Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I want to thank our sponsors this morning, Chana and Gabriel Laniado, Chaim and Linda Neuman, Gary and Marsha Schreger and Robert and Andrea Seewald for a רפואה שלמה refuah shleima for all their loved ones, and gratitude for the פרשה parsha class and by Harriet Schneier as well. Thank you very much for your sponsorship. If you'd like to sponsor in the coming weeks, you could speak to Linda or Matthew in the שול shul office.This week we have the privilege of reading פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash. And as always, we'll provide an overview of the פרשה parsha, and then examine specific פסוקים psukim, look through specific verses together. פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash concludes what's maybe the greatest cliffhanger in the תורה Torah, the end of last week מקץ Mikeitz, where in suspense all week waiting to find out what will happen in this great confrontation. At the very end of last week's פרשה parsha, יהודה Yehuda confronts יוסף Yosef. ויאמר יהודה בי אדני מה נדבר ומה נצטדק האלקים מצא את עון עבדך Vayomer Yehuda bi adoni ma nedaber u'ma nitz'tadak ha'Elokim matza et avon avadecha and so on and so forth. יהודה Yehuda is confronting יוסף Yosef at the end of last week's פרשה parsha, and yet our פרשה parsha begins ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda, that יהודה Yehuda approaches יוסף Yosef as if they were not in the middle of a conversation. So to begin with, I want to tell you a דבר תורה dvar Torah I say each and every year, excuse me, because it's one of my favorite on the whole תורה Torah. Changed the way I דאווען daven three times a day, and if you haven't heard me say it yet, maybe even if you have, it will change the way you דאווען daven as well. So you'll excuse me if you've heard it from me before, but it's one of my favorite. So the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim himself notes, we usually read these פרשיות parshios separately. So this week's פרשה parsha begins with the drama. ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda. There's a suspense. There's quiet in the room, the accusation has been leveled, the brothers are about to be forced to return to their father without בנימין Binyamin despite the promise and the guarantee. What will happen? Quiet. The music plays, the curtain falls. We don't find out till the next scene, till the next week. And in the next week, what happens? The silence is broken by יהודה Yehuda's bold, brazen courage. ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda, that יהודה Yehuda approaches יוסף Yosef. But the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim points out, here is the problem. At the end of last week's פרשה parsha, before the curtain fell, יהודה Yehuda was already mid-sentence to יוסף Yosef. What is this great act of bravery and courage that יהודה Yehuda steps forward? He was in the middle of a sentence already at the end of last week's פרשה parsha. So the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim says, yeah, in last week's פרשה parsha, it ended, יהודה Yehuda's talking to יוסף Yosef through interpreters, through advisors. Our פרשה parsha, the ויגש Vayigash, the stepping up, the stepping forward that יהודה Yehuda does, represents his attempt to have a more direct, intimate conversation. As opposed to the lawyer speaking before the whole courtroom, יהודה Yehuda now says, \"Your Honor, may I approach the bench? Can I speak to you in your chambers?\" He appeals to him more privately, more directly. So though he was in the middle of a dialogue, he thinks he'll have a better chance of success if he can have יוסף Yosef's attention by himself. And what happens now? יהודה Yehuda steps up and he says as our פרשה parsha begins, and he reviews the whole story, which in itself is an oddity we're not going to examine now, but as if יוסף Yosef didn't live the whole story, he reviews the whole story with him. We came down here, we were hungry, you offered us food, we have an old father. You said you're not going to give me more unless we bring the brother. We brought the brother, you falsely accused. He tells him the whole story as if יוסף Yosef is an outsider who hadn't experienced it and seen it himself. And then יהודה Yehuda gets to the punchline, and he's very forceful, and he says, this is it. ועתה ישב נא עבדך תחת הנער עבד לאדני והנער יעל עם אחיו V'ata yeshev na avdecha tachat ha'naar eved l'adoni v'hanaar ya'al im echav. יהודה Yehuda's punchline is, here's the deal, Mr. Viceroy, under no circumstances, I was the guarantor. There's no way we're leaving בנימין Binyamin, take me instead. יהודה Yehuda steps up and יהודה Yehuda shows responsibility. You know what responsibility is? Stephen Covey says responsibility is the ability to respond, response-ability. It means that you're not passive, you're not complacent, you're not letting someone else take care of it, you bear responsibility. You have the ability to respond. יהודה Yehuda takes responsibility and he says, \"You can't leave בנימין Binyamin, take me instead.\" כי איך אעלה אל אבי והנער איננו אתי Ki ech e'eleh el avi v'hanaar einenu iti. How can I go back to my father and my and his son and the child and the lad will not be with me. פן אראה ברע אשר ימצא את אבי Pen ereh v'ra asher yimtza et avi. There's no way, lest I see evil that will befall my father. My father will surely die. He's lost already יוסף Yosef. There's no way, after everything he's experienced in life, take me instead. These words of יהודה Yehuda, this confrontation, this boldness is so strong, so compelling, it in fact is the catalyst that makes יוסף Yosef reveal himself. They've been having this charade back and forth numerous times. יוסף Yosef has concealed his identity throughout. And what causes him to have an inability to conceal his identity any longer? This courage of יהודה Yehuda. What did יהודה Yehuda do that wasn't done before? So, first of all, יהודה Yehuda says take me instead. If you understand, remember last week we talked about, according to the רמב\"ן Ramban, all that יוסף Yosef is orchestrating, I'm sorry, all that יוסף Yosef is orchestrating is to realize the dreams. For the dreams to come to fruition, to orchestrate events so that all the brothers would be assembled in one place, deferring to, bowing down, relying on him. But according to others, that wasn't the case. What יוסף Yosef so generously and magnanimously is orchestrating is the opportunity for his brothers to do תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura. תשובה גמורה Tshuva gemura according to the רמב\"ם Rambam is only attained when, when you're in the exact same circumstance, when you have the same opportunity, the same temptation, the same desire, and yet you persevere, you endure, you don't give in. יוסף Yosef wants to reconcile. He doesn't want some shallow, fake reconciliation. When his brothers come to him desperate for provisions and food, a lesser person, a less generous person would have said, \"Hey, don't you recognize me? It's me, יוסף Yosef.