Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Vayigash

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.

In Bereishis 45:1-3 the Torah states that Yosef could not hold himself back and that after he ordered everyone to leave he told his brothers that he was Yosef and asked if his father was still alive and the brothers were embarrassed (as explained by Rashi). Thereafter in 45:4, Yosef told his brothers to come forward and he again told them he was Yosef who they sold into Egypt.

While it would appear that the second mentioning of being Yosef (and being sold down to Egypt) might seem like twisting the knife, Rashi explains that when Yosef told them a second time that he was Yosef it was not done to make them feel at ease and was said softly. But how could saying that he was the one "who you sold down to Egypt" be any form of consolation to the brothers?

R' Frand answered by quoting the Sfas Emes who explains that when Yosef first revealed himself to the brothers they were taken aback by his purity. Indeed, the brothers were convinced that if Yosef had been in Egypt, he would have been sullied by all of the tumah in Egypt. Instead, they saw that Yosef was a pious man and they could not believe he was not impacted. They said to themselves - if this is how he turned out, despite all that occurred to him, imagine what a great man he could have become if we had left him with our father!

To this, Yosef responded - I am Yosef who you sold down to Egypt and all the events of my life have made me the tzaddik that you see. You should not think that I could have been different had I stayed with Ya'akov. On the contrary, my enduring all of these troubles is what made me the person that I am.

R' Frand also quoted a different statement of the Sfas Emes in which he compared this to the limud on Shemos 34:2 where Hashem says to Moshe to carve new luchos to replace those "asher shi'barta" - that you broke. Chazal teaches that Hashem said to Moshe "yasher kochacha that you broke the luchos." The Sfas Emes equates this to the words that he says to the brothers "asher machartem" - that you sold me. In effect, Yosef says to the "yasher kochachem that you sold me."

R' Frand also said a vort from the sefer Abir Ya'akov (not the grandfather of the Baba Sali - a Rav from Lakewood) who explains that Yosef was rebuking his brothers when he said that he was Yosef. In so doing he said - you thought that I was evil and that you were doing the right thing to get rid of me. But I am Yosef and everything that I said about my dreams was not for your detriment. While you thought that I was evil, this and everything that occurred was good.

R' Frand closed with a discussion of the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel which states that Sarach Bas Asher lived forever because she told Yaa'akov that Yosef was still alive. But why is this a middah k'neged middah? He quoted R' Elya Finkel who explains that when a person reinvigorates another person and gives him hope, he gives that person life. Prior to hearing that Yosef was alive, Ya'akov was depressed, but hearing that Yosef was alive refreshed him. By giving her grandfather spirit and a reason to live, she was blessed with eternal life.

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