Va'Yigash: I wonder

Parshat Va"Yigash

45:26 - I wonder - when they told Yaakov that Yosef was still alive and running Egypt, did they tell him they had sold him and how he ended up in Egypt or did they not come clean? Did they continue the original story by saying Yosef must have gotten away from the wild animal and somehow escaped and ended up in Egypt...

I wonder what they told Yaakov, as the Psukim leave it very vague....

who sent the wagons

Parshat Va'Yigash

In 45:27 the pasuk tells us, "וירא את העגלות אשר שלח יוסף" - Yaakov saw the wagons that Yosef had sent for him. Rashi explains that Yosef sent the wagons as a sign to Yaakov. They had been learning together the topic of Eglah Arufa when the incident in which Yosef disappeared had occurred. The wagons, agalah in Hebrew, was a play on words to show Yaakov that his son remained faithful and learned.

But I think Yosef did not send the wagons. And if he did, they were only on the command of Pharoah, so he could not have sent them as a sign.

Why do I say that? Because in 45:19 we see very clearly Pharoah telling the brothers of Yosef to take wagons and bring back their father to Egypt. Furthermore, in 45:21 it says Yosef gave them wagons on Pharoahs word. Furthermore, in 46:5 it says that the children brought Yaakov from Beer Sheva in the wagons that Pharoah had sent to carry him.

So how could Yaakov have understood anything from the wagons?

It is possible that once wagons were being sent on Pharoahs command that Yosef made some alteration to the wagons or some sign on the wagons to indicate the message to Yaakov, but that is not clear from the Midrash. The Midrash quoted by Rashi seems to say that simply by the fact of the wagons being sent the message was conveyed. The Midrash is based on the fact that the passuk in 45:27 says, "The wagons that Yosef sent" rather than associating them with Pharoah as it does elsewhere (in the other pessukim I quoted), yet I still find it difficult to accept that answer. Yaakov would not have known who sent the wagons and could only have assumed they came from Pharoah.

telling a parent what his kid is doing

Parshat Va'Yeishev

"ויבא יוסף את דבתם רעה אל אביהם" In 37:2 we start reading about the growing rift between Yosef and his brothers. Yosef woul dtell his father all the "bad" things they were involved in.

Why is this such a problem? As a parent, when one of my kids does something bad, I would like to be told so I could take corrective action. If my kid runs in the street or is seen doing something to hurt another child, etc. I would like to be told. So what was wrong with Yosef telling his father what they were doing? He wanted his father to be aware and take corrective action!

The reason it was considered bad of Yosef was because of his intentions. There is a way to tell over information for beneficial purposes in order to improve a situation and there is a way to tell over information when you are gloating or trying to undermine somebody.
Sometimes a parent will call up and say I saw your kid do this or that. If they have the intention of trying to help then their comments are appreciated and accepted. When their comments are in that gloating tone, so as to say your kid is wild or nasty or hurtful or you don't know how to raise your kids (and you can usually tell by the tone), etc, then the informations is resented.

That is what happened with Yosef. Yes the information was important and beneficial so yaakov could attempt to correct things. However his tone was one that indicated he was not doing it 100% with good intentions.

A simple answer

Parshat Va'Yishlah

We read about the story in which Shchem takes Dina and has his way with her. He and his father Hamor approach Yaakov and family and request her hand in marriage along with a general approval of their communities intermarrying.

Yaakov and family are not impressed, to say the least. They come up with a plan and suggest that they cannot marry uncircumcised people. if they would circumcise themselves, they could marry each other.

Shchem and Hamor have all the males in the community get circumcised and when they are at their weakest point (the third day), Levi and Shimon say they cannot let this happen and they wipe out the whole town to no resistance.

Yaakov is upset at his sons. He tells them off that this is not the way to act and they have put him in a precarious position.

Levi and Shimon offer a very simple response to their fathers scathing discipline. In 34:31 they respond with just four words. הכזונה יעשה את אחותינו. Should we let our sister be treated like a harlot?

Four simple words to deflect their fathers wrath. Four words that did not even answer the issues Yaakov had raised.

