Vayigash - "And They Became One" (Yechezkel 37:15-28)

 

1. a. Division in Yaakov's House

 

From the time of their very appearance a cloud of division looms over Yaakov's sons.  Their respective births are divided into groups: Leah's first four sons, then the children of Bilha and Zilpa, then Yisakhar and Zevulun, Yosef alone, and then much later his brother Binyamin.

 

During crisis, too, with danger facing the entire household with Esav's approach, we again find them divided into their groups: the maidservants and their sons separately, Leah and her children separately, and Rachel and Yosef by themselves (Bereishit 33:2).  And there, again, "And the maidservants and their children approached and prostrated themselves, and Leah and her children also approached and prostrated themselves, and lastly Yosef and Rachel approached and prostrated themselves" (ibid 6-7).

 

The great divide appears in the household in Parashat Vayeshev, where we learn of the children of Bilha and of Zilpa standing as a separate unit, and Yosef somehow attaches himself to them.  But later on Yosef stands completely alone, and of all his brothers none is really a brother to him.  Later in the parasha, the brothers' hatred reaches the point where they are able to suggest, "Let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits..." (37:20).  Reuven's advice and Yehuda's suggestion save him from death, but nevertheless he is completely cut off from his home. In this parasha we also read of Yehuda's separation from the rest of the brothers, such that they are left without any unifying leadership figure.

 

In Parashat Miketz, Yehuda once again functions as the unifying leader. It is as such that he presents himself at the beginning of Parashat Vayigash before the Egyptian viceroy in order to protect his youngest brother, Binyamin.

 

1. b. And Yehuda Approached Him

 

A literal reading of the text would suggest that Yehuda approaches in order to clarify the situation, with the apparent intention of changing the foreign viceroy's rigid stance.  But closer examination reveals that he intends to solve the problem at any cost, even if it requires a fight, as explained by Chazal and quoted in part by Rashi.

 

 

But the opening words of the parasha, "And Yehuda approached him," may also be seen as the motif of the entire parasha, which deals with encounter and appeasement: Yehuda - as leader of the brothers – approaches Yosef, and this encounter carries the promise of unity within the household of Yaakov.  It would seem that this understanding of the text underlies the comment in Bereishit Rabba (93:5): "And Yehuda approached him" – "Behold, days are coming, promises God, when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper" (Amos 9:13): "The ploughman" refers to Yehuda, as it is written: "... Yehuda shall plough"; "the reaper" refers to Yosef, as it is written: "And behold we were binding sheaves..."  The "treader of grapes" refers to Yehuda, "him who sows seeds" – this is Yosef.  "The mountains shall drip sweetness..." – these are the tribes."

 

1. c. One Nation in the Land

 

The haftora seems to have been chosen with the same theme in mind, and the selected prophecy emphasizes the issue of unity in the house of Yaakov following the terrible rift.  But here the unity is not on the level of Yaakov's family household, but rather on the national level throughout the generations.  The example set by the forefathers is replicated on a grander scale by their descendants.

 

Many prophecies speak of Israel's redemption and the return to Zion.  In our haftora, too, we read: "Behold, I shall take Bnei Yisrael from among the nations where they have gone, I shall gather them around and I shall bring them to their land" (37:21).  But the crux of the message concerns the unification of those who are gathered, to become a single nation in the land: "And I shall make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king for all of them, and they shall no longer be two nations, and they shall no longer be divided into two kingdoms" (ibid 22).

 

But the major difference between the narrative of the parasha and the prophetic vision of the haftora is that whereas Yaakov's household is reunited in Egypt – a place of exile - the prophet describes unity as an advanced stage in the process of redemption, all of which will take place in Israel – "one nation in the land."

 

1. d. To Whom the Leadership?

 

Another difference reveals itself at the beginning of the haftora: "And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write upon it, 'For Yehuda and for the children of Israel, his companions.' And take another stick and write upon it, 'For Yosef, the stick of Efraim, and all of the house of Israel, his companions'" (16).

 

On the stick of Yosef the prophet is commanded to write "all of the house of Israel," while on the stick of Yehuda he is to write only "the children of Israel."  The overwhelming majority of the tribes comprised the kingdom of Israel, under the original rule of a descendant of the tribe of Efraim, while only a minority were unified under the house of David (Yehuda).

 

But the picture described in our parasha is exactly the opposite.  Yehuda is the leader of all the tribes, and Yosef stands alone facing them.  And so it continues later on, when Yosef reveals himself to his brothers and it appears that his dream is finally coming true - he is becoming the leader of the household.  But this leadership is assumed by force of circumstances; it is not a leadership undertaken willingly and consciously.  This involved rulership more than royalty.  It was only much later, during the period of the two kingdoms, that most of the tribes willingly aligned themselves under the scepter of the tribe of Efraim, son of Yosef, and at that time something of the dream was realized.  But, the prophet declares, in the days to come the kingdom will be united, under the leadership of a king from the house of David.

 

(Translated by Kaeren Fish)