\" And either now I'm going to kill you for what you've done to me, or let's let bygones be bygones. But hey, it's me. יוסף Yosef holds back at great personal pain in order to orchestrate events so the brothers will have an opportunity for תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura. Not תשובה tshuva, for the רמב\"ם Rambam, what's תשובה tshuva? תשובה Tshuva is the opposite. If one does תשובה tshuva properly, they never find themselves in the same circumstance with the same opportunity. Proper תשובה tshuva means you identify what got you in the circumstance to begin with, who were the temptation, what was the crowd, and you avoid being in the same place. The רמב\"ם Rambam תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura is being, it leads to a separate question. According to the רמב\"ם Rambam, if you do תשובה tshuva properly, you can never in fact do תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura. You understand? I'll talk about that next Erev Rav. But but here the brothers, יוסף Yosef is orchestrating an opportunity for תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura. And why is this the opportunity for תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura that now יוסף Yosef is ready to reveal himself? What is the great חטא cheit? What's the great עבירה aveira for which they need to do תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura? They had abandoned a brother. They didn't get along and rather than try to reconcile and work things out, instead they were ready to kill him. And though they came back from wanting to kill him, they still ultimately sold him into slavery. They abandoned a brother. יוסף Yosef has successfully now orchestrated the scene for the opportunity to yet again abandon a brother. And what's unique about this brother other than all the others? Why would יוסף Yosef have orchestrated things? If he wants to give them תשובה גמורה tshuva gemura, to create as similar as a scenario as possible to what they did to him, what brother would he choose? בנימין Binyamin. Why בנימין Binyamin? בנימין Binyamin's the only brother that shares the same parents. יוסף Yosef always felt like an outsider, having a different mother. So now my true full brother who we are only half-brothers to the rest of you, are you going to abandon him the way you did me? And יהודה Yehuda steps up. They've changed. He takes responsibility. He's ready. And he tells יוסף Yosef, take me instead. Take me. I promised to be his guarantor. Take me, ישב נא עבדך תחת הנער yeshev na avdecha tachat ha'naar. I'll stay, let him go. And with that, יוסף Yosef can stay silent no longer. יהודה Yehuda has exhibited leadership. He's asserted himself in order, in order to bear the freedom of his brother. The word that describes יהודה Yehuda's courage, his conviction, is tenacity to confront יוסף Yosef is ויגש Vayigash. He approaches. ויגש Vayigash means to step up, to stand out. He asserts himself. There are two other times in תנ\"ך Tanach when the word ויגש Vayigash is used, at least two other times that חז\"ל Chazal see as significant to bring it to a total of three. One is here with יהודה Yehuda. Another time was earlier אברהם אבינו Avraham Avinu, when he confronts God about סדום Sedom, and he tries to implore God not to destroy סדום Sedom, it says ויגש vayigash, אברהם Avraham stepped up. And the third time, anyone know the third time? I see it's okay for me to repeat this דבר תורה dvar Torah. ברוך אתה אדני אלהינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. אמן. Third time is with אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi. When אליהו Eliyahu challenges the נביאי בעל nevi'ei baal, the false prophets, over who is the true God, it says, ויגש אליהו הנביא ויאמר ה' אלקי אברהם יצחק וישראל היום יודע כי אתה אלקים בישראל Vayigash Eliyahu Hanavi vayomer Hashem Elokei Avraham Yitzchak v'Yisrael hayom yivada ki Ata Elokim b'Yisrael. What do the three usages of ויגש Vayigash, the three places that describe ויגש Vayigash, what do they have in common? And the answer is, all involve incidents of a crisis, an urgent situation, where others are passive, others are indifferent, others are blind to the pain or to the urgency of the moment, and in all three circumstances, אברהם Avraham, יהודה Yehuda, אליהו Eliyahu, they choose responsibility. They're not apathetic, they're not complacent, while their peers and colleagues are, they stand up, they step up, they seek to make a difference. ויגש Vayigash is to step forward, to step out of the crowd, to assert oneself and say, \"It's not okay. It's not okay what's going on. I protest. I object. I will get involved.\" אברהם Avraham teaches what it means to have empathy for others, even רשעים reshai'im, a city like סדום Sedom, morally corrupt. But אברהם Avraham says, \"I can't be passive to the suffering of others.\" What if there are 50 righteous and so on? ויגש Vayigash. אברהם Avraham is unwilling to be passive or apathetic when it comes to the suffering of others. יהודה Yehuda teaches a further level of responsibility. ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda, that כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael areivim zeh ba'zeh, that we're inextricably bound, that we are connected. And אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi teaches a third component, that not only do we have to care about even a city of רשעים reshai'im, and certainly to step forward to assert leadership to protect our own, כל ישראל ערבים kol Yisrael areivim, but even כבוד שמים k'vod shamayim. אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi says that God Almighty suffers. We're learning now in שערים בתפילה Shaarim B'Tefillah on Wednesday mornings, after the 7:45 minyan. Rav Pinkus has been developing based on sources the notion that God can be in pain. Now, of course, it's an anthropomorphism, God is never in pain, God doesn't feel, God doesn't have feelings, God is omnipotent, infinite, perfect beyond our comprehension. But we ascribe to God human feelings so we can identify with him. And here, חז\"ל Chazal ascribe to God a notion of pain. When כבוד שמים k'vod shamayim, when there's חילול השם chilul Hashem, I wrote about it last week, when there are supposedly observant people who leave a terrible impression at best, and who violate crimes at worst, it sets back the mission. It it pains the Almighty himself. And we should feel and be sensitive to God's pain. Just like if something happened to a sibling of ours, we would feel our parents' pain. Well, when we see something with a sibling of ours, humanity, we should feel God's pain. אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi teaches the ויגש Vayigash, asserting oneself and stepping out is not just to protect fellow people, but even כבוד שמים k'vod