SOUL
SEARCHING: PARSHAT VAYESHEV
Shira
smiles shiur – December 11, 2011/Kislev 15, 5772
Summary
by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Again we come across a
seemingly superfluous incident in the
narrative of the Torah, and again we must ask ourselves why it is so
significance that Hashem would record this event for posterity. This
time we
are referring to the verses recording Yosef’s meeting with the
stranger as
Yosef seems to be wandering lost in the field while obeying his
father’s
request and searching for his brothers. What is the hidden meaning
behind this
meeting and the conversation that takes place between Yosef and the
angel(s)/stranger?
The question is really
why it was necessary for Yosef to meet
this stranger to begin with. Why could Yosef not have returned home
after not
finding his brothers? The fact that Yosef continued his search even
though he
must have sensed his brothers’ animosity toward him and even
though he had
already searched diligently is proof of Yosef’s righteousness and
proves his
conscientiousness in fulfilling his father’s requests. But the
further
progression of the drama that unfolds as Yosef does meet his brothers,
as they
throw him into the pit and finally sell him also comes into question.
Even if
we are to say that this was Hashem’s plan to get Yaakov to Egypt
in triumph
rather than in chains, could this not have been achieved, asks the Oznaim
LaTorah, if the Midianites, rather than the strangers, had found
Yosef
wandering in the field, and they had then kidnapped him and sold him to
Egypt
without the involvement of the brothers? How can we understand, at
least on a
limited level, God’s purpose in orchestrating these events as He
did?
We are now ready to
begin exploring the exchanges between the
stranger(s) who our commentators suggest is the Angel Gavriel and
Yosef. Let us
begin our discussion with the Alshich’s interpretation of
this
conversation. The Alshich points out that Yosef was blundering not just
in any
field, but in a particular field (basadeh, not besadeh).
The Alshich finds this significant, for in Yosef’s dream, the
sheaves had bowed
down to him in the field. This, posits the Alshich, was the
mindset of
Yosef as he set out on his mission, that the time had now come for the
fulfillment of his dream. The angel is trying to put Yosef in a less
arrogant
frame of mind, for if he approaches his brothers in this way, they
would surely
kill him. But Yosef, although he becomes a little humble, does not take
the
hint completely and doesn’t return home either.
The angel then asks
him, “What is it you seek?” Yosef answers
in complete transparency, “I am searching for my brothers –
I want to
reestablish a relationship of brotherly love.” The stranger/angel
again
responds to the unstated portion of Yosef’s reply, “They
have journeyed on from
here,” they are far from a sense of brotherhood, in fact,
“I heard them saying
‘Let us go to Dothan (Doytan).That extra letter (Yud
=10)
in the place name of Dothan hinted that the brothers considered
themselves ten,
and they did not include Yosef and Binyamin among them. They were
actually
thinking of bringing Yosef to trial, to law, to dat. The Alei
Shur even
adds that when the angel spoke to Yosef, he said, “They have
traveled from
here, mizeh.” He was pointing at Yosef indicating
that they were
moving away specifically from you. But Yosef did not understand, and
continued
to search for his brothers.
Now perhaps we can
understand one reason why Hashem chose this
process to bring Bnei Yisroel down to Egypt and fulfill his promise to
Avraham
Avinu. The Oznaim LaTorah continues his explanation. Yosef
needed to
become a slave and the rest of the nation needed to become enslaved as
a
purification process for those characteristics that were already in us.
Yosef
had spoken ill of his brothers to their father, and the brothers
harbored such
hatred for him that they were willing to kill him. We needed to become
purified
from these negative traits through the iron cauldron of Egyptian
slavery.
This idea is perhaps
the basis of another puzzling phrase in
this section. The Torah tells us that Yaakov sent Yosef out “from
the depths of
Hebron” even though Hebron is high in the hills. Rashi
then explains
that the depths does not refer to the geography, but to a deep idea and
deep
advice that emanated from Hebron. Rav Yitzchak Isaac Scher in Lekach
Sichot
Mussar cites the Medrash that Hashem asked Avraham how he wanted
his
descendents to be purified, through exile or through Gehinom. According
to the
Medrash, Avraham reasoned that there is no growth in Gehinom, that
everything
is static, and so he chose that his descendents go down to exile and
enslavement in Egypt, and there be purified and become worthy of being
the
Nation of God. This profound insight and choice that Avraham made was
the
“depth of Hebron” that began the process of enslavement and
redemption.
We need perhaps to
take a moment now to understand that we
cannot judge these brothers, the progenitors of the ten tribes, by the
yardstick of western civilization. They were completely righteous, on a
level
that is beyond our understanding, and their hatred and actions were
within a
framework that was completely based on faith and service to Hashem, as
cruel as
they may appear to our limited vision.
Rav Chaim Hachohen,
the Or Pnei Chaim explains that
there are three levels of righteousness. Most of mankind is involved
with
achieving the first level in which we understand intellectually what
Hashem
wants from us but we are conflicted because our human desires differ
greatly
from Hashem’s will. To be righteous, on this level, involves a
constant
struggle to act according to the wishes of God rather than to our own
desires.
