Parshat Vayigash

7 Tevet, 5776/December 19, 2015

Vol. 7 Num. 15

This issue of Toronto Torah is sponsored by Allan and Malka Rutman and family
in memory of Allans father, Gedalia ben Yitzchak zl

Yosefs Gambit
Vayigash opens with the dramatic
confrontation between Yehudah and
the viceroy of Egypt, who we know to
be Yosef. Yosef, knowing full well that
his brothers were not spies, had
nevertheless forced them to prove their
honesty by bringing Binyamin down to
Egypt. Then, as they are about to
leave, he frames Binyamin by planting
his goblet in his bag, forcing the
brothers to return to plea for his
release. Yehuda, who has committed to
his father to bring Binyamin back,
rises to the challenge and delivers an
impassioned speech, begging the
viceroy to take him in Binyamins
place because nafsho keshura bnafsho
(Bereishit 44:30), Yaakovs soul is tied
up with Binyamins, and he will not
survive losing his second and last
child from his beloved wife, Rachel.
The Tosafist, Rabbi Chaim Paltiel
(ibid), records a striking question from
a Rabbi Yosef. Did Yosef not realize
how much his father loved Binyamin?
Did he not realize what dragging
Binyamin to Egypt would do to him?
Why didnt he reveal himself earlier?
Yosef could have caused the brothers
more pain, jailed them for longer
before releasing them, but why torture
Yaakov by forcing Binyamin to come?
Rabbi Chaim Paltiel suggests that
Yosef was afraid that if he would tell
the brothers who he was before
Binyamin came to Egypt, Binyamin
would suffer. Their hatred of Yosef,
after all, began when he merely
dreamed about the possibility that he
would rule over them. How much more
would they hate him now that he was
king, the one with the power to provide

Rabbi Jonathan Ziring

or withhold food from them? However,
with Yosef in possession of that power,
they could not act on their hate towards
him. But Binyamin would be an easy
target. They could take out their
frustration on Rachels other son, the
new favourite of Yaakov, the one
without the crown on his head. Thus,
Yosef insisted on withholding his
identity until Binyamin was safely in
the palace where the brothers could do
nothing to him.
However, this doesnt really answer the
question. If protecting Binyamin was
Yosefs only goal, he should have
revealed himself as soon as Binyamin
got there. Why wait to see what would
happen if Binyamin was framed? One
could suggest that Yosef was testing the
brothers would they give up on
Binyamin, or would they stand up for
him? Had they changed since they
threw him in the pit? (Ramban, Akeidat
Yitchak) However, this would leave
Rabbi Chaim Paltiels original problem:
Was it worth testing the brothers if the
stress would (almost literally) kill
Yaakov?
Perhaps, Yosef was not arranging a test
to see whether they would recognize the
allegiance they owed to Binyamin and
Yaakov, but rather he was trying to
generate that commitment. Often people
do not realize how much something is
worth to themselves or to others until it
is almost lost. Faced with losing a loved
one, people come to realize just how
much that person is worth to them and if they do not lose that person, they
use the newfound opportunity to
deepen their relationship. This is even
more true if they are forced to sacrifice

to keep their loved one alive. For

example, if a father has kidney failure,
and his son saves him by donating his
own kidney, not only will the fathers
love likely increase, but the child will
comprehend just how much he loves his
father when he realizes what he is
willing to do to keep his father alive.
This will translate into a deeper
relationship in the future.
In keeping with Rabbi Chaim Paltiels
point, Yosef had reason to believe the
brothers would not value Binyamin, and
Binyamins connection to Yaakov,
because of Binyamins link to Rachel
and Yosef. But, from Yehudahs
commitment to Yaakov when he saw
how distraught Yaakov was at
potentially losing Binyamin, and from
what Yehudah actually offered to do at
the moment of truth, we see that by the
end of the story they did value him.
Perhaps Yosef did realize what
Binyamins loss would mean to Yaakov,
but wanted the brothers to realize it too.
By orchestrating this moment, he
brought Yehudah to the recognition that
nafsho keshura bnafsho, that saving his
brother, his fathers child, was
something worth sacrificing for.
May we all come to recognize the
importance of our relationships, even in
good times, and have no need to face
their loss.
jziring@torontotorah.com

OUR BEIT MIDRASH

ROSH BEIT MIDRASH
RABBI MORDECHAI TORCZYNER
SGAN ROSH BEIT MIDRASH
RABBI JONATHAN ZIRING
AVREICHIM RABBI DAVID ELY GRUNDLAND, YISROEL MEIR ROSENZWEIG
CHAVERIM DAR BARUCHIM, YEHUDA EKLOVE, URI FRISCHMAN, AVISHAI GASNER,
SHMUEL GIBLON, MICHAEL IHILCHIK, RYAN JENAH, SHIMMY JESIN, CHEZKY MECKLER,
ZACK MINCER, JOSH PHILLIP, JACOB POSLUNS, SHAI REEF, ARYEH ROSEN, SHLOMO
SABOVICH, ARIEL SHIELDS, DAVID SUTTNER, DAVID TOBIS

We are grateful to
Continental Press 905-660-0311