shamayim. When the נביאי בעל nevi'ei baal are spewing their heresy and their lies, and everyone else is quiet. אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi asserts himself. And why is this my favorite דבר תורה dvar Torah? For this punchline. The רמ\"א Ramah in סימן צ\"ה Siman Tzadi Hei quotes the רוקח Rokeach who says, \"Do you know why we take three steps forward to begin our עמידה Amida? We take three steps forward to begin our עמידה Amida, שחרית מנחה וערבית Shacharis, Mincha, and Maariv, to correspond with the three times ויגש Vayigash is used. That when I take those three steps forward to say my שמונה עשרה Shemoneh Esrei, it's not only to worry about my needs, my requests, my wants, my deficiencies, my crisis, but rather, I'm emulating one step for אברהם Avraham, I'm caring about even people like סדום Sedom. My second step is יהודה Yehuda, כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה kol Yisrael areivim zeh ba'zeh. I care about my fellow Jews and their issues. I'm advocating God. My דאווענען davening includes an appeal, an advocacy, a protest on behalf of my fellow Jews. And my third step corresponds with אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi. השם Hashem, I'm דאווענען davening to you to help us protect and preserve כבוד שמים k'vod shamayim, to make קדוש השם kiddush Hashem in the world and not, God forbid, the opposite. So this beginning of our פרשה parsha, this ויגש Vayigash, and again, I apologize if you listen to this פרשה שיעור parsha shiur every year, probably start off with this דבר תורה dvar Torah every year because I just love it so much. That Judaism is not a religion that encourages us to concern ourselves only with our needs. Our needs must be couched in the context of caring about the greater needs, and to follow the lesson and the model of אברהם Avraham, יהודה Yehuda and אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi of ויגש Vayigash. It's very easy to be part of the crowd, very easy to sit back and watch, very easy to be passive and complacent. But that's not what יהדות Yahadus is about. אברהם Avraham, יהודה Yehuda, אליהו Eliyahu, ויגש Vayigash. We three times a day literally dramatize, we take three steps, and with each step we are to remember that in the תפילה tefillah I'm about to offer and present, it's not just about me, it is also about me, but it's about me in the context of all those who are relying on me. You know, when we say the מי שברך Mi Shebeirach every שבת Shabbos, I always announce the same thing. We're about to say the מי שברך Mi Shebeirach, when I pause, please insert the names, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Please think of the individuals whose names are listed in our weekly of our community who rely on us for our prayers. It's the לשון l'shon, the language I use every שבת Shabbos when we do the מי שברך Mi Shebeirach. It's not by accident. Trying to inspire a sense that that we rely on one another for prayers, for advocacy, for protest to the Almighty. And that's what תפילה tefillah is a platform for, and that's what we're reminded and invited when we take those three steps forward at the beginning of the עמידה Amida. When יהודה Yehuda confronts יוסף Yosef, he says, \"איך אעלה אל אבי והנער איננו אתי\" Eich e'eleh el avi v'hanaar einenu iti? \"How can I go up to my father when the lad is not with me?\" They say homiletically, there are countless ספרים sfarim that say homiletically this is a reference to חינוך chinuch, to children, our responsibility to Jewish education, our responsibility to outreach. How can we go up to our father והנער איננו אתי v'hanaar einenu iti? We abandon the next generation, we don't make the investment, we don't do what's necessary to ensure the continuity of our values. איך אעלה אל אבי Eich e'eleh el avi, it's been used homiletically for centuries, for millennia. How can I go up to my father והנער איננו אתי v'hanaar einenu iti? יוסף Yosef can't take it anymore. And יוסף Yosef now reveals himself to his father, or to his brothers, rather. And he tells them, אני יוסף Ani Yosef, I'm יוסף Yosef, העוד אבי חי ha'od avi chai? Is my father still alive? העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai. Why does he say, \"Is my father still alive?\" First of all, חז\"ל Chazal see in אני יוסף העוד אבי חי Ani Yosef ha'od avi chai, אוי לו ליום הדין אוי לו ליום התוכחה oiy lo l'yom hadin oiy lo l'yom hatochecha. The reproach that we are going to face, the תוכחה tochecha someday we will have to endure. What's the תוכחה tochecha in אני יוסף Ani Yosef? In those two words, אני יוסף Ani Yosef. And the בעלי מוסר baalei mussar point out that the greatest מוסר mussar there is is confronting the reality of the bed that you've made that you have to sleep in. When you look in the mirror and you see the truth of who you've become or how you've behaved or the consequences that you've wrought, that is the greatest מוסר mussar. That אוי לו ליום הדין אוי לו ליום התוכחה oiy lo l'yom hadin oiy lo l'yom hatochecha, that Rabbi said, the day of judgment will be just like what the brothers felt when יוסף Yosef says, \"אני יוסף\" Ani Yosef. יוסף Yosef says, \"I'm יוסף Yosef.\" He doesn't have to say more. At that moment, he doesn't have to say to them, \"Hey, you morons. You know what's in store for you now? How you feel now about me? I'm the viceroy of Egypt, what you did to me. Dreams coming true, you're all bowing down to me.\" He has doesn't need to say one more word. So egregious, so profoundly wicked was their behavior, that when they see all that it had led to and the whole picture now comes into clarity, he doesn't need to say more than אני יוסף Ani Yosef. Why does he say, \"העוד אבי חי\" ha'od avi chai? Every conversation he's had with these brothers, he's asked what question? First of all, it should have been a major clue to them that what did he never ask? About the mother. He always asked about the father. But they didn't catch on to that clue. But every conversation he said, \"How's the old man? Your father, he's good? Still alive? Still kicking? How's the old man?\" Every conversation. Now the big reveal, and the first question is not something he asked on their previous trip, in last week's פרשה parsha, in this dialogue, in the same conversation, he's already asked, \"How's the old man?\" Yeah, he's good, he's good. Can we just get some food? And what's his first question after the reveal? \"העוד אבי חי\" Ha'od avi chai. \"Is my father still alive?\" And what's peculiar about העוד אבי חי ha'od avi chai? He says, \"My father.\" Why might he say, \"My father?