Sometimes the answer is clear. Sometimes the method of action is clear. No beating around the bush. Yaakov was worried about diplomacy and how it would affect his relationships with the various other natives and clans around the country.
But Levi and Shimon had a clear and simple equation. We cannot let our sister be treated like that. Nothing more. Nothing less. The time to act was upon us and we had to defend Dina. The rest does not matter.

And Yaakov accepted the answer.

quality blessing

Parshat Va'Yishlah

Yaakov meets up with the angel of Esau and battles with him. The angel requests to end the battle so he can depart and Yaakov refuses. In 32:37 we see Yaakov's response, in which he says, "I will not send you, unless you bless me."

Rashi says this is referring to showing that he accepts the fact that Yaakov has the brachos from Yitzhak and will retain no further claims on them.

While I would not dispute that and disagree with Rashi, I would like to offer an alternate pshat, one based on the simple reading of the text.

In the next response of the angel we see that the angel actually blessed Yaakov ("ויברך אותו שם"). That would indicate to me that Yaakov was simply requesting a blessing from this angel.

I would like to point out a thought that came to me when reading this:

We see from here that even people who we might consider evil have the ability to bless, and that, as the gemara says, is something we should take seriously. Do not scoff and reject the blessing of anybody, even if you think they might not be worthy. Yaakov actively sought out the blessing of the angel of Esau who had just tried to kill him and maimed him in the process! Who could represent greater evil than that!!

1. 2.

test of faith

Parshat Va'Yetzei

Yaakov wakes up from his dream of the laddr and Hashem speaking to him and declares in 28:20-21, "If Hashem will be with me and guard me on the way that I am going and give me bread to eat and clothes to wear and if I will get home to my family safely, then hashem will be to me for my God and I will..."

This is our forefather Yaakov? The "איש תם יושב אהלים"? This is the same Yaakov who just had a dream in which Hashem spoke to him and he woke up and said he only now realized how holy the place was, etc..? he is making his acceptance of Hashem conditional on Hashem giving him bread and clothes? Wasn't Hashem already his God?

And how is this different than what many of us do? We "test" Hashem and say if I pass this test I will keep shabbos, or if I win the lottery I will do x y or z, etc. Was Yaakov doing the same "test of Hashem" and is that what his faith was based on?

Jewish Geography

Parshat Va'Yetzei

Ever wonder who started Jewish Geography? How it began?

I think I found the first instance of Jewish Geography.

In Parshat Va'Yetzei (this weeks portion of Torah reading) we find Yaakov running away from his home to avoid Esau's wrath, and to find for himself a wife. Yaakov finds his way to a well outside of Haran and sees a bunch of sheperds.
In 29:3 he asks them where they are from. They respond that they come from Haran. Yaakov says, "Hey! I have an uncle in Haran!! You guys knows Lavan my uncle??!!"
They said yes.

There you have it. The first documented case of Jewish Geography that started a great tradition to be kept in all Jewish gatherings for all future generations.

self-sacrifice and risk

Parshat Toldos

Rivka overhears Yitzhak telling Esau to bring him food so he will bless him. She hatches a plan to have Yaakov act as Esau and fool Yitzhak into blessing him. She tells Yaakov her plan and what he needs to do. Yaakov recoils in horror and comes up with reasons why the plan will not work. And the worst of it is that the risk is so great - Yitzhak might realize and then curse me!! The risk is too great. Can't do it.

Rivka's response is that do not worry - any curse he throws at you is on my back. I will take the curse. You just go ahead and do what I told you.

I find two aspects of this story fascinating:

1. The level of self-sacrifice Rivka had on behalf of the future nation of Israel. She knew it was crucial for the future of Israel that Yaakov get those blessings and not Esau. She was willing to take the curses on her own head, just as long as it would effect the stewardship of the blessings be in Yaakov's hands.
2. Yaakov was a naysayer. He was not an aggressive risk-taker. Rivka hatched this great plan, albeit risky. Yaakov found every excuse why it would not work and is not a good idea. We often find ourselves at a juncture where we could take a risk and end up with great success or avoid the risk and settle for less. Most of the time we are too cowardly to take the risk. Yaakov, the "איש תם יושב אוהלים" was the same way. If it was up to him, he would not have taken the risk, Esau would have been blessed by Yitzhak, and who knows how history would have turned out. The most successful people are usually the people who take the risk. Rivka told Yaakov not to worry about the risk. He followed her advice and it paid off.