Transcript
Boker tov, good morning. A final opportunity to wish everyone a פרייליכן חנוכה freilichan Chanukah. It's, you know, the eighth day, the final day of חנוכה Chanukah is known by its ליינינג laining that we read this morning, זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah. I always on זאת חנוכה'ס Zos Chanukas but זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah. And I always understood זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah is this is it. You know, I don't know about you, every year before you before you notice it, חנוכה Chanukah is over. You go from the first night right to the eighth night. Right? It's the first night of חנוכה Chanukah, everyone's excited, you're lighting, next thing you know is the eighth night. So this is the last opportunity, the day of חנוכה Chanukah, זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah, to be able to feel, bask in the glow of השם Hashem's miracles, to feel his intense presence and to recognize his role, that really the natural is also supernatural and the great miracles that are in each and every one of our lives on a regular basis. חנוכה Chanukah is also, the ספרי מוסר sifrei musar, the ספרי חסידות sifrei chasidus, they list, you know, we חנוכה Chanukah is really the conclusion of ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim. ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim begins with אלול Elul, the month of אלול Elul, ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, עשרת ימי תשובה Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, יום כיפור Yom Kippur. And then we know, as much as we say נעילה Neilah, the gates are closing at נעילה Neilah, we really have till הושענא רבה Hoshana Rabba. That's why on הושענא רבה Hoshana Rabba the חזן chazan wears a קיטל kittel and we use the ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim tune because really הושענא רבה Hoshana Rabba is the final opportunity. And then we say it's not really הושענא רבה Hoshana Rabba, you have till זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah, till the eighth day of חנוכה Chanukah. So the eighth day of חנוכה Chanukah that you really begin to, in fact the ספרי sifrei… I didn't say it, we're supposed to learn the פרשה parsha but I'm just holding on to חנוכה Chanukah, so you'll forgive me. But חנוכה Chanukah is the holiday of seeing, which I'm not going to spend time developing right now, but everything about חנוכה Chanukah is about seeing. אין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם אלא לראותם בלבד Ein lanu reshus l'hishtamesh bahem elah lirosam bilvad. We don't have permission to use the candles, we're not allowed to benefit from the candles. The candles are there for us to see. הרואה צריך לברך Ha'roeh tzorech l'varech, חייב לברך chayav l'varech. גמרא Gemara says the only מצוה mitzvah that you see someone else doing this מצוה mitzvah, you make a ברכה bracha, you say a blessing. You see someone else take a לולב lulav and אתרוג esrog, you don't make a blessing. You see somebody else put on תפילין tefillin, you don't make a ברכה bracha. But you see someone else light candles and you're not lighting yourself, you make a ברכה bracha on it. The holiday is all about seeing. Where is the sin? You're supposed to sit and gaze. Rav Avner writes in a ספר sefer, the reason the rabbis instituted הנרות הללו Haneiros Halalu and מעוז צור Ma'oz Tzur. You know why they instituted it? We don't sing a song after other מצוות mitzvos. You take a לולב lulav and אתרוג esrog, you don't sing a song. You put on טלית תפילין tallis tefillin, you don't sing a song. You light שבת Shabbos candles, you don't sing a song. What are the מצוה mitzva that you do, you sing a song afterwards? So Rav Avner says, you know why the rabbis did that? To keep you in the room. Because so many other people would light the חנוכה Chanukah candles then you'd run out to go make your לאַטקעס latkes and have your presents and go back to whatever you were doing and you forget to actually, you forget חנוכה Chanukah is about the candles, looking, gazing at the candles. You can't benefit from the candles, but you're supposed to look at and gaze the candles. So I heard רב משה וויינברגר Rav Moshe Weinberger from אש קודש Aish Kodesh in New York, heard a talk and he said, what are you looking for? What is this כח koach, what is this power of seeing on חנוכה Chanukah? What are we seeing? And he says that's the connection to the ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim. It takes until חנוכה Chanukah to see how our year is going. All the hope and aspiration, all the promises that we sought on the high holidays. We asked השם Hashem for good health, or good פרנסה parnasah, we asked השם Hashem for whatever it is that we asked them for in our lives. חנוכה Chanukah now is the time that you see, you see what is happening. We see the results. Were we a good boy and a good girl last year? Were we not? What do we need to improve upon? We see in ourselves, the mirror, are we keeping, you know everyone rises to the occasion for the high holidays, ימים נוראים Yamim Noraim, we're all on our best behavior during that time, but do we remain on that plateau or do we sink? Do we come down? So חנוכה Chanukah is the time, it's already considered a midpoint of the year, that you start to see. You know in Israel they call it נס חנוכה neis Chanukah when an American makes עליה aliyah with little children. They say, you know when you first get there, my sister made עליה aliyah, my brother's making עליה aliyah this summer, you go with little children, you get frustrated, they go, come home from school, they don't understand a word, they don't speak Hebrew, they're not fitting in. So they say, just wait, נס חנוכה neis Chanukah. The נס חנוכה neis Chanukah is wait till חנוכה Chanukah. By חנוכה Chanukah, your kid will be fluent in Hebrew, will be correcting your Hebrew, will be fit right in, and that's exactly what happens, נס חנוכה neis Chanukah. חנוכה Chanukah is the time when you start to see what is happening with the year. So today is the eighth day, and hopefully we can all still tap into its energy and be elevated from חנוכה Chanukah. Okay. It's almost like a New Year's resolution kind of thing. Well it is, it's an opportunity, right. You know the secular new year doesn't have that. There's no February 1st that says how those New Year's resolutions working out from January 1st. חנוכה Chanukah is how is that ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, how are those ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah New Year's resolutions working out? זאת חנוכה Zos Chanukah, are you looking in the candles, you should look into yourselves, do we see, are we living up to the expectations that we set for ourselves?Okay, got to drink a hot coffee and thaw out a little bit here. Okay, פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash, we're going to once again resume what we started doing recently, an overview of the whole פרשה parsha, give it context, and then our examination, our literary examination of a textual examination, of a view of the verses. Okay, we left off at the end of last week's פרשה parsha with the final test where בנימין Binyamin the youngest son is accused of stealing. יוסף Yosef plants a goblet in his backpack, in his knapsack, in his rolling duffle, whatever it is that he had, and falsely accuses בנימין Binyamin. And what was the purpose of it? I mentioned last week. There was a method to יוסף Yosef's madness. יוסף Yosef was not vengeful. יוסף Yosef was not seeking to get back or to get even. The method to יוסף Yosef's madness was he was trying to create the exact same situation, the context where one brother is isolated from the others and test those brothers, will they rise to the occasion? Will they do the same thing they did to him, which is to dismiss him, disregard him, forget him and neglect him? Or will they be different, have they learned their lesson, will they take care? And that's where we end off at the end of last week's פרשה parsha. And יהודה Yehuda at the end of last week's פרשה parsha, what can we say my lord? How can we speak, how can we justify ourselves, what can we do? And then all of a sudden we have the beginning of this week's פרשה parsha, ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדוני Vayigash eilav Yehuda, vayomer bi adoni. יהודה Yehuda speaks up, he passes the test. יהודה Yehuda who's the monarch, who is the monarchy of the Jewish people comes from the tribe of יהודה Yehuda. יהודה Yehuda has shown a number of times his his ability, his capacity to say I was wrong, we were wrong. That is the hallmark of a leader, interestingly. In Judaism, the hallmark of a leader is not only their leadership skills, the hallmark of the leader is the capacity to say I was wrong. I'm not too arrogant to admit I was wrong. I was wrong, I make mistakes, I was wrong. So יהודה Yehuda steps forward. We don't have time, I think we spoke about this last year, it's kind of a funny opening to the פרשה parsha. ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda, it's this dramatic opening. If you took a break between מקץ Mikeitz and ויגש Vayigash, as we did for the week, we literally took a break because we didn't even read it Monday and Thursday because of חנוכה Chanukah. If you take a break for the week, it's a very dramatic opening on שבת Shabbos morning. ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda. יהודה Yehuda courageously musters the courage, he approaches יוסף Yosef and he says I got something to tell you. I have to be honest. I have a confession to make. We are your brothers. Or I'm sorry, I have a he approaches him, I have a we have to give us בנימין Binyamin before יוסף Yosef reveals who he is. But if you realize that the תורה Torah was not read, not written to be read with a week break, but there is a continuity and a flow, then you wonder why ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda? What's the end of מקץ Mikeitz? יהודה Yehuda's in the middle of a conversation with יוסף Yosef. So why did he have to approach him now? ויגש אליו יהודה Vayigash eilav Yehuda. Why is יהודה Yehuda approaching יוסף Yosef if he's already in the middle of a conversation? It's like you're talking to someone you say, can I approach you? What do you mean can I approach you? We're talking. We discussed that last year, we're not going to get into it. So יהודה Yehuda steps forward and he says you can't do this and have you a father, a brother? We said we have an old father, a young child, his brother's dead, he's left alone, our father's going to die if we don't bring him back. Take me instead. יהודה Yehuda says take me instead. Exactly what he didn't do with יוסף Yosef. יהודה Yehuda helped יוסף Yosef when he said put him in a pit and he intended on coming back from later, but why didn't he step forward to his brothers and say stop, we can't do this, he's our flesh and blood, we may not like him, go throw him in a locker, go give him a noogie, go do something else you want to do to him, you can't kill him. He didn't step forward and do that. But יהודה Yehuda does now, he learns his lesson. תשובה גמורה Teshuvah gemurah, the רמב\"ם Rambam writes that complete repentance is being back in the exact same situation and showing the correct judgment this time. תשובה Teshuvah is feeling regret and a commitment not to repeat the bad behavior. But תשובה גמורה teshuvah gemurah, complete repentance is only when you're back in the same situation and you show that you use proper judgment. As an aside, a question they ask on that רמב\"ם Rambam, every year I mention this, it bothers me every year. The רמב\"ם Rambam says the methodology of תשובה teshuvah, of repentance, is avoid the situation that puts you in that compromised position. If you hung out with bad friends or if you were in a bad location or you had something that you know is a temptation to you, avoid it. Part of repentance is don't put yourself in a position where you're going to be weak. Avoid the test, avoid that situation. That's part of the process of repentance. If you know every time you go to the bar, you get drunk, don't go to the bar. Every time you walk by that bakery, you end up overindulging, eating in a way that you shouldn't be eating, don't walk by that bakery and so on and so forth. So if you do תשובה teshuvah properly, you can never get to תשובה גמורה teshuvah gemurah. If you do repentance properly, you can never get to complete repentance, because complete repentance is being back in the exact same situation and you show that you used proper judgment. A number of answers are given to that question, we're not going to spend time on it. But יהודה Yehuda does complete repentance because he's back in the exact same position, and rather than abandon his brother, he stands up for him. He stands up for him.So יוסף Yosef can't take it anymore. He hears this long soliloquy from his brother יהודה Yehuda. He's so moved that he's now set up this test and יהודה Yehuda has passed it that it's time to reveal himself. So he says get everyone out of the room, he cries out in a loud voice, all of Egypt hear. יוסף Yosef says to his brothers, these fantastic words, I may speak about them שבת Shabbos afternoon in the class, אני יוסף העוד אבי חי Ani Yosef ha'od avi chai? I am יוסף Yosef, is my father still alive? Which is kind of a funny question to ask. Why is it a funny question to ask is my father still alive? What was יהודה Yehuda's plea a moment ago? When יהודה Yehuda finally passes the test what did he say to יוסף Yosef? We have an old father. You can't do this to my dad. He's lost one child already and he's lost his wife and he's, you can't do this to my father, he'll surely die. יוסף Yosef turns to him and he says, I have to be honest. I'm יוסף Yosef. Now tell me, is my father still alive? What, did he have amnesia? He forgot already? Just told him two seconds ago. So that's the question. Maybe we'll talk about it שבת Shabbos afternoon. Then he tells his brothers come close to me, they come close, I am your brother, it's me, I'm the one you sold into Egypt, don't worry, I'm not going to take revenge. Here's the deal, two years of hunger, five years left, go get dad, bring him down here, it's all going to be good. פרעה Pharaoh hears, פרעה Pharaoh hears that יוסף Yosef has brothers. פרעה Pharaoh is overjoyed. That's what we're going to talk about this morning. Why does פרעה Pharaoh care? פרעה Pharaoh's so nostalgic, he's so excited. It's like watching a good show about Oprah, a reunion of a family, so moved. What is פרעה Pharaoh so excited that יוסף Yosef's brothers, they're in town. But he says to יוסף Yosef, go bring your whole family, I'm going to settle them nicely. I just hear a first-class tickets for everybody, here's a first-class chariot, bring them down. יוסף Yosef sends them back with gifts. יעקב Yaakov receives the news. How does יעקב Yaakov receive the news? Through a woman, שרח Serach. Don't tell me the מדרש medrash, don't tell me the מדרש medrash. What is the פסוק pasuk? How does he receive the news? Is he overjoyed? Does he throw a קידוש kiddush? No, he's in disbelief. He doesn't believe it at first. Takes a little while till it sinks in, and they undertake the journey, they come down. The miracle of יוכבד Yocheved's birth. 70 descendants. יעקב Yaakov arrives in Egypt, there are 70 that came down to Egypt, which is really miraculous when you think that there are three million who leave Egypt after the years of servitude, the two centuries of servitude. But 70 descendants come down, descend to Egypt. יעקב Yaakov arrives, יוסף Yosef ensures his family's settlement. Interestingly, does not put him in the city of מצרים Mitzrayim, places him in a suburb of גושן Goshen. Why the suburb? Why not put his family in the big city? Be in the capital. Because they're sheep. Is the sheep the only reason? To be different. So יוסף Yosef himself realizes that it's not good to assimilate with the Egyptians, but I think it's more than that. We don't have time to, I don't think they wanted them close. They couldn't eat together, they didn't really want them. Yeah, we don't have time to develop this now, but I think יוסף Yosef understood that out of respect for his father, to designate a separate place for them, for him to be able to be the patriarch and raise his family with his family values and not to be competing with the values of the Egyptians. It's an interesting observation that יוסף Yosef does not integrate his family fully into Egyptian culture, but he somewhat, I don't want to say isolates them, but he places them in a suburb. יעקב Yaakov and פרעה Pharaoh meet, one of my favorite interactions in the whole תורה Torah, because it is incredibly, profoundly disappointing. Why is it disappointing? I'm on page 263, again, just the overview of the פרשה parsha. יעקב Yaakov and פרעה Pharaoh meet. יעקב Yaakov is the greatest spiritual mind. פרעה Pharaoh is the leader of the free world. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall listening to that conversation? Well you get to be, because the תורה Torah records that conversation. What's the conversation with the greatest spiritual mind meeting the greatest leader in the world? What do they talk about? The economic cycles and how to break out of this economic cycle? Poverty, how to solve world poverty? How to create world peace? Whether God's existence is really provable? What do they talk about? How old are you? יעקב Yaakov says, yeah, I'm 130 years, my life has been pretty lousy. Uh, but here's a ברכה bracha, it was nice to meet you, זײַ געזונט zai gezunt. יעקב Yaakov said זײַ געזונט zai gezunt to פרעה Pharaoh. And that was the end of their conversation. Pretty depressing. Why is that the conversation? Why didn't יעקב Yaakov take the opportunity as יוסף Yosef did to talk about God and to inspire פרעה Pharaoh about God? Remember, יוסף Yosef transforms פרעה Pharaoh. But he blessed him. What does that mean? Oh, he blessed him. Okay, good. He blessed him, must mean he drew from the divine. But look at the conversation. יעקב Yaakov's message is I'm 130 but boy, I mean, you know, it's like a Jackie Mason routine. I'm 130 but oh, I've had such a miserable life, my journeys, my challenges, my travails. What, that's what, that's the message he wanted to give פרעה Pharaoh? Why wasn't his message, you know what, I've got תורה Torah, I've got the best life ever. I've got everything I need, I've got God, I'm the son of יצחק Yitzchak, the son of אברהם Avraham. He didn't say that optimistic, hopeful, uplifting, inspirational message. Said I'm 130. Few and bad have my have been the days of my life and they have not even reached the lifespan of my forefathers. That's his message? That's his message? I'm leaving you with a lot of questions. יוסף Yosef and the famine, comes back to the whole issue of the famine, the end of the famine, the fat year, the thin years when nobody has food, and יוסף Yosef is over פרעה Pharaoh's house, and they Jewish people, the people of Israel settle in Egypt, in Goshen, they acquire property, they are fruitful, and they multiply greatly. They multiply greatly. Again, they go from 70, a family of 70, which is not a small family, but a family of 70 to a family of 3 million in the course of a few centuries. Okay, that's פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash in an overview. We're going to start today from שלישי Shlishi. The עליה aliyah of שלישי Shlishi, which can be found on page 252, 253 in the Stone חומש Chumash. It is פרק מ\"ה perek Mem Hey, פסוק ח pasuk Ches, chapter 45, verse 8. Okay? We find ourselves in the middle of the story. יוסף Yosef has just revealed himself to his brothers. I'm יוסף Yosef, is pop still alive? And he sees that his brothers are beginning to be fearful. I mean, how would you feel? Talk about a moment of truth. So he says, ועתה לא אתם שלחתם אותי הנה כי האלהים v'atah lo atem shlachtem osi heinah ki Elokim. וישימני לאב לפרעה ולאדון לכל ביתו ומושל בכל ארץ מצרים Vay'simeni l'av l'Pharaoh u'l'adon l'chol beiso u'moshel b'chol eretz Mitzrayim. He says, listen now, לא אתם שלחתם lo atem shlachtem, before you start to feel all kinds of guilt and regret, before you start to think I'm going to take revenge against you, know who sent me here? God sent me here. God set this whole thing up. I couldn't be here if it weren't for God's will. Are you accountable for what you've done? Yeah. But it's God's will that I'm here. And look how the story has a happy ending. I am the viceroy of Egypt, אדון לכל ביתו adon l'chol beiso, the master of his whole household, מושל בכל ארץ מצרים moshel b'chol eretz Mitzrayim, the leader of all of מצרים Mitzrayim. יוסף Yosef's taking an attitude which is a, the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch writes every one of us has to take. There's a prohibition in the תורה Torah of לא תקום ולא תטור lo sikom v'lo sitor. You're not allowed to take revenge. I think I've spoken about it before. You can't take revenge against someone. What's the difference between לא תקום lo tikom and לא תטור lo titor? לא תקום, לא תטור lo sikom, lo sitor? לא תקום Lo sikom means I can't take revenge, means last week I needed a cup of sugar, I knocked on your door, said can I have a cup of sugar, and you said no. This week you come to my house, can I have a cup of sugar? I say no. I could lend you a cup of sugar, I would lend anyone else in the world a cup of sugar, but I'm taking revenge against you, that's a תורה Torah prohibition I'm not allowed to. לא תטור Lo titor is last week I knocked on your door for a cup of sugar, you said no. This week you knock on my door for a cup of sugar, I say yes. But I said sure, let me go get a cup of sugar because unlike you, I'm happy to lend a cup of sugar. לא תטור Lo titor is even when you do the kind deed, but you give a שטוך schtuch, you remind the person they didn't do it for you, that's also a תורה Torah prohibition, a biblical prohibition. Says the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch, what's at the root, what's at the root of the prohibition to take revenge? Forget my example of sugar, but a root of the תורה Torah prohibition to take revenge, says the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch, if you desire to take revenge, you're a heretic. Heretic? Yeah, you deny God. Because nothing could happen to you if God was not okay with it. So if somebody did something harsh to you, on the one hand they are accountable, they should be accountable. We have a system of law. Someone damaged you, you take him to a דין תורה din Torah or to a בית דין beis din. And you adjudicate. Civil damages, criminal damages, there are laws and people are accountable for what they've done wrong. But revenge, revenge implies that the only one who could have done that to me is you. Is you. So that cuts God out of the equation. So the attitude the ספר החינוך Sefer HaChinuch says one has to have is that look, this couldn't happen to me if it weren't for השם Hashem. So I can't take revenge. Is that person accountable? They'll have to give their own דין וחשבון din v'cheshbon, yes. They will be accountable. But from my perspective, everything that happens is from השם Hashem. I can't take, I can't take revenge. So יוסף Yosef is saying to the brothers, are you accountable? You'll be accountable. When you get to שמים shomayim, you get upstairs, you'll be accountable. But vis-a-vis me, יוסף Yosef says, I'm all good. You're my brothers. There's a reason. From my perspective, there's a reason that it all worked out for the best because it left me in a position that I'm able to help you. I am the viceroy of Egypt. If you look at the ספורנו Sforno, ועתה לא אתם שלחתם v'atah lo atem shlachtem. הנה בראותכם תכלית אלוקי שלא היה מושג בזולת אלה הסיבות הקודמות, אין ספק שהסיבות הקודמות היו גם כן ברצון אלוקי הסבבות זה התכלית He nebiroschem tachlis Elokai shelo haya musag bizulas eilah hasibos hakodmos, ein safek shehasibos hakodmos hayu gam kein b'ratzon Elokei hasvavos zeh hatachlis. What was he saying? ספורנו Sforno is putting it in fancy language, but he's basically saying is what's תכלית tachlis? Look at the results. יוסף Yosef was encouraging his brothers, if you see the results and you like the results, then you're obligated to look retrospectively and understand that everything, the whole journey that yielded those results also came from God. Now if you're prepared to look and say that I couldn't be the second in command, I'm a foreigner in a foreign land, I was a slave sold into slavery, and here I am the vice president of Egypt, in charge of the finance, the economy, that has to be God. Well if you're going to say that that has to be God, then you've got to be willing to look retrospectively