\" So the מפרשים mefarshim offer a few interpretations. One is, what was יהודה Yehuda's argument? I can't go back without בנימין Binyamin. Take me instead. What was his argument? What will happen if he goes back without בנימין Binyamin? My father will surely die. יוסף Yosef turns to him and says, \"Oh, if you go back without בנימין Binyamin, your father will surely die? It's me, יוסף Yosef. Dad's, my dad's still alive? It's my dad's still alive? Now, remember, Rebbe Yoel Bin Nun's pshat, that יוסף Yosef thinks his father has orchestrated this whole thing. That just as אברהם Avraham expelled ישמעאל Yishmael, and just as יצחק Yitzchak expelled עשו Esav, יעקב Yaakov has now expelled יוסף Yosef. And he's done so by sending the brothers to the field to get him. That's what led off this whole chain of events. So certainly now he says, \"Oh yeah, Dad can't live without בנימין Binyamin. How's Dad been living without me?\" העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai, \"Dad okay without me?\" But that's the kind of negative way of viewing it. I choose the the the interpretation that appeals more to me is that יוסף Yosef is saying, \"I have a special relationship with my father.\" העוד אבי Ha'od avi, is the component of Dad which is uniquely mine, is that, is he still alive? Has Dad, has a piece of Dad died over the last 22 years in my absence? Does Dad miss me still? Is that unique relationship? יוסף Yosef is desperate, not only to reunite with his father, to see his father, but he's desperate to know what his father is feeling and thinking about him. In fact, fast forward a little bit, and יוסף Yosef when the brothers bring the good news back to their father, right? First, Pharaoh joins in the welcome, יוסף Yosef sends them off with a bunch of gifts, which is peculiar by the way, because what does יוסף Yosef do? He gives more gifts to whom? To בנימין Binyamin. Has he not learned anything? Favoritism has not served them well. By the way, what happens when they finally catch their breath? יוסף Yosef says to them something outrageous. What does he see in their eyes? What would be in your eyes 22 years after you sold your brother? Fear. יוסף Yosef sees in their eyes tremendous fear. And what are they fearful of? One word? Revenge. So what does יוסף Yosef do? He reassures them. \"No, no, no, no, no, come close. I'm יוסף Yosef, your brother. Don't be sad. Don't be worried. Why? כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם Ki l'michyah sh'lachani Elokim lifneichem. Don't be afraid. You think you orchestrated this? You're not such hotshots, you shouldn't take the credit. You know who orchestrated it? The Almighty God. God sent me down here to put me in a position to be able to sustain you because our family has a mission. It's not our time. We yet have what to accomplish. So God has orchestrated everything to leave me here. וישלחני אלקים לפניכם לשום לכם שארית בארץ ולהחיות לכם לפליטה גדלה Vayishlacheini Elokim lifneichem lasum lachem she'eiris ba'aretz ul'hachyos lachem lifleitah gedolah. God sent me here. I'm not going to take revenge. Don't worry. The ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch in the מצוה mitzvah לא תקום ולא תטור lo sikom v'lo sitor, those מצוות mitzvos, the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch writes that if you take revenge against someone, it is a deficiency in your אמונה emuna. You'll say, what? Somebody damaged me, somebody hurt me, it's time to get even. What does that have to do with השם Hashem? השם Hashem, you stay there. I'm taking care of him down here. What does one thing have to do with the other? And the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch says if somebody unjustly damaged you, you are entitled to hold them accountable. Someone steals from you, recover what they've stolen. Somebody damaged you, sue them to recover your damages. You're entitled to hold them accountable, but what you're never entitled to do is to take revenge. Why? Because to take revenge, says the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch, is to suggest that God did not consent to the damage that you experienced. When the truth is, there is no one on earth who can hurt us unless God chose for us to be allowed to be hurt. For whatever reason, whatever we're supposed to learn from it, however we're supposed to grow from it, from whatever reason it has to happen to us, we need to in that moment say, \"I'm going to travel down two paths simultaneously. I'm going to hold the person accountable through all the legal, הלכתי halachic means at my disposal, but in terms of revenge, I'm letting go. Because you know what? They never could have done this if God wasn't okay with it. I'm not willing to knock God out of the equation. I'm not willing to erase God from the picture. This couldn't have happened unless God wanted.\" And it's a very, very healthy way of thinking. We all have somebody gossips about you and it gets back to you, a whole group of people were talking about you. Somebody did something that ends up hurting your business, your finances, your life. You know, you're a victim of a fraud, you should through all means possible go recover what you can as a victim of the fraud. But the feelings, the energy you put into seeking revenge is not only wasted, self-destructive energy, but it's a violation of אמונה emuna. It's an act of heresy as if God is not part of that equation. So here, יוסף Yosef turns to the brothers and he says, and by the way, are they held accountable? Maybe not in their lifetime, but when are the Jewish people held accountable for their sin? The עשרה הרוגי מלכות Asarah Harugei Malchus, the 10 martyrs we read about on תשעה באב Tisha B'Av and יום כפור Yom Kippur, the מדרש איכה Midrash Eichah tells us were called to a tribunal over what the brothers had done to יוסף Yosef. Accountability is to come, but יוסף Yosef says revenge, never. I can never take revenge because that would deny God's role in having orchestrated all the events that we have. יוסף Yosef here shows some extraordinary, extraordinary self-control, extraordinary faith. In that moment to say he's comforting them, \"Don't worry, relax. It'd never take revenge. This was God.\" I mentioned this past שבת Shabbos at אשכמה מנין ashkama minyan, a thought from Rebbe Golden that my father shared with me. יוסף Yosef in Rabbinic literature is called יוסף הצדיק Yosef Hatzadik. אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov are called אבינו Avinu. They are our forefathers. יוסף Yosef, though true, he's the next generation and among the שבטים shvatim, they're no longer אבינו Avinu, but יוסף Yosef we know is distinguished. The other שבטים shvatim are not invited to our סוכה sukkah. יוסף Yosef is. He makes it into the list. He is as if the last of the אבות avos, אברהם יצחק יעקב יוסף Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef. So יוסף Yosef is not called אבינו Avinu though. What is he called? הצדיק Hatzadik. Why? The classic reason is he showed the willpower to persevere and resist the incredible temptations of the אשת פוטיפר eshes Potiphar. But Rebbe Golden suggests a different answer. In his book, רב שמואל גולדן Rav Shmuel Golden of Englewood says, אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov experienced something יוסף Yosef