The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand began the vort by quoting the Sfas Emes who writes that Parshas Vayigash is a lesson in not giving up hope. It would have been very easy for him to give up, but he tried again, even though he had no new information to try to convince Yosef.
The Sfas Emes quoted the Gemara in Berachos 10a which discussed the conversation between Yishayah and Chizkiyahu when Chizkiyahu was very sick. The navi told Chizkiyahu that he was going to die in this world and have no life in the world to come, because he did not have children. The gemara then recites the dialogue between the two on this issue, culminating with Yishayahu telling Chizkiyahu - there is nothing that can be done. Chizkiyahu responds - stop your prophesying, I have a kaballah from my grandfather that even if there is a sharp sword on the neck, don't give up that Hashem can help.
The Sfas Emes says - who is the grandfather? It was Yehuda who did not give up and still attempted to convince Yosef to spare Binyamin and that they were not spies.
R' Frand closed the vort by quoting the Ishbitzur Rebbi who discussed the concept of Yiush. A person who loses an object and is Miyaish - anyone else can claim and keep the object. How does this work? If a person does not lose hope he still has a connection to the object, even if it is not with him. As a result, no one else can claim the object.
So too if a person is ill. If that person still has hope, he has a connection to the refuah, even if the medicine is not yet there or not yet available. But if the person gives up hope, he loses the connection to the cure.
R' Frand said a second vort based on Yosef's revelation to his brothers and his sending ten donkeys loaded with provisions to his father.
He quoted the Orach Chaim who explains that he told the brothers when he exposed his identity that I am Yosef and I will not take retribution against you, he was saying to them - don't worry about all that happened, I am Ok with it. But with all that Yosef suffered, how could he have had this mindset?
He answered by quoting the Maharal on the pasuk in Bereishis 45:23 וּלְאָבִ֞יו שָׁלַ֤ח כְּזֹאת֙ עֲשָׂרָ֣ה חֲמֹרִ֔ים נֹֽשְׂאִ֖ים מִטּ֣וּב מִצְרָ֑יִם. The Maharal explains that the ten donkeys were a message from Yosef to his father to not be upset at his brothers because they were acting just like donkeys. When you put something on a donkey, he does not know what he is carrying or why it is carrying it. The donkey just carries what was put on its back until it gets to the destination and is unloaded.
In so doing, Yosef was saying to his father - the brothers were just like the donkeys. They were following a script which set forth how you and your sons were supposed to come down to Egypt.
This is how Yosef could say that he had no qualms with his brothers - he recognized that it was all from Hashem.
If you have seen this post being carried on another site, please feel free to click www.kosherbeers.blogspot.com to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!
No comments:
Post a Comment