Think Vayehi Jan 2025

Rabbi Joe’s Torat Tel Aviv

THINK Vayehi: Thoughts on סיבתיות הכפולה / Double Causation In Bereishit, In The Story Of Yosef And His Brothers, In Our Lives We are blown forward into history facing backwards

Why do things happen in the world (according to Yosef)? - Bereishit 45:3-7 - Bereishit 50:15-20 - Bereishit 15:13-14 Hashem’s vision to Avraham, brit bein habetarim. Do The Paths Intersect With Each Other? Midrash Tanhuma, Parshat Vayeshev #4 וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוּדָן, הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְבַקֵּשׁ לְקַיֵּם גְּזֵרַת יָדעַֹ תֵּדַע, וְהֵבִיא עֲלִילָה לְכָל דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיֶּאֱהַב יַעֲקבֹ אֶת יוֹסֵף וְיִשְׂנְאוּהוּ אֶחָיו וְיִמְכְּרוּ אוֹתוֹ לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים וְיוֹרִידוּהוּ לְמִצְרַיִם וְיִשְׁמַע יַעֲקבֹ שֶׁיּוֹסֵף חַי בְּמִצְרַיִם וְיֵרֵד .עִם הַשְּׁבָטִים וְיִשְׁתַּעְבְּדוּ שָׁם. הֱוֵי, וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה, אַל תִּקְרֵי הוּרַד אֶלָּא הוֹרִיד אֶת אָבִיו וְהַשְּׁבָטִים לְמִצְרָיִם R. Yudan declared: The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to fulfill the decree Ye shall surely know that thy seed shall be a stranger (Gen. 15:13), but He resorted to subterfuge in every instance to accomplish it. He made Jacob love Joseph, so that his brothers hated him, and as a result they sold him to the Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt. When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive in Egypt, he descended there with his descendants. Later they were enslaved there. Though it says: And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, the word should not be read as hurad (“brought down”) but as horid (“he caused”) his father and the tribes to descend to Egypt. Bereishit Rabba, Parshat Vayeshev #85 וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִוא, רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן פָּתַח )ירמיה כט, יא(: כִּי אָנכִֹי יָדַעְתִּי אֶת הַמַּחֲשָׁבתֹ, שְׁבָטִים הָיוּ עֲסוּקִין בִּמְכִירָתוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף, וְיוֹסֵף הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וּבְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, רְאוּבֵן הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, וְיַעֲקבֹ הָיָה עָסוּק בְּשַׂקּוֹ וּבְתַעֲנִיתוֹ, וִיהוּדָה הָיָה עָסוּק לִקַּח לוֹ אִשָּׁה, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הָיָה עוֹסֵק בּוֹרֵא אוֹרוֹ שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִיא וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה. “It was at that time” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman began: “For I have known the thoughts” (Jeremiah 29:11) – the tribes were engaged in the sale of Joseph, Joseph was engaged in his sackcloth and his fasting, Reuben was engaged in his sackcloth and his fasting, Jacob was engaged in his sackcloth and his fasting, Judah was engaged in taking a wife for himself, and the Holy One blessed be He was engaged in creating the light of the moshiach: “It was at that time, Judah descended from his brothers.” The Ramban’s Famous Question, commentary to Bereishit 42:9 ולולי כן היה יוסף חוטא חטא גדול לצער את אביו ולהעמידו ימים רבים בשכול ... ואף אם היה רצונו לצער את אחיו קצת איך לא יחמול על שיבת אביו...כי יש לתמוה אחר שעמד יוסף במצרים ימים רבים והיה פקיד ונגיד בבית שר גדול במצרים, איך לא שלח כתב אחד לאביו להודיעו ולנחמו, כי מצרים קרוב לחברון כששה ימים... … and it seems that Yosef sinned greatly to cause pain to his father who was mourning him. And even if he had wanted to punish his brothers a bit, how is it that he did not have mercy on his father? …And this is surprising, Yosef had been in Egypt a long time, and had become very powerful, could he not send one letter to his father to let him know he was alive for Egypt was only six days away from Chevron…? Rav Yoel bin Nun, Why Did Yosef Not Write To His Father בוחן כליות ולב הוא מצא את יהודה בעל תשובה, בנכונותו להיות לעבד תחת בנימין. כל אלה כוונות של ההשגחה, לא של האחים ולא של יוסף… אין לערב מחשבות אדם ומחשבות הבורא במצבים, שבהם מחשבות הבורא חורגות מטבע האדם, או משתמשות בחולשותיו. מחשבותיו של הקב"ה מתבררות הן במשך הזמן, או נמסרות הן בפי נביאיו, אך אין בד"כ שום חפיפה בין הכוונות והתכניות של בני האדם בטבעיותם לבין ניצול חולשותיהם במחשבותיו של מקום: כי גבהו שמים מארץ כן גבהו דרכי מדרכיכם ומחשבתי ממחשבתיכם" )ישעיהו נה, ט(. רק נבואה גמורה יכולה להיות מפגש בין מחשבות אדם ומחשבות הקב"ה, וגם זה לא תמיד. יתר על כן: אילו היה יהודה מתכנן את פרשת תמר, כדי שיצא