didn't. God spoke directly to them. In their moments, in the junctures of their life filled with doubt or anxiousness, God reassured them. God instructed them, God supported them, God directed them. יוסף Yosef never hears directly from השם Hashem. Look in the text. אברהם יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak, v'Yaakov are the beneficiaries of prophecy. They dialogue with the Almighty. יוסף Yosef does not. יוסף Yosef is the beginning of an era of silence. השם Hashem does not explicitly or overtly talk to us. And yet, יוסף Yosef not only discovers and sees and hears God as much as his forefathers, but יוסף Yosef does something even more. He talks about God more than his forefathers, despite the fact that he never merited to hear from God. שם שמים שגור בפיו Shem shamayim sh'gur b'fiv. Everything off of יוסף Yosef's lips, מרצון השם mirtzeh Hashem, בעזרת השם b'ezras Hashem, חסד השם chesed Hashem, everything is about השם Hashem. And here's another example. In a very moment of his revealing himself, he says, says, no, no, no, it's not me. This is all, this is all God. פרעה Paro joins in with the welcome. They send these gifts. יעקב Yaakov receives, יעקב Yaakov receives the news. And he heads down to מצרים Mitzrayim. And it tells us יוסף Yosef is tremendously excited. יעקב Yaakov takes the journey down. And יוסף Yosef is very excited for the arrival. And when יעקב Yaakov comes, the Torah tells us, וַיֶּאְסֹר יוֹסֵף מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וַיַּעַל לִקְרַאת יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִיו גֹּשְׁנָה וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו וַיִּפֹּל עַל צַוָּארָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עַל צַוָּארָיו עוֹד Vayesor Yosef merkavto vaya'al likras Yisrael aviv Goshnah vayeira eilav vayipol al tzavarav vayeivk al tzavarav od. What happens? יוסף Yosef gets his chariot ready, he goes to meet יעקב Yaakov his father in גושן Goshen. He appears before him, he fell on his neck and they cry, the moment יעקב Yaakov is saying שמע Shma needs to be examined. Not very emotional reunion. How יוסף Yosef feels 22 years of of alienation, they're finally reunited and his father's in the middle of דאַוונען davening. Can't interrupt. It's in the middle of שמע Shma. That screams out דרשני darsheni, you have to understand that. But here רש\"י Rashi says, what does it mean וירא אליו vayeira eilav? Says רש\"י Rashi, יוסף נראה אל אביו Yosef nira el aviv. יוסף Yosef was seen by his father. יוסף Yosef can't wait, he's anticipating, he's been dreaming of this reunion. His father, the great figure in his life, his father to whom he bears an amazing resemblance, his father who has charged him with carrying the mission forward, finally reunited with his father. And the text describes וירא אליו vayeira eilav. רש\"י Rashi says יוסף נראה אל אביו Yosef nira el aviv. He's seen by his father. And the רמב\"ן Ramban asks, what in the world is רש\"י Rashi explaining? What is רש\"י Rashi adding to the Torah, and what is the Torah adding to the story? That יוסף Yosef is נראה אל אביו nira el aviv? Of course. If they now see each other, if they're reunited, of course יוסף Yosef is seen by his father. What is going on here? רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz in a שיחת מוסר sichas mussar answers, the Torah is telling us that what יוסף Yosef highly anticipated, what יוסף Yosef counted down to was not just seeing his father, but rather was what? Being seen by his father. It wasn't just that he wanted to see his father. He wanted his father to see him. And says רב חיים שמואלביץ Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, you see from here that a child, no matter what their age, יוסף Yosef is an adult. He's a father. He's the viceroy of Egypt. He's the treasurer of the economy. No matter what one's age, God has designed the human being to derive incredible pleasure from giving נחת nachas to a parent. יוסף Yosef wants to be seen by his father. Not just יוסף Yosef wants to see his father and give a hug to his father. יוסף Yosef wants his father to see him. Look what he's accomplished. Look who he is. Look how he's been able to maintain his values, despite being the first Jew in exile, despite the culture he lives in and the pressures that are placed on him regularly. יוסף Yosef has not assimilated. And he's desperate to be seen by his father. And maybe that's the explanation of the אני יוסף העוד אבי חי Ani Yosef ha'od avi chai. יוסף Yosef was not just asking if his father still has a pulse, if he's living in the physical sense. He wants to know, is my father, who has נחת nachas from me, who believes in me, who cares about me, does my father still long to be reunited with me? Does he miss me or has he given up hope? Has he forgotten? Has he moved on? העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai, my father, who I can't wait to see me, is that father still alive? It doesn't matter what age, doesn't matter what stage of life, one remains always desperate to give נחת nachas to their parents. And the same is true, by the way, in our relationship with the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam. Rabbi אריה קפלן Aryeh Kaplan writes that God designed the human emotional psyche that we derive incredible pleasure when we give נחת nachas to a higher authority. Could be a parent, could be our boss, and it certainly is true with the Almighty. The greater the person to whom we give the נחת nachas, the more pleasurable that feeling of giving נחת nachas is. And so he writes, one should be motivated in and derive pleasure from מצוות mitzvos, the notion that one is giving נחת nachas to השם Hashem. If you look at the very end of מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim, the רמח\"ל Ramchal concludes מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim by saying, live your life in a way which gives נחת רוח nachas ruach to the רבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam. You're giving God נחת nachas. You have a choice, a moral dilemma, what to do, always ask yourself, what will give greater נחת nachas to השם Hashem? What does השם Hashem want me to do right now? What does השם Hashem expect from me in this circumstance? What will give God the greater sense of נחת רוח nachas ruach? יעקב Yaakov heads down to מצרים Mitzrayim, the Torah delineates the 70 who went with him. יוסף Yosef ensures his family settles not in the capital and the metropolis, but rather in the suburb in גושן Goshen. He's seeking to preserve their identity, that they not assimilate. יעקב Yaakov and פרעה Paro meet, I'm sorry, yeah, יעקב Yaakov and פרעה Paro meet. We've talked about this in the past. Our overview's taken up the whole, the whole class. We've talked about this in the past. It's a very, very anti-climactic story. If יוסף Yosef has been dreaming of seeing יעקב Yaakov, then he's also been dreaming of introducing יעקב Yaakov to the other major