Parshas Vayigash: Going to and Living in Galus

 

Parshas Vayigash: Going to and Living in Galus

 

Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Chana Zelda bat Gittel Yita, Batya Dina bas Chava Tzivia, Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah, Moshe Aaron ben Necha Itta, and Binyamin ben Simcha.

 

Hindsight is 20/20 they say, and when you look at history from the present day you see all the twists and turns that brought about great triumphs and cataclysmic failures. And when you read a story from a historic time and you read about an individual or family’s first step into history – perhaps their purchase of a place on the Titanic – it is natural to want to call out a warning: “Wait! Don’t do it!”

 

In some ways, that may be exactly the case of parshas Vayigash, this week’s parsha. After Yosef’s revelation that these are his brothers, “Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do as follows: load up your beasts and go at once to the land of Canaan. Take your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall live off the fat of the land.’ And you are bidden [to add], ‘Do as follows: take from the land of Egypt wagons for your children and your wives, and bring your father here. And never mind your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt shall be yours’” (Bereishis 45:17-19).

 

I mean, wow! What incredible generosity. What kindness… What a trap! Not in the short term. In the short term this was, seemingly, the best of opportunities for there was no famine in Egypt. In the long term, however, we know how that relationship with the Mitrzim turned out. In truth, that is not a fair statement. After all, Bereishis 46:3 relates that Hashem called out to Yaakov and said: ““I am God, the God of your father’s [house]. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation.” 

 

But as with all moments in the Torah, there is here a warning for the future… the lure of creature comforts, of promises of comfort and luxury often come at a heavy price – not necessarily for the first generation, but for future generations. It is not often discussed when we study the role call of nations who, over the course of our very long history, banished Jews from their lands, but many of those communities that later suffered oppression and exile had initially been invited by a local ruler to come because it was known that the presence of a Jewish community was often key to invigorating an economy. And far too often, those “invitations” came with appeals of tax breaks and promises of security that did not last once the economy was flourishing.

 

We often ask ourselves why Hashem has set us such a difficult history and such a long exile. It is a question to which there are many answers. We know from the Torah that Hashem expects our nation to be a mamleches kohanim, a kingdom of priests, which can be understood as a nation that demonstrates avodas Hashem to the rest of the world, and here in this parasha we also find a fascinating example of the possibilities we have to fulfill the role of being a light until the nation. In just one pasuk, 45:1, one can find two dynamic possibilities of kiddush Hashem. Yosef, overwhelmed by Yehudah’s speech, declares that everyone must leave the room. He then breaks down and sobs in front of his brothers, reveals himself, and immediately tells them that all was for the good.

 

The commentaries ask why it was that Yosef sent everyone from the room, and there appear to be two primary answers in the mepharshim. The more commonly known response is that Yoseph did not want to embarrass his brothers since there seemed no way to reveal himself without his path to Egypt coming to be revealed, and it would shame his brothers for others to know that they had sold him as a slave. A kiddush Hashem! Yosef sent everyone else away so his brothers would not be embarrassed.

 

On the other hand, some mepharshim explain Yosef’s sending away his men as a desire not to have his plans for his brothers disrupted as the men around him were deeply swayed by Yehuda’s speech. The servants were struck by Yehuda’s heartfelt words, his pinpoint argument, and his obvious care for this youngest brother. And this too was a kiddush Hashem.

 

Living in galus has its highpoints and its lowpoints. (Yes, we do have to be honest that it isn’t all bad.) Indeed, those two are often quite the extremes of each other. Whatever the situation, whether we are sitting in a seat of power or wealth or just comfort or we are prisoners facing unfair accusations, we remain Bnei Yisrael with an important role in the greater world and a responsibility to make a kiddush Hashem.

 

I wish you all a beautiful (and cozy) Shabbas.

I thank you for bearing with me as I recognize that this dvar Torah really ended up as two mashed together and not as developed as I would have liked….as I can probably say for most of them this year!