Vayigash

Parshat Vayigash I Am Yosef Rabbi Ari Kahn

T

he tension which has been building up in the text in the past few Parshiot finally reaches its crescendo. Yosef can no longer contain himself, and with a few words he startles and frightens his brothers. Then Yosef could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him; and he cried, 'Remove every man from before me.' And there stood no man with him, while Yosef made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Paroh heard. And Yosef said to his brothers, 'I am Yosef; does my father still live?' And his brothers could not answer him; for they were panic-stricken by his presence. (45:1-3)

While his brothers stand in shock Yosef continues his soliloquy: And Yosef said to his brothers, 'Come near me, I beg you.' And they came near. And he said, 'I am Yosef your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here; for G-d sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years has the famine been in the land, and there will be yet another five years without plowing or harvest. And G-d sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but G-d; and he has made me an advisor (literally, father) to Paroh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Hurry back to my father, and say to him, "Thus said your son Yosef, G-d has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, delay not. And you shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you, and your children, and your grandchildren, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have. And I will sustain you there, for there are another five years of famine; lest you, and your household, and all that you have come to poverty." And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. And you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring down my father here.(45:4-13) While the initial burst of speech - the incredible disclosure - seems to be an explosion of emotion1, the second part of Yosef's talk sounds more measured, perhaps rehearsed. Here Yosef speaks, not merely in practical, human or personal terms2. Yosef speaks again using the words of the visionary that he is. Yosef shares his theological perspective of recent history with his brothers. And Yosef said to his brothers, 'Come near me, … for G-d sent me before you to preserve life. 1

2

The question "Is my father alive" seems illogical. If Ya'akov were dead, why would Yehuda risk his neck to save Binyamin? Yosef speaks twice without response. It sounds as if the two times the verse says "And Yosef said" indicates a change in tone. Similarly in Bereishit 20:9,10 Avimelech speaks, and speaks again. The shift there, may be attributed to a change in tone, from cynicism to curiosity.

For these two years has the famine been in the land; and there will be yet another five years without plowing or harvest. And G-d sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but G-d; and he has made me an advisor to Paroh, and lord of his entire house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Hurry back to my father, and say to him, "Thus said your son Yosef, G-d has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, delay not…" (ibid) Yosef's words are peppered with references to G-d. While his first words inform his brothers that he, Yosef, still lives, the second message conveyed is that Yosef is still spiritually intact. This is part of the brothers' shock: Perhaps Yosef, with great resilience and ingenuity, could have remained alive. But he could not possibly survive the depravity of his sojourn in Egypt. Part of the brothers' problem vis a vis Yosef was their constant and continued underestimation of him. They never thought they would bow down to him, nor did they think that anyone else would prostrate themselves before Yosef. Yosef as lord of Egypt was an idea beyond their wildest dreams. But if there was a more bizarre suggestion, it was that Yosef would survive spiritually. The path toward the highest echelon in any society is fraught with spiritual landmines, all the more so in ancient Egypt. If Yosef survived, and indeed flourished, then the brothers surmised that his soul would have been bought and sold numerous times, retaining no sanctity. Yosef would surely be a corrupt shell of his former self, whom the brothers did not particularly respect in the first place. Now we understand Yosef's numerous references to G-d. He speaks in theological terms, indicating that he has, indeed, survived. The brothers need not fear: Yosef continues to speak the language of his youth. The boy who sat on Yitzchak's knee, the boy who was closest to their saintly father Ya'akov, yet lives. It is Yosef who lives, not some Egyptian despot. From Yosef's words we see that not only has he survived, Yosef has thrived. Such references to G-d were not always a part of Yosef's speech. In Yosef's first dream, and indeed, in his first words in the Torah, we find his vision, but no Divine perspective. And Yosef dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. And he said to them, 'Hear, I beg you, this dream which I have dreamed; For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood around, and made obeisance to my sheaf.' And his brothers said to him, 'Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed have dominion over us?' And they hated him even more for his dreams, and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, 'Behold, I have again dreamed a dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.' (Bereishit 37, 5-9) Yosef tells of his dreams, but we do not know if G-d plays a part in his worldview. When the wife of Potifar makes her advances, Yosef does speak of G-d: And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Yosef; and she said, 'Lie with me.' But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, 'Behold, my master knows not

what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back any thing from me but you, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against G-d? (Bereishit 39, 7-9) While Yosef's consciousness of G-d certainly aided him in his battle against his desires, it does not seem to impress this wanton woman. The next time we see Yosef is in his prison cell, where he again makes references to G-d, but again his listeners do not hear: And they said to him, 'We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.' And Yosef said to them, 'Do interpretations not belong to G-d? Tell them to me, I beg you.' And the chief butler told his dream to Yosef, and said to him, 'In my dream, behold, a vine was before me…'And Yosef said to him, 'This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days…But think of me when it shall be well with you, and show kindness, I beg you, to me, and make mention of me to Paroh, and bring me out of this house; For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me in the pit…' Yet the chief butler did not remember Yosef, and forgot him. (40:8-23) The Rabbis perceived within this dialogue a sin on the part of Yosef: Another interpretation: ‘Happy is the man that has made the Lord his trust’ alludes to Yosef. ‘And hath not turned unto the arrogant nor unto such as fall away treacherously’: because he said to the chief butler, 'But think of me... and make mention of me' (Bereishit 40, 14). Two years were added to his sufferings. (Midrash Rabbah - Bereishit 89:3) Yosef, who speaks of G-d's dominion over all things, including dreams, has sinned in the eyes of the sages, by not trusting sufficiently in G-d. Indeed, when the butler recalls the conversation and remembers Yosef's power to interpret dreams, G-d is not in his vocabulary. And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored to my office, and him he hanged. (41:12,13) Over the next few years we discern a change in Yosef. The ideas which he spoke of earlier become solidified. When Paroh approaches it is no longer either a personal G-d, nor a passing reference. Now Yosef succeeds in affecting others with his belief.