מלך המשיח מן החטא, בטוחני כי לא היה שום משיח יוצא משם. הרעיון המטורף, שיש ליצור את החטא כדי שאורו של משיח יבקע, עלה לעם ישראל במחיר כבד של שיגעון השבתאות, שצילו הארוך עדיין רודף אותנו, ועדיין מונע רבים וטובים להודות בפה מלא, שכבר רצה ה' את עמו, וגלויות כבר התקבצו ומתקבצות לציון. הקב"ה מנהל את עולמו גם באמצעות שטויות של בני אדם, ואפילו באמצעות חטאים שלהם, אך זה אינו הופך את החטא למצווה, ולא את החושך לאור. אילו תכנן יוסף לצער את אביו כדי לבחון את האחים, בשעה שלא צווה על כך בנבואה מפורשת, היה חוטא חטא גדול באמת, ואפשר ששום מבחן גם לא היה מצליח... פיתרון החלומות והמבחנים של ההשגחה מתגלגלים באקראי, כשבני האדם עסוקים כל אחד בד' אמותיו של עולמו. The One who examines the heart (God) found Yehudah as a penitent man, willing to become a servant in place of Benjamin. This process of teshuva was guided by divine providence, not the intentions of the brothers or Joseph. It is important not to mix human thoughts with divine thoughts in situations where God’s thoughts go beyond human nature or utilize human weaknesses. The thoughts of God are revealed over time or communicated through His prophets. However, there is usually no overlap between the natural intentions and plans of humans and the way God uses their weaknesses to fulfill His plans: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Only direct prophecy can serve as a meeting point between human thoughts and God’s thoughts—and even then, not always. Furthermore, if Judah had deliberately orchestrated the episode with Tamar to bring about the Messiah through sin, I am certain no Messiah would have come from it. The insane idea that sin should be created to bring forth the light of the Messiah cost the Jewish people dearly in the form of the Sabbatean madness. God governs His world even through the foolishness of human beings, and even through their sins. However, this does not transform sin into a mitzvah (commandment) or darkness into light. If Joseph had intentionally caused his father pain in order to test his brothers—without explicit prophetic instruction—he would have committed a serious sin. Moreover, it is possible that no test would have succeeded under such circumstances. The resolution of dreams and the tests of divine providence unfold seemingly by chance, as humans remain preoccupied with daled amot. Rav Tzadok HaCohen of Lublin, Tzidkat HaTzadik #40 עיקר התשובה הוא עד שיאיר ה' עיניו שיהיו זדונות כזכיות ר"ל שיכיר ויבין שכל מה שחטא הי' ג"כ ברצון הש"י The heart of teshuva is when Hashem illuminates one’s eyes (such that they realise) that their intentional sins are as merits (Yoma 86a) which is to say that they understand that everything in which they sinned was also the will of Hashem Midrash Tanhuma, Parshat Vayehi #17 וַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף כִּי מֵת אֲבִיהֶם. וּמָה רָאוּ עַתָּה שֶׁפָּחֲדוּ. אֶלָּא בְּעֵת שֶׁחָזְרוּ מִקְּבוּרַת אֲבִיהֶם רָאוּ שֶׁהָלַךְ יוֹסֵף לְבָרֵךְ עַל אוֹתוֹ הַבּוֹר שֶׁהִשְׁלִיכוּהוּ אֶחָיו בְּתוֹכוֹ, וּבֵרַךְ עָלָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁחַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל מָקוֹם שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה לוֹ נֵס, בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי נֵס בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ כָּךְ, אָמְרוּ, עַכְשָׁו מֵת אָבִינוּ, לוּ יִשִׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב לָנוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ אתֹוֹ. וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמרֹ אָבִיךָ צִוָּה וְגוֹ', כּהֹ תאֹמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא וְגוֹ'. חִפַּשְׂנוּ וְלֹא מָצָאנוּ שֶׁצִּוָּה יַעֲקבֹ דָּבָר זֶה. אֶלָּא בּוֹא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה גָדוֹל כּחַֹ הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁכָּתַב הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּתוֹרָתוֹ עַל כּחַֹ הַשָּׁלוֹם אֵלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים. And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, etc. (Gen. 50:15). What did they see that frightened them? As they were returning from the burial of their father, they saw their brother go to the pit into which they had hurled him, in order to bless it. He blessed the pit with the benediction “Blessed be the place where He performed a miracle for me,” just as any man is required to pronounce a blessing at the place where a miracle had been performed in his behalf. When they beheld this they cried out: Now that our father is dead, Joseph will hate us and will fully requite us for