and say the whole method, everything that led up to it, how I got here, is also God. ספורנו Sforno is encouraging us based on יוסף Yosef's experience, the attitude that we should have in life as well. Okay, continuing. פסוק ט Pasuk Tes. So what's יוסף Yosef's instruction? מהרו ועלו אל אבי Maharu v'alu el avi. Hurry up and, what's ועלו v'alu? Go up. Why do they have to go up? Take an elevator? Where are they going? Down in Egypt. Why is Egypt down? Because it's a lower society. Oh, okay, good. So look at רש\"י Rashi, ועלו אל אבי v'alu el avi, go up to my father. ארץ ישראל גבוהה מכל הארצות Eretz Yisrael gavoah mikol ha'aratzos. The גמרא Gemara in זבחים Zvachim says Israel is a higher elevation than all the other lands. And ירושלים Yerushalayim is the high, הר הבית Har HaBayis is the highest elevation. It's a very powerful feeling. Been to Israel, you know that when you're going to ירושלים Yerushalayim, it's such a great feeling that you're climbing. You know that if you've driven, especially, and you're trying to press on the gas pedal, when you're climbing, climbing, climbing, you feel your ascending to go to ירושלים Yerushalayim. And that was designed that way on purpose by God to give us that sense, that feeling that going to ירושלים Yerushalayim, going to the holiest city, we are ascending. So רש\"י Rashi's quoting גמרא Gemara in זבחים Zvachim, whether it's meant to be taken literally, I don't believe it's true by the way that Israel is the highest elevation in the world. But it's meant at least meant to be taken figuratively that Israel is the highest elevation spiritually, as someone just said, מצרים Mitzrayim was decadent, was lowly, was the lowest culture. Going up, you're going up to Israel. Because it says before ירידה yeriduh to מצרים Mitzrayim. ירידה yeriduh, right, going down to Egypt and now עלו לארץ alu l'aretz. So he says מהרו maharu, hurry up, go get dad. ואמרתם אליו V'amartem eilav, and here's what I want you to tell him. כה אמר בנך יוסף Ko amar bincha Yosef, this is what your son יוסף Yosef said. שמני אלהים לאדון לכל מצרים Samani Elokim l'adon l'chol Mitzrayim, God has placed me as a master of all Egypt. רדה אלי אל תעמוד Reda elai al ta'amod. Come down, come down to me, hurry down, dad, don't delay. Hurry up, don't stand still. וישבת בארץ גושן V'yashavta b'eretz Goshen, I'm going to help you reside, we're going to move you to a nice condo in Goshen. והיית קרוב אלי V'hayisa karov elai, you'll be close to me, אתה ובניך ובני בניך ata u'vanecha u'vnei vanecha, you and your sons and your grandchildren, וצאנך ובקרך וכל אשר לך v'tzoncha u'v'karcha v'chol asher lach, and all of your cattle, everything that you have, it's time to move the family down, I want you to come be near me, I'm going to take care of you down here. וכלכלתי אותך שם כי עוד חמש שנים רעב V'chilkalti oscha sham, ki od chamesh shanim ra'av. I will be able to sustain you there, here, because there's going to be another five years, we're only into year two of the famine. פן תורש אתה וביתך וכל אשר לך Pen tivaresh ata u'veisecha v'chol asher lach. Why should you move here he tells them? פן תורש Pen tivaresh. What does that mean? That you don't become poor, you don't become destitute, indigent, וביתך u'veisecha, you and your family and everything that you have. It's interesting that he tells him that because it's not what he told the brothers why they should move. So that's the message for his father. What was he, what was he really getting at? So look at the רמב\"ן Ramban, thank you, Sarah. י\"א Yud Alef. ויאמר פן תורש אתה וביתך Vayomer pen tivaresh ata u'veisecha, דרך כבוד derech kavod. כי לאחיו אמר כי למחיה שלחני אלהים לפניכם ולשום לכם שארית Ki l'echav amar ki l'michyah shlachani Elokim lifneichem v'lasum lachem she'eris, שימותו ולא ישאר להם שארית sheyomsu v'lo yishar lahem she'eris. To his brothers he said come here because I'm going to save you. I'm going to save your life. You stay where you are in Israel, there's a famine, you're going to die. There's no food. You're going to die. So to his brothers he said come to Egypt so I can save your life. But that wouldn't be honorable to say to your father you are going to die, let me save your life. It's not honorable to put yourself in the position you're saving your father's life. So it was דרך כבוד derech kavod, it was honor to say, פן תורש pen tivaresh, lest you become impoverished, come here while I can still maintain your lifestyle. אבל לאביו לא רצה לומר כן Aval l'aviv lo ratzah lomar kein. ויאמר שאם תתחשך בארץ כנען תורש V'yomar sheim techa'chef b'Eretz Canaan tivaresh. If you delay and stay in Israel, you'll become poor. כי אני לא יכול לשלוח לכם לארץ כנען Ki ani lo yachol lishloach lachem l'Eretz Canaan. Now the רמב\"ן Ramban here is answering the question. יעקב Yaakov would say what do you mean I'm going to become poor in Israel? If you love me so much, so send me food to Israel. Why do I have to come to Egypt? Why is there a contingency, why is there a condition that you can only sustain me, you'll only give me food in this famine if I come to Egypt? Send me food to Israel. So the רמב\"ן Ramban says why? Because יוסף Yosef was sending a message, אני לא יכול לשלוח לכם לארץ כנען מבין זה המלך Ani lo yachol lishloach lachem l'Eretz Canaan mibein zeh hamelech. I can't send you Egyptian food to Israel. כי יחשדו אותי שאני מוכר שם לעשות לי שם אוצרות כסף Ki yachshedu osi sh'ani mocher sham l'asos li shem otzros kesef. ולשוב לארצי ואל מולדתי V'lishuv l'artzi v'el moladeti. Unfortunately, this still remains true. How will the Egyptians feel if they see me doing trade with Israel? They'll think that I'm trying to promote my name. They'll think that I have my own interests because that's my homeland. And they, what? I got bank accounts with them. Yeah, I got a bank account in Switzerland, and I'm setting up a bank account in Israel. ובבואכם וידעו כי אתם אבי ואחי, יתן לי המלך רשות U'vevo'achem v'yedu ki atem avi v'achai, yiten li hamelech reshus. But if you come here and everyone sees you are my family, they would love to see me taking care of my family and bringing you to Egypt. But if I send you and then Israel, they're going to fear you're bringing me and us to Israel, that they're going to oppose. Yes. When יוסף Yosef says to his brothers, I'm going to sustain you for a momentous, still look at us. Is that a foreshadowing of the יציאת מצרים Yetzias Mitzrayim? Mhm. It's partially built into the language. In fact, we'll see that in one second. We'll see that in one second. Okay, so that's the רמב\"ן Ramban, פן תורש pen tivaresh. Different than what he said to his brothers and why he couldn't go to bring food to his father in Israel. פסוק י\"ב Pasuk Yud Beis. והנה עיניכם רואות ועיני אחי בנימין V'hinei eineichem ro'os v'einei achi Binyamin, behold your eyes see as do the eyes of your brother בנימין Binyamin, כי פי המדבר אליכם ki fi hamedaber aleichem. That it's my mouth that's speaking to you. What a strange statement. You and your brother בנימין Binyamin see that it's me speaking to you. He was speaking Hebrew, right, so they understood. Oh, so what does that mean? Good, so we'll see that in one second. First of all, along the same lines about the foreshadowing. י\"ב Yud Beis, רש\"י Rashi, הנה עיניכם רואות Hinei eineichem ro'os, your eyes see, בכבודי ושאני אחיכם b'chvodi v'she'ani acheichem. שאני מהול ככם She'ani mahul kachem. You see, what do you see with your eyes that you're going to report to dad that no one else sees? So יוסף Yosef says you see with your own eyes that I have a ברית bris. I guess he revealed his ברית bris. Today there are many people who are circumcised, not just Jews. But in those times, I mean who in the world would volunteer for circumcision if you didn't see it as having a religious component, and certainly, you know, they didn't have studies of cancer to see the health benefits. So he says, you are the ones who see that I have a ברית bris, that I'm circumcised. ועוד V'od and furthermore, כי פי המדבר אליכם בלשון הקודש ki fi hamedaber aleichem bilashon hakodesh. As Sonia said, you see what language am I talking to you in? I'm talking Hebrew to you. You see with your own eyes that here we are talking Hebrew. Would I be able to speak Hebrew to you if I was not your brother יוסף Yosef? In