Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Vayigash 5770

שבת טעם החיים ויגש תש"ע
Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Vayigash 5770

Yosef revealing himself to his brothers teaches us to reveal our inner selves

Introduction
ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף העוד אבי חי ולא יכלו אליו לענות אותו כי נבהלו מפניו, and Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him because they were left disconcerted before him. (Bereishis 45:3)
In this week’s parasha the Torah records how after Yosef schemed to have his brothers descend to Egypt, he was no longer able to contain himself and he revealed his identity to them. The brothers registered shock after discovering that the viceroy of Egypt was none other than their own brother whom they had sold down the river. Yosef then consoled his brothers and told them not to worry, as HaShem had orchestrated events so that Yosef would be able to provide food for his family. Regarding Yosef’s revelation, the Medrash states (Bereishis Rabbah 93:10) “woe to us from the Day of Judgment and woe to us from the day of chastisement. Yosef’s brothers could not withstand Yosef’s rebuke, so how can we expect to withstand the chastisement of HaShem, the King of kings?!” What is the Medrash attempting to teach us with this analogy? In the simple sense, the Medrash is informing us that for all those years the brothers were unaware that Yosef was alive. They were certainly not open to the possibility that the brother whom they had sold into slavery had attained a position of viceroy. In a similar vein, we as human beings are for the most part unaware of the effect of our actions that we perform. Thus, when we arrive at the final Day of Judgment, we will be caught off guard as to the gravity of our performance in this world. However, there is a deeper lesson contained in the Medrash, and it was specifically Yosef who had to teach this lesson.
Yosef was freed from jail on Rosh Hashanah
The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 11a) states that Yosef was freed from jail on Rosh Hashanah. The Sfas Emes writes that the reason that the Gemara informs us of this event is to teach us that similar to Yosef being freed, i.e. revealed, on Rosh Hashanah, we too reveal our inner selves on Rosh Hashanah. Perhaps we can adapt this idea to understand the Medrash regarding Yosef revealing himself to the brothers. Yosef was demonstrating to the brothers that it is critical that one reveal his inner self as much as he can. The Day of Judgment, as we are led to believe, will show a person all the aspects of his true self. This thought is not merely meant to depress a person. Rather, by contemplating the vast potential that one has, he can yet strive to fulfill the great potential that HaShem has created for him.


