TORAH SPARKS
Parashat Vayiggash
January 6-7, 2017 9 Tevet 5777
Annual
(Genesis 44:18-47:27): Etz Hayim p. 274-289; Hertz p. 169-177
Triennial
(Genesis 44:18-45:27): Etz Hayim p. 274-279; Hertz p. 169-172
Haftarah (Ezekiel 37:15-28): Etz Hayim p.
290-292; Hertz p. 178-179
The Shirley & Jacob
Fuchsberg Center
8 Agron Street, P.O. Box
7456, Jerusalem, Israel 94265
Tel:
972-2-625-6386 Fax: 972-2-623-4127
The End of Genesis?
Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, CY Faculty and Coordinator,
Torah Sparks
Parshat
Vayiggash is the next-to-last parashah in Bereishit, but it could indeed
be the last. The drama of Joseph and his brothers is resolved, and the parashah
concludes (47:27):
Vayeshev
Yisrael b eretz mitsrayim – And Israel settled down in Egypt, in the
region of Goshen; they acquired holdings there and were fruitful and increased
greatly.
Sound familiar? Fast forward
to Exodus 1:7:
And the
Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in
numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.
The Torah s story could have
continued from end of Vayiggash straight
into Exodus
1:8, And there arose a new king over Egypt without a stitch or a hitch.
In
Vayiggash, through a series of revelations, movements and dramatic meetings,
all the threads come together. Joseph reveals himself to his
brothers
and then meets his father, both very dramatic moments. He introduces his
father and brothers to Pharaoh and the family is settled in Goshen with the
encouragement and assistance of Pharaoh. They prospered there, as the closing
verse indicates, almost as if it s happily ever after. Not quite.
Perhaps
the most moving moment of closure in Vayiggash is the meeting of Joseph and his
father, Jacob. Immediately upon revealing his true identity to his brothers
Joseph had asked Is my father still alive, a question burning inside him for
two decades. Yet, surprisingly, he does not head straight off to see Jacob in
Eretz Yisrael; he waits until Jacob comes to Egypt with the family. This
cannot be for political reasons Pharaoh himself invites Jacob and the family
to come live in Egypt. It might be post-trauma stress; Joseph had been
through several very harrowing experiences in those two decades. Or perhaps it
reflects the fact that Jacob himself, when he had returned to Eretz Yisrael
after twenty years with Lavan in Haran, had delayed quite a while before going
to visit his aging father, Itzhak. Mida keneged mida, measure for
measure? Perhaps. But when Josef is ready to go, he does so with vigor, (46:29)
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went to meet Israel his
father in Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on
his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. One day, five verbs,
twenty-two years of separation overcome in one intensive verse.
Vayiggash
is a grand finale to Sefer Bereishit, it brings us to where we need to be for
Sefer Shmot. But that final verse, And Israel settled down in Egypt has
other echoes as well, ironic and foreboding. Israel is another name
for Yakov, and we are reminded of 37:1, Vayeshev Yakov b eretz m gurei aviv,
eretz C nan, And Jacob settled down in the land where his father had
sojourned, the land of Caanan, which Rashi had explained: Jacob yearned to
live in tranquility (bikesh le shev b shalva), but the terrible incident
of Joseph came upon him. Ironically Joseph now finds peace and quiet, for the
last seventeen years of his life, in Egypt. Little could he know what a
terrible future awaits his descendents there. Sefer Bereishit ends,
either at the end of chapter 47 or the end of chapter
50, with Bnei Israel living
happily ever after. On the deck of the Titanic.
A Vort
for Parashat Vayiggash
Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, CY Faculty
At Pharoah s
prompting Joseph sends his brothers, well-provided, to bring Jacob
down to Egypt, including metuv mitsrayim with Egypt s
finest goods (Gen
45:23). Rashi
brings the Talmudic statement (Megilla 16b) that Egypt s finest was old
wine, which old people find pleasing. R Alexander Zusia Friedman (Poland,
1897 1943, killed by the Nazis), citing Pirkei Avot (4:27) there are new
flasks with old wine, said that Joseph was signaling to Jacob not
to worry. Despite his new exterior as the governor of Egypt, with all the
attending pomp and ceremony, the wine inside was that which Jacob had taught
him in his youth, and that his elderly father need not worry that Egypt had
spoiled Joseph s Jewish identity and commitment.
Table
Talk
Vered
Hollander-Goldfarb, CY Faculty
This Parasha opens with a great monologue by
Judah. Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers, the family goes to Egypt,
and Joseph helps the Egyptians survive the famine in a manner that is very
beneficial to Pharaoh.
1) We ended last week s Parasha as the
Egyptian Lord (Joseph) offered to send everyone home except for Benjamin who
supposedly stole the goblet. Now Judah steps up and confronts this Egyptian to
try to save Benjamin. Why is Judah, out of all the brothers, taking on this
role (44:32-34)?
2) Judah takes several approaches in his
speech. He tries to enlist the Egyptian s pity (44:20), but he also
re-tells the events that led to this moment, including some conversations that
we did not have the details about until now (44:23-31). What do you think that
he hopes to achieve with that?
3) Joseph, after revealing his true identity to
his shocked brothers, tells them to come to Egypt because there are 5 more
years of famine to come. But who actually gives the orders to bring the
brothers and the father (Yaakov, Jacob) to Egypt (45:16-21)? Keeping that in
mind, what do you think about Pharaoh s behavior in Exodus 1:8-14? (Pharaoh is
the royal title of the kings of Egypt. They are the state. )
4) As the entire household of Yaakov happily
heads to the Golden Medina of Egypt, Yaakov receives a prophecy at night in
Be er Sheva. God tells him not to fear. What might Yaakov fear at this point
that Joseph has been found and all their subsistence issues are solved?
(46:1-4, but also go back to 15:12-16.)
5) After a 22 year break, during which Yaakov
thought that Joseph was dead; Yaakov and Joseph finally meet again (46:29-30).
What would you expect them to say to each other? Are there things that one of
them would rather NOT talk about? What is the only thing that the Torah tells
us about what was said?