other words, יוסף Yosef over and over again is trying to give them evidence and trying to convince them that it's me, don't worry, there's no conspiracy, it's really me. The רמב\"ן Ramban doesn't like that. Look at the רמב\"ן Ramban. בלשון הקודש Bilashon hakodesh, דעת המפרשים das hamforshim, והוא טעם אונקלוס v'hu ta'am Unkelos. The רש\"י Rashi, the אבן עזרא Ibn Ezra, the רד\"ק Radak all based on אונקלוס Unkelos say that what יוסף Yosef was saying, you see with your own eyes, my mouth, why would they be looking at his mouth? Because we were speaking Hebrew, no one else spoke Hebrew. ויתכן שאמר להם כך לעמלת ל'פיוס V'yitachen she'amar lahem kach l'amasle'us l'piyus. Maybe he said that to them to satisfy them, to make them feel good. Look, I'm speaking Hebrew to you, Hebrew is your native language. You're comfortable in Hebrew. כי איננו ראיה שידבר אדם אחד במצרים בלשון הקודש Ki einu ra'ayah sheyidaber adam echad b'Mitzrayim bilashon hakodesh. כי ידעתי הוא שפת כנען Ki yadati hu sfas Canaan. But he says that's not, that's not really proof that he's יוסף Yosef because it's not just one person who spoke Hebrew in Israel. כי אברהם העברי מאור כשדים מעבר הנהר מ'סעי Ki Avraham ha'Ivri miUr Kasdim me'ever ha'nahar mi'si, ויגל הזה עדה v'yigal ha'zeh eide. ואיננו לשון לאיש אחד לבד, אבל הוא לשון כנען V'eini lashon l'ish echad l'vad, aval hu lashon Canaan. The language he was speaking, לשון הקודש lashon hakodesh, was the language that was spoken in כנען Canaan as a whole. It wasn't just אברהם Avraham and his family. So this was not a private code that just אברהם Avraham's descendants and progeny shared with each other such that it would confirm יוסף Yosef's identity. The רבנים במצרים Rabanim b'Mitzrayim knew also, כי קרוב הוא ki karov hu. Egypt is right next to Canaan. So many people speak Hebrew in Egypt because that's what they spoke in the next door neighbor nation. ואף כי המושל, שדרך המלכים והמושלים לדעת לשונות V'af ki ha'moshel, she'derech ha'mlachim v'ha'moshlim l'daat l'shonot. And all the more so a leader, leaders know multiple languages to be able to practice diplomacy. וכמו שהתיר בנבוכדנצר שאמר בלשון הקודש, חלום חלמתי ותפעם רוחי לדעת את החלום Uk'mo she'tir b'Nevuchadnetzar she'amar b'lashon ha'kodesh, chalom chalamti v'tipa'em ruchi l'daat et ha'chalom. Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian leader, spoke Hebrew, when he describes his dream. באו ושר היו שם חרטומים והאשפים והמכשפים והכשדים Bavu v'sar hayu sham chartumim v'ha'ashafim u'mkashfim v'kasdim, from מלשונות רבות בישראל וכולם יבינו אותו mil'shonot rabot b'Yisrael v'kulam y'vinu oto. When he was describing his dream, Nebuchadnezzar, he used Hebrew to describe it. So the Ramban is rejecting. Why did he go all the way to Nebuchadnezzar when Pharaoh seemed to do the same thing according to the pesukim? Well, we don't know if the pasuk is translating what Pharaoh said really in in Egyptian. והם ענו לו בארמית V'heim anu lo b'Aramit. They answered Nebuchadnezzar in Aramaic. וידברו הכשדים למלך ארמית Vayidabru ha'kasdim la'melech Aramit. כי הם היו בקרוב אליו ואין להם רשות במלכות להם היו רשות לדבר על המלך Ki heim hayu b'karov eilav v'ein lahem r'shut ba'malchut, lahem hayu r'shut l'daber el ha'melech. ועוד כי כאשר בא יוסף משנה למצרים יבואו רבים ויוסף היה להם רעיה ויזכירו שמו, ועניין המכירה, אני יוסף אחיכם אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה V'od ki ka'asher ba Yosef mishneh l'Mitzrayim, yavo'u rabim, v'Yosef hayah lahem re'ayah v'yazkiru shmo, v'inyan ha'm'chira, ani Yosef achichem asher m'chartem oti Mitzraymah. So the Ramban disagrees, he rejects Rashi, the Ibn Ezra, the Radak, Unkelos. He says no, it doesn't mean he was looking at his mouth because they was looking at the language he spoke. Everyone spoke that language. It was right next door in Canaan. Most people spoke that language. The evidence when Yosef said, I am Yosef, he mentioned the name, how would someone know the name of the brother? אשר מכרתם אותי Asher m'chartem oti that you sold me, how would someone know that? He mentioned all these facts that no one else could know, and that's how he was revealing his identity. But the Ramban rejects the idea that this Hebrew somehow revealed the evidence. So what the Ramban so how does the Ramban explain when he said... Why was he looking at his mouth? Why are you looking at my mouth? So says the Ramban, continue next paragraph. והנכון בעיני V'ha'nachon b'einai. says the Ramban, what's correct to me, כי יאמר והנה עיניכם רואות ועיני אחי בנימין, כי אני המושל והאדון לכל מצרים ki yomar v'hinei eineichem ro'ot v'einei achi Binyamin, ki ani ha'moshel v'ha'adon l'chol Mitzrayim. המגיד לכם מפי כי אני אחיכם, ומצוה להורות אבי אלי לכלכלו Ha'magid lachem mipi ki ani achichem, u'mitzvah l'horot avi eilay l'chalkulo. He says, you see with your own eyes that I am the leader of Egypt. Now look at my mouth, I'm telling you I'm Yosef, I'm your brother. With this mouth, I can put people to death, I can keep them alive, I can rule Egypt with this mouth. And this mouth is telling you, I'm Yosef, your brother. Go get dad. אם כן תגידו לאבי את כל כבודי ואת כל אשר ראיתם ומהרתם והורדתם אלי כי הדברים אמת Im kein tagidu l'avi et kol k'vodi v'et kol asher re'item, u'mihartem v'horadtem eilay ki ha'dvarim emet. What's the connection between... a further I would say the Ramban's argument, if Rashi were correct, then Yosef shouldn't have said, 'Look with your eyes,' כי פי המדבר אליכם ki pi hamedaber aleichem, that my mouth that speaks to you. What should he have said? Listen with your ears, the mouth that is speaking to you. If there was really that it was Hebrew and that was a code. So the Ramban is explaining, what do you mean look with your eyes about the mouth that is speaking to you? Ramban is saying, look with your eyes the position I've attained and understand therefore that the mouth that's speaking to you is telling you the truth. Is telling you the truth. Okay? ובמסכת מגילה אמרו כי פי כן ליבי U'v'masechet Megillah amru ki fi kein libi. The Gemara Megillah understands, like my mouth, that's what's in my heart. My mouth is revealing what is in my heart. Okay? So that's what that pasuk means, that's what Yosef is telling them. That's a debate between Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Radak versus the Ramban. פסוק יג Pasuk Yud Gimmel. Back to what he should tell dad. והגדתם לאבי את כל כבודי במצרים V'higadetem l'avi et kol k'vodi b'Mitzrayim. Give dad a little nachas. Tell him who I am. Tell him the honor that I have in Egypt. ואת כל אשר ראיתם ומהרתם והורדתם את אבי הנה V'et kol asher re'item, u'mihartem v'horadtem et avi heinah. Hurry, bring him back, get him here. Hurry bring him back, get him here. י\"ד. ויפול על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך, ובנימין בכה על צואריו Yud Daled. Vayipol al tzavarei Binyamin achiv vayevk, u'Binyamin bacha al tzavarav. Yosef then collapses. This reunion, this reconciliation is concluding. He's revealed himself. It took his brothers a little time to believe it, to not worry that he was going to take revenge. Did they ever believe he was going to not take revenge? No. How do you know that? When he dies... We'll see next week's parsha. Because when Yaakov dies, they come back and they say, \"Yosef, I don't know if dad mentioned to you, but he told us that he wanted you to forgive us. Everything's we're all good.