The Shabbos connection
Shabbos is referred to as a day when HaShem reveals His kingship. This revelation reflects the idea that on Shabbos we are capable of reaching higher spiritual levels than we attained during the week. One manner of reaching the high levels of spirituality is by expending the effort in preparing for Shabbos. Yosef corresponds to the idea of Tosefes Shabbos, adding on to Shabbos. When one adds on to the Shabbos, i.e. he brings the Shabbos into the weekday, then he is allowing HaShem’s Presence to be felt even in mundane areas. HaShem should allow us to prepare for the Holy Shabbos throughout the week and then we will be able to accept His kingship with all our hearts.
Shabbos Stories
The Chazon Ish is still alive
On a sheirut (shared taxi ride) in Eretz Yisroel a few years after the passing of the Chazon Ish, R' Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz zt"l (1878-1953), two religious people in the back of the cab were talking to each other. "You know, Binei Brak just isn't the same since the Chazon Ish passed away." "Yes," agreed his friend, "we need needs more Torah giants like him."
Listening attentively from his seat in the front was the cab driver, Natan, a non-observant Jew. He was dressed differently from his Orthodox passengers in the back. He wore no kippah, and sported an open khaki shirt over a pair of Bermuda shorts. Natan turned to the fellow sitting on his right. "Did you hear what the men in the back said? They said that the Chazon Ish is gone. They're wrong - they don't know what they're talking about!"
Surprised that the obviously irreligious cab driver would even know who the Chazon Ish was, one of them retorted, "Well, maybe you haven't heard, but the Chazon Ish passed away a few years ago."
"No, you are wrong," said Natan emphatically, "the Chazon Ish is still around - and I can prove it."
By now, all ears were listening to the cantankerous cab driver. Once he had their attention he of course offered to prove he was right. They all agreed to listen, and the cab driver began his story:
"My daughter was going through complicated labor. She had been rushed to the hospital in Tel Aviv, and the doctors had been dealing with her for many hours. She was in agony, yet the doctors seemed helpless, and told me there was nothing they could do.
"At some point an old nurse came over to me and said, 'Why don't you go to the Chazon Ish?'
"'The who?' I asked. 'What is the Chazon Ish?'
"'He is a great rabbi,' the nurse said. 'People go to him for advice, and to pray for them.'
"At my wit's end, I asked her, 'Where does he live?' She told me, 'Just go to Binei Brak. Once you get there, any child in the street will be able to direct you to his home.'
"I got into my cab and raced to Binei Brak. In no time I was at the Chazon Ish's house. It was late at night, but he answered my knock himself. In a quiet and friendly manner he asked how he could help me. I told him about my daughter's difficulties, and how the doctors were unable to help her. He looked at me, smiled, and said, 'You can go back to the hospital - the child was just born.' He shook my hand and wished me mazel tov. My heart leaped with joy, but I could not believe him. I dashed back to the hospital and when I got there, sure enough, the child had already been born, exactly as he said."
In the sheirut all that listened to Natan's tale were spellbound. But Natan was not finished. He went on:
"Two years later my daughter was again expecting a child. Once again she had extreme difficulties in labor. And once again the doctors despaired of a healthy birth. This time I didn't wait for the old nurse. I got into my cab, rushed to Binei Brak, and went to the Chazon Ish. I came to the corner where I thought I remembered he lived, and just to be sure I asked a passer-by, 'Is this the home of the Chazon Ish?' The man looked at me as if I had lost my mind. 'What's the matter with you? Don't you know that the Chazon Ish passed away last year?'
"My heart fell. I felt as if I had lost my best friend. Illogically, I began pleading with this total stranger. 'Please, I came to speak to him; it's an emergency. To whom should I go now?'
"'People go to his kever (grave site) and pray there,' he told me. I queried as to its location, and the man pointed me in the right direction. I ran there at breakneck speed and jumped over a fence to catch some people who might be able to tell me where he was buried. They pointed to a grave that was covered with stones and pebbles. When I saw his name I fell on the grave and began crying uncontrollably. I begged the Chazon Ish to pray for my daughter. 'You saved my daughter once before,' I pleaded, 'please pray for her again.'
"I was there a short time. Suddenly, just as I sit here now, I saw his face with that same smile. I heard him say to me, 'Mazel tov! You can go back to the hospital; the child has been born.' Startled, I got up, ran to my cab, and rushed back to the hospital. When I got there, they told me that my second grandchild had indeed been born. Then the cab driver turned to the man sitting next to him and said, "And these people in the back say the Chazon Ish is gone!" (Adapted from The Maggid Speaks p. 194)
One ruble is worth a thousand
Reb Noach, a disciple of the holy Rebbe of Apta (the "Ohev Yisrael"), had once been a wealthy and successful merchant. Now, as he dejectedly stood before his Rebbe, he was broke. "All I have left," he tearfully told the tzaddik, "is one ruble - the last reminder of my better days. And my daughter has reached marriageable age, yet I have nothing with which to marry her off!"
"Tell me," said the Ohev Yisrael, "how much does a man like you need for a dowry and wedding expenses, so that you can marry-off your daughter respectfully?"
Reb Noach sighed from the depths of his heart. "One thousand rubles, holy Rebbe."
"And how much do you have?" asked the tzaddik
"I already told the Rebbe - I have but one ruble left from all my years of hard work!"
"Fine," said the tzaddik, "it is enough! HaShem’s blessing can rest upon one ruble just as well as a larger amount. Go in peace, and accept the first business offer that comes your way. And remember: Yeshuas HaShem kiheref ayin, HaShem’s salvation comes in the blink of an eye!"