figure in his life, namely, פרעה Paro. יעקב Yaakov can't wait for, יוסף Yosef can't wait for פרעה Paro and יעקב Yaakov to meet. They finally meet, they have this conversation. It's an absolutely bizarre conversation. Instead of talking about the economy of the world, peace of the world, spirituality, evidence of God's existence, what do they talk about? יעקב Yaakov gives פרעה Paro a ברכה bracha. פרעה Paro looks at him and he says, כמה ימי שני חייך Kama yemei shnei chayecha? Wow, are you old. Holy cow. You are one old man. The רמב\"ן Ramban, the רשב\"ם Rashbam both point out, פרעה Paro had never met anyone with that longevity. He was very taken aback by how literally old יעקב Yaakov was. And maybe it wasn't very courteous, but he says out loud what he's thinking. Wow. You are really old. And יעקב Yaakov answers, he doesn't change the subject. He says, yeah. My life's been pretty rough. I'm 130 years old. My days have been pretty miserable. Then יעקב Yaakov gives פרעה Paro a ברכה bracha and says, זיי געזונט zai gezunt, all the best in גושן Goshen, nice to have you here. That's it? That's the conversation? רבי יעקב צבי מקלנבורג Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, the הכתב והקבלה Ktav V'hakabbalah. It's a beautiful essay by my great uncle, Rabbi Louis Nulman, on this topic of what they were talking about. He quotes the הכתב והקבלה Ktav V'hakabbalah. They were discussing דברים של מה בכך dvarim shel mah b'kach. This is a story of small talk, and the value of small talk. Small talk is not insignificant or a waste of time. Small talk is the foundation of what creates connection between people. And the value of small talk is, if you only talk to people when there was an agenda, you wouldn't really have a relationship. All you'd ever be doing was trying to fulfill your agenda. But when you're willing to endure small talk, then that's the foundation, those are the seeds that you plant in a relationship. יעקב Yaakov and פרעה Paro are having דברים של מה בכך dvarim shel mah b'kach, says the הכתב והקבלה Ktav V'hakabbalah, elucidated by my great uncle in a beautiful article that now appears in his ספר sefer. There's other interpretations what they're talking about, but we have to keep moving. The famine now really strikes Egypt. They're really desperate. And יוסף Yosef's able to put into practice the plan that he had all along that had been revealed in in פרעה Paro's dreams. Okay. Let's go back and look at the פסוקים pesukim we're going to examine today. פרק מ\"ו Perek Mem-Vav. We're picking up from where we left off last year. According to my records, last year we finished פרק מ\"ו Perek Mem-Vav, chapter 46, verse ד' dalet, פסוק ד' pasuk dalet. It appears on the Artscroll Stone Chumash, top of page 258-259. What's going on here? What are we in the middle of? This פרק perek began that יעקב Yaakov is traveling down to Egypt for this great reunion. God appears to him in the middle of the night. God appears to ישראל Yisrael and says יעקב יעקב Yaakov, Yaakov, and יעקב Yaakov says הנני hineni. And God says, don't worry. You have nothing to fear. ויאמר אנכי האל אלקי אביך Vayomer anochi ha'Eil Elokei avicha, I am the God of your father. אל תירא מרדה מצרימה Al tira meireda Mitzrayma, don't be worried. כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם Ki l'goy gadol asimcha sham. You're going to be a great nation there. Why was he worried? רש\"י Rashi says, שהיה מיצר על שנזקק לצאת לחוץ לארץ shehaya meitzar al she'nizkak latzeis l'chutz la'aretz. What was he troubled by? Having to leave ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. God is telling him, go down to, it's okay. Go down. Instead of יוסף Yosef coming up to you and in Israel, in כנען Canaan, go down to חוץ לארץ chutz la'aretz. You're on שליחות shlichus. It's okay to be on שליחות shlichus. Go. Don't worry. You know, by the way, יעקב Yaakov's personality, there's a lot of anxiety in יעקב Yaakov's personality. He's nervous before he sees עשיו Eisav, he's nervous with this, he's nervous with that. There's a lot of what looks like anxiety. חז\"ל Chazal see it as a healthy anxiety that he's worried for the right reasons. שמא יגרום החטא Shema yigrom ha'cheit, or maybe now because he has to go to חוץ לארץ chutz la'aretz, but he's worried. And God says don't worry, I'm going to make you a great nation. This is all part of the master plan. פסוק ד' Pasuk dalet. אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה Anochi eireid imcha Mitzrayma, and here is why you have nothing to worry about יעקב Yaakov, says God, cause guess what? I'm coming with you. ואנכי אעלך גם עלה V'anochi a'alcha gam aloh. I'm going down to Egypt with you, and I'm going to come out together with you. ויוסף ישית ידו על עיניך V'Yosef yashis yado al einecha. And you have nothing to worry about because יוסף Yosef is going to put his hand over your eyes. What does that mean? God says I'm going down. God says I'm coming up. יוסף Yosef, peekaboo over your eyes. What is going on here? So first of all, אעלך a'alcha says רש\"י Rashi, הבטיחו להיות נקבר בארץ hivticho l'hiyos nikbar ba'aretz. What does God mean when he tells יעקב Yaakov I'm coming out with you? You're not going to spend eternity in Egypt. Not to worry. You're going to be buried in Israel. I'm coming, you're going back up, means you have nothing, nothing to fear in that sense, you will be buried in Israel. What does it mean יוסף Yosef will cover your eyes? So here we have another number of commentators. Says the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, ויוסף ישית ידו על עיניך במותך, כן מנהג החיים עם המתים v'Yosef yashis yado al einecha b'moscha, kein minhag hachaim im hameisim. יוסף Yosef, when a person dies, and this is true today with the חברא קדישא Chevra Kadisha, when someone dies, we close their eyes. We close their mouth, we close their eyes. We put a sheet over them including their head, open the window, light a candle, lay them on the ground. There's a whole procedure for the חברא קדישא Chevra Kadisha, but part of the Jewish tradition is you close the person's eyes. It's kind of a last respect, it's closure on their life. When the soul has been extracted from the body, you close their eyes. How is God reassuring יעקב Yaakov? יעקב Yaakov was really worried that he'd lay in wake with his eyes open? Oh, oh thank God. יוסף Yosef will close my eyes. Okay, good. What is it about the fact that יוסף Yosef's going to close his eyes that reassures him? What is it? The אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra is cryptic. He just says, yeah, the מנהג minhag was, the living closed the eyes of the deceased. But the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim is more explicit. נתכוון להבטיחו שלא ימות בחייו Niskaven l'hafticho shelo yamut b'chayav. What God was telling יעקב Yaakov was, יוסף Yosef's going to close your eyes, not the opposite. Don't worry. יוסף Yosef will not predecease you. 22 years you've been without יוסף Yosef, says God to יעקב Yaakov on his way down to מצרים Mitzrayim, I rest assured, יוסף Yosef will outlive you. You've experienced 22 years without him, you have him the rest of your life. יוסף Yosef will close your eyes, not the opposite. Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, וגם לצד שקמה פעמים הזכיר יעקב זכות המות על יוסף, אמר גם כן כי ירא בני, לזה הבטיחו שלא ישקע היוצא niskaven l'hafticho shelo yamut b'chayav. Gam l'tzad she'kamah p'amim hizkir Yaakov zechus hamaves al Yosef, amar gam kein ki yira bni, l'zeh hivticho shelo yishka'a hayotzei. יעקב Yaakov has seemed so concerned always that יוסף Yosef is dead, will die, how could he live without him? God says rest assured. עוד נתכוון לומר לו, כי עליית יעקב לא תהיה בחיים כי אם אחר מיתה. ואמר לו ויוסף, וגם מזה ידע כי אין לו רשות לצאת ממצרים בחיים, כי אם כדי שיקיים בו דבר ה' שישית יוסף ידו על עיניו. ואם יצא, אין הדבר יכול להתקיים Oid niskaven lomar lo, ki aliyas Yaakov lo tihyeh b'chaim ki im achar misa. V'amar lo v'Yosef, v'gam mizeh yeida ki ein lo reshus latzeis mi'Mitzrayim b'chaim, ki im k'dei she'yikayeim bo davar Hashem she'yashis Yosef yado al einav. V'im yeitzei, ein hadavar yachol l'hiskayeim. Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, a second interpretation, that maybe what God was telling יעקב Yaakov is, that גם עלה gam aleh, I'm going to go up with you, but it's only after you die. You're not coming back to כנען Canaan in your lifetime. יוסף Yosef will close your eyes. יוסף Yosef is in מצרים Mitzrayim. You will die in מצרים Mitzrayim, though I've promised you that I will return with you, it will not be during your lifetime. The רשב\"ם Rashbam has a third interpretation. So far we've seen the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra says, this was the custom. So don't worry, you're not going to lie undignified, your eyes will be closed. The אור החיים Ohr HaChaim adds on to that two interpretations. יוסף Yosef will outlive you and you're not coming up in your lifetime. The רשב\"ם Rashbam adds a fourth interpretation, I guess, third comment. על עניניך וצרכיך ישתדל לעשותם כדכתיב ישית ידו על שנינו Al inyanecha u'tzrachecha yishtadel la'asosam k'dichsiv yashis yado al shneinu. What the פסוק pasuk is telling us is יוסף Yosef will continue your mission. יוסף Yosef will close your eyes means יוסף Yosef will give you your final rest and will inherit your legacy, your mission. What's left for you to do. יוסף Yosef will take over your ענינים inyanim and your צרכים tzrachim. Okay, so four interpretations what that means. But God says, I'm coming out with you. What's the problem of God saying I'm coming out with you? God did not come out with יעקב Yaakov in his lifetime. And here is a comment I want to share with you from Rabbi Soloveitchik. Says the Rav, וַאֲנֹכִי אֶעֱלֶךָ גַּם עָלֹה v'anochi a'alcha gam aloh, we understand the first half of the prophecy, I'll go down with you to Egypt. But the last part of the sentence doesn't make sense. God left Egypt not with יעקב Yaakov, but with the myriads of the children of ישראל Yisrael, hundreds of years later. Clearly Moshe's exodus is considered as if it were יעקב Yaakov's personal triumph. I will also bring you up. God went out of Egypt with יעקב Yaakov, although the latter had been dead for hundreds of years. What's the solution to this mystery? Writes the Rav, as a natural being, as an individual who represents his genius, the charismatic personality is subject to a biological process of life, which ends in death. However, as a historical personality, he attains immortality. His immortality is attained through his proximity to a distant future and closeness to a remote past. Says the Rav, how could God promise יעקב Yaakov, I'm going to go up with you, if יעקב Yaakov is long dead by the time that his progeny go up. And says the Rav, you don't understand that is God going up with יעקב Yaakov. We don't only believe in the finite mortal time that we're here in this world, but our lives gain value by the continuity and who we leave afterwards, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. If a person doesn't have children, nieces, nephews, the children in their lives that they've impact, they've helped, they've supported, they've taught. But the next generations are not separate and removed from us, they are the continuity of us. Our immortality is in the next generation. He doesn't say it here, the Rav, but I would like to add on. When יעקב Yaakov finds out that יוסף Yosef is alive, what does he say? If you go back in the חומש Chumash. Show you where it is. If I can find it quickly. What does he say? page 256. No, where is this? No, I'm sorry, it's after they're reunited. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. When יוסף Yosef and and יעקב Yaakov are reunited, what does it say? Bottom of 260. Last two words. ויאמר ישראל אל יוסף Vayomer Yisrael el Yosef, אמותה הפעם אחרי ראותי את פניך כי עודך חי amusa hapa'am acharei re'osi es panecha ki odcha chai. Oh, they're reunited and what does יעקב Yaakov, here known as ישראל Yisrael for whatever reason, he says, אמותה הפעם amusa hapa'am. What does that mean? That's a lousy translation. הפעם hapa'am really means אמותה amusa, I will die one time. Now that I see you, that you're alive. רש\"י Rashi picks up on this. במדרש סתור הייתי למות שני מיתות, בעולם הזה ולעולם הבא b'midrash savor hayisi lamus shnei misos, b'olam hazeh u'l'olam haba. In your absence, I would have no one here, and I was going to die a physical being. שהסתלקה ממני שכינה והייתי אומר שיתבעני הקדוש ברוך הוא מיתוסך. אך שעודך חי, לא אמות אלא פעם אחת shenistalkah mimeni shechina v'hayisi omer she'yitbeini HaKadosh Baruch Hu misoscha. Ach she'odcha chai, lo amus ela pa'am achas. Now, I was going to die twice. My soul would be extracted from my body, I die a physical death, but I also thought I was dying a spiritual death. I had no future, no continuity, no legacy. But now that I see you're alive, now I'm only going to die one time. And on that comment, the Rav says, Rashi's comments that had יוסף Yosef died, יעקב Yaakov himself would have died twice, both in this world and the next. יעקב Yaakov's task was to raise 12 sons who would ultimately become כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael. כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael is a confluence of talents, of approaches, of thought, of emotion. Without all 12 components, כנסת ישראל Knesses Yisrael would never arise, and יעקב Yaakov's purpose would remain unfulfilled. He would have died in the next world. So it's a similar comment in both places, that when God says to יעקב Yaakov, don't worry, I'm going down to Egypt and I'm coming out. And the Rav's bothered, what do you mean you're coming out? יעקב Yaakov doesn't come out until long after he's dead. And we said no, by God taking יעקב Yaakov's children out, that is taking יעקב Yaakov out. That's his immortality. His soul continues to live through