\" Right? Why? Because they were Yaakov never said such a thing, but they were still fearful. They were still fearful. But he had already stopped inviting them to eat with him. Yeah. That's why they were worried. That's why they were worried. So, they now come around to reconcile. He gives them the message to tell his father, and Yosef collapses on Binyamin's neck, of his brother, and he cries. And Binyamin cries on Yosef's neck. This incredible embrace, one can picture this great music playing in the background, the lighting is dimming, curtain is falling, as Yosef and Binyamin fall on each other. Why Binyamin significantly? That was his brother. Binyamin's his real brother, shared the same father and the same same mother, and Binyamin is the only one who didn't sell him into slavery. He wasn't alive. So here he is collapsing with his brother, this loving embrace. How many years apart are they? He wasn't alive? He was alive. He was alive, but he couldn't participate in the... No, because he was still at home with his mother. Right. He was a baby, I'm sorry, he was a baby, he couldn't participate. I don't know, I don't know the years difference. I'm not sure. So Rashi, you know we said about foreshadowing. Rashi says, 'What's this cry-fest? Come on guys, you're men. Suck it up. What are you crying on each other's necks?' Says Rashi, ויפל על צוארי בנימין אחיו ויבך, על שני מקדשות שעתידין להיות בחלקו של בנימין וסופן להחרב Vayipol al tzavarei Binyamin achiv vayevk, al shnei mikdashot she'atidin l'hiyot b'chelko shel Binyamin v'sofan l'hecharev. Yosef understood that Binyamin was going to merit the two temples existing in his territory. The tribe of Benjamin inherits the territory around Jerusalem where the Temple Mount is. So Yosef knew that Binyamin's territory was ultimately going to house the two temples that would be destroyed. And that's what he was crying for. That's what he was crying for. How did he know that? How does Rashi know that? Look at the ספתי חכמים Sifsei Chachamim. מדכתיב כאן צוארי ולא כתיב צוארו Mid'chsiv kan tzavarei v'lo ksiv tzavaro. Yosef cries on the necks of Binyamin. Why is it in the plural, צוארי tzavarei? Should have just been ויפל על צוארו vayipol al tzavaro. Why צוארי tzavarei, which is plural? That's how Rashi deduced that it's a reference to the two temples. And Binyamin reciprocates. Binyamin cries on Yosef's neck, and here it doesn't have two, it has one. צוארו Tzavaro. What's that a reference to? שילה Shilo. משכן שילה Mishkan Shilo. שעתיד להיות בחלקו של יוסף, שילה she'atid l'hiyot b'chelko shel Yosef, Shilo was housed in the portion of Yosef. Was that שכם Shechem? No. Why was Binyamin זוכה zocheh to the to the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash being in his portion? Anyone know? He was the only tribe who was born in Israel. It's a great merit to be born in Israel. My oldest daughter was born in Israel, then we took her out. I don't know if that's still a great merit. But it's a great merit to be born in Israel. Since Binyamin was the only tribe, the Gemara says, born in Israel, that's why he merited to have the temples in his portion. The two the two events could have been the opposite. Binyamin could have cried for the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash and Yosef could have cried for שילה Shilo. That would have been more personal. Right. It shows the empathy they had for each other. Oh. Beautiful, the empathy for the suffering of one another. Beautiful. Beautiful. פסוק ט\"ו. וינשק לכל אחיו ויבך עליהם Pasuk Tet Vav. Vayenashek l'chol echav vayevk aleihem. And after he embraces Binyamin and cries on his shoulder, he then repeats that with each of his brothers. וינשק Vayenashek, he kisses his brothers and he cries on them. Which is important. Right? Because what kind of reconciliation would it be if you only cry on the brother that didn't sell you? If you really want to prove the reconciliation, you go to each of your brothers. ואחרי כן דברו אחיו אתו V'acharei chein dibru echav ito. And only at the end of all of this were the brothers prepared to speak to him. They were still in shock. They were still traumatized. They were still not confident 100% that he wasn't going to take revenge and call to cut off their heads right then. Only after this embrace are they prepared to respond. And that's what Rashi says, ואחרי כן v'acharei chein, מאחר שראוהו בוכה ולבו שלם עמהם, דברו אחיו אתו, שמתחילה היו בוש ממנו mei'achar she'ra'uhu bocheh v'libo shalem imam, dibru echav ito, she'm'tchila hayu bosh mimenu. Now they relieved, they were embarrassed, they were ashamed, they were humiliated. But Yosef, to his great credit, was more concerned with their shame than with his honor. So he made them feel comfortable, he put them at ease, and it was successful because now they're ready to speak. Now they're ready to talk. And that's what the Ohr HaChaim says. Why was it that why weren't they ready to talk after Yosef said all the nice things? Why did it take him crying? So the Ohr HaChaim, Rav Chaim Ben Attar says, פירוש, אחר שראו שבוכה עליהם, אז שמח לבם ודברו אתו Peirush, achar she'ra'u she'bocheh aleihem, az samach libam v'dibru ito. Once he saw him crying and embracing him, hugging him, now they were ready to talk. כי כל דברים שהיה אומר שהיה אומר להם כן אעשה להם לתבושה, אולי על עולם לבו יאמר עליהם מצד המעשה Ki kol dvarim she'haya omer, she'haya omer lahem, kein a'aseh lahem, l'itbusheh, ulay al olam libo yomar aleihem mitzad ha'ma'aseh. But maybe in the world of action, he was still planning on taking revenge. אכן כי שראו שחיבק אותם, ובכה על פרידתם Achen ki she'ra'u she'chibek otam, u'vacha al preidatam, But when he saw that Yosef was crying, and that he was sad that they were leaving, because he had sent them back to Canaan to go get the father, and he was sad by that. Here he has a reunion and right away he's alone again. When they saw the genuine sadness, הכירו מדות טובות כי אח נאמן הוא ודברו אתו hikiru midos tovos ki ach ne'eman hu v'dibru ito. They saw that he's the real deal. He's a loyal brother, and now they're ready to speak and to open up. והגם שבכה מקודם, אינו הוכחה, מזכי אשר זכר צרתו בכה עליהם V'gam she'bacha mikodem, eino hochacha, mizki asher zachar tzarato bacha aleihem. Even though Yosef cried earlier, that cry might have been a cry because he was sad for the for the suffering he had gone through. מה שאין כן בכי זה, שבכה עליהם ma she'ein kein b'chi zeh, she'bacha aleihem. This cry was not Yosef crying for himself. He was crying that they had to leave, that he was going to be alone again. כי גם בכי ראשון יש מקום לתלות שבכה על פרידת בנימין, מה שאין כן כשבכה עליהם, בפרטות זה יגיד אהבה בלב Ki gam bechi rishon yesh makom litlot she'bacha al preidat Binyamin, ma she'ein kein k'shebacha aleihem, b'pratus zeh yagid ahava b'lev. Before he cried maybe because he didn't want to see Binyamin go, but he was displaying love. So this is another very important subtle idea that if you really want to show reconciliation, you have to display affection. Otherwise a person doesn't believe it's true. If you're using the words I forgive you but you're not displaying the affection, then you don't really forgive the person. There's no intimacy, there's no affection, there's no love, there's no warmth, you don't really forgive a person. Power of touch is a very powerful thing. Even when you're talking to someone, you put your hand on somebody's arm, you put your hand on somebody's shoulder, you put your... It's actually a tragedy today that you know, a lot of people can remember a Rebbe or a teacher or somebody who put their hand on their shoulder, their hand on their arm and the confidence that instilled in them or the ease that placed in them that everything was going to be okay. We live in a world where if a teacher puts a hand on the shoulder, you got to worry, it's going to be lawsuits and charges and so today that's lost. And it's a big it's a big issue. But that power of touch, that power of affection, I don't mean I don't mean a sexual affection. I'm talking about just warmth and love of genuine affection is a very powerful tool. You have a reconciliation, Yosef's going on and on and on waxing poetic about forgiving them and everything's going to be okay, they don't buy it until he puts his hand on them, until he displays that affection. It's a very important and a very powerful tool. It's a powerful tool for parents. There are a lot of parents who are uncomfortable with affection, maybe fathers in particular, and they don't show those that affection to their children, and no matter what the words say, the children always feel, they always live with doubt whether their parent really loves them. That display of affection is something which is really critical, and it lasts a long time and it has a more powerful impact than words can ever have. So that's why they after Yaakov died that they doubted. Because they still, you know what? If you sold somebody, if you were prepared to kill somebody and then you sold them into prostitution, you'd also have in the back of your your head a little doubt whether they ever really forgive you. Maybe it said something about them. You know what it said about them? That they weren't to forgiven. That they weren't to forgiven. Often we project. Psychology has a whole concept of projection. We often project unto somebody else what we would feel in their circumstance, and then we blame them for that even though we don't feel it. It's a big tension in in in relationships. We say, why do you keep projecting? I don't feel that way, I never said those things. But how you would feel, how we feel, we project onto someone else. So maybe the brothers were projecting unto Yosef, we could never forgive, and therefore they never really accepted that he had in himself forgiven. And it's like you said, it was a lack of אמונה emunah on their part. They had to reach that level of אמונה emunah. Right. פסוק ט\"ז Pasuk Tet Zayin, verse 16. והקול נשמע בית פרעה לאמר V'ha'kol nishma beit Paroh leimor, so, you know, they didn't have the internet, but word got out quickly in Egypt. You still had the paparazzi who were taking pictures through the window of this reconciliation. Word got out in Egypt, באו אחי יוסף ba'u achei Yosef. Yosef's brothers have come. וייטב בעיני פרעה ובעיני עבדיו Vayitav b'einei Paroh u'v'einei avadav. Pharaoh said, \"Oh, I like that, that's good.