Transcript
Good morning, Boker Tov and welcome back to the Parsha Perspectives for today. I want to thank our generous sponsors as always, dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family, in loving memory of Becky's father David Grossman, David Grossman. לעילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנשה Leilui nishmas David ben Menachem Manash. Thank you for your generosity. This week we have the privilege of studying פרשת ויגש Parshas Vayigash. Our story, our gripping story continues to unfold, this narrative. And even though at the end of last week's Parsha, Miketz, the curtain closed with Yehuda already poised and braced to confront and stand up to his brother Yosef. Nevertheless, our parsha begins, ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדוני ידבר נא עבדך דבר באזני אדוני ואל יחר אפך בעבדך כי כמוך כפרעה Vayigash elav Yehuda vayomer bi adoni yadaber na avdecha davar b'oznei adoni, v'al yichar apcha b'avdecha ki kamocha k'Pharaoh. Yehuda approached Yosef, and he said, \"If you please, my Lord, may your servant speak a word in your Lord's ears, and let not your anger flare up at your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.\" מי כמוך Mi chamocha, כי כמוך ki kamocha. מי כמוך Mi kamocha doesn't mean who. מי כמוך Mi kamocha means you are like Pharaoh. Nechama Leibowitz uses this word word כמוך kamocha in this context to explain a pasuk later in ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra. We have a mitzvah of ואהבת לרעך כמוך v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha. We have an obligation to love our neighbor as ourselves. And famously, it's asked, \"Love your neighbor as yourself?\" How is that possible? How can one love a neighbor as we love ourselves? And so, she explained, look at the words here. כי כמוך כפרעה Ki kamocha k'Pharaoh means you are like Pharaoh. ואהבת לרעך כמוך V'ahavta l'reacha kamocha means love what is like you in your neighbor. Everyone can find and see something redeemable in the neighbor. You have to love. אהבת ישראל Ahavas Yisrael. Don't focus on what sets the other person apart. Don't focus on your differences or it will divide. Instead, focus on ואהבת לרעך v'ahavta l'reacha, how? כמוך Kamocha. Find the כמוך kamocha, כי כמוך כפרעה ki kamocha k'Pharaoh, in the other person and in that way, you will connect.Yehuda displays a tremendous amount of courage. He steps up and he confronts Yosef. We mention every year, the רמ\"א Rema, Rav Moshe Isserles in שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch quotes the custom we all have to take three steps forward to begin our עמידה amida, our שמונה עשרה shmoneh esrei, and he quotes it based on the רוקח Rokeach. The רוקח Rokeach says, \"Why do we take three steps forward? Just close your feet, hold them together, and start davening where you are. Picture and imagine yourself standing before the Almighty. Why do you have to take three steps forward?\" Said the רוקח Rokeach, \"Because in תנ\"ך Tanach, we have three times the word ויגש vayigash is used to describe stepping up, stepping forward, stepping out, confronting on behalf, advocating, standing up for justice.\" Avraham, on behalf of סדום Sdom, ויגש vayigash, he steps up to God. יהודה ויגש אליו יהודה Yehuda vayigash elav Yehuda, he steps up to Yosef. And later, אליהו הנביא Eliyahu Hanavi with הר הכרמל Har HaCarmel when he steps up to the נביאי הבעל Neviei HaBaal, the false prophets, he steps up in order to stand for God. In Avram's case, he stands up for an enemy. In Yehuda's case, he stands up for a brother. And in Eliyahu's case, he stands up even for God himself. The three steps we take forward to start our עמידה amida correspond with these three ויגש vayigash's. And we too begin our עמידה amida not only focused on ourselves. What do I need? What do I want? What can I get to enrich my life? But to stand up and to advocate for other people. We have in mind that the most authentic form of davening is not only to fulfill our need, but to fulfill the needs of the people around us. Everybody knows that's one of my favorite Divrei Torah. I quote that רמ\"א Rema in the name of the רוקח Rokeach each and every year. So what is it that he says? When Yehuda steps up and confronts Yosef, what does he say? You asked, היש לכם אב או אח hayesh lachem av o ach, \"Do we have a father and do we have a brother?\" Which by the way, should have been some indication. Why in the world was this Yosef, this viceroy, so obsessed with whether the accused spies and thieves have a father? We told you that we have a father, and we have a young brother. And we've already lost a brother. He was beloved, he was singular to his mother, and he's gone. And Rashi notes already, is Yehuda lying? That brother is not dead. They knew well and good they had sold Yosef. So why did he depict it in this way? He was adding to the drama, the suspense, and to how much it would have affected and how much it would have destroyed their father. And we told you, when you said that we had to bring Binyamin down, that we would not be able to return unless we came back with Binyamin, we said, \"Are you crazy? If we take Binyamin from our father, he will surely die.\" לא יוכל הנער לעזוב את אביו ועזב את אביו ומת Lo yuchal hanaar laazov es aviv v'azav es aviv vameis. If he leaves our father, ומת vameis, he will surely die. The great Tzaddik Rav Yisrael of Modzhitz said, ועזב את אביו ומת v'azav es aviv vameis is a מוסר mussar. It's a very strong and powerful lesson for each and every one of us. Do you know how we achieve life? Life in this world and immortality in the next? When we attach ourselves to אבינו Avinu, אבינו שבשמים Avinu shebashamayim. When we're connected to our father, we seek to bring נחת רוח naches ruach to Hashem. We listen to his expectations of us, we embrace his his love and we reciprocate it to him. But what happens, he writes Rav Yisrael of Modzhitz, אינו מוכן בשום אופן לעזוב את אביו שבשמים, ואם יכריחוהו לסתור דעתו חלילה, ועזב את אביו Eino muchan b'shum ofen laazov es aviv shebashamayim, v'im yachrichuhu l'soser daato chalila, v'azav es aviv, if we abandon our father, if we walk away from יידישקייט Yiddishkeit, from Judaism, if we stop to embrace its timeless messages for us, ומת vameis, we will surely die. We have to be מוכן למסור את נפשו על קדושת שמו יתברך muchan l'imsor es nafsho al kedushas shmo yisborach. He was willing to give his life rather than detach from his father, rather than detach from Hashem. But even without being asked to give up our lives, we have to realize that if we walk away, if we abandon a connection and a loyalty to Hashem, ומת vameis, then we will surely die. We cannot sustain, because real life is not just about the heartbeat in our chest. Real life is not just about whether anatomically we're alive. Real life is about, does our life have meaning? Does it have purpose? Are we fulfilling the very purpose with which we are here, the reason for creation? Then we're alive. But, ועזב את אביו v'azav es aviv, but if we've abandoned God, if we abandon that special relationship, then ומת vameis, then surely we will die.Torah goes on and it continues to tell the story. Yehuda makes this impassioned, this articulate, this compelling, this heartfelt plea. \"You cannot send us back. You can't send me back without my brother.