Vayigash – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him. (45:1)

Yosef was ready to reveal himself, to share his identity with his brothers, but he could not bear to do so in the presence of so many bystanders. He was concerned for his brothers’ dignity, lest he shame them in public. Veritably, there was nothing holding him back from revealing himself – or was there? Furthermore, following his revelation, the Torah writes that he fell on Binyamin’s neck. Rashi explains that, in this expression of emotion, Yosef wept over the destruction of the two Batei Mikdash which would be destroyed in Binyamin’s portion of Eretz Yisrael. Why was mourning over…

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ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו ויקרא הוציאו כל איש מעלי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayigash

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him, so he called out, “Remove everyone from before me!” (45:1)

Yosef was taking an enormous chance with his life. He was one person – not characteristically physically strong. Standing opposite him were his ten brothers, each of whose individual strength was without peer. Indeed, if any one of them would have lifted a finger against Yosef – he would have been smitten. All ten together could easily have taken down Egypt. Yet, Yosef sought no protection, asking that no one remain in the room with him at this moment of truth, the moment in which he would reveal himself to his brothers. In his Tiferes Yehonasan, Horav Yehonasan Eibeshutz, zl,…

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ועתה אל תעצבו ואל יחר בעיניכם כי מכרתם אתי הנה כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayigash

And now, be not distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me here, for it was to be a provider that G-d sent me ahead of you. (45:5)

Does the realization that it was all part of Hashem’s plan mitigate the evil that one has wrought against another person? Is it so simple to overlook, to forgive the evil, the hurt, the pain and misery that had been a constant accomplishment for years, just because one is aware that the perpetrator is G-d’s agent? For most of us: probably not. For Yosef: the above pasuk states that he told them, “Do not lose sleep over what you had done; you were G-d’s agents.” Maavir al midosav, “Passing over one’s faults,” disregarding the bad middos, character traits, of those…

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ועתה לא אתם שלחתם אותי הנה כי האלקים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayigash

And now: it was not you who sent me here, but G-d. (45:8)

Veritably, on the surface, to the unlearned reader, it appears that the brothers catalyzed Yosef’s descent into Egypt. Yosef underscores the fallacy of such a viewpoint. Hashem pulls the strings; He manipulates events from behind the scene. We think that we are in charge, but we must be aware that we are not. We might make decisions, but Hashem’s Will stands and is always executed. Hashem wanted the Jewish People to go down to Egypt as part of His Divine Plan. Thus, he manipulated events in such a manner that Yosef was the first to go down, with Yaakov Avinu…

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רב עוד יוסף בני חי אלכה ואראנו בטרם אמות

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Vayigash

How great! My son Yosef still lives! I shall go and see him before I die. (45:28)

True greatness is measured by how much one empathizes with the pain and joy of his fellow. At its simplest, empathy is the awareness of the thoughts and emotions of others, it is the ability to see the world through the eyes of others. It is the link between ourselves and others, because it is how we as individuals understand what others are feeling, as if we are feeling it ourselves. In cognitive empathy, one understands the thoughts and emotions of others in a very rational, rather than emotional, sense. We try to get into their minds, to attempt to…

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ויזבח זבחים לאלקי אביו יצחק

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayigash

He slaughtered sacrifices to the G-d of his father, Yitzchak. (46:1)

Yaakov Avinu was moving to Egypt. Although he knew quite well that his ultimate home would be Eretz Yisrael and that Egypt was a galus, exile, which he would have to endure – the move to Egypt was not an easy one. Galus has a transformative effect on a person. Some feel the need to adapt, to eschew past practices and beliefs. Otherwise, how can they survive in an environment that is foreign to them? Yaakov taught his children to remain focused on the future, on their return to the Holy Land, on their eventual redemption. With hope, one can…

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ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayigash

He sent Yehuda ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. 46:28

Rashi teaches that Yaakov Avinu dispatched Yehudah on a mission to Egypt for more than merely making arrangements for the family’s arrival. The Midrash interprets l’horos as “to teach.” This implies that Yaakov sent Yehudah to establish the first yeshivah in Egypt. The “Yeshivah Gedolah of Goshen” set a precedent for all time. Torah education must be a community’s priority number one. A city without a makom Torah, place where Torah is studied, lacks the most critical component of its Jewishness. A Jewish community without a makom Torah is not Jewish! Horav Moshe Yaakov Ribicov, zl, popularly known as the…

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ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayigash

He sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

Chazal teach that Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah to Goshen for the purpose of establishing the first yeshivah, from whence Torah and its teachings would be disseminated. Why did Yaakov choose Yehudah over any of the other brothers – especially Yissachar, who was the paradigm of Torah study and scholarship? The Midrash Tanchuma teaches a novel idea to explain why Yaakov made this choice. Apparently, for years, ever since the disappearance of Yosef, when Yehudah was the one who presented Yosef’s bloodied tunic, the Patriarch had suspected Yehudah of culpability in (what he believed to be) Yosef’s death. Now that he…

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ויאסור יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו גשנה וירא אליו ויפול על צואריו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Vayigash

Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father in Goshen. He appeared before him, and fell on his neck. (46:29)

Rashi explains that neither did Yaakov Avinu fall upon Yosef’s neck, nor did he kiss him, because, at the time of their meeting, Yaakov was preoccupied with reciting Shema. Yosef was not. This leads up to the obvious question: Was it the time for reciting Krias Shema — or not? If it was not Krias Shema recital time, why did Yaakov find it necessary to choose this unique moment of their meeting to capitalize on Krias Shema? Could the meeting not have waited a few moments? The commentators grapple with this question, each offering his own insight into this seeming…

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ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayigash

Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. (45:14)

Rashi quotes Chazal (Megillah 16b) who indicate that Yosef and Binyamin wept over the destruction of the Sanctuaries which would be built in their respective portions of Eretz Yisrael. Yosef cried over the two Batei Mikdash which were to be situated in Binyamin’s territory, while Binyamin mourned the Mishkan Shiloh which was to be in Yosef’s portion of Eretz Yisrael. Clearly, the weeping generated by these destructions could have occurred at a different time. Yosef and Binyamin had been separated for twenty-two years. The joy in meeting one another must have been overwhelming. Just talking about the missing years and…

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ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him. (45:1)

ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו ויקרא הוציאו כל איש מעלי

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him, so he called out, “Remove everyone from before me!” (45:1)

ועתה אל תעצבו ואל יחר בעיניכם כי מכרתם אתי הנה כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם

And now, be not distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me here, for it was to be a provider that G-d sent me ahead of you. (45:5)

ועתה לא אתם שלחתם אותי הנה כי האלקים

And now: it was not you who sent me here, but G-d. (45:8)

רב עוד יוסף בני חי אלכה ואראנו בטרם אמות

How great! My son Yosef still lives! I shall go and see him before I die. (45:28)

ויזבח זבחים לאלקי אביו יצחק

He slaughtered sacrifices to the G-d of his father, Yitzchak. (46:1)

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

He sent Yehuda ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. 46:28

ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

He sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yosef, to prepare ahead of him in Goshen. (46:28)

ויאסור יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו גשנה וירא אליו ויפול על צואריו

Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father in Goshen. He appeared before him, and fell on his neck. (46:29)

ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Then he fell upon his brother Binyamin’s neck and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. (45:14)

YEARS

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