Vayigash – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

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)

The casual reader of Biblical text, who refuses to look beyond the simple translation and delve into the profundities of the Torah’s interpretation, sees an emotional meeting between two brothers who had been separated for twenty-two years. This might be the case if this were a secular novel and the two heroes were simple people. When an encounter is recorded in the Torah for posterity and the players are Yosef and Binyamin, two members of Shivtei Kah, one must be obtuse to view this meeting superficially. Chazal illuminate the scenario when they tell us that this was no simple emotional…

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ויסע ישראל וכל אשר לו ויבא בארה שבע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayigash

So Yaakov set out with all that he had and he came to Beer-Sheva. (46:1)

The Midrash asks where Yaakov Avinu went. Chazal respond, Lakutz arazim, “To cut down the cedar trees which his grandfather, Avraham Avinu, planted in Beer Sheva.” I have referred to this 0Midrash a number of times, but upon perusing it again, I am struck with two questions. Yaakov is on his way to greet his long-lost son, Yosef, for whom he had mourned for twenty-two years. Can one ever begin to imagine the excitement that coursed through the Patriarch at this time? His son that he had given up for dead was not only alive, but had achieved the epitome…

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ויברך יעקב את פרעה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Vayigash

And Yaakov blessed Pharaoh. (47:7)

The blessing that Yaakov Avinu gave to Pharaoh had an enormous effect on Egypt’s agricultural bounty. Indeed, Rashi explains that, following Yaakov’s blessing, the Nile River rose up to “greet” Pharaoh and then irrigated the land. The Satmar Rav, zl, related that, in the twilight of the life of his grandfather, the Yismach Moshe, the heads of the community approached him with a complaint. Apparently, the sage davened privately in a room off of the main bais medrash. This bothered them. They added a few more foolish critiques, which they felt granted them permission to refuse him his meager salary…

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ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayigash

Then Yehudah approached him and said. (44:18)

To approach someone prior to speaking to him is self-evident. Unless one wants to shout across the room, he must move over towards the individual with whom he is about to speak. Why does the Torah seem to underscore that Yehudah “approached” Yosef? It could have written simply that Yehudah spoke with Yosef, without mentioning that he approached him. Indeed, every word in the Torah has a purpose. The Torah is Divinely authored. Hashem places a word in the Torah for a distinct reason, to convey an important and meaningful message. What is Vayigash, “And he approached,” teaching us? Horav…

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ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו... ולא עמד איש אתו בהתודע יוסף אל אחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayigash

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him… Thus no one remained with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers. (45:1)

If ever a passage in the Torah has been laden with ambiguity, it is the episode of Yosef with his brothers. Clearly, whatever explanation we offer is superficial. The story of Yosef and his brothers is replete with profound esoteric principles that absolutely defy our ability to understand. These are the ways of G-d. We are not capable of understanding Hashem’s reasons for causing Yaakov’s troubles, Yosef’s loneliness, and the brothers’ envy which precipitated the twenty-two year separation of the father from his beloved son. The manner in which Yosef and his brothers finally became reunited and reconciled is no…

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ולא יכול להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayigash

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

Rashi explains that Yosef could not allow the Egyptians to be present when he was putting his brothers to shame. The Midrash goes further, claiming that Yosef had placed himself in great danger, for if his brothers had decided to kill him, no one would have known one way or the other. He said, “Better I should be killed than I should humiliate my brothers in front of the Egyptians.” Embarrassing someone is an egregious sin for which one loses his portion in Olam Habba, the World to Come. Ish L’reieihu quotes Horav Yosef Chaim Blau, Shlita, Rav of Ashkelon,…

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ויאמר ישראל רב עוד יוסף בני חי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayigash

And Yisrael said, “How great! My son Yosef still lives!” (45:28)

Yaakov Avinu was ecstatic. His long-lost son, Yosef, was alive – physically and spiritually. Not only had he risen to a position of great distinction in his newly-adopted country, but he had maintained all of the strict spiritual standards that had been so much a part of his early life. The Patriarch had to see this for himself. His sons’ report gave him hope, but, until he saw it for himself, he was still anxious concerning Yosef’s spiritual erudition. The Midrash makes an interesting comment which focuses on Yaakov’s use of the word rav, “how great”. Rav kocho, “How great…

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ויפל על צואריו ויבך על צואריו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Vayigash

He fell on his neck, and he continued to cry on his neck. (46:29)

The meeting of father and son was certainly an emotionally-powered reunion. The love they manifested towards one another was unusual. This, coupled with the twenty-two year forced separation, created a situation in which their first encounter was a heightened opportunity for intense expression of love. This is why Rashi quotes Chazal, who say that it was only Yosef who hugged and kissed his father. Yaakov Avinu, at that exalted moment – instead of embracing his son – was reciting Shema Yisrael. Then Yaakov concluded the meeting with, Amussa ha’paam, acharei re’osi es panecha, “Now that I have seen your face…

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אל תירא מרדה מצרימה כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayigash

Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make a great nation of you there. (46:3)

Yaakov Avinu needed reassurance. He was prepared for the worst, as he had already experienced so much hardship. It is no wonder, therefore, that when he was confronted with the beginning of what was to be galus Mitzrayim, the Egyptian exile, he was afraid. The Patriarch, however, did not fear for himself. His commitment and devotion to Hashem was unwavering. He feared for his children, his descendants who would be born into Egypt’s depraved culture. How were they going to be able to withstand the onslaught of evil and licentiousness, as they confronted an environment permeated with spiritual defilement? He…

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ויאסר יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו... וירא אליו ויפל על צואריו ויבך

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Vayigash

Yosef hitched his chariot and went up to meet his father… He appeared before him, fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck. (46:29)

Yosef made a point to harness the horses personally in preparation for his long anticipated meeting with his father. It would be no ordinary meeting. It was Yosef and Yaakov Avinu, two individuals whose relationship with one another was unusual, in the sense that Yosef was a spiritual replica of his father. Separated for over two decades, one can only begin to imagine the pent-up emotion that was welling up within each one – father and son. Yet, we see a number of anomalies concerning this meeting. Yosef hitched the chariot himself, probably out of excitement and growing anticipation. “Yosef…

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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)

ויסע ישראל וכל אשר לו ויבא בארה שבע

So Yaakov set out with all that he had and he came to Beer-Sheva. (46:1)

ויברך יעקב את פרעה

And Yaakov blessed Pharaoh. (47:7)

ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר

Then Yehudah approached him and said. (44:18)

ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו... ולא עמד איש אתו בהתודע יוסף אל אחיו

Now Yosef could not restrain himself in the presence of all who stood before him… Thus no one remained with him when Yosef made himself known to his brothers. (45:1)

ולא יכול להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו

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

ויאמר ישראל רב עוד יוסף בני חי

And Yisrael said, “How great! My son Yosef still lives!” (45:28)

ויפל על צואריו ויבך על צואריו

He fell on his neck, and he continued to cry on his neck. (46:29)

אל תירא מרדה מצרימה כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם

Do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make a great nation of you there. (46:3)

ויאסר יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו... וירא אליו ויפל על צואריו ויבך

Yosef hitched his chariot and went up to meet his father… He appeared before him, fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck. (46:29)

YEARS

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