AND THEY TOOK ALONG THEIR LIVESTOCK AND THE WEALTH THAT THEY HAD AMASSED

IN THE LAND OF CANAAN. THUS JACOB AND ALL HIS OFFSPRING WITH HIM CAME TO EGYPT

(Bereishit 46: 6)

That They Had Amassed in the Land of Canaan – but everything they had amassed in Padan Aram was given to Esau in

exchange for his share of the Me'arat Ha'Machpeila.

I am the One who told your father Do not go down to Egypt, I am

the One who now tells you Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt. It is

nation. If your sons stayed here they would marry local gentiles and

assimilate among them. That will not happen in Egypt, for the Egyptians

could not serve food to the Hebrews and so they will become a great nation,

as the [the Sages] of blessed memory said – "There they became a great

nation – this teaches that they were distinguishable there."

(Sforno on Bereishit 46: 3)

Encounters and Memories

Adina Shapiro

Parashat VaYigash brings the tale of the complex

relations between Joseph and his brothers to its dramatic climax. The course of

events was set into motion when the fact that Israel loved Joseph most of

all his sons, and the tangible expressions of his love, created a situation

in which Joseph's brothers so hated him that they could not speak a word of

peace to him (Bereishit 37:4). This is hardly the first instance of hatred in the book of Bereishit,

and certainly not the first case of hatred that stems from parental love,

resulting in thirst for revenge and death threats. Here hatred expressed by a

lack of communication leads to especially harsh consequences.

It is interesting that after years of adventures

and maturation, after Judah makes his brilliant speech to Joseph, the ruling

viceroy of Egypt, the first reaction to Joseph's self-disclosure to his

brothers is actually a bit disappointing. It is basically a return to the old

pattern – his brothers could not answer him (Bereishit 45: 3). The moment of Joseph's

disclosure is the great and long-awaited catharsis, and it is greeted with…silence.

Scripture itself is aware of the awkwardness of the moment, and steps in to

fill the yawning void. Scripture brings up one of the most common explanations

for the lack of communication – for they panicked. Earlier, hatred

served as an excuse for the brothers' lack of speech, but now it is panic. Panic,

according to Hizkuni, at what Joseph would do to them, or, as Rashi explains,

out of shame, or perhaps as the NeTziv suggests, shock at the realization of

the dreams of Joseph's youth (ambitions which they themselves were unable to

achieve). No matter what the interpretation, the bottom line remains the same;

an instinctive reaction – no talking with Joseph. They have forgotten how

to talk. The abstention from communication throughout the relationship created

a pattern that could not be easily changed, certainly not in a moment of crisis

and trepidation.

After a few moments, Joseph, an articulate man

accustomed to dealing with all kinds of people, rescues the reader (and his brothers)

from the impasse that has trapped us. He asks the brothers to come near to

me (Bereishit 45: 4) and

then sets forth an emotionally moving explanation of how all of the events of

his life were parts of a divine plan, and not of the brothers' making. He

strums upon the emotional cords that will arise from the reunion of father and

son. Joseph concludes his speech with a mute yet symbolic act: He falls upon

Benjamin's neck, weeps, and kisses each of his brothers. Only then were

his brothers able to talk to him.

Joseph broke through the wall that had blocked

communication between the brothers. According to his own testimony, Joseph

deliberately made the first move, overcoming himself in order to save them from

the trap of silence – You can see for yourselves… that it is I who am

speaking to you (45: 12). And indeed, he did manage to open channels of communication. This

process is so crucial that the content of the communication is not related to

us, but rather the bare fact that it took place. Perhaps this can serve as a

basis for psychologists to investigate how the ice finally breaks and how the

atmosphere changes, and what occurred at the exact moment when the viceroy's

great hall, draped in silence, embraced intimate words shared among brothers

who had never before spoken to each other.

I would like to draw attention to another point,

which I believe is of great importance for our topic. As I have mentioned, part

of the lack of communication derived from the pattern that had been tacitly

established during the youth of Jacob's children. Accordingly, the silence

between Joseph and his brothers may have been successfully broken because of

unconscious connections with an earlier process in the family's history. Father

Jacob's relationship with his brother was also difficult. A few weeks ago we

read about the dramatic meeting between Jacob and Esau. In contrast to the

present encounter, that meeting was accompanied by much tense thought and

preparation. However, in both cases the elements of fear and uncertainty played

important roles. Jacob tried to approach his brother, but was not sure what

fate awaited him. Yet, it was Esau who released a sigh of relief. What

did he do? Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck,

he kissed him; and they wept (Bereishit

33: 4). This was no doubt a meaningful moment in Jacob's

life. Could it be that these small gestures of affection were etched in Jacob's

mind and passed on to his sons for an inheritance as gestures that signal the

possibility of escape from silence?

I believe that the encounter did leave its mark on

the family. Perhaps that was why Joseph, seeing that he could not talk with his

brothers, chose to repeat precisely those same emotionally charged actions. He

his neck. He kissed all his brothers and wept upon them (45: 14-15). Joseph reenacted a moment that

was intuitively identified with the ability to remove inhibitions and breathe

freely. Only then were his brothers able to talk to him. Joseph

wordlessly reminded his brothers that enmity and lack of dialogue, even

readiness to murder, do not have to last forever. The repetition of exactly

those same actions – falling on each other's necks, kissing and weeping – served

as a reminder that the fear and remoteness that are characteristic of the

encounter with a brother-turned-enemy were not the only memories they inherited

from their father.

