Chazal offer a number of interpretations for the phrase, “ben zekunim,” child of his old age. Some of the commentators define “ben zekunim” as “bar chakim,” wise son, referring to Yosef’s remarkable Torah scholarship. Rashi cites the Midrash which comments, “All that he (Yaakov) learned in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever during his fourteen years there, he transmitted to Yosef.” This statement is ambiguous. Did Yaakov teach Torah only to Yosef and not to his other sons? Yaakov provided a Torah education for each of his twelve sons, emphatically raising them all to become tzaddikim. The Midrash in Shemos Rabbah implies however, that he imparted more Torah knowledge to Yosef than to all the others. Yosef was endowed with an acute analytic mind, so that he could grasp the secrets of Torah to which others were not privy. In this area of Torah knowledge, Yaakov and Yosef demonstrated their unique bond.
We may suggest another interpretation of the Midrash. Yaakov undoubtedly taught Torah to every one of his sons. He transmitted to them everything that he had absorbed in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. He was a pure vehicle for transmission — giving over each Torah lesson in its pristine form without additions or deletions. Essentially, he conveyed to all of his sons “everything” that he had learned in the yeshivah. This phenomenon was reflected most significantly in Yosef’s behavior.
Yosef had been removed from the protective environment of his home at a young age and cast into a country that was infamous for its degeneracy. He was compelled to live with the dregs of society and relegated to performing menial and degrading tasks. Yet, he maintained his belief in Hashem; his commitment to the Torah and its mitzvos was unwavering. Why? What gave him the resolution to withstand temptation, the fortitude to triumph over depression and loneliness? It was the Torah which his father had taught him. Yosef had been taught the Torah in its entirety, not select segments which would be adaptable to his current lifestyle. His father was the medium for transmitting the Torah of Shem and Ever to the next generation. He did not “cut and paste” those mitzvos with which he was comfortable, while ignoring those which might seem antiquated or cumbersome. He had taught his sons “everything”.
There is an important lesson to be learned from this concept. In order to be properly influenced by a school/yeshivah environment, one must maintain the attitude that he is there to absorb everything — the Torah knowledge and its values. When we begin to discriminate against those values with which we are not comfortable, when we dissect every mitzvah to discern its pertinence, we undermine the purpose of the educational experience. We neutralize its effect on our children. Yaakov Avinu communicated the Torah in its entirety; everything that he himself had learned. Similarly, we should encourage our children to absorb all that they can, so that they will be inspired by the total educational experience.
