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Vayigash | God's Unity

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Summarized by R. Yosef Zvi Rimon and Danny Orenbuch 

 

     Two very moving moments in Yaakov's life are described in this week's parasha: when Yaakov learns that Yosef is alive, and when they finally meet.  Let us deal with each episode.

 

1.

"Yosef sent wagons to his father and when Yaakov saw them, the Torah teaches us 'the spirit of Yaakov their father revived.'"

 

     Rashi, based on the midrash (Bereshit Rabba 94:3), explains that by sending wagons (agalot), Yosef was hinting to the parasha of egla arufa, which he and his father had been studying together before Yosef disappeared (agala and egla are spelled identically in Hebrew).  The Yerushalmi, on the other hand, maintains that this was a hint to the wagons which the nesi'im brought in parashat Naso.

 

     It is noteworthy that Yaakov and Yosef had been studying the parasha of egla arufa at their last meeting, since by accompanying Yosef out of the city, Yaakov had been fulfilling what was demanded by the law of egla arufa.  In the circumstances of egla arufa, the elders can state that their "hands did not spill this blood" only if they provided the victim food and accompanied him out of the city.  Otherwise, in his loneliness and desperation, he might have attacked someone and been killed.  Yaakov, in order to alleviate his son's loneliness, especially in light of his relations with his brothers, accompanied Yosef out of the city.  Yaakov practiced what he preached; he embodied the compassion and concern which the laws of egla arufa seek to instill within us.

 

     However, the wagons which Yosef sent may also hint to the wagons donated by the nesi'im at the time of the dedication of the altar.  The Torah is relevant in each generation, and is appropriate for every period and age.  The leaders of the nation are responsible for upholding the Torah in every age and in every place.  They must have the sensitivity to apply the timeless Torah in changing circumstances.  This is symbolized by the wagons, which are mobile, showing that even when Am Yisrael is wandering, the Torah is carried with us.

 

     Yosef had spent a long time in Egypt, and Yaakov was worried that Yosef had lost his link with Torah, that he had not succeeded in applying the Torah in Egypt.  Yosef specifically sends him wagons in order to show that he recognizes the "mobility" of the Torah, and that he kept the Torah even in Egypt.  Therefore, "the spirit of Yaakov their father revived."

 

 

2.

"And Yosef made ready his chariot and went up to meet Yisrael his father... and he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while." (Bereishit 46:29)  It seems from here that it was Yosef who wept on Yaakov's neck, indicating that Yaakov did not weep.  Chazal explain that at that moment Yaakov was reciting Keri'at Shema."

 

     We may ask the question, could Yaakov find no other time to recite Keri'at Shema?  Why specifically now, as he was meeting with Yosef?

 

     It is well-known that people desire to approach God when they are in a crisis.  But when all is well, at times of rejoicing, they forget this previous desire.  But Yaakov, in his great religious sensitivity, felt the need to acknowledge God precisely at the moment of his greatest joy - his reuniting with his son after so many years of anguish.

 

     There is another possible explanation for Yaakov's behavior.  Judaism has two ways of explaining the concept of "God is One" - what is this "oneness" of God?  The philosophers, on one hand, explain that any characteristic found in God is unique, and there is nothing comparable to it.  If God is powerful, then His power is one that exists in nothing else; only in Him.  (This is not only a matter of quantity, but of quality - we cannot refer to God's kind of power when we are dealing with humans.)  The same applies to God's wisdom, etc.  Anything that exists in God cannot exist in anyone or anything else.

 

     The kabbalists, on the other hand, maintain that "God is One" in that His "rule" is one.  Outwardly, while all types of people may sometimes seem to be in positions of power and authority, it is in fact God who controls everything; it is He who "pulls all the strings."  In the days to come all will know that "God is One and His Name is One" - all will recognize that it is God who in fact rules and controls everything.

 

     The fact that Am Yisrael would, at some stage, descend to Egypt, was known in advance.  At the Berit Bein ha-Betarim God told Avraham: "Your descendants will be strangers in a land not their own, and they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years...".  Chazal explain that Yaakov should rightfully have descended to Egypt in iron chains, but God had mercy on him and he went in a respectable manner.  When Yaakov arrived in Egypt and stood before Yosef, he suddenly realized how God had, in essence, brought him there.  He suddenly realized how God's promise to Avraham at the Berit Bein ha-Betarim had materialized, how God had caused it to come about that Yaakov should go down to Egypt, seemingly in a most natural way.  Suddenly he perceived God's unity (according to the kabbalistic view), and how God's rule is truly one, and that it is God who controls all.  And so at that moment the only appropriate response escapes his lips: "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu HASHEM ECHAD."

 

 

(Originally delivered at Seuda Shlishit, Shabbat Parashat  Vayigash, 5753. Translated by Karen Fish.)

 

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