CHOCHMAS NASHIM: SETTING THE STAGE
Suri Davis
In this week’s torah portion, Vayigash, we come to the apex of the Joseph story, the great reveal. The ten tribes sold their younger brother into slavery, he ends up as viceroy to Pharaoh, the second most powerful man in the world. By all rights, Joseph could be angry at his brothers for what they had done to him and their father, and yet when he reveals himself, he says this:
Genesis 44:4-7:
First, I am Yosef whom you sold to Egypt [Reality, there is no excusing that even if it was the will of G-d]
But now, don’t be upset or angry with yourselves that you sold me to this place, for G-d sent me ahead of you to save your lives by providing you with food…And G-d sent me to Egypt ahead of you to ensure your survival in the land and to sustain you, your families and your cattle.
And a third time, Joseph reiterates, you [my brothers] didn’t send me down here, but G-d.
This is Bitachon trust that all that happened to him is good and for the good. THIS SETS THE STAGE FOR THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND THE REST OF THE TORAH. It took many torah portions, chapters and verses to come to the punchline of all of Joseph’s suffering, and the lesson is more potent by Joseph saying it himself. I am Joseph, while b’derech hatevah, in the natural course of life, you sold me out as a slave, it all played out under G-d’s supervision and plan.
BUT there is another plan that we know G-d has, and that is Jewish slavery in Egypt, and that is set up in this torah portion as well:
Pharaoh tells Yosef to tell his brothers to bring their father, their families and all their belongings and G-d will give them the best of the land in the land of Goshen, and he reiterates that he will give Joseph’s family the best of the land of Egypt. And they trusted his word.
Before Jacob leaves Canaan/modern day Israel, G-d promises him that he and his family will be a great nation, addressing Jacob’s fear that the promise G-d told his grandfather, Abraham, of the slavery of his descendants was about to begin.
On the one hand, one might ask what if Jacob knowing this prophecy decided not to go down. What if all the forefathers and foremothers davened to G-d to change this decree, could it have changed history? Apparently not. There are events which G-d deigns have to happen. We see this later in history when the 10 martyrs were told they were on death row and they sent a representative up to heaven to determine if this decree could be changed and the answer was no. So too when Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai understood that the temple was decreed to be destroyed, and asked that the torah learning center be moved to Yavneh. On the one hand, we believe that our prayers and our mitzvoth can change decrees, but there are some which need to be carried out as per G-d’s plan for the world for generations, and Egyptian slavery was one of them.
Egyptian slavery was inevitable, and we learn from this very first time that relying on any foreign country is fatuous, for all comes from G-d, a lesson Israel is learning with the constant messengers from the American government which is not, as media represents, sending representatives to support or bolster Israel, but to force it to address American hostages and the beginning of American frustration with the ongoing war which takes money and attention away from domestic issues.
The juxtaposition of Joseph’s statements about his absolute understanding and trust in G-d and His plan, which were hard on him most of his life, until he was redeemed from jail to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, with the staging of the coming of 210 years of Jewish slavery is clear. G-d has a plan, and while it may look dismal, G-d redeems. The Toras Menachem comments that while Jacob was upset at the impending slavery, he also understood that the promise that they would be redeemed with great wealth would occur as well.
We see this trust in the comment to Lamentations. After the destruction of the holy temple, foxes were seen walking in the remains and the rabbis cried except for Rabbi Akiva who rejoiced. The commentary stated that Rabbi Akiva rejoiced for he understood that just as the prophecy of destruction came about, so too would the redemption.
We are in dark times in Israel and the diaspora. Antisemitism has reared its head globally. What we know from Egyptian slavery is that when we cry out to G-d and show we trust Him, and when we unite in peace as brothers, G-d listens and can hasten the redemption as He did in Egypt.
This week we commemorate the beginning of the destruction of the holy temple, the fast of the 10th of Tevet, which comes out this year on Friday, the only fast that can fall out on Friday, why is it that we move all other fast days, including the Ninth of Av, which appears to be more stringent than the 10th of Tevet? According to Chabad.org, it is because on the 10th of Tevet it was still within our control to see the destruction on the horizon and halt it by seeing our sin of baseless hatred towards each other and avoid catastrophe, and we didn’t. We continued with our baseless hatred towards each other and the destruction and exile occurred. Oy lanu.
Before October 7th, Israel society was divided like never before…we must unite and remain united.
Meaningful fast.
Shabbat shalom.
-Suri