\" There's the famous words, many Chasidishe ספרים sefarim say that if I go upstairs without my brother, that if I go upstairs without the נער naar, then how could I return to my father without the without the נער naar. פרק מ\"ד פסוק ל' Perek mem daled, pasuk lamed. ועתה כבואי אל עבדך אבי והנער איננו אתנו ונפשו קשורה בנפשו V'ata k'voi el avdecha avi v'hanar einenu itanu, v'nafsho kshura b'nafsho. How am I gonna come now? How am I going to come to my father? עבדך Avdecha, your servant, my father. והנער איננו איתנו V'hanar einenu itanu. And I'm not gonna come back with Binyamin? I'm not gonna bring back the young man? ונפשו קשורה בנפשו V'nafsho kshura b'nafsho, but his soul is bound up with his life. Now he calls him עבדך avdecha. He calls him your servant, אבי avi, my father. And the גמרא בסוטה Gemara in Sotah tells us that Yosef is criticized. Yosef loses years on his life because Yehuda had to say that in order to be compelling. He had to fight for his life to get Binyamin. But Yosef should have objected. \"You call my father your servant or my servant? How could you do such a thing? That is, you're being פוגם בכבוד pogeim b'kavod of our father.\" Yosef should have objected and he failed to do so, and for that he was accountable. Let's look at our first אש תמיד Eish Tamid of the day. It's a wonderful ספר אש תמיד sefer Eish Tamid that we've been using a lot this year for the parsha class. And he says the following. He says, התנהגותו של יוסף עם בנימין בענין הגביע מעוררת תמיהה hisnahaguso shel Yosef im Binyamin b'inyan hagavia me'oreres t'miyah. Why did Yosef specifically plant this goblet in the backpack of his brother Binyamin? Why did he want to make his own brother, the one he shared a father and a mother with, why do you want to make him seem like the guilty party? And why did you want to hold him back and treat him like an עבד eved? that he's not going to ascend with the rest of his brothers. לא נולד עדיין בזמן מכירת אחיו את יוסף Lo nonal adayin b'zman michiras achiv es Yosef. If anyone was innocent, if anyone deserved to be exonerated, it's Binyamin. Binyamin wasn't even alive when Yosef was sold into slavery. So how could Yosef falsely accuse the very brother who above all is absolutely innocent? Binyamin obviously wasn't a partner, wasn't an accomplice. אשם יוסף אחיו בתוך געגועיו אליו Asham Yosef achiv b'toch ga'aguav elav. Binyamin names all ten of his children after Yosef as a reflection of his longing, of his missing his brother. כפי שהביא רש\"י לעיל Kefishevi Rashi l'eil. בלע שנבלע בין האומות, בכור שהיה בכור לאמי, וכן בכולם Bela she'nivla bein ha'umos, Bechor shehaya bechor l'imi, v'chein b'kulam. מה פשר התנהגותו זו של יוסף כלפיו Ma peisher hisnahaguso zu shel Yosef klapav. So here you have Binyamin, the one innocent brother, the one who was not an accomplice, the one who didn't know or participate in his own sale. Here you have Binyamin, the one who misses Yosef so genuinely he names all of his children after Yosef, each name reflects a different love, a different longing. And that's the brother that Yosef sets up? That's the brother that Yosef falsely accuses? Why? Why was it Binyamin? Avimor Zatzal says of Rav Druk quoting his father, the דרש מרדכי Drash Mordechai. The same innocence that Binyamin had, and the same authentic love that Binyamin had, said Yosef is what I had. Yosef does all this to orchestrate the very same circumstance from earlier on to know had his brothers changed, had his brothers repented, did they do תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura, did his brothers learn the lesson and they were ready to behave differently? Here you take the one brother who shares a father and a mother. He's the closest to him. The Rambam writes what's teshuva? Teshuva is when we distance ourselves from the circumstances and the people and the temptation. We live with regret and remorse and a pledge and a promise not to repeat. That's teshuva. But the Rambam says, what's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura? What is complete or absolute teshuva? When we're back in the exact same circumstances, and yet we behave entirely differently. Same circumstances, same temptation, we have the same level of energy and drive, and yet this time we say no. That's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura. That's complete teshuva. So Yosef orchestrates and choreographs things to be exactly the same. His brother has the same father and the same mother, such similarity. He's absolutely innocent, and he's falsely accused. Will they stand up? Will they intervene? Will they be there for a brother in a way that they weren't for him? That will reflect a תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura that will make Yosef realize that they've changed, that they're worthy of his forgiveness, that they're worthy of reconciliation and of moving on. They put Binyamin on their shoulders and they said, if you indeed stole what a humiliation and embarrassment to your father, to your mother. And where's Binyamin? Why didn't Binyamin turn to his brothers and say, \"Hey guys, this is a setup. I'm falsely accused. I've been set up. I absolutely did not steal. I don't know why this viceroy is doing this.\" While the brothers are themselves castigating, while they're criticizing Binyamin, why didn't Binyamin defend himself? And why didn't he say this whole thing is a ruse? It's a false accusation. And he explains, he quotes his father the דרש מרדכי Drash Mordechai and he explains that what? Because they said, \"You know, your mother.\" Remember, he was the only other one, Yosef was gone. The only other one that descended from Rachel, and the brother say, \"You're a thief, you stole just like your mother. You're no different than your mother because your mother stole the trofim from her father.\" So just like your mother Rachel stole the trofim from her father, you've stolen this gavia and you've compromised us all. Had Binyamin said, \"I'm innocent. What are you talking about? That's absolutely not me,\" in contrast, it would have sounded like he was saying, \"I'm innocent, but I concede, I admit, my mother in fact was a thief,\" and he didn't want to do that. And therefore, he remained absolutely silent in order to protect the reputation of his mother. The reputation of his mother.Okay. Um, there's a lot more on this, but let's keep going. Let's keep going. So Yosef is listening to the heartfelt pleas of of Yehuda. He sees the brothers are different. Yehuda is no longer silent. Yehuda is stepping up. He's standing out. He's taking risks. He's showing courage. That's תשובה גמורה teshuva gemura. Same circumstance, a brother shares the same father and mother. Same circumstance, innocent falsely accused. And yet, this time, they're stepping up and they are standing out. So now there's a change of the scene. Of course, Yehuda concludes this with the pasuk I was looking for before. איך אעלה אל אבי והנער איננו אתי Eich eleh el avi v'hanar einenu iti? How could I go to the father and the lad will not be with me? And this is the mentality we have to have with השם יתברך Hashem yisborach, it's quoted in the name of many of many rebbes. How can we go upstairs to Hashem and we didn't do all we could for חינוך chinuch, for Jewish continuity? והנער איננו איתנו V'hanar einenu itanu. איך אעלה אל אבי Eich eleh el avi? How will I ascend up to my father? And I don't have the young man. I didn't have a continuity. I didn't pass it or pay it forward. So what happens? Yosef's listening and he's watching it all unfold, and he's seeing the circumstances that he had choreographed are accomplishing their goal. Yehuda is standing up. ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק לכל הניצבים עליו V'lo yachol Yosef l'hisapek l'chol hanitzavim alav. Yosef can't take it. He can't hold back, he can't restrain himself anymore. All those who are standing there. והוציאו כל איש מעלי V'hotziu chol ish me'alai. And he says, \"Everybody out. Clear the room.\" ולא עמד איש אתו בהתוודע יוסף אל אחיו V'lo amad ish ito b'hisvada Yosef el echav. And nobody remained with him when Yosef revealed his identity to his brothers. Again, we continue with Rav Druk. And Rav Druk says the following. He quotes Rashi. Rashi says, לא יכול יוסף להתאפק לכל הניצבים lo yachol Yosef l'hisapek l'chol hanitzavim. Yosef couldn't restrain himself in front of all those who were standing there. לא יכול לסבול שיהיו מצרים ניצבים עליו ושומעים שאחיו מתביישים בהתוודעו להם Lo yachol lisbol sheyiyu Mitzrim nitzavim alav v'shomim she'achav misbayeshim bivdado lahem. לא היו יכול לסבול Lo hayu yachol lisbol. לסבול Lisbol means that Yosef couldn't tolerate. Yosef couldn't bear. Yosef was unable to see that the Egyptians were going to be in the room when he revealed himself and that the Egyptians would be present while the brothers were humiliated, while the brothers were ashamed, while the brothers had to confront their own guilt and guilty conscience. Yosef was unable to, לא יכול לסבול lo yachol lisbol. He could not tolerate, he couldn't bear that shame, that embarrassment of his brothers. Says Rav Druk, It's really astounding when you think about it. A lesser person, a lesser person would have said, \"Embarrass the brothers? Good. Let them be humiliated. Let them be filled with shame. Do you know what they did to me? 22 years I've languished, 22 years I've been alone, 22 years I've been isolated, 22 years I've been exiled. Let them be embarrassed. Let them feel shame. The more the merrier. Post it online. Let everybody know what they did. Let everybody see their face when they have to confront the reality.\" But not Yosef. Yosef says, \"Even these people who did this to me,\" he was unable, לא יכול לסבול lo yachol lisbol. He couldn't tolerate, he couldn't bear the idea that others would be present when they were confronting their own shame. And in the Midrash it says Rabbi Nachman ben Chanina, Yosef did something which was terribly irresponsible. Yosef should have known what Levi and Shimon had done to Shchem. This was a violent group. They had the capacity to be violent. What if when Yosef was alone with them and when he revealed himself to them, maybe they would have attacked, maybe they would have killed him, maybe they would have turned violent with him to finish the job they had started 22 years earlier. The Midrash is critical of Yosef. He wasn't entitled to take such a risk or a risk to his life to be alone with them. He risked everything by being alone and by telling everyone to go outside. and yet he did it, and why did he do it? So as not to embarrass his brothers. You see such a powerful lesson. Such a powerful lesson. Like Tamar, who didn't embarrass Yehuda, Yosef doesn't want to embarrass the brothers. Many of us, we live in a time that people will put their desire for revenge, their pursuit of honor, their ego ahead of ahead of the value of not embarrassing someone else. Let them be embarrassed. Let everyone see their shame. But even Yosef, who was the victim, Yosef who was the aggrieved, Yosef who was the innocent party, he's so committed to not embarrass a brother, a fellow Jew, that he's even willing to take a risk in his life to be alone to be alone with them. He wanted to reveal his identity earlier. He had to show some self-restraint, he had to hold back. He waited patiently with an enormous, as the Torah attests, כי לא יכול להתאפק ki lo yachol l'hisapek. Why does the Torah have those words? They seem totally gratuitous, extraneous. And Yosef couldn't restrain himself anymore. Okay, just tell us that he revealed himself. It was the big reveal. Why does it have to be set up, לא יכול להתאפק lo yachol l'hisapek, that he was unable to restrain himself? Because it's telling us, הכל כדי שלא יבייש את אחיו hakol k'dei shelo y'vayesh es achav. It was all to not embarrass his brothers. That's what it means he couldn't restrain. It was all to not embarrass his brothers. That's what it means he couldn't restrain. From here we learn the great מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh of Yosef. הנהגה בין אדם לחברו ראויה Hanhaga bein adam l'chaveiro r'uya. Even when it comes to the brothers who sold him down the river, who sold him into slavery, who exiled and dismissed him, he still was overprotective of an enemy. Judaism says even somebody who's harmed us or injured us, we're not entitled to take revenge, nor should we have. You're not supposed to take pleasure in their suffering. Yosef, a lesser person would have taken pleasure in their shame. \"Get everyone, bring the news cameras, press conference, live stream. We're going to broadcast to the world when I reveal myself. Let everyone see their guilt, their shame, their shock.\" Yosef's the opposite. לא יכול להתאפק Lo yachol l'hisapek. Even though he couldn't hold himself back anymore, he held himself back for one more moment. How long? Until he cleared the room in order to protect and preserve his brothers' honor and their dignity. We see the מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh of Yosef. We see the מסירות נפש mesiras nefesh to not embarrass, to not embarrass another person. A very, very powerful, very powerful image.And now Yosef is ready for the big reveal. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק ג' Perek mem hey, pasuk gimel. Famously, he turns to them and he says those words, ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף, העוד אבי חי Vayomer Yosef el echav, ani Yosef, ha'od avi chai. He says, \"I am Yosef. העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai, is my father still alive?\" ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אותו כי נבהלו מפניו V'lo yachlu achav la'anos oso ki nifhalu mipanav. I am Yosef, is our father still, is my father still alive? And the brothers couldn't answer. They were shocked, they were startled. They couldn't answer. He said, \"Come closer, don't worry. I'm not gonna bite.\" ויאמר אני יוסף אחיכם Vayomer, ani Yosef achichem, \"I'm Yosef, your brother, אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה asher michartem osi Mitzrayma. It's me, Yosef, don't you recognize me? I know I have the beard and I've aged, I'm wearing some Egyptian clothing, but it's me, Yosef, your brother. I'm the one you sold. Don't you remember? Don't you remember?\" So what does it mean, wonders Rav Druk? Going Rav Druk, all in on Rav Druk today. What does it mean, wonders Rav Druk? Why does Yosef repeat himself twice? First he says, \"אני יוסף Ani Yosef.\" And Chazal, our rabbis say from here, אוי לי מיום הדין, אוי לי מיום התוכחה oy li m'yom hadin, oy li m'yom hatochecha. Woe on to us the day of rebuke. When we come upstairs and we meet our maker after 120 years and God is going to say, \"אני יוסף Ani Yosef.\" What's the אני יוסף Ani Yosef moment? The brothers, the 22 years, all came into focus. They had practiced some cognitive dissonance. They hadn't thought about what they had done. They had divorced themselves from those actions because their their conscience couldn't tolerate it so that they would be able to manage a coping mechanism. But now 22 years later, it was undeniable. Yosef held up this big mirror for them to look at. אני יוסף Ani Yosef. Here I am. The one you're groveling to, the one that you need. My dreams have come true. You're bowing down to me. In those two immortal words, iconic words, אני יוסף Ani Yosef, it was the ultimate of rebuke. And we're told this is what it will be like for us. אני יוסף Ani Yosef. When we get upstairs, Hashem will make us watch a video of our lives and we'll see everything the way it comes together and it's undeniable. The אור החיים Ohr HaChaim wonders, why did Yosef say, \"אני יוסף Ani Yosef,\" after he had already said it at the beginning of his words? When he reveals himself, he says, \"I'm Yosef. העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai?\" Why did he say העוד אבי חי Ha'od avi chai? Why didn't he say העוד אבינו חי Ha'od avinu chai? Why didn't he say, \"Is our father alive?\" Why does he say, \"Is my father alive?\" But moreover, what a bizarre question. In Yehuda's plea, what is the basis of Yehuda's entire argument to Yosef? His whole argument is you're gonna kill our father. Our father who's still alive, he's already lost one son and he begged us not to bring down his other son, Binyamin. And if we, איך אעלה אל אבי והנער איננו אתי eich eleh el avi v'hanar einenu iti? How can I go back to my father without the נער naar? So it was unequivocally clear. Yehuda had said over and over again, the assumption in his argument was my father, my father, my father, my father. Yosef reveals himself and he says, \"Tell us, I'm Yosef, is my father still alive?\" He just finished telling you all about his father. So I think perhaps what Yosef was saying was not העוד אבינו חי ha'od avinu chai, is our father still alive. That was clear. They had already indicated that their father was very much alive, but he wouldn't live long unless they brought back the brother. But that wasn't Yosef's question. It wasn't העוד אבינו ha'od avinu, is our father. It's העוד אבי ha'od avi, it's my father. The one who loved me, longed for me, favored me, gifted me that colored coat, the one who I learned with, my mentor, my teacher, my everything. Does he miss me? Has he been consoled? Has he been comforted? Has he grieved and moved on? Has he forgotten or has he remained inconsolable? העוד אבי Ha'od avi, is my father still alive? But the Ohr HaChaim is bothered. He begins his revelation by saying, \"אני יוסף, העוד אבי חי Ani Yosef, ha'od avi chai.\" And then what does he say when they are shocked? Come close. אני יוסף אחיכם Ani Yosef achichem. I'm your brother Yosef. And the Ohr HaChaim wonders, why does he have to repeat himself? I'm Yosef. I'm Yosef. And moreover, why first time he says, \"I'm Yosef.\" And the second time he says, \"אני יוסף אחיכם Ani Yosef achichem.\" I'm Yosef your brother. What did he add by throwing in your brother? And moreover, why does he have to remind them as if he has to identify himself to them? \"I'm Yosef. I'm Yosef your brother. I'm Yosef your brother, you know, the one you sold into slavery.\" אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה Asher michartem osi Mitzrayma. Why didn't he just the very first time say, \"אני יוסף אחיכם אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה, העוד אבי חי Ani Yosef achichem asher michartem osi Mitzrayma, ha'od avi chai?\" Why didn't he include it the first time? Why does he incrementally do it in stages? First, I'm Yosef. Then I'm Yosef your brother. Then I'm Yosef your brother, the one you sold. Good. So says Rav Druk, He really wanted to first rebuke them for the fact that they sold a brother into slavery. How could brothers do that to a brother? That מוֹסר musar, you know, sometimes the harshest thing in the world is the reality you face. You don't need an elaborate, elaborate speech. You don't need an entire dissertation. All you need is to face the reality of what you have, and that is the biggest מוֹסר musar that there is. That's the biggest מוֹסר musar. So when he says, \"אני יוסף Ani Yosef,\" they're so embarrassed, they're so humiliated by confronting what they had done, that humiliation, that shame, that embarrassment is the כפרה kapara, they're forgiven. So now he repeats, אני יוסף אחיכם ani Yosef achichem, he adds your brother. שחזרה האחווה Shechazra ha'achva. Now that you've been forgiven, אחיכם achichem. Now can we, now we can restore a sense of brotherhood, a sense of camaraderie, I am Yosef, not just I am Yosef and now you face the reality of what you had done and before whom you stand. I am Yosef your brother. Now we can have brotherhood, camaraderie. Now we can have a sense of unity. And I want you to know not only do I, not only am I willing to reconcile, not only am I willing to have אהבה ואחווה ahava v'achva, but אשר מכרתם asher michartem, יישר כוחכם שמכרתם yishar kochachem she'michartem. I can even look back on my life and say, \"שכוח Shkoach, thank you.\" In fact, it wasn't a harm, it was a favor. The fact that you sold me set in motion an amazing string of events that I really needed, and for that I am so grateful. And that's what he continues Rav Druk with a similar theme that I want to bring to your attention. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק ה' Perek mem hey, pasuk hey. He continues Yosef and he says, \"ועתה V'ata, and now, אל תעצבו al te'atzvu, don't be sad. ואל יחר בעיניכם כי מכרתם אותי הנה V'al yichar b'eineichem ki michartem osi heina. And don't be angry in your eyes that you sold me here. כי למחיה שלחני אלקים לפניכם Ki le'michya shlachani Elokim lifneichem. Because God sent me here in order to get provisions. He sent me ahead of the way so that I'd be in the right place at the right time in order to do this for you.\" Rashi says, למחיה l'michya, I'm here to save you. I'm here to sustain you. So Rav Druk is bothered. We're doing a lot of Rav Druk. I told you, all in on Rav Druk today. We've got plenty of others as well. But Rav Druk is bothered, What was Yosef thinking when he says, \"Don't be sad and don't be upset and don't have regret. יישר כח Yashar koach, thank you for selling me because that's set in motion my rise. Look how great things are.\" Yeah, the last 10 years were wonderful. The last 10 years he's the vice president of the country. The last 10 years he's the second most powerful man in the world. The last 10 years he's the hero of Egypt. But what about the 12 years prior? The 12 years before those, he sat unjustly languishing in prison. He suffered all kinds of indignities, false accusations. He suffered the relentless pursuit of this woman. Why should he tell them don't be sad? כי למחיה שלחני Ki l'michya shlachani. So I understand that you could thank them. יישר כח Yashar koach, do you know, you thought you were getting even with me? Guess what? For 10 years I've lived in a palace. I've been the vice president. For 10 years I've been the second most powerful man. I've had all the wealth and riches. I got married, I had children, everything has been a shmak. But what about the 12 years prior? How could he say יישר כח yashar koach for selling me when the first 12 years he sat languishing, suffering in prison? Had he been sold and the moment he arrived in Egypt, he ascended to that level of leadership, I would understand why he expressed that level of gratitude. How could you be so grateful for being sold when before you could experience the rise, he first had this enormous fall of 12 years of suffering? And he explains Rav Druk. Listen carefully. I love this pshat. So important because in Parshas Miketz it says, Yosef saw his brothers. How did he see his brothers? He wasn't hiding in the palace. He didn't have layers of gatekeepers protecting him. He was on the line in the soup kitchen. He was spooning it out. He was shoveling it out. Yosef was himself