Parshat VaYigash

This page is dedicated to categorizing and slightly expanding the blurbs of each article on the parsha. Instead of presenting here per how things were written chronologically (in the order of the years each was written), the goal is to divide in the order of the narrative's subject matter.

Vayigash:

Yehuda's Confrontation

True Repentance = No More Need for Apology - We see how time has very much changed the main protagonists in the Parsha's opening confrontation. Maturity has replaced the shenanigans that led to Yosef being thrown in a pit and sold into slavery. Yehuda's willingness to give up everything to save Binyamin says alot about where he is in life now, and Yosef's willingness to move on from the past says alot about how even his slavery and imprisonment is behind him as he sees what the rest of his life's mission is - to provide for his family. If they can move on, we must ask, can we find it in ourselves to move on from our family disputes?

Yosef Reveals Himself to His Brothers

"Is My Father Still Alive?" - Yosef's neverending concern for his father - In this Yosef demonstrates that all he ever really cared about is his father's wellbeing. Perhaps drawing out the process of his revealing himself to his brothers helped plant the seed of hope in his father's mind that maybe, after all these years, Yosef IS INDEED ALIVE and even doing well. 

Yom Kippur Moments - When the Defense Falls Apart - or there is no defense. Yosef reveals that he is the brother whom they sold to Egypt. And they have no words because there is nothing to say. This is what the Yom Kippur moment is - when the tape is "rolled" and there is nothing to say. The only "defense" is, perhaps, look how we are living our lives now, and what we have done since that horrible day. Maybe God will be as compassionate as Yosef was when the time comes. 

Yosef and His Brothers Reunited

Binyamin Favored? Orchestrating What Is Right - Binyamin is given 5 times the number of clothing his brothers are gifted, as well as a 300 silver cash payout. Why would Yosef sow jealousy with his brothers again, after he has indicated bygones are bygones, and that the whole family would be coming down to Egypt to live/survive under his protection? There is surely more than meets the eye, so we dig beneath the surface to find the hidden...

Inside Scoop of God's Plans - what Yosef did not share with Pharaoh when he interpreted his dream is something he tells his brothers almost immediately. Yosef clearly only shared with Pharaoh what Pharaoh NEEDED to know - essentially that Yosef was to be elevated to the position of running Egypt's food distribution center! The extent of what the famine would ACTUALLY look like was known only to Yosef. Having that information is what helped make him so successful in storing the excess and in knowing what would be needed for the duration of the famine. 

Pharaoh's Instruction

Yosef's Relationship to Pharaoh - Yosef describes himself as an אב (father?) to Pharaoh, and as an אדון (master?) over all of Egypt. What is the actual nature of the relationship, and what does it say about Pharaoh, Yosef, and the country they essentially led together?

First History Lesson - Pharaoh gives instruction to leave all their stuff in Canaan. This advice is ignored as the family comes down to Egypt to build roots (for the time being). It is a cross between not trusting the intentions of the host country while at the same time embracing the opportunity to assimilate that is the ultimate paradox of the story and history of the Jewish people. Are we any different than the Jews who lived in Egypt?

Yaakov and Family Travel to Egypt (with a stopoff in Bet El)

Did Yaakov Know Yosef Was Alive? - We explore the hints in the text that Yaakov was aware that Yosef was alive. If so, all of his mourning and refusing to be comforted was over a bigger issue that always languished in the background - the very real and clear possibility that the hatred his sons had for Yosef (and possibly Yosef back at them) was still alive and well. This possibility is more difficult for parents to fathom - that their children won't get along with one another.

And Yaakov Didn't Believe Them (The Debate is Settled Lie) - a sermon - THE DEBATE IS SETTLED is a line we hear alot. Maybe in some small cases of facts it is true (ie. DNA is a marker more accurate than a fingerprint). But when there is AND REMAINS a debate, the debate is NEVER settled. Sometimes people make the claim "the debate is settled" in order to silence opposition or to not have to defend their position. One thing is sure - when reasonable people are on two sides of an issue, the debate is not settled. It is a question of whether one side can be more convincing in presenting their position. What I have found to be most disingenuous is when those on one side paint their opponents as quacks or hacks (ad-hominem attacks) without actually disproving the position they claim is wrong. Let's have the debate, and may the best view win! Perhaps what Yaakov didn't believe most of all, was how the brothers lied to him so many years ago...

B'Terem - Drama of Immediacy - Yaakov wanting to see Yosef "immediately before I do" begs the question of when is "immediacy" the du jour method of going about life decisions. Certainly some things can wait, while others perhaps can not. Yaakov may have thought his days were numbered for other reasons (such as his being near the age his mother was at her death). More importantly, Yaakov needed a reason to live. And he did not know if reuniting with Yosef was going to give him that, or was going to cause a heart attack from excitement! It's never too late to find a purpose for living (see the embedded video of then 110-year old Holocaust survivor). 

Bringing the Children Along - Raising children includes going against what they want. Bringing the family down to Egypt included shlepping the children along. Maybe they wanted to stay in Canaan. Maybe they didn't like the prospect of leaving their friends and cousins from their mothers' side. But they don't decide what is in their best interest while they are children living in their parents' homes.

What Yaakov Feared - Yaakov's fear of going down to Egypt was less about the slavery he understood was very likely to take place there. His far was more along the lines of whether the family would be recognizable when it came time for the Exodus to take place.

Interpreting Yosef's Putting His Hands on Yaakov's Eyes - Yaakov is concerned about a number of things before going down to Egypt. God makes this promise of Yosef "putting his hands over your eyes." What does this promise mean? Exploring a number of interpretations, we see that Yaakov's vision for his family is something he was being promised that Yosef would be the steward to make it happen.

The Family Arrives in Egypt

Yaakov, Pharaoh, Age, and Life Expectancy - Yaakov's answers to Pharaoh's questions come across as being negative, complaining, and with limited to no appreciation of any goodness in his life? Is this a proper perspective on how to read what he is saying? We explore a different way to see that Yaakov was guided, first and foremost, by his humility, and that he was far less complaining and much more putting into context his stage of life now, and how he sees his remaining years playing out. 

How OLD are you? Or just How ARE you? - Mostly a repost of the previous (5 years later) though with a few small changes in the middle.

What's Up with Goshen? - There is a significant emphasis placed on the location of where the Bnei Yisrael will settle when they come to Egypt. Maybe it's better farm land, better pasture land, or perhaps its simply apart from other Egyptians. Long-term it is not a solution, because the Bnei Yisrael will eventually outgrow it (consider where they live at the time of the Exodus - all over the country). What is about Goshen that makes it the ideal place for Bnei Yisrael to settle when they first come to Egypt?

GENERAL VAYIGASH TOPICS

Some mini vorts - very brief summaries of a few divrei Torah shared on a Shabbos excursion to Boynton Beach in 2009

Death - the Theme of Vayigash? - A sermon in the aftermath of the Newtown, CT school shooting of 12/2012 - How do we understand death, respond to death, anticipate death, prepare for it? When  mortality is something we see - even at the hands of a deranged individual - it is worthy to at least ask some questions that may trigger better preparation on our part, for the final passage we will all eventually go through.