Netvort VaYechi 5773: I’m Ok, You’re OK
By Rabbi Joshua (transactionally known as the Hoffer) Hoffman
In memory of Tziporah Bas Meir Yitzchak Bryskin, who’s yahrtzeit occurs on the 22nd of Teves. May her memory be a blessing
After Yaakov’s death, the brothers, fearing that Yosef harbored some hatred towards them because of the way that they had treated him, approach him in appeasement. They tell him that their father commanded, before he died, that he forgive them. Yosef responds that they need not fear, since God brought about good results from their actions (Bereishis 50:15-20). Rashi says that Yaakov never gave those orders, but the brothers altered the facts for the sake of peace. Rashi also cites, from the Midrash, that the reason for their fear was that while Yaakov was still alive, Yosef would invite them and be friendly towards them. After Yaakov’s death, however, the invitations and friendliness stopped, and this change aroused their fears. Yosef, however, assured them that they need not fear. Still, we need to understand why, in fact, Yosef changed his deportment towards his brothers after Yaakov’s death.
The Maharal, in his Gur Aryeh, explains that since, as the Rabbis tell us, the pain of the enslavement began after Yaakov’s death, Yosef did not want to provoke the Egyptians by exhibiting friendliness to the people that they were persecuting. Rav Mordechai Gifter z”l, in his Pirkei Torah, offers a different explanation. He says that while Yaakov was alive, Yosef was assured that the brothers would not be affected by the Egyptian culture they encountered when visiting him in the royal residence. Once Yaakov died, however, he felt that without their father’s strong influence the brothers would not be able to bear the foreign culture, and would enter a spiritual decline. Yosef himself, however, having served in a high position in in Egypt for many years, knew how to maintain his spiritual status in the face of this challenge. He felt, however, that the brothers needed to stay in Goshen after Yaakov’s death and therefore he never invited them to come to his residence. Based on this explanation of Rav Gifter z”l we can offer a suggestion that runs counter to an observation made by Rabbeinu Bachya in Parshas VaYechi (see his commentary to Bereishis 50:17).
Rabbeinu Bachya notes that in Yosef’s response to his brothers request to forgive them, we do not find that he did, in fact, explicitly do so. We do not know if there ever was a true reconciliation among them, and, as a result the Jewish people suffered in various ways over the generations. Based on Rav Gifter z”l’s approach, however, when considered in conjunction with the view of Rav Kook z”l, of the conflict between Yosef and his brothers, we can suggest that there was in fact, a reconciliation among the brothers.
Rav Kook z”l says that Yosef and his brothers represented two divergent approaches to continuing the legacy of Yaakov in spreading holiness. The approach of the brothers was to remain isolated from the forces of the outside world, and concentrate on developing their spirituality. Yosef, on the other hand, felt that the best way to continue Yaakov’s legacy was to become involved in the outside world and thereby inject holiness into all aspects of life. Yosef’s brothers thought that this approach was wrong, and viewed it as a threat to the entire tradition that they had received, and for this reason they precipitated his descent into Egypt. Yosef, however, persisted in his approach even while in Egypt and influenced even Pharaoh to recognize God. When Yosef, after Yaakov’s death, determined that the brothers needed to remain in Goshen in order to maintain their holiness, he was, in effect, recognizing the validity of their approach, while maintaining his own approach, as well. Rav Kook z”l, in fact, says that both approaches have validity, but one or other needs to be emphasized at certain junctures in Jewish history, depending on the time and the place. Yosef’s change of deportment after Yaakov’s death then, rather than indicating a rise in hostility, was his acknowledgement that there is a place for both approaches within the Jewish people, and, in this way, maintained peace within the house of Yaakov.