giving out the food. That's how he knew and recognized his brothers when they came and they were in line. So if you think about it, why was he in working in the soup kitchen line? Says Rav Druk, listen to this insight. Yosef looks back at his life and he says, \"You know what put me in a position to have empathy and sympathy? You know what put me in a position to care for and to take care of the underprivileged and the hungry and the indigent of Egypt by saving their food and giving them those provisions? Because I knew what it meant. I languished 12 years. And those 12 years were tough and I suffered, but you know what? I was better for it, because now I could relate, and now I could connect. Now I knew what it meant to be hungry. Now I knew what it meant to long for a better future. Now I knew what it meant to wait for somebody to help liberate you and take care of you and relieve your suffering. And because I went through what I went through, says Yosef, even that negative experience taught me and positioned me and enabled me to go through this positive experience of being there for other people. And so when Yosef reflects back on the 22 years, he doesn't divide between 12 miserable years and 10 good years. He sees that as one unit, as one package deal. 22 years ישר כוחכם yashar kochachem. Thank you for selling me. And first for 12 years I got an education in empathy. I knew what it meant to suffer, so that the next 10 years I was a better giver. I was a better doer. That's what it meant. So Yosef was grateful even for the first 12 years because it made him better. And that's what he tells them. The מדרש רבה Midrash Rabbah is היתב heitiv, why did Yosef say? אתה אל תעצבו ata al te'atzvu, don't be sad. כי למחיה שלחני אלוקים לפניכם ki lemichya shlachani Elokim lifneichem. The time that he was made the king over all the land, היה לצורך המחיה haya l'tzorech ha'michya. Not just the 10 years when he was in charge was for the purpose of of helping. אלא אף י\"ב השנים שישב בבית האסורים ella af yud bet hashanim sheyashav b'beit ha'asurim. Even the 12 years of languishing in prison, he learned from it. It made him a better person. Someone just sent me today, I saw an amazing story about a businessman in Florida who pays overdue utility bills for dozens of Floridians. This is not the first time. Mike Esmond walked into the city hall in Gulf Breeze, Florida, did it for the first time in November 2019, and he cut a check for $4300 to pay for 36 local residents whose gas and water bills were overdue and at risk of being disconnected. And just now this month in December, Mr. Esmond, the same guy, is 74 years old, he owns a construction company. He wrote another check, $7600. He walked in and he said, I want to pay off the balance for residents whose gas and whose water is about to be shut off. And this time that money covered 114 residents that he was able to take it up. Why did he do it? Where did it come from? So he explains, it's amazing. He told the story that after Hurricane Sandy struck, a local company offered him that help. He had hit hard times, and he had three great young girls at home at the time, temperature was low. He talked about, I'm sorry, going back to the winter of 1983 when he was broke and his own gas and water service was shut off for the holidays. He said he had three young girls at home at the time and the temperature got down to 6 degrees, ice and frost on the inside of the house. I lived through that where I didn't have a dollar in my pocket to care for my family. I know what it's like to be really broke and in need and I wanted to see if I could help people that might be experiencing the same thing where they couldn't pay their bills and their utilities were going to be shut off. And therefore he stepped up and he stepped in to do it. He did it last year, he did it this year and he said, please God, if he should live, he will continue to do it. I saw that story today and it struck me because that's Yosef. Yosef says, you know what? When the water and and gas were shut off for me, when I was frozen inside my home, it was miserable. But it taught me, I learned from it, I grew from it, and I was able to feel empathy for others because of it. And therefore I look back at that not with regret, but I look back at that as a learning opportunity. Yosef says, it's not just the last 10 years that have been great. The first 12 years were also great because they positioned me and because I learned from them. The אם למקרא Im L'Mikra. Oh, finally an אם למקרא Im L'Mikra. The הייליגע אם למקרא heilige Im L'Mikra the Vizhnitzer Rebbe also in these words. ועתה אל תעצבו כי למחיה שלחני אלוקים לפניכם v'ata al te'atzvu ki lemichya shlachani Elokim lifneichem. Don't be sad and don't have regret and don't be filled with fear because God sent me here ahead of you so that there would be a plan and I'd be able to sustain you with food. Says the אם למקרא Im L'Mikra, יוסף ניחם את אחיו שאף על פי שמכירתו ירדו למצרים התחילה הגלות Yosef nicham et achav she'af al pi shem'chirato yardu l'Mitzrayim hitchila ha'galus. He's comforting his brothers that even though it's because they sold him, it began this exile in Egypt. מכל מקום אל תעצבו mikol makom al te'atzvu, but nevertheless, don't be sad. אין להם להתעצב על כך ein lahem l'hit'atzev al kach. Don't make yourself, התעצב, התפעל hit'atzev, hitpa'el. Don't make yourself sad. Why? שמפני זה יהיה שפע קדושה השם גדול בעולם ביציאת מצרים וקריעת ים סוף shemipnei zeh yihyeh shefa kedusha Hashem gadol ba'olam b'yitziat Mitzrayim u'kriat Yam Suf. כי למחיה שלחני ki lemichya shlachani. שלחני איז מילה של שולחן shlachani iz mila shel shulchan. ונעשה מכך א הייליגע סדר טיש v'naaseh mikach a heilige seder tish. שלחני איז שולחן shlachani iz shulchan means don't have regret, you know why? Cause had you not sold me into slavery in Egypt, the Jewish people would never have Pesach. We'd never have שלחני, שולחן, א הייליגע סדר טיש shlachani, shulchan, a heilige seder tish. We'd never have a seder, we'd never tell that story, we'd never have that family narrative, we'd never know the experience of the transition from גלות לגאולה galus l'geulah, from עבדות לחירות avdus l'cheirus. We'd never know it. So therefore don't be sad because this was the necessary prerequisite. These were the necessary circumstances that ultimately would lead to a יציאת מצרים yitziat Mitzrayim, the ten plagues and the splitting of the sea, and כי למחיה שלחני ki lemichya shlachani, שלחני מלשון שולחן shlachani milashon shulchan, דא הייליגע סדר טיש da heilige seder tish. עם האותיות גמטריא פסח, שלחני אלקים לפניכם Im ha'osiyos gematria Pesach, Shlachani Elokim lifneichem is gematria `פסח מצה ומרור` Pesach, matzah, u'maror. שתזכו על ידי הירידה למצרים shetizku al yedei ha'yerida l'Mitzrayim, they merited by descending down to Egypt, כשתצאו ממנה בחג הפסח keshetetzu mimena b'chag haPesach, when they left the חג הפסח chag haPesach, ותאכלו פסח מצה ומרור v'tochlu Pesach, matzah, u'maror. וזה למחיה v'zeh l'michya, מחית נפשות וקדושת השם michyas nefashos v'kidushas Hashem. The מחיה michya, the nourishment, the sustenance for our soul is the הייליגע סדר טיש heilige seder tish, is the holiday of Pesach. And there would be no Pesach if we never ended up in Egypt. And we never would have ended up in Egypt if not for their selling Yosef. What an ability to spin! Yosef's able to look back on his life not with anger, not with resentment, not of what if. Yosef looks back at his life and he says, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, thank you for it all. ישר כוח Yasher koach. Don't feel bad. Don't worry. It was all part of a master plan. It's all what brought me down here. And that's a good thing that shouldn't live you filled with any sense of regret. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק י' Perek mem hey, pasuk yud. Hold on, we're not leaving the אם למקרא Im L'Mikra yet. פרק מ\"ה Perek mem hey, פסוק י' pasuk yud. He tells them, וישבת בארץ גושן והיית קרוב אלי, אתה ובניך ובני בניך v'yashavta b'eretz Goshen v'hayisa karov elai, ata u'vanecha u'vnei vanecha. Don't worry, send for everybody else, bring the nieces and nephews. Go get טאטי tati, go get אבא abba, go get יעקב Yaakov. וצאנך ובקרך וכל אשר לך v'tzoncha u'vkarcha v'chol asher lach. You're going to live in Goshen. And you and your children, your families, your cattle, all of it is going to live in Goshen. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק י' Perek mem hey, pasuk yud. Says the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, וישבת בארץ גושן v'yashavta b'eretz Goshen. ארץ רומז לענוה eretz romez l'anava. The word ארץ eretz, earth, the ground, the soil, ארץ eretz is a reference to humility. ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה v'nafshi ke'afar lakol tihyeh. וגשן is gematria שמחה v'Geshen iz gematria simcha. וישבת בארץ גושן v'yashavta b'eretz Goshen. אם תשובה על ידי ענוה ושמחה im tashuva al yedei anava v'simcha, והיית קרוב אלי v'hayisa karov elai, then תתקרב אצל הקדוש ברוך הוא titkarev etzel haKadosh Baruch Hu. Homiletically על פי דרוש al pi drush, what the Vizhnitzer Rebbe says, Hashem is saying, if you live וישבת בארץ v'yashavta ba'aretz, if you see yourself as low to the ground, if you're humble and you're modest and you have humility, then וישבת בארץ גושן v'yashavta b'eretz Goshen, גושן איז גמטריא שמחה Goshen iz gematria simcha, then you'll live with שמחה simcha. You want joy? Don't pursue honor. Don't be have an inflated ego. Live with humility and live with modesty and then והיית קרוב אלי v'hayisa karov elai, that is the mechanism and that is the means to draw close to הקדוש ברוך הוא haKadosh Baruch Hu, to Hashem. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק י\"ג Perek mem hey, pasuk yud gimmel. Continuing right along. So go back, והגדתם לאבי את כל כבודי במצרים v'higaditem l'avi et kol kvodi b'Mitzrayim. Go tell dad all the honor I get here in Egypt. I'm an influencer. I'm a person of prestige. ואת כל אשר ראיתם v'et kol asher re'item, everything you saw. ומהרתם והורדתם את אבי הנה u'mihartem v'horaditem et avi heina, and bring my father down here. Go and quickly get him. So what does he say? והגדתם לאבי את כל כבודי v'higaditem l'avi et kol kvodi. Go tell our father of all the כבוד kavod. Says the Vizhnitzer, כבודי מלשון כבידות kvodi milashon kveidus. הגידו נא לאבי כמה קשה הוא לי להיות במצרים hagidu na l'avi kama kasheh hu li l'hiyot b'Mitzrayim. You could read the word כבודי kvodi as, go tell our father, my father, all the honor I've earned. I'm the viceroy, I'm the vice president, I'm the second in command. That's the simple meaning. כל כבודי kol kvodi, all the honor I have. And where the Vizhnitzer says, not מלשון כבוד milashon kavod as honor, but מלשון כבידות milashon kveidus as heavy and weighty. You know how difficult it was for me, being here in Egypt, being a foreigner in this land. It was difficult, it was hard. It's not who I, it's not who I am and it's not what I'm about. פרק מ\"ה, פסוק כ\"ה Perek mem hey, pasuk kaf hey. Continuing, he sends them back. וישלח את אחיו וילכו ויאמר להם אל תרגזו בדרך vayishlach et achav vayeileichu vayomer aleihem al tirgizu badarech. Don't delay on the way. ויעלו ממצרים ויבאו ארצה כנען אל יעקב אביהם vaya'alu mi'Mitzrayim vayavo'u artza Kna'an el Yaakov avihem, and they come to Canaan to their father. And what does it say? ויגידו לו לאמר עוד יוסף חי vayagidu lo leimor od Yosef chai, they say Yosef's still alive. וכי הוא מושל בכל ארץ מצרים v'chi hu moshel b'chol eretz Mitzrayim, he's in charge. ויפג לבו כי לא האמין להם vayafog libo ki lo he'emin lahem. And Yaakov almost has a heart attack. He doesn't believe it. He doesn't believe it. So says the מעיין בית השואבה maayan beit hasho'eiva. Says Rav Schwab the following. What do you mean he didn't believe it? Let's talk about this for a moment. Pasuk says that the brothers come up and they say, Abba, Dad, crazy story, you're not going to believe it. Yosef's still alive. He's the one we've been telling you about. He orchestrated it all. And he's Yosef. He's alive. Come. And Yaakov says, I don't believe it. He almost faints, he almost passes out, he almost has a heart attack. Rashi, Chazal tell us, Serach bas Asher has to play the harp and break it to him slowly and gently. And he says I don't believe it. So וידברו אליו את כל דברי יוסף אשר דיבר אליהם vayidabru eilav et kol divrei Yosef asher diber aleihem, so they repeat everything that Yosef had said, and וירא את העגלות אשר שלח יוסף לשאת אותו vayar et ha'agalos asher shalach Yosef laseis oso, and only when he sees now the wagons, ותחי רוח יעקב אביהם vat'chi ruach Yaakov avihem. When Yaakov sees the wagons that Yosef had sent to get him, now Yaakov comes alive. He's no longer faint, he's no longer having a heart attack, he comes, he comes alive. Why did he doubt them? Why didn't he believe them? And why does he have to be able to come alive? So Rav Schwab says, at the beginning when they say עוד יוסף חי od Yosef chai he's still alive, he wonders what do you mean? You brought me the coat. It was covered in blood. You testified that he died. What do you mean? אם כן עוד לא נתברר הדבר השקר של הכתונת הפסים im kein od lo nitbarer ha'davar sheker shel haketones hapasim. They had not yet told him that it was a ruse, that they had lied to say that he was attacked by an animal. וכמאמר רב שימן, כך עונשו של בדאי שאפילו דובר אמת אין שומעין לו u'chma'amar Rav Shimon, kach onsho shel badai she'afilu dover emet ein shom'in lo. This is the punishment of a בדאי badai, that even when he's saying the truth, they don't, they don't listen to him. So they hadn't yet told him that they were responsible, and in fact, he hadn't killed anybody, but they had sold him. So the second time when they tell him, says Rav Schwab, הבינו שבטי קה שקשה ופשעים לא יצליחו heivinu shivtei kah she'kesher u'fsha'im lo yatzlichu. If they try to cover up their lie and what they had done, they won't succeed. והעצה היחידה לפניהם היא לספר לו כל עניין המכירה ולבקש סליחה ומחילה v'ha'eitza ha'yechida lifneihem hi l'saper lo kol inyan ha'mechira u'l'vakeish slicha u'mechila. They had to reveal the truth. They had to tell him that they had in fact sold him and ask for forgiveness. אז וידברו אליו את כל דברי יוסף az vayidabru eilav et kol divrei Yosef. So they told over everything about Yosef. שאמר אני יוסף אחיכם אשר מכרתם אותי מצרימה she'amar ani Yosef achichem asher mechartem osi Mitzrayma. ואז האמין להם v'az he'emin lahem. In other words, for Yaakov it didn't add up. What do you mean Yosef is still alive? You brought me the coat. It was covered in blood. You said he was killed. What do you mean, it doesn't add up? And that's when they said, no. They repeated everything that Yosef said. And what was one of the things Yosef said? He said, אני יוסף ani Yosef, I'm Yosef אשר מכרתם asher mechartem, I'm the Yosef that you sold. They came clean. Now, this is a very big question. The text itself never tells us. The narrative of the Torah never tells us. Did the brothers tell Yaakov? Did Yosef tell Yaakov? We know that Yosef never was alone with Yaakov because he didn't want Yaakov to ask him what happened. He was