\" Now, why was Pharaoh so excited? What's good that Yosef's brothers have come? Why is he excited about that? Shows he's got a background. He was nothing, just an עברי Ivri. So now he's got eleven brothers. Oh, good, so I like what Jonathan thinks. Maybe Pharaoh said to himself, you know what? If Yosef is one good accountant, eleven more good accountants, boy what that can do for the industry in Egypt. That's fantastic. More stock brokers, more hedge fund managers, that's going to be phenomenal. Look at the Sforno, Rav Ovadia Sforno. וייטב בעיני פרעה שחשב שמכאן ואילך תהיה השגחה של יוסף על הארץ, לא כהשגחת גר כי אם כהשגחת עזרה חושב לשבת בארץ והוא זרו Vayitav b'einei Paroh she'chashav she'mikan v'eilach tihyeh ha'shgacha shel Yosef al ha'aretz, lo k'hashgachat ger ki im k'hashgachat ezra choshev lashevet ba'aretz v'hu zaro. See until now, Yosef had a temporary visa. Yosef was a foreigner. His homeland was Canaan, his family lived in Canaan. He found himself in Egypt and for these years on his temporary visa he would function as the viceroy. Pharaoh was excited. Why? Because now that his family's moving down here, he's not here on a temporary visa, he's got a green card. He's a citizen. He's a full-fledged citizen and he's going to be here and that will bring greater blessing for Egypt. That's the reason the Sforno gives. The Ramban gives a different reason. כי היה הדבר להם לחרפה שימשול בהם איש נכרי עבד מבית האסורים יצא למלוך Ki hayah ha'davar lahem l'cherpah she'yimshol bahem ish nochri eved mi'beit ha'asurim yatza limloch. For Pharaoh, no now the Ramban, we looked at the Sforno, now the Ramban. So for the Ramban disagrees with the Sforno. He says, no, you know why Pharaoh was excited? Because it was an embarrassment for Pharaoh. Your vice president is a guy, I mean could you imagine someone picking a running mate who had been in prison, who he took out of prison to come run with him to be his vice president? You're going to choose your your Fed chairman? You're going to choose your your Treasury department head, somebody you just plucked out of jail? So all this time Pharaoh was kind of humiliated, defensive that look at his number two, his viceroy is Yosef. It's a חרפה cherpah, it's an embarrassment. ועתה בבוא אליו אחים נכבדים V'atah b'vo eilav achim nichbadim. But now that his distinguished family is coming, ונודע כי הוא גונה יצא מבין מלכים וזה ידוע שהוא ממשפחה חשובה ומכובדת v'noda ki hu gunah yatza m'bein m'lachim v'zeh yadua she'hu mimishpacha chashuva u'm'chubedet. שמחו כולם בדבר Samchu kulam ba'davar. Everyone was very excited. So, Pharaoh was not excited for Yosef. When you read the pasuk, you might have concluded, you know, Pharaoh is such a generous guy. Wow, it's nice, you know? He's so nice, he's so happy for Yosef that he's restored to his family. No. Pharaoh had self-interest in mind. Either for the Sforno, his self-interest was he was excited Yosef's now here to stay, he's a citizen. Or for the Ramban, he was excited that, you know what, the tabloids will stop killing me over my viceroy being a jailbird, and now they're going to see that he's a distinguished person from a distinguished family. But if the tabloids did their job, they'd see that the brothers sold him and the whole all the חרפה cherpah came before. There was no internet. That got protected. How do I know that got protected? No WikiLeaks, exactly. How do you know that got protected? Because I ask the question, did Yaakov ever find out what happened? No. Supposedly not. We don't know. Torah never tells us. There's a lot, there's evidence in both directions. We can speculate. But I mean, you know, it's fascinating to me to picture this family unit functioning, right. Trying to keep this, you know, dysfunctioning, right, you know? You know, when Yosef, when they're like, can imagine what that Shabbos table or Yom Tov table is like, you know? Pass the meat. Pass the meat. You sold me into Egypt, you want me to pass the meat? Like, shh, don't tell dad doesn't know. Like, you can imagine. But from what I remember, Joseph never really saw his father again. No, he saw his father. He saw his father. When he blesses him, he blesses... Saw his father, he brings his kids to his father. But it wasn't the same close relationship they had had. Because he was afraid, Joseph didn't want to see his father because lest he reveal it. The sons, the sons learned with their father? Yeah, yeah. The grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But that George, so we know that the paparazzi didn't catch up on that because that was one of the best kept secrets because even Yaakov, at least according to many, even Yaakov himself never found out. פסוק י\"ז Pasuk Yud Zayin. ויאמר פרעה אל יוסף אמר אל אחיך זאת עשו Vayomer Paroh el Yosef, emor el achecha zot asu. Pharaoh said to Yosef, \"Tell your brothers here's what they should do.\" טענו את בעירכם ולכו באו ארצה כנען Tanu et b'irchem u'lchu vo'u artza K'naan. Here's what they should do. Load up the animals and go right to Canaan. וקחו את אביכם ואת בתיכם ובואו אלי ואתנה לכם את טוב ארץ מצרים ואכלו את חלב הארץ U'kchu et avichem v'et batteichem u'vo'u eilay, v'etnah lachem et tuv eretz Mitzrayim v'ichlu et cheilev ha'aretz. You'll be able to eat from the fat of the land. Fat of the land means the best of the land. ואתה צויתה זאת עשו, קחו לכם מארץ מצרים עגלות לטפכם ולנשיכם, ונשאתם את אביכם ובאתם V'atah tzuveita zot asu, k'chu lachem mei'eretz Mitzrayim agalot l'tapchem v'lin'sheichem, u'n'satem et avichem u'vatem. Take wagons, here's a first class ticket, bring everyone down. ועינכם אל תחוס על כליכם כי טוב כל ארץ מצרים לכם הוא V'einchem al tachos al kleichem ki tuv kol eretz Mitzrayim lachem hu. And don't spare any expense. Don't worry about anything. I'm going to give you the best. ויעשו כן בני ישראל ויתן להם יוסף עגלות על פי פרעה ויתן להם צדה לדרך Vaya'asu chein b'nei Yisrael vayiten lahem Yosef agalot al pi Paroh vayiten lahem tzeidah la'derech. So that's what they did. Yosef gave them these wagons and they gave them צידה לדרך tzeidah la'derech. What's צידה לדרך tzeidah la'derech? Provisions for the way. Here's food, here's some good things for the way. לכלם נתן לאיש חליפות שמלות ולבנימן נתן שלש מאות כסף וחמש חליפות שמלות L'chulam natan l'ish chalifot smalot, u'l'Binyamin natan shlosh me'ot kesef v'chamesh chalifot smalot. And Yosef gave parting gifts. Here are party favors, here are parting gifts for everyone. What's questionable in this pasuk? He gave everybody one thing and he gave Binyamin three times as much. But didn't he realize... Whoa. That's what happened to him with his... Right. Didn't he learn from history? The whole reason everything happened is because his father showed favoritism. And here he is showing favoritism to his younger brother. Isn't... Maybe he is not to test his brothers. Oh, so maybe this is part of the test again that let's see, we're back in the same circumstances. And not behave and when they go back, they have the same opportunity. Oh, or when I was favored, you therefore wanted to kill me. Let me see if you've learned to accept the fact that someone might be the favorite child. Yes. But wouldn't we expect that they'd have a slightly closer relationship due to the fact that they did have the same father and mother? I mean, that's not really... I don't know. They didn't see each other. I don't know if that'd make you happy if you were a group of twelve who you never were, none of you were all from the same father and mother, it's not... You got four mothers. The twelve were divided among four mothers, and then you see eleven one way and the twelfth the other way. The thing is interesting. But they really didn't have any connection. The campo is this, he was in position to give them that, and they went out and they took it. Right. Maybe this is where it comes. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah, what George is saying, when we left Egypt, God said, 'Take, go into the homes and take valuable things with you,' so we left Egypt wealthy. What right did God have, what authority was there to take? So maybe this is it. When Pharaoh promised them the best of Egypt is yours, maybe that became fulfilled when they left Egypt. Beautiful. Beautiful. Why, why wagons? Why this emphasis on wagons? Learning with Yaakov... עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. Good. So Yosef, they sent wagons, although I'll tell you the problem with that it occurred to me only this morning when I was reading this. Who was the one who suggested taking wagons? Pharaoh. Right. We're all taught from the midrash that Yosef sent wagons because it would reveal to his father if he had any doubts that it really is Yosef. The last thing that they were learning together was the story of עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. What? So, so I say, but the problem with that is that Pharaoh's the one here who suggested taking the wagons, not Yosef. But the Rashbam gives a different reason. Rashbam says, אתה אני מצוה אותך לקחת עגלות ובהמות למשוך, כי לא היה אדם יכול להוציא מן המלכות Atah ani metzaveh otha l'kachat agalot u'beheimot l'm'shoch, ki lo hayah adam yachol l'hotzi min ha'malchut. עגלה כי אם על פי פרעה agalah ki im al pi Paroh. No wagons were to leave Egypt without Pharaoh's consent. And so he sent Air Force One. He sent Air Force One to go get the father. Who's going to send Air Force One if you don't have, no one's fabricating the story and bringing Air Force One. So Pharaoh sent Air Force One to show Yaakov that yeah, this is a real deal. That's a sign for the other Egyptians. Maybe for the Egyptians to know that it should have smooth passage. And that in fact was one of the fears. Keep going. ויעשו כן בני ישראל ויתן להם יוסף עגלות על פי פרעה, צדה לדרך. לכלם נתן לאיש חליפות Vaya'asu chein b'nei Yisrael, vayiten lahem Yosef agalot al pi Paroh, tzeida la'derech. l'chulam natan l'ish chalifot. Fine. כ\"ג. ולאביו שלח כזאת עשרה חמרים נשאים מטוב מצרים ועשר אתנות נשאות בר ולחם ומזון לאביו לדרך Kaf Gimmel. U'l'aviv shalach k'zot asarah chamorim nos'im mi'tuv Mitzrayim v'eser atonot nos'ot bar v'lechem u'mazon l'aviv la'derech. He sent all these fine animals and wagons and food to his father. וישלח את אחיו וילכו ויאמר אליהם אל תרגזו בדרך Vayishlach et echav vayelechu, vayomer aleihem al tirg'zu ba'derech. And he said to them, do not תרגזו tirg'zu on the way. What is תרגזו tirg'zu mean? Don't dally-dally. Okay, good. So here, look at look at the... Hold on, hold on, shh shh shh. There's a number of commentaries here. Rashi says, אל תרגזו בדרך, אל תתעסקו בדבר הלכה al tirg'zu ba'derech, al tit'asku b'davar halacha, שלא תרגז עליכם הדרך shelo tirgaz aleichem ha'derech. Don't get so caught up in your learning. The yeshiva bachrim are going to be learning and you're going to forget, you're going to get lost, you're going to get whatever, you're going to forget you're going to miss your train, you're going to miss your bus. אל תרגזו בדרך Al tirg'zu ba'derech, he was telling his brothers, \"Don't don't get involved in such a lamdus and such a high level Torah learning that you're going to forget where you're going.\" דבר אחר, אל תפסיעו פסיעה גסה, והכניסו חמה לעיר Davar acher, al tafsi'u p'si'ah gasah, v'hachnisu chamah la'ir. An alternative Rashi says is, don't think now, you know, you just got went from being these poor people from Canaan begging for food to having the ultimate protektzia. Don't get arrogant. Don't travel home with this nose in the air, arrogant, \"Do you know who I am? I'm the brother of Yosef.\" Because what you'll do is incite anger in the city, הכניסו חמה לעיר, אל תרגזו hachnisu chamah la'ir, al tirg'zu. Don't get the דרך derech, don't make everyone along the way angry because you're going to thumb your nose at them that you went down, when you were, when you stayed in the hotel on your way down, you were a poor nothing, a shlub. Now on your way up, you're going to say, \"You know who I am? My brother is the head of Egypt.\" Don't get everyone angry. Don't don't don't put your nose in the air. That's the Rashi's interpretation. The Baal HaTurim. אל תרגזו, יש מפרשים אל תסמכו עלי לומר אחינו גדול הארץ, לעשות עוול לשום אדם Al tirg'zu, yesh mefarshim al tism'chu alai lomar achinu gadol ha'aretz, la'asot avel l'shum adam. Don't make any trouble along the way thinking that you've got all the power now because of who I am. אלא אל תרגזו לשום אדם בדרך, להלך עשה זו רואה, אסדות רואה Ela al tirg'zu l'shum adam ba'derech, l'ha'lech aseh zu ru'ah, asadot ru'ah. Don't go on anyone's, you think you're such a hot shot, you're going to take a shortcut through somebody's property, and if they come out and object, you're going to say, \"Do you know who my brother is?\" אל תרגזו Al tirg'zu, don't cause any problems. Just be the same humble people that you were before I revealed who I was. Stick with the highway. Don't take shortcuts through people's property. Don't get anybody angry. He was also worried that maybe they start fighting between themselves who was more responsible for selling. אל תרגזו בדרך Al tirg'zu ba'derech, yeah, another interpretation is, Ibn Ezra, שהיכעס איש על אחיו על מכירתיו Sheyich'as ish al achiv al mechiraso. Right, now you're going to go on, \"I told you not to sell him. It was my, it was your idea, it was your idea.\" You're going to kill each other on the way home, whose fault and whose idea. Right. The Rashbam's interpretation. The Rashbam. אל תרגזו, אל תיראו כולם בדרך מפני לסטים כי שלום לי מכל צד Al tirg'zu, al tir'u kulam ba'derech mipnei listim ki shalom li mi'kol tzad. This was not a warning, this was an information. He said, \"Don't worry, you're not going to have any problems because I have peace with everyone around. They all know who I am. Flash your Yosef card and you're going to be fine.\" That's the Rashbam's interpretation. The the Ramban's interpretation is different. The Ramban, the final interpretation we'll read is, you're going to be going home, and you're going to be passing all these neighborhoods where people are suffering from a famine, and you're going to be going in your chariots overflowing with delicacies and food. Just stay out of trouble. Stay out of trouble. People are going to be jealous. Don't flash what you've got and stay out of trouble. אל תרגזו בדרך Al tirg'zu ba'derech. So on those three words, אל תרגזו בדרך al tirg'zu ba'derech, we have all these multiple interpretations, two from Rashi, the Ibn Ezra, the Baal HaTurim, the Rashbam, the Ramban, many many different ways of understanding. Don't get into a fight with each other, don't get into a fight with others. Don't think you have protektzia. Don't get arrogant, and so on. We haven't heard from the Ohr HaChaim this week. We did, we did, we did one Ohr HaChaim. ויגידו לו לאמר עוד יוסף חי, וכי הוא מושל בכל ארץ מצרים Vayagidu lo leimor od Yosef chai, v'chi hu moshel b'chol eretz Mitzrayim. So they got to Yaakov and they tell him. You know what, we'll stop here. We'll pick up next time. When they get to Yaakov and they tell him, Yaakov's heart stops. Literally his heart skips a beat. And he doesn't believe it until he's finally willing to believe it. We'll start with that next time. A fantastic, sign a petition, we have a petition for Gilad Shalit. If you've not yet signed it, please sign the petition.