On the next level, the
Tzadik listens so attentively and is
so attuned to the will of God that his own desires play a minimal role
in his
choices. God’s will becomes his will.
The highest level is
beyond our understanding, but it is the
level our forefathers and the progenitors of the Bnei Yisroel achieved.
On this
level, every limb and sinew instinctively recognizes the will of our
Creator
and does Hashem’s will almost automatically. Consider, for
example, that
Avraham Avinu had to “send his hand” to grasp the
slaughtering knife after he
bound Yitzchak on the altar. This, posits the Or Pnei Chaim is
proof
that the hand knew that Hashem did not really want Avraham to slaughter
his son
and therefore Avraham had to force it to do what he erroneously
believed to be
God’s will.(God had actually commanded Avraham to merely tie up
Yitzchak as a
sacrifice, never telling him to actually slaughter him.)
On this level, all the
incongruities in the narrative begin
to make sense. Only because there was a Divine plan that Yaakov was
unknowingly
following would he send his beloved son into harm’s way to find
his brothers.
Only with this Divine plan would Yosef ignore the subtle warning of the
stranger/angel and continue searching for his brothers. Only under this
Divine
plan would the brothers conspire to first kill and then sell Yosef.
But this
interpretation seems to beg the question of free
choice. If everything was already Divinely ordained, how can the twelve
tribes
be faulted for their actions? How could the Roman Emperor use the Torah
law
against kidnapping to then order the death penalty for the ten great
sages of
Israel (Asarah harugei malchut)?
The Lekach Sichot
Mussar explains by using the maxim
that one sin begets another sin. The brothers already had demonstrated
that
they possessed the kernel of sin within themselves. They had already
indicated
their jealousy and hatred of Yosef. Hashem then used this initial
wrongdoing as
the basis for his plan to fulfill His prophecy to Avraham through the
brothers
and, like the domino effect, their hatred led to the sale of Yosef and
to our
eventual enslavement.
Rav Reiss points out
that the lesson of this entire incident
is profound. It teaches us to have faith in Hakodosh Boruch Hu, for
everything
that happens in this world and to each of us personally happens under
His
guidance and providence. Nevertheless, we still must expend our own
efforts in
trying to achieve our goals. That is our obligation. And we believe we
can
cause a change in Hashem’s plan, as we say on Rosh Hashanah,
“Repentance,
prayer and charity can remove the evil of the decree.” We
don’t know the
effects of our actions, but we must act with the faith that our actions
have
meaning, and yet we must ultimately accept whatever outcome Hashem
decrees,
even if it is not the outcome for which we had hoped.
To further the Divine
plan and to help us in our growth,
Hashem sends us many messages, explains Rabbi Mattisyahu Solomon. These
messages can be delivered via people who are our mentors for good, or
obstacles
to try to prevent us from continuing along a wrong path. Perhaps when
we keep
getting interrupted in our conversation, Rabbi Schwab points out,
Hashem is
hinting that the words we are about to say or write have no
constructive
purpose, and we should rethink saying them. Perhaps when we keep
finding
ourselves in a particular place time and time again, perhaps there is
something
we are meant to do there, to “be at the right time at the right
place.” Just as
Yosef’s brothers seemed to be going to shepherd their sheep but
were actually
beginning the fulfillment of God’s plan, so too must we try to be
aware of the
greater truths “coincidences” and hardships in our lives
are meant to teach us.
Rabbi Frand has a
profound insight into the human psyche and
the life we lead. He interprets this entire episode as a model for our
own
lives. We wander around this earth aimlessly searching. Just as Yosef
was
confronted with the question, “What do you seek,” so must
we constantly ask
ourselves what we seek, what is our goal. As people say, “If you
don’t know
where you’re going, you’ll never get there.” The
“angels” along our path, the
challenges and difficulties we face in trying to achieve our perceived
goals
says Rabbi Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv, are there not to take
away our
free choice, but to help us reassess our direction so that it is in
keeping
with the will of Hashem.
Rabbi Friefeld
develops this idea even further in In
Search of Greatness. We each have our own unique essence with our
own
unique characteristics, talents, and mission. What are you searching
for, how
will you develop and nurture that which is uniquely you? You may be
successful
in a particular field while your soul may be yearning for validation in
a
different way. If your soul wants to be a musician but circumstances
have led
you to become a successful electrician instead, your soul is still in
its
exile, searching for its approbation and validation.
Yosef was searching
for brotherly love. He did not stop
searching, and he finally achieved it after the death of his father
when he was
able to tell his brothers that all that had happened to them was the
will of
Hakodosh Boruch Hu. We must keep searching as we wander along the
intersecting
paths of life, and hope that we will find our true path and be able to
fulfill
our mission in service to Hashem through the Divine and unique soul He
has
implanted in each of us.