continuing to protect the dignity and honor of his brothers. But according to Rav Schwab, they did come clean. And they came clean, that's why at first Yaakov didn't believe them, and only after they came clean and completed the picture, only then did they understand and only then did Yaakov believe. The אש תמיד Aish Tamid also has an approach to what is going on over here. Rav Druk also deals with this question. And he says, what what happened at first? Why didn't Yaakov not believe the brothers? Does he think his children are liars? These are the שבטי קה shivtei kah. This is the the tribes, the holy Jewish tribes. האם יעקב אבינו באמת העלה על דעתו שבניו מתעתעים בו ביוסף חי ha'im Yaakov avinu b'emet he'elah al da'ato she'banav mit'at'im bo b'Yosef chai, and is this a way to play? He thought his sons were lying and did he think they were lying to the point that they come and they they fake and they say, your Yosef who you miss, who you've been inconsolable over, that Yosef is still alive. Haha, just kidding, just joking. So what was Yaakov thinking? Would he accuse them of lying? Did he think they were joking? What's going on over here? ולשם מה בנו עשו לו כן u'l'shem mah banav asu lo kein? Why would they do that? Why would they do that? And he goes on with his questions. But he answers the following. Why do these עגלות agalos, the wagons that he sees? What happens? They say Yosef's alive. He says I'm having a heart attack, I don't believe you. Only then he sees the wagons coming to get him and he says, ooh, the wagons are coming. And they repeat everything about Yosef and he says, I'm alive, I believe it now. Let's go. What is it about the wagons? So we all know, we all know the story that the wagons were a reference to the very last thing they were learning together. They were learning the סוגיא of עגלה ערופה sugya of eglah arufah. The story of when a corpse is found between cities and we don't know where the murderer comes from, and the elders of the city have to come and measure and have to take an atonement. They snap the neck in a valley. All the story of the עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. That was the סוגיא sugya that they were learning. And when Yaakov saw the wagons, it was an embedded message. It was a signal that Yosef was saying, I am still alive. And Yaakov knew that and that's why he believed them and that's why he went. But says Rav Druk, it goes much deeper than that, and it's really much more than that. What's really going on over here? When Yaakov doesn't believe them, it's not that he doesn't believe that Yosef is alive physically. He believes Yosef is alive physically. What doesn't he believe? He doesn't believe that Yosef is still alive spiritually. He says Yosef's the viceroy? Yosef's the vice president? Yosef has saved and he's in charge of the entire economy? Can't be. He can't still be a religious person. He can't still be a שומר שבת shomer Shabbos. He can't still be a link in the chain of my legacy. Can't be. And when he sees the עגלות agalos and he says Yosef understands, no, you see, if I assimilated, if I intermarried, if I had moved on, then I would never remember or reference the last סוגיא sugya we had been learning. The fact that 22 years later, I remember what we were learning means I am still that person that you left 22 years ago. And that was the signal, that was the hint. That's what gave Yaakov the confidence that indeed Yosef was still alive. He wasn't worried about Yosef being alive physically. He was worried about Yosef being alive spiritually, and the עגלות agalos were that message that he indeed was. Rav Soloveitchik also addresses the question of the of the wagons. And what was the message embedded in the wagons? Listen to what Rav Soloveitchik says. Why did Yaakov overcome his initial skepticism only after he had seen the wagons? Rashi suggests that it is evidence that it was indeed Yosef who sent the message. Yosef instructed the brothers to tell Yaakov that at the time he left, they were studying the laws of עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. The phrase should be interpreted as, and he saw the calves that Yosef had sent, since in reality the wagons themselves were sent by Paroh, not by Yosef. The law of עגלה ערופה eglah arufah involves the Jewish concept of a leader's responsibility. In the event of an unsolved murder, the elders of the city that is close to the corpse are obligated to bring a heifer into a rough valley or brook. There they break the neck of the heifer and they say, our hands have not shed this blood. The Mishna raises the question in the Mishna in Sotah, is it conceivable these venerable elders would actually shed blood? Instead, what the Torah means is that the elders of the community did not send this wayfarer away without food, nor did they allow him to leave the community unaccompanied. It is almost frightening to consider, listen carefully. It's almost frightening to consider how much the Torah demands of the leader. Obviously, the leader is responsible for his actions. His judgment must be proper. He must not accept bribes. He must act in accordance with the principles of justice and charity. In addition, however, the leader is also charged with the responsibility for people and events which seem far removed from his concerns. And this, this is the message of the עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. Yaakov knew that Yosef was destined for power and that's why he was studying the morality of leadership and the power with Yosef. Says the Rav, עגלה ערופה eglah arufah was not a random סוגיא sugya. It wasn't a random topic they happened to be learning and now 22 years later Yosef is referencing it as the signal that he's still from, that he's still, that he's still ערליך ehrlich. No. The סוגיא sugya, the topic of עגלה ערופה eglah arufah is a topic of leadership, the morality of leadership, the value and the virtue, the responsibility of leadership. And Yaakov was preparing Yosef for that life of leadership because he knew the life Yosef was destined to live. And Yaakov was now trying to determine if both his son and his disciple were still alive. A ruler of Egypt he thought must certainly be assimilated into the general pagan society. Yaakov could not believe that Yosef had preserved his spiritual identity and remained loyal to the teachings he had observed in Yaakov's household. Now when the brothers related the last lesson Yaakov and Yosef had shared together, he realized that Yosef remains his disciple as well as his son. Great insight of Rav Soloveitchik. That the עגלה ערופה eglah arufah is not a random topic. עגלה ערופה eglah arufah is a topic of leadership. And Yosef is showing the fulfillment, the realization of their learning together. Dad, I'm a leader. And I'm not just a secular leader, I'm a leader, Dad, who is living with moral leadership, with Jewish leadership, with the leadership that you taught me to live with. That's who I, that's who I am and that's what I'm about. Alright, continuing. Couple more quick ideas. פרק מ\"ו, פסוק כ\"ט, we just did the עגלות. פרק מ\"ו... פסוק... Let's do this one. We'll do two more that I love. פרק מ\"ז, פסוק א'. פרק מ\"ז, פסוק א'. The Torah continues and it tells us, ויבא יוסף ויגד לפרעה ויאמר אבי ואחי וצאנם ובקרם וכל אשר להם באו מארץ כנען והנם בארץ גשן vayavo Yosef vayaged l'Paroh vayomer avi v'achai v'tzonam u'vkaram v'chol asher lahem ba'u me'eretz Kna'an v'hinam b'eretz Goshen. Yosef comes to Paroh and he tells them that, I'm bringing, I'm bringing my father