Sruly Schnair

כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם

For it was to be a provider that Hashem sent me ahead of you. (45:5)

The above pasuk should be every Jew’s rallying cry upon confronting the various vicissitudes of life. Travail, challenge, obstacles, speed bumps – however one seeks to refer to them – they happen, but we must remember they happen for a reason which only Hashem knows. The mere fact that we accept that everything that takes place is Divinely dispatched and serves a Heavenly purpose, which is inherently good, should be sufficient balm for the pain and anxiety it leaves in its wake. We are, however, only human. As a result, while we are in the midst of the maelstrom of…

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ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך ובנימין בכה על צואריו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Vayigash

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

The Midrash comments that Yosef and Binyamin wept over the destruction of the Sanctuaries that would be built in their respective portions of the Land: the two Batei Mikdash that would be built in Binyamin’s portion, and Mishkan Shiloh that stood in the portion of Yosef’s son, Efraim. Horav David Leibowitz, zl, derives from here the overwhelming pain experienced by our forefathers concerning the churban, destruction of the Batei Mikdash. During the greatest moment of heightened joy, when all that should have occupied their minds was the homecoming/reinstatement of Yosef, their long- lost brother, their thoughts were elsewhere. Binyamin was…

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ויזבח זבחים לאלקי אביו יצחק

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Vayigash

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

Why Yitzchak and not Avraham? Surely, Yaakov Avinu remembered his zayde, grandfather, the Patriarch of the family. Rashi comments that Yaakov underscored the idea that a son owes more to his father than to his grandfather. The other commentators focus on the middah, attribute, of Yitzchak, which Yaakov felt would benefit his descendants most as they were about to commence the bitter Egyptian exile – which would lead to the next exiles, until the Final Redemption at the End of Days. Horav Shlomo Freifeld, zl, explains Yaakov’s actions as a lesson to his descendants about how to live a Torah…

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ואת יהודה שלח לפניו אל יוסף להורות לפניו גשנה

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Vayigash

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

Yaakov Avinu sent Yehudah, the leader of the brothers, to make the necessary arrangements for their imminent arrival in Egypt. Yehudah’s mission (according to Rashi, who cites the Midrash) was to establish a makom Torah, a yeshivah from which Torah and its teachings would emanate and radiate to the family. Traditionally, the makom Torah has always been the priority in settling a community. Without Torah as its centerpiece, the community as a spiritually-committed community would be hard-pressed to survive. Upon perusing the pasuk, two questions stand out. First, why Yehudah over Yosef? Yosef HaTzaddik, despite being the Egyptian viceroy, was…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

Chazal (Midrash Rabbah 89:3) quote a pasuk in Sefer Tehillim (40:5) which they feel relates to Yosef’s still being incarcerated two years after the release of the chamberlain: Ashrei ha’gever asher sam Hashem mivtacho;“Praiseworthy is the man who has made Hashem his trust.” This alludes to Yosef, who as a result of asking the chamberlain twice to remember him, had two years added to his imprisonment.” Chazal’s statement begs elucidation. It begins by intimating that Yosef was the exemplar of bitachon, trust, in the Almighty, then concludes that Yosef was punished precisely for relying on the chamberlain. Not only was…

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ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף... אין נבון וחכם כמוך אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

Pharaoh said to Yosef… “There can be no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and by your command shall all my people be sustained.” (41:39,40)

In Shemos 1:8, the Torah records, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yosef.” The Talmud (Sotah 11a) contains a debate between Rav and Shmuel concerning the “new” Pharaoh: Was he truly a new monarch who had now ascended to the throne? Or was he the same Pharaoh of Yosef’s time who conveniently forgot who it was that had benefited Egypt in their time of national need? If, indeed, it was the same Pharaoh whose benevolence to Yosef now donned a cloak of despotism concerning the Jews, how is it that he was not impacted by the…

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רק הכסא אגדל ממך

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

Only by the throne shall I outrank you. (41:40)