all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: Thy father did command … “So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive” (Gen. 50:15–16). We have searched the entire Scripture and are unable to find any place where Jacob uttered this remark. This statement is introduced to teach us the importance of peace. The Holy One, blessed be He, wrote these words in the Torah for the sake of peace alone Yishayahu 1:18 לכוּ־נָ֛א וְנִוָּכְחָ֖ה יאֹמַ֣ר ה' אִם־יִהְי֨וּ חֲטָאֵיכֶ֤ם כַּשָּׁנִים֙ כַּשֶּׁ֣לֶג יַלְבִּ֔ינוּ אִם־יַאְדִּ֥ימוּ כַתּוֹלָ֖ע כַּצֶּ֥מֶר יִֽהְיֽוּ׃ “Come, let us reach an understanding, —says GOD. Be your sins like crimson, They can turn snow-white; Be they red as dyed wool, They can become like fleece.” Talmud Bavli, Masekhet Shabbat 89b ״כַּשָּׁנִים״? ״כַּשָּׁנִי״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ! אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק, אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים הַלָּלוּ שֶׁסְּדוּרוֹת וּבָאוֹת מִשֵּׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית וְעַד עַכְשָׁיו — כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ. Kashanim? It should have used the singular form: Kashani. Rabbi Yitzḥak said that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Jewish people: if your sins are as numerous as the years [kashanim] that are ordered and proceedfrom the six days of Creation until now, they will become white like snow. Erich Auerbach, Mimesis, Odysseus’ Scar Each of the great figures of the Hebrew Bible, from Adam to the prophets, embodies a moment of this vertical connection. God chose and formed these men to the end of embodying his essence and will— yet choice and formation do not coincide, for the latter proceeds gradually, historically, during the earthly life of him upon whom the choice has fallen. How the process is accomplished, what terrible trials such a formation inflicts, can be seen from our story of Abraham’s sacrifice. Herein lies the reason why the great figures of the Hebrew Bible are so much more fully developed, so much more fraught with their own biographical past, so much more distinct as individuals, than are the Homeric heroes. Achilles and Odysseus are splendidly described in many well-ordered words, epithets cling to them, their emotions are constantly displayed in their words and deeds—but they have no development, and their life-histories are clearly set forth once and for all. So little are the Homeric heroes presented as developing or having developed, that most of them— Nestor, Agamemnon, Achilles— appear to be of an age fixed from the very first… Odysseus on his return is exactly the same as he was when he left Ithaca two decades earlier. But what a road, what a fate, lie between the Jacob who cheated his father out of his blessing and the old man whose favorite son has been torn to pieces by a wild beast!—between David the harp player, persecuted by his lord’s jealousy, and the old king, surrounded by violent intrigues, whom Abishag the Shunnamite warmed in his bed, and he knew her not! The old man, of whom we know how he has become what he is, is more of an individual than the young man; for it is only during the course of an eventful life that men are differentiated into full individuality; and it is this history of a personality which the Old Testament presents to us as the formation undergone by those whom God has chosen to be examples. … And how much wider is the pendulum swing of their lives than that of the Homeric heroes! For they are bearers of the divine will, and yet they are fallible, subject to misfortune and humiliation—and in the midst of misfortune and in their humiliation their acts and words reveal the transcendent majesty of God. There is hardly one of them who does not, like Adam, undergo the deepest humiliation—and hardly one who is not deemed worthy of God’s personal intervention and personal inspiration. Humiliation and elevation go far deeper and far higher than in Homer, and they belong basically together. The poor beggar Odysseus is only masquerading, but Adam is really cast down, Jacob really a refugee, Joseph really in the pit and then a slave to be bought and sold. The reader clearly feels how the extent of the pendulum’s swing is connected with the intensity of the personal history — precisely the most extreme circumstances, in which we are immeasurably forsaken and in despair, or immeasurably joyous and exalted, give us, if we survive them, a personal stamp which is recognized as the product of a rich existence, a rich development.