his children. He is taking יעקב Yaakov and his legacy out of מצרים Mitzrayim. And that's what יעקב Yaakov himself realizes with the אמותה הפעם amusa hapa'am. We only want to die once, not twice. Physically, our body dies, but we want the impact of our soul to live on forever. Okay, let's keep going. פסוק ה' Pasuk hei. ויקם יעקב מבאר שבע וישאו בני ישראל את יעקב אביהם ואת טפם ואת נשיהם בעגלות אשר שלח פרעה לשאת אותו Vayakom Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva vayis'u vnei Yisrael es Yaakov avihem v'es tapam v'es n'sheihem ba'agalos asher shalach Paro laseis oso. By the way, let's go back one second. פסוק ה' Pasuk hei. ויקם יעקב מבאר שבע Vayakom Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva, יעקב Yaakov left באר שבע Be'er Sheva. וישאו Vayis'u and who, who lifted him? וישאו בני ישראל Vayis'u vnei Yisrael. The ספורנו Sforno points out something very significant. Mark your חומש Chumash, unless it belongs to the shul. ספורנו Sforno says, וישאו בני ישראל, שהיו צריכים מכאן ואילך להיות עם בני ישראל להשתרר עם אלוקים ועם אנשים Vayis'u vnei Yisrael, shehayu tzrichim mikan v'eilach l'hiyos am bnei Yisrael, l'histareir im Elokim v'im anashim. This is the first time that we see they, the brothers, are being called or being addressed as a group, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael. It's time to heal. It's time to come together. It's enough of the alienation, it's enough of the enmity. It's time to be one unit, with one mission, with one covenant. מכאן ואילך Mikan v'eilach, from now on going forward, says the ספורנו Sforno, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael. They as one group put יעקב Yaakov on their shoulders and carry him down. We're not בני יעקב Bnei Yaakov, it's בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael, again coming back to what we've talked about the last few weeks. פסוק ו' Pasuk vav. ויקחו את מקניהם ואת רכושם אשר רכשו בארץ כנען ויבואו מצרימה יעקב וכל זרעו אתו Vayikchu es mikneihem v'es r'chusham asher rachashu b'eretz Kna'an vayavo'u Mitzrayma Yaakov v'chol zar'o ito. They take their cattle, all of their possessions that they had amassed, accumulated in כנען Kanaan. They come to מצרים Mitzrayma, יעקב Yaakov and all of his descendants after him. בניו ובני בניו אתו בנותיו ובנות בניו וכל זרעו הביא אתו מצרימה Banav u'vnei vanav ito, bnosav u'vnos banav v'chol zar'o heivi ito Mitzrayma. Who does he bring? He brings his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, his granddaughters, all his descendants came together with him. Who are the בנות בניו b'nos banav, in the plural, the daughters of his sons. Who are they? רש\"י Rashi tells us none other than שרח בת אשר ויוכבד בת לוי Serach bas Asher v'Yocheved bas Levi. שרח Serach, the daughter of אשר Asher, and יוכבד Yocheved, משה's Moshe's mother, the daughter of לוי Levi. This שרח Serach is a very interesting personality. My sister-in-law once gave a whole shiur here, a women's class on שרח בת אשר Serach bas Asher. The תרגום Targum earlier in our parsha tells us that when they go back and inform יעקב Yaakov, your precious יוסף Yosef is still alive, who's the one who tells יעקב Yaakov? It's his granddaughter שרח Serach. Doesn't say it in the תרגום Targum, it says it elsewhere, which is much later than Tanachic literature. How did she tell him? She used to play the harp and sing to him. It calmed him. All those years of anxiousness of יוסף's Yosef's absence, all those years of pain and grief and suffering, she would calm his nerves. And so she was therefore the perfect person, she was in the perfect position to tell יעקב Yaakov. שרח בת אשר Serach bas Asher is a fascinating personality, whether literally as a person or the idea of שרח בת אשר Serach bas Asher, what she represents, but she comes up numerous times. Telling יעקב Yaakov, here when she's counted among the 70 who go down to מצרים Mitzrayim, the beginning of ספר יהושע Sefer Yehoshua, she's listed among those who enter the land. We're talking 250, 60 years later. Imagine if פרעה Paro saw her, what he would have said. She lives even longer than that. ספר שמואל Sefer Shmuel talks about שרח בת אשר Serach bas Asher. She's a fascinating person. In fact, it says that in the merit of her righteousness, she didn't die. She somehow ascended to גן עדן Gan Eden without first experiencing death. One of the few people לא מת lo meis that she never died. It's worthy of exploring. She's a very interesting personality in her own right. So שרח Serach is the daughter, and יוכבד בת לוי Yocheved bas Levi, משה's Moshe's mother, יוכבד Yocheved. And then the Torah continues. ואלה שמות בני ישראל הבאים מצרימה, יעקב ובניו, בכור יעקב, ראובן V'eileh shmos bnei Yisrael haba'im Mitzrayma, Yaakov u'vanav, b'chor Yaakov, Reuven. Now we list the names of those who came to Egypt. Why does it say הבאים haba'im, what should it say? באו Ba'u, who previously came. רש\"י Rashi says, על שם שהיו קרואים לבא, קראם המקרא באים Al shem shehayu kruim lavo, kra'am hamikra ba'im. Because the narrator, God, to include us in the story as if it's unfolding, describes it in the present, even though by the time משה Moshe is recording the Torah, it already is something that happened in in in the past. We're going to have to end here, but what's mysterious is we know there were 70, we have a tradition there are 70 who came down to Egypt. When you count the names, the lineage that's about to be listed here, what number do you arrive at? 67. If you add יוסף'ס Yosef's two sons who were born in Egypt, you get to, you're missing one. Who is the 70th? Who is the 70th? The אור החיים Ohr Hachaim says it's God himself. אימו אנכי בצרה Imo anochi b'tzarah. The שכינה Shechinah went down to מצרים Mitzrayim. God is with us even in our difficult circumstances. Others say it's יעקב Yaakov. Others say it's יוסף Yosef. There's a whole and what is the significance of each of these interpretations, I guess we're going to have to pick up with this next year. But I want to call your attention to a רמב\"ן Ramban. When the רמב\"ן Ramban talks about that there are 33, on פסוק ט\"ו pasuk tes vav. לאה Leah had 33 children. Only the text counts 32 of them. Who's the 33rd? And there's a whole discussion about יוכבד Yocheved. יוכבד Yocheved is born at the entrance to מצרים Mitzrayim. Is she among those who came to Egypt? Is she among those who are already born in Egypt? And the circumstances of her birth is miraculous. Of משה Moshe, sorry, how old יוכבד Yocheved is when משה'ס Moshe's born. So the רמב\"ן Ramban here has a very, very important, long comment on the nature of miracles. Hidden miracles, revealed miracles, an attitude towards nature. The רמב\"ן Ramban and the רמב\"ם Rambam have a fundamental disagreement on the Jewish view of miracles. Again, it's something that we'll pick up with אם ירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem next year, פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash. Have a fantastic.