Was Pharaoh protecting his throne, or was he underscoring the elevated position that he was giving to Yosef? In his commentary to the Torah, the Shach (cited in Kerem HaTzvi) employs an anecdote to explain Pharaoh’s demand that he maintain a higher status than Yosef. Without doubt, Pharaoh was not about to relinquish his monarchy to Yosef. Pharaoh added a caveat to his contingency concerning Yosef’s appointment. A distinguished gaon, Torah giant, was as humble as he was erudite. He did everything possible to conceal his saintly character and scholarship. He was required to travel to a large Jewish community,…

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ויכר יוסף את אחיו והם לא הכירוהו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (42:8)

Horav Tzvi Hirsch Ferber, zl, explains this pasuk practically. Yosef always viewed his brothers through the lens of filial love – as brothers. Indeed, whenever the Torah mentions Yosef’s relationship toward his brothers, it always uses the word ach, brother: Es achai anochi mevakeish, “I am searching for my brothers” (Bereishis 37:16); Va’yehi kaasher ba Yosef el echav, “And it was when Yosef came to his brothers” (Ibid. 37:23); Va’yeilech Yosef achar echav, “And Yosef went after his brothers” (Ibid. 37:17). Yosef never once lost his relationship with his brothers, but – v’heim lo hikiruhu, “They (however) did not recognize…

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ויאמר אליהם מרגלים אתם לראות את ערות הארץ באתם

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Mikeitz

You are spies! To see the land’s nakedness you have come. (42:9)

Why did Yosef choose to accuse them of spying, rather than any other trumped-up charge? Ten men appearing and dressed in a like-manner all arriving in Egypt at exactly the same time do not quite present the modus operandi of spies. A spy attempts to blend into the community. He certainly does not call attention to himself. When ten men who have similar appearances and manner of dress enter a country from different points of entry, they are declaring, “Look at me!” This is certainly not the handiwork of spies who live by stealth. The brothers were certainly not acting…

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וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו... ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו... ויקנאו בו אחיו ויתנכלו אתו להמיתו

Sruly Schnair In 5782, Vayeishev

And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons… His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers, so they hated him… So his brothers were jealous of him… They conspired against him to kill him. (37:1,3,4,11,18)

Writing about the lives of our Avos and Imahos, Patriarchs and Matriarchs, is extremely difficult and must be done with great trepidation. To present them on a mortal level equal to us not only denigrates them, but it is ludicrous. In the pesichah, preface, to Leket Sichos Mussar (the shmuessen, ethical discourses, of Horav Yitzchak Aizik Sher, zl, Rosh Yeshivas Slabodka, and son-in-law of the Alter, zl, of Slabodka), the Rosh Yeshivah observes that our approach toward studying Torah narrative dates back to when we were young children in cheder, elementary school. The terminology and nuances that served us then…

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כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם

For it was to be a provider that Hashem sent me ahead of you. (45:5)

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)

ויזבח זבחים לאלקי אביו יצחק

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

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)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

It happened at the end of two years to the day. (41:1)

ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף... אין נבון וחכם כמוך אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Pharaoh said to Yosef… “There can be no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and by your command shall all my people be sustained.” (41:39,40)

רק הכסא אגדל ממך

Only by the throne shall I outrank you. (41:40)

ויכר יוסף את אחיו והם לא הכירוהו

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (42:8)

ויאמר אליהם מרגלים אתם לראות את ערות הארץ באתם

You are spies! To see the land’s nakedness you have come. (42:9)

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו... ויראו אחיו כי אתו אהב אביהם מכל אחיו וישנאו אתו... ויקנאו בו אחיו ויתנכלו אתו להמיתו

And Yisrael loved Yosef more than all his sons… His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all his brothers, so they hated him… So his brothers were jealous of him… They conspired against him to kill him. (37:1,3,4,11,18)

YEARS

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