VOLUME 108 NUMBER 8
Kislev 25, 5784
December 8, 2023
PARSHAS VAYEISHEV
Candlelighting Time 4:17 PM
Yaakov endured many trials and tribulations during his lifetime. He had to escape from Eisav and the twenty years he spent with Lavan were not a pleasant experience. Furthermore, Dinah was ravaged by Shechem and the ensuing violent response of his two sons Shimon and Levi endangered the fledgling nation in its infantile stage of development. Therefore, it is interesting to note that as he aged and was now prepared to spend the rest of his life in a serene mode, this entire friction between the brothers and Yosef occurred. And Rashi, citing the Midrash, explains that since Yaakov desired to now live in a peaceful and serene manner, therefore he was ‘punished’ with the sale of Yosef which certainly was a source of tremendous pain and anguish. The Brisker Rav questions why did the Sages need to discover a specific reason to explain this particular situation? Yaakov suffered many difficulties during his life and this would be another one. His explanation is truly amazing.
The Rav understands that the Patriarchs represented individually and uniquely the entire nation of Israel. After all, they were the essential building blocks that constructed and established the future people that were to become the nation of Hashem. Therefore, although they were indeed only single entities, they nonetheless represented the entire nation. And their experiences were the incidents of an entire nation. Yaakov was no different than his predecessors. However, at this juncture in his life, he was no longer alone. He now merited an entire family. As a result, they were representatives of the entire nation. And if something were to occur that was construed as a national event, then it should have affected the entire family. The eventual sale of Yosef which was a direct result of the friction between the brothers, only affected Yaakov and not his children since they knew that he wasn’t actually sold. Obviously, this happening was on the individual level not of the national brand of occurrences. Therefore, our Sages realized that this was a response to Yaakov’s decision to seek solace and comfort at his advanced age. However, why indeed was Yaakov penalized for this attitude? Was he not entitled to live the remaining years of his life comfortably?
Rav Shlomo Kluger explains that the actual exile that Avrohom was told about began with the birth of Yitzchok. Eventually, the exile intensified and they endured severe torment and suffering in Egypt. Why was there a delay in the fulfillment of the exile or was there a delay? He suggests that as long as the attitude of Yaakov and his sons was that living in Israel was of paramount importance and everything had to revolve around that, although they were very wealthy, their riches did not affect their appreciation that they were in the Land of Israel. Therefore, they ignored their prestigious standard of living and considered themselves as mere strangers in Israel. That was a degree of exile that was rated as a fulfillment of the covenant that Hashem made with Avrohom that his descendants would be exposed to an exile situation. However, seemingly, Yaakov faltered from that mindset and began to actually perceive his existence in Israel as a reality of comfort and contentment. Even though we perhaps can’t really comprehend the nuance of that shift, at Yaakov’s level of service to Hashem it was an indictment. Hence, the entire episode of Yosef unfolded leading to the eventual plunge into Egypt.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS CHANUKAH
There were two aspects to the Chanukah miracle. We were saved from the onslaught of the Greeks and merited a spiritual salvation upon finding the flask of oil to light the Menorah. Our Sages selected to focus primarily on the incredible discovery of the oil because the elevation of fortitude that we experienced had a profound and interminable effect on the nation.
S’FAS EMES
GOOD SHABBOS AND HAPPY CHANUKAH
WE UNFORTUNATELY FIND OURSELVES AT WAR AGAIN. IT IS OUR FERVENT PRAYER THAT HASHEM PROTECT US FROM THOSE ELEMENTS OF TERROR THAT PERVADE OUR WORLD AND ESPECIALLY IN ERETZ YISROEL. MAY HASHEM SHIELD OUR BRAVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ERETZ YISROEL FROM HARM AND WE SHOULD WITNESS SOON THE SALVATION FROM OUR ENEMIES FROM WITHIN AND FROM WITHOUT.
