Vayigash/He approached - Shabbat 12/11/10
In the wake of last week’s cliffhanger ending (what would become of Benjamin after being framed for stealing Joseph’s goblet?), Judah makes an impassioned plea for his brother Benjamin’s fate, asking the “Egyptian ruler” to imprison him in Benjamin’s place. Moved by this act of integrity, Joseph decides to finally reveal his identity to the stunned brothers. In a great show of decency, Joseph tells them he has no hard feelings towards them for their past actions. This is indeed rather surprising; a more cynical reading might be, “Now that I’ve made you feel powerless and reduced you to groveling before me, I have no hard feelings – anymore!”
Letting bygones be bygones, Joseph gives his brothers gifts and sends them to settle in the province of Goshen. After twenty-two years, Jacob is reunited with his beloved son. When Jacob arrives in Egypt to settle with his childrens’ families, he comes before Pharaoh and offers a cynical statement of his own. Having already played the roles of a simple tent-dweller, a cunning charlatan, a misguided parent and everything in between, Jacob shows that he can play a grumpy centenarian, as well, telling Pharaoh, “Few and hard have been the years of my life, nor do they measure up to the life spans of my fathers!”
Other than the sweetness of revenge and the bitterness of old age, what does Vayigash teach us? When Joseph sends his brothers home, he tells them, “Do not be quarrelsome on the way.” Rashi explains Joseph’s words to mean, “Do not engage in arguments over halacha (Jewish law), lest the road become unsteady for you.” Like Joseph’s brothers, the Jewish community is comprised of many groups, whose conceptions of Jewish law vary. The Mishna teaches that sometimes machloket (argument or debate) is a good thing, like in the case of the Rabbis Hillel and Shammi; such debates will endure because they were for the sake of Heaven. But when Jews get caught up in the passion of their arguments because of factional disputes or personal aggrandizement, they truly risk losing their way. In such cases, machloket will not bring us closer to Heaven, but will only leave us bitter and cynical.
May this Shabbat bring peace among brothers and a sense of life's fulfillment, and may all of our arguments be for the sake of Heaven.
