Giants clash -- but who is the real winner? Vayigash 5785

The opening verses of this week's Torah reading are among the most dramatic and challenging in the entire Torah. Two great, powerful personalities in the house of the children of Yaakov—Yehudah and Yosef—engage in a clash and debate of epic proportions over the release of their brother Binyamin.

 At first glance it seems obvious that Yosef has the upper hand in his struggle. After all, he is the viceroy of Egypt, the commander of the palace guards who are armed and ready to do his bidding. In contrast Yehudah has very limited options as to what to say and what to do in order to obtain the release of Binyamin. Yosef’s position of power appears unassailable but the impassioned plea of Yehudah cannot easily be ignored. 

Since each of the two great antagonists, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, has the power to prevail over the other, perhaps we can conclude that neither is the victor in this clash of ideas and worldviews. The true champion who emerges from this story is the hoary old Yaakov. Seemingly isolated back in the land of Canaan, mourning and despondent as to the fate of his family, he shouts in anguish: “Yosef is no more, Shimon is no more; both of them will be lost to me!” It is this image of their father that haunts both Yehudah and Yosef. Each, in his own way, wishes to do justice to his father and to everything that he represents. And it is this selfsame image of Yaakov that brings Yosef to the climax of the story and to his ability, nay necessity, to reveal himself and be reconciled with his brothers. 

Jewish rabbinic thought over the ages has always sought to make the story of Yosef and Yehudah relevant to each generation of Jews. I think that the most relevant message for us from this great narrative is that it is the image of our ancient father Yaakov that truly hovers over all of our current struggles. It is our tasknot merely to win the debate with our other brothers or even with outside powers that are seemingly stronger and greater than we are, but rather to remain faithful to the old man that we can no longer see but who is always with us.

What gives both Yehudah and Yosef troubling pause in the midst of their impassioned debate is their uncertainty as to what their father would think of their words and their actions. It is this unseen presence of Yaakov that drives the brothers to reconciliation and to restoring a common purpose in their lives and those of their families. Father Yaakov has looked down at every generation of the Jewish people and—one way or another—every generation has been forced to ask itself “What would Yaakov think of us, our words and our behavior?”

It is this ever-present idea in Jewish life that has been an aid and a boon to our seemingly miraculous survival as a people and as a faith. We may not see Yaakov but we can be certain that he is there with us today as well. 

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein

Happiness in our hall!

Last night--indeed, the very last night of 2024-- the Hanassi Beit Midrash, which doubles as a hall, resonated to some very happy sounds. The reason? We were hosting a special event--a batmitzvah celebration by 31 families of evacuees from Shlomi, close to the Lebanese border. 

Not everyone in Rechavia is familiar with Shlomi. Though the modern town of Shlomi was founded in 1950, it has ancient antecedents: on the road between Shlomi and Kibbutz Hanita, Israeli archaeologists found the remains of Pi Metzuba, This prosperous town got name-checks both in the Talmud Yerushalmi and in the Tosefta (Shevi'it 4:8). Pi Metzuba was destroyed in the early seventh century when Persia (yes, it was those Iranians again) invaded the region as part of its broader conflict with the Byzantine part of the Roman Empire.

Anyway, following targeted attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions based in Lebanon, Shlomi -- a border town of around 7,500 inhabitants -- was evacuated. Some of the town's residents are currently based locally in Jerusalem, many in hotels. As such, they do not have a natural focal point for their communal activities.

The families of the young ladies who were bat mitzvah said that, with all the upheavals they have experienced and dislocation in their regular lives, they were truly pleased just to be able to do something absolutely normal for a change -- to celebrate a family simcha in a real shul hall and with all the fun and fanfare that goes with an absolutely normal celebration. We may not have been there last night but we can still share their sense of simcha by enjoying the photos which they have shared with us.