Then Paroh sent and called Yosef, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself, and changed his garment, and came in to Paroh. And Paroh said to Yosef, 'I have dreamed a dream, and there is none who can interpret it; and I have heard say of you, that you can understand a dream to interpret it.' And Yosef answered Paroh, saying, It is not in me; G-d shall give Paroh a favorable answer … And Yosef said to Paroh, The dream of Paroh is one; G-d has revealed to Paroh what he is about to do... This is the matter which I have spoken to Paroh; What G-d is about to do he shows to Paroh… And for that the dream was doubled to Paroh twice; it is because the matter is established by G-d, and G-d will shortly bring it to pass…And Paroh said to his servants, 'Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom is the spirit of G-d?' And Paroh said to Yosef, 'For as much as G-d has shown you all this, there is none so discreet and wise as you are' (41:14-39) The impossible seems to have transpired. Now not only does Yosef speak of G-d, but his belief is infectious. The corrupt, self-made deity, Paroh, speaks of G-d. Yosef was not changed by Egypt, Egypt was changed by Yosef. This idea is critical in understanding a later chapter in the Torah: When the time for the Exodus had arrived, Moshe was instructed to ask Paroh for permission to leave for three days: Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, 'The Lord G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Ya'kov, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt. And I have said, I will bring you out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey. And they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you shall say to him, 'The Lord G-d of the Hebrews has met with us; and now let us go, we beseech you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our Gd.' And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, if not by a mighty hand. (Sh'mot 3:16-19) And afterward Moshe and Aharon went in, and told Paroh, 'Thus said the Lord G-d of Israel, "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness."' And Paroh said, 'Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.' And they said, 'The G-d of the Hebrews has met with us; let us go, we pray you, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice to the Lord our G-d; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.' (Sh'mot 5:1-4) I once heard Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik pose an intriguing question regarding these passages: What would have happened had Paroh allowed the Jews to leave for three days? Would they have returned afterward? Would the promise of the Land of Milk and Honey have gone unfulfilled? Would they really have returned to Egypt? Of course, the question is a tautology: G-d had already stated that Paroh would not acquiesce. Why, then, ask for three days' leave, especially when the object of the Exodus is complete, permanent liberation?

The purpose of the three-day sojourn would have been to receive the Torah. After receiving the Torah, the Jewish People would have returned to Egypt. After teaching the Egyptians and impacting, even revolutionizing Egyptian society, they would have continued their march toward destiny, to the Land of Israel. Such a march would have been qualitatively different from the circuitous path they eventually took. Had the Egyptians, the greatest nation in antiquity, been sufficiently theologically mature to encourage the Jews to worship G-d, the path to the messianic age would have been inestimably shorter. But how could the Egyptians possibly have reached such spiritual heights? The answer is that the prototype for influencing the local population was Yosef. Just as the name of G-d reverberates from Paroh's lips after one meeting with Yosef, the entire nation should have been spiritually invigorated after interfacing with the Jewish Nation over a period of hundreds of years. This is part of the reason for the exile to have been specifically in Egypt. This corrupt, twisted society would have to be either healed or obliterated in order for a messianic age to flourish. Our tradition has no illusions about Egypt3: Do not do the actions of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and do not do the actions of the land of Canaan, where I bring you; nor shall you walk in their ordinances. (Vayikra 18:3) Similarly when Israel were in Egypt the Egyptians practiced whoring; as it says, 'Whose flesh is as the flesh of asses' (Yehezkel 23, 20). When they entered the land of Canaan the Canaanites practiced whoring and witchcraft; as it says, 'Because of the multitude of the harlotries of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcraft' (Nahum 3, 4). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: 'My children, be careful that you not act either in accordance with the practice of these or in accordance with the practice of those.’ Hence it is written, 'Do not do the actions of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, and do not do the actions of the land of Canaan, where I bring you; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.' (Midrash Rabbah Vayikra 23:7) We have learned that these ten species of wisdom came down to this world, and all were concentrated in Egypt, save one which spread through the rest of the world. They are all species of sorcery, and through them the Egyptians were more skilled in sorcery than all other men. (Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, Page 70a) If Egyptian society could be spiritually healed, the entire world would surely follow suit. Egypt was the epicenter of the ancient world. Unfortunately, the Jews as a People did not rise to the challenge. They were not successful in reaching out to the surrounding culture in any meaningful way, and did not reach the spiritual stratosphere, which was Yosef's domain. After Yosef's death, a new king arises who knows neither Yosef nor the G-d of Yosef: 3

See the Sifra Achari Mot 8, (cited in Rambam Issuri Beah 21:8) where a number of the offences of the Egyptians are enumerated, including lesbianism, and other sexual rebellions and peccadilloes.

And Yosef died, and all his brothers, and all that generation…And there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Yosef. (Sh'mot 1:6,8) And Paroh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, nor will I let Israel go." (Sh'mot 5:2) With Yosef gone, the possibility of influencing the Egyptians seems to evaporate. By telling the Jews that they are to ask for three days, they are being told that this is the way it should have been: A threeday journey, following the two-hundred-year exile, should have been enough to revolutionize Egypt. If this seems impossible, they, and we, should remember that Yosef changed Paroh's outlook in but one conversation. The crux of the matter is never to underestimate the power of the idea of G-d, or for that matter, never to underestimate the power of the Jewish people to convey that idea. The power contained therein is sufficient to change the world, and Yosef's greatness lay in his awareness and use of this power.