and my brothers and they're coming here to be shepherds. Coming here to be shepherds. Skip down to pasuk yud aleph. וישב יוסף את אביו ואת אחיו ויתן להם אחזה בארץ מצרים במטב הארץ בארץ רעמסס כאשר צוה פרעה vayoshev Yosef et aviv v'et echav vayiten lahem achuza b'eretz Mitzrayim b'meitav ha'aretz b'eretz Ramses ka'asher tziva Paroh. Yosef settled his father and his brothers and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best of the land, the land of Ramses, as Paroh had mandated. Rav Soloveitchik has another great insight here. And he says, Torah knowledge originated on הר סיני Har Sinai and it was passed down from one generation to the next. The quintessence of Jewish history is based on the connection between teacher and student. The continuity of the Torah and the מסורה mesora. This מסורה mesora requires both the רב rav and the תלמיד talmid. By their efforts, the Torah survives eternally. There is another מסורה mesora of great significance, the מסורה mesora of Jewish בעלי בתים baalei batim. The מסורה mesora of the Jewish lay people. This מסורה mesora is not one of concepts but rather of methods and images. It is a continuity of a type of personality. The first בעל הבית balabos was Yosef. In Egypt, he provided support for his father and his brothers. Our survival in גלות galus is due not only to the struggle of the Jewish scholar, but also to the efforts of the Jewish בעל הבית balabos. It's not just the ראש ישיבה rosh yeshiva, it's not just the רב rav, it's not just the כלי קודש klei kodesh, who those who work in the area of קודש kodesh. But it is the בעלי בתים baalei batim who support, who underwrite, who bring their wisdom and their partnership. There are three characteristics that בעלי בתים baalei batim possess which make them unique, writes the Rav. First, the בעל הבית balabos feels a clear awareness of his responsibility not only for himself but for the entire Jewish community. Second, the בעל הבית balabos is a pragmatic mind. He has an aptitude for decision making and decision executing. And finally the בעל הבית balabos is a visionary. He's a dreamer. He looks to the stars. From whom were these traits inherited? From the very first Jewish בעל הבית balabos, namely Yosef. How did the Torah portray Yosef? His first dream involved bundles of wheat. He was an individual with a prosaic practical vision. There was another dream, however, of stars in the heavens. Both dreams were found in Yosef's personality. He was pragmatic, but he also looked to the stars. He was a visionary, imagining the limitless goals that he could achieve in aiding his nation. And so Yosef has both components, both aspects, and this is the lesson of the בעל הבית balabos. כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael needs כלי קודש klei kodesh and ליי קודש lei kodesh. We need those people who dedicate their lives and their career to the service of the community of Hashem, and you need the businessmen and women who are leaders, the lay leaders who bring their wisdom and their resources, who also are both dreamers and pragmatic. Yosef is the first successful בעל הבית balabos. He's the vice president of Egypt, he's a בעל הבית balabos, but he remains learned and he's supporting Torah and he's supporting his father and his brothers and their institutions of of Torah. Last topic, quickly. ויאמר פרעה אל אחיו מה מעשיכם vayomer Paroh el achav mah ma'aseichem. Paroh when he meets the brothers, he says, nu, what's your פרנסה parnassah? What do you do? And they say, רועי צאן עבדך גם אנחנו גם אבותינו ro'ei tzon avdecha gam anachnu gam avoseinu. Shepherds. So Paroh says, לגור בארץ באנו lagur ba'aretz banu. I'm sorry, they say to Paroh, we've come to live in the land. כי אין מרעה לצאן אשר לעבדך כי כבד הרעב בארץ כנען ki ein mir'eh l'tzon asher l'avdecha ki chaved ha'ra'av b'eretz Kna'an, because there's a huge famine where we come from. ועתה ישבו נא עבדך בארץ גושן v'ata yeishvu na avadecha b'eretz Goshen. And now we've come to live here. מלמד שלא ירד יעקב אבינו להשתקע במצרים אלא לגור שם melamed shelo yarad Yaakov avinu l'hishtake'a b'Mitzrayim ella lagur sham. We say in the הגדה Haggadah from this פסוק pasuk that teaches that Yaakov did not come down in order to dwell there, but he was passing through. So the question is asked of Rav Druk, the following. That they remained in Egypt always as foreigners, as outsiders. It wasn't their place. It wasn't their place. So which is it? In the פסוק pasuk there seems to be a contradiction. On the one hand, they came לגור lagur, to live. But to live, לגור lagur is like a גר ger, an outsider, a stranger. But then it says, ישבו נא yeishvu na. They came as a תושב toshav, as a ישוב yishuv, as a citizen, as a resident. So which is it? So he says, באמת שני דברים נכונים, בני ישראל ירדו למצרים לגור ולא להשתקע b'emet shnei dvarim nechonim, bnei Yisrael yardu l'Mitzrayim lagur v'lo l'hishtake'a. They came passed through temporarily and not to live permanently. אבל כל זה נכון לעניין ירידה לארץ מצרים aval kol zeh nachon l'inyan yerida l'eretz Mitzrayim. That, when it comes to מצרים Mitzrayim which is ערות הארץ ervas ha'aretz. But Goshen, where they set up a Jewish community, Goshen where they set up a ישיבה yeshiva and בתי מדרש batei medrash where they came to learn Torah, that they came to dwell. That they didn't have to fear that they were in exile. And Rav Druk develops a very fascinating idea. He says basically, what does it mean? The גמרא בברכות Gemara b'Brachos says that they came to Rabbi Yochanan and they said, there's זקנים zkeinim, are there old people in Bavel, in Babylonia? He said yes. He said, but the pasuk says למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה l'ma'an yirbu yemeichem vimei vneichem al ha'adamah, that the only way to achieve longevity is על האדמה al ha'adamah, in the land of Israel, but in חוץ לארץ chutz la'aretz you can't. So I don't understand. So the Gemara says, כיוון דקא משכימי ומעריבי לבית הכנסת keivan d'ka mashkimi u'ma'arivei l'vei knishta, no, these individuals because they wake up early to come to the שול shul and they stay late in the שול shul, that's why they merited אריכות ימים arichus yamim. And the מהרש\"א Maharsha wonders, you didn't ask the question. The pasuk says that למען ירבו ימיכם וימי בניכם על האדמה l'ma'an yirbu yemeichem vimei vneichem al ha'adamah, that you only merit longevity on the land in Israel. Who cares that they wake up and spend a lot of time in שול shul? How does that help? So Rav Druk based on this מהרש\"א Maharsha develops an idea. I'm going to put it in a little paraphrase terms, but you know there's a notion of an embassy. We have the concept of an embassy that the American embassy in Israel has the status of America, the legal the legal status of America. The Israeli embassy in America has the status of Israel. It's legally as if it's Israel. As an embassy in America, when you're in the embassy, it's like you're on the plot of land of Israel. When you're in the American embassy in Israel, it's like you're standing on America. Well, the same is true when it comes to שולs and בתי מדרש shuls and batei medrash. You could be in גלות galus. But do you know how you're in the embassy of the Jewish people? The embassy of Israel? You could be in a foreign land and yet be in a familiar place when you're in a בית מדרש beis medrash and you're in a שול shul. That's how we achieve it. That's how we achieve it. That's where we spend our time. That's what forges our identity and that's how we can experience a redemptive identity and status even when we're in a foreign place.