We must remember that these steps only opened the

dialogue. They did not melt away all of the suspicions and fears associated

with the conflict between Jacob and Esau (see, for instance, the midrashim

related to the dots traditionally placed above the word vayeshakuhu ),

nor were they able to do so in the case of Joseph and his brothers (as we see

following Jacob's death). The entire family probably continued to suffer from

the tension that the conflict between Jacob and Esau left in its wake, casting

its shadow upon their ability to converse with each other. It seems to me that

that is exactly why the moment of Jacob and Esau's reconciliation was so

powerfully fixed in the family's memory.

When he heard what had happened, Jacob's own

unresolved history probably allowed him to appreciate his family's stressful

mood. Esau had announced, I have enough, my bother; let what you have

remain yours (33:9). Esau announced that he was reconciled with the division of property

between the brothers; the ReDak suggests that he had even signed off on the

blessings received by Jacob. Jacob, however, could not rest. Panicked, he asks,

Please, take my blessings (33: 11). Perhaps he was afraid of what Esau might do to him, or distraught with

shame over his deception, or unnerved by his brother's ability to ignore the

past and open a new chapter while he remained discomforted and burdened with

history.

Now, at his life's close and after countless

hardships, Jacob understands that he must bury the ancient conflict carried in

his heart in order to let faith in the possibility of reconciliation enter into

his home. He cannot speak of the importance of dialogue between his sons before

settling his own past disagreement. Jacob now repeats the expression of

reconciliation first spoken by his brother Esau: Enough! My

son Joseph is still alive! I no longer look askance at my brother, checking

to see what he has and what I lack. Now I bless God for what I do have and

value it all the more. This may also explain why Jacob crossed his hands when

blessing Ephraim and Manasseh. It is as if he were showing that he no longer

cares for the rules of primogenitor; he is satisfied with the blessing reserved

for each son, whomever he might be.

Jacob understands that situations that block

dialogue are not created by a single factor alone. Indeed, circumstances

influence the situation that then builds up like a snowball. Yet another

insight is at work here, first in Joseph, and later in his father. A break in

communication in one area, even if it appears quite distant from other areas of

life, can contribute significantly to feelings of alienation and troubled

patterns of communication. The relationship between Joseph and his brothers is

not cut off from the relationship between Jacob and Esau. Now Jacob goes forth

with all of his sons and daughters, his livestock and possessions. This is the

second time he leaves with such a massive entourage. This time it is laden down

not only with the years of conflict between himself and his brother; it is also

burdened with the effects of that conflict on his family. In order to reach

that future meeting between his children, he must relate to his past

relationships and encounters as a whole.

 Adinah Shapiro is completing a law degree at the Hebrew

University. She works in education, and is active in educational cooperation

between Israelis and Palestinians.

Who is Courageous? He Who Makes a Friend of his Enemy

Rabbi Shimon said: The firmament is made entirely of water and the

angels entirely of fire [as we read] his servants are fiery flames. Yet

the water does not extinguish the fire, nor does fire burn the water. Judah and

Joseph; this is a lion, the other an ox. Yesterday they gored each other, and

now one is sent as an emissary to the other, as it says: And he sent Judah

before him. [Therefore,] say: He makes peace in His heights.

(Midrash Tanhumah VaYigash 6)

"On Prophecy"

The haftorah associated with parashat VaYigash is a

prophecy of future events: The reunification of Judah and Joseph, and the

political and spiritual rehabilitation of the Jewish people after it had been

divided into two separate nations. The prophecy was not fulfilled. This

requires us to consider and discuss the meaning of prophecies regarding the

future, which seem to predict what will happen. Ezekiel says his piece after

Judah and the Ten Tribes were already exiled… Hosea and Amos, who prophesized

the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, agree with the prediction that Israel

shall return. It was never fulfilled. In this case, it is impossible to accept

the midrashic view of unfulfilled prophecies – i.e., that they will come to

pass in the end of days. The ten tribes, including Joseph's children, were

wiped off the face of the earth, apparently not in the physical sense but

rather in the spiritual and fundamental sense: they were completely assimilated

into the peoples among whom they had been exiled, leaving no trace in

historical reality. Already in the Talmudic period, Rabbi Akiva who knew the

prophetic traditions as well as we do, could state: "The Ten Tribes will

never return." He knew that they are lost.

None of this subverted our faith in the true and just prophets, because

we realize that their words are not predictions of the future, but rather

presentations of the aims and directions of what deserves to be; what we

should hope for and what we should work towards, even if there is no guarantee

that they will materialize… The Tosafot says: "A prophet only

prophesizes what would be proper to happen, if no sin occurs." Throughout

the generations, false prophets have preached faith in the certainty of unconditional

redemption – of redemption that will arrive even if people do not first redeem

themselves from sin.

(Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz, z"l He'arot Le'Parshiyot

HaShavua pp. 35-36)

Editorial

Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak

Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation:

Kadish Goldberg

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