Not long afterwards, as he travelled home, Reb Noach stopped over in an inn to rest his aching feet. Though the food being served made his mouth water, he could hardly spend his last ruble on it, and preferred instead to partake of the stale bread he carried in his sack. Some well-to-do merchants sat next to him enjoying a sumptuous meal. Noticing the raggedly dressed pauper sitting next to them, they decided to amuse themselves. "Tell me, my fellow Jew," one of them said, "you have the appearance of a merchant. Perhaps you would be interested in a business proposition?!"
Startled, Reb Noach suddenly remembered the tzaddik's words. "Yes!" he replied enthusiastically.
"And how much money do you have at your disposal?" they asked. "One ruble!" Reb Noach replied without hesitation.
"One whole ruble!" they mocked. "Let's see what kind of a deal we can strike with a wealthy merchant who possesses one whole ruble. Reb Yid, I am sure," one of the merchants piped-in, "that for one ruble you could do no better than to purchase my share in the World to Come! Do we have a deal - your one ruble for my Olam Ha-Ba?!"
'The first business offer,' Reb Noach reminded himself of his Rebbe's words. "Yes," he responded, "I will do it." Eager to prolong their amusement, the merchants went about arranging the writing of a legal contract, and the deal was done.
The wealthy merchants were still basking in their revelry when the wife of the merchant who had made the sale entered the room. Seeing her husband's face red with laughter, she now wished to know what was going on. Priding himself on his cleverness and wit, he related to her exactly what had happened. By the time he finished his story to the laughter of his peers, however, his face had turned ashen white. He could tell by the deathly serious expression of his wife, and by her blazing eyes, that his idea of fun pleased her not the least. Nor could he do as he please, for his wife was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and everything he had was ultimately hers.
A tense silence now came over the once-merry group. All at once, the woman began pouring out her wrath at her husband in front of the entire crowd - the empty-headed yokel who could find nothing better to do than to give-away his insignificant portion in Olam Ha-Ba! "You fool!" she cried, "How does a Jew dare to make sport of the most important thing he possesses! Take me to the Rav immediately - I refuse to be married to an imbecile like you who is so disconnected from Yiddishkeit that he does not even have a share in the World to Come!"
Overwhelmed with shame, the merchant realized that his only hope was to buy back his portion. Reb Noach was searched for, found, and brought back to their table. "Hey, Reb Yid," called out one of the merchants, "cute joke you played on our friend! Now give him back his share in the World to Come!"
Noticing the merchant's hysterical wife standing over him, Reb Noach began to grasp what had occurred. Slowly, he spoke up. "Honored gentlemen," he began in a composed voice, "I ask all of you here to bear witness to the fact that the transaction between myself and the merchant was no joke nor prank. Indeed, I have the contract to show for it. That is not to say, however, that for the right price I would not be willing to relinquish my purchase and give him back his share in the World to Come..."
The merchant pleaded with Reb Noach to sell it back to him; he would even pay him fifty rubles - a five-thousand percent profit - if only he would relent. But Reb Noach was adamant - one thousand rubles was his price, not one ruble less. "Understand, honored merchant," said Reb Noach, "that I was once a highly respected and successful merchant. Then one day, the wheel turned, and I lost all my money. This is how I fell into the state in which you now find me. Just recently, when I could not gather a sum sufficient for a dowry for my daughter, and other wedding expenses, I travelled to the holy tzaddik, the Ohev Yisrael, to ask for his advice. It was he who instructed me to accept the first business offer that came my way. It is clear to me that HaShem has guided my steps and brought me here - and that the money for my daughter's wedding lies with you."
The couple could not speak. Tears welled up in the merchant's eyes, although ostensibly he had never before experienced such emotions. Without hesitation, he withdrew a fold of bills from his pocket, and counted out one thousand rubles into the hands of Reb Noach. The merchant took the contract from Reb Noach, and tore it into shreds. "Even without this contract," he said, "it is worth investing a thousand rubles for the mitzvah of hachnassas kallah (providing for a bride)!"
His wife, who had been standing at his side the entire time, glanced at him in amazement. She was prepared to swear that in all his life, this was the first time that such selfless and noble thoughts had ever entered his mind.
"I wish to meet the tzaddik that blessed you," the merchant's wife said to Reb Noach. "Perhaps we too will merit receiving his blessing." Reb Noach could not refuse, and together they made their way back to the Rebbe. The tzaddik received his visitors with a shining countenance; he had already known of the rich merchant's noble deed, and bestowed the couple with many blessings.
Before they left, the merchant's wife turned to the tzaddik and said, "Holy Rebbe, there is one thing I would like to know: Is my husband's portion in Olam Ha-Ba really worth the thousand rubles he paid for it?"
"If the truth be told," he said, "at first, when he sold it, it was not even worth the one ruble he received for it. But now, that he has merited giving one thousand rubles for the mitzvah of hachnassas kallah, its value is so great that it is impossible to estimate!" [Adapted from A Share in the World to Come, Menachem Gerlitz, HaModia Vayechi 5759] (www.Torah.org)






Shabbos: Ta’am HaChaim Vayigash 5770
I will be giving a class in Navi on Shabbos afternoon at Bais Haknesses HaGra 14561 Lincoln in Oak Park, half an hour before Mincha.
Have a wonderful and delightful Shabbos and a magnificent and illuminating Chanukah
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