentary from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

Throughout the week, already, each day, I pick up a thought or an inspiration that I have been sharing with students and colleagues. This is something that Rabbi Sacks was tremendously gifted at–sharing deeply meaningful and spiritual lessons with accessible, concise language. 

In that spirit, every week or so, depending on the Parsha, I will share 6 or 7 insights from Rabbi Sacks that stuck out to me and will inspire us in the coming week or weeks.

Insight #1 - ויגש-How we reframe the challenges of life is up to us-Ch. 45:15

וַיְנַשֵּׁ֥ק לְכׇל־אֶחָ֖יו וַיֵּ֣בְךְּ עֲלֵהֶ֑ם וְאַ֣חֲרֵי כֵ֔ן דִּבְּר֥וּ אֶחָ֖יו אִתּֽוֹ׃

He kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; only then were his brothers able to talk to him.

“Yosef has reframed his entire past. He no longer sees himself as a man once despised by his brothers…He has shown the power of reframing. Everything that has happened to him was necessary so that he could achieve his purpose in life: to save an entire region from starvation during a famine, and to provide a future for his family.

This single act of reframing allows Yosef to live without a burning sense of anger and injustice. It transforms the negative energies of feelings about the past into focused energies about the future…

Whatever situation we are in, by reframing it we can change our entire response set, the strength to emerge on the far side of darkness into the light of a new and better day.” (328)

Insight #2-ויגש - Even the greatest tsadikim have challenges with power-Ch. 47

“From the beginning of Exodus to the end of Deuteronomy, politics will dominate the narrative. But Yosef’s appointment to a key position in the Egyptian court is our first introduction to it. …. Power is dangerous, even when used with the best of intentions by the best of people.

Tradition called Yosef hatzaddik, “the righteous.” At the same time, the Talmud says that he died before his brothers because he assumed airs of authority (Berakhot 55a). Even a tzaddik with the best of intentions, when he or she enters politics and assumes airs of authority, can make mistakes. 

The great challenge of politics – ongoing and ever-present – is to keep policies humane and ensure that politicians remain humble, so that power, always so dangerous, is not used for harm. (340)

Insight #3-ויחי - The unique bracha of grandparents- Ch 48:20

 כְּאֶפְרַיִם וּכְמְנַשֶּׁה like Ephraim and Menashe 

“...Lord Jakobovits gave a most interesting explanation. He said that in the Torah and Tanakh, we find that parents bless their children. This is the only example of a grandparent blessing grandchildren.

Between parents and children, he said, there are often tensions. Parents worry about their children. Children sometimes rebel against their parents. The relationship is not always smooth.

Not so with grandchildren. There the relationship is one of love untroubled by tension or anxiety. When a grandparent blesses a grandchild, it is an unclouded blessing. And that is why this blessing by Yaakov over his grandchildren has become the model of blessing across the generations. (p.351)”

Insight #4-ויחי - The true message of the name Yehuda: Admiting wrongdoing Ch 49:10

לֹֽא־יָס֥וּר שֵׁ֙בֶט֙ מִֽיהוּדָ֔הThe scepter shall not depart from Judah

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet;

“Perhaps Yehuda’s future was already implicit in the word vidui, for though the verb is related to the word hoda’ah, which means “admit” or “to confess,” it also connotes praise and concession. According to Rambam, the core of the command to repent is to recognize and admit your wrongdoings, and that happens when you confess. The real result is here in the story of Yosef and Yehuda.

Leaders make mistakes. Managers follow the rules, but leaders find themselves in situations for which there are no rules…David sinned (his criticism of King David for consorting with another man’s wife). But David also takes note of what matters, suggests the Torah, that you repent, recognize and admit your wrongdoings, and that happens when you confess..Yehuda takes ownership of his darker side. Ultimately this is what makes him a lion, full of strength that he can choose to harness for the good.” (p.355)

Insight #5-ויחי - “Truth matters, but peace matters more” Ch 50:16-17

וַיְצַוּ֕וּ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֖ף לֵאמֹ֑ר אָבִ֣יךָ צִוָּ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י מוֹת֖וֹ לֵאמֹֽר׃

So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction:

“The text makes it as plain as possible that the story they tell Yosef is a lie. If Yaakov had really said those words, he would have said them to Yosef himself. …The brothers’ tale is what we may call a “white lie.” Its primary aim was not to deceive but to ease a potentially explosive situation. Perhaps that is why Yosef weeps, understanding that his brothers still think him capable of revenge.

The Sages derived a principle from this text. Mutar leshanot mipnei hashalom: “It is permitted to tell an untruth (literally, ‘to change’ the facts) for the sake of peace” (Yevamot 65b). A white lie can be permitted in Jewish law.

Our grasp of truth is partial, fragmentary, incomplete. That is the human condition. The way to peace is to realize this. Truth matters, but peace matters more. That is Judaism’s considered judgment..

To make peace between brothers, the Torah sanctions a statement that is less than the whole truth.” (p. 365)

Insight #6-שמות - Universal moral requirements Ch 1:21

וַיְהִ֕י כִּֽי־יָרְא֥וּ הַֽמְיַלְּדֹ֖ת אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיַּ֥עַשׂ לָהֶ֖ם בָּתִּֽים׃

And [God] established households for the midwives, because they feared God.

“It is notable that only two, Yocheved and Miriam, are clearly Israelite. Pharaoh’s daughter and Zipporah are not, and the identity of Shifra and Puah is uncertain…Not every nation is expected to be holy. But every nation is expected to be moral. Thus we are presented with role models, such as these non-Israelite women, whose principles stand against tyranny and persecution transcends all ethnic and cultural boundaries.” (379)

Insight #7-שמות -The courage to bring children into a broken world Ch 2:3

ותשם בסוף על שפת היאר Placed it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile 

“I try to imagine the courage of a woman willing to have a child once the decree has been issued to “throw every boy that is born into the Nile” (Ex. 1:22).

The scene is Germany, 1939. Anti-Jewish edicts are in force. There is a sense of impending tragedy. To have a child at that time is a supreme act of hope in the midst of despair. That is the bravery of Yocheved.

What do we know about her? Surprisingly little. We see Yocheved’s resourcefulness. For three months she hides the child. When she can do so no longer, she makes a papyrus basket and sets him afloat on the Nile, hoping he will be noticed and saved. Like many biblical women, she is a person of action, determination, and courage.”(380)

Insight #8-שמות -Believing in others and then they will believe in you Ch 4:5

לְמַ֣עַן יַאֲמִ֔ינוּ כִּֽי־נִרְאָ֥ה אֵלֶ֛יךָ יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתָ֑ם אֱלֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֖ק וֵאלֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹֽב׃

“that they may believe that יהוה, the God of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did appear to you.”

“Unless you believe in yourself, others will not believe in you. That is what the text implies: that Moshe is entitled to have doubts about his own worthiness for the task. What he is not entitled to have is doubts about the people he is to lead. Moshe calls them an afflicted people (Deut. 1:12). Their complaints are amplified later. They are obstinate and want to return to Egypt. Moshe must not own their estimates of their character. God reprimands him and insists on their preciousness in the sight of God. A fundamental principle of leadership is intimated here for the first time: a leader does not need faith in himself, but he must have faith in the people he is to lead.

That, according to the Sages, is what God is teaching Moshe. What matters is not whether they believe in you, but whether you believe in them. Just as you believe in Me, so you must believe in them.” (397)