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 [in order to fulfill the promise that] I will make of you there a great 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 embraced his brother Benjamin around the neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on 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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