From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 3:26 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Vayeishev, 5769
Dad Always Liked You Best
By Rabbi Joshua (Mishnaically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
Dedicated by Dr. Larry
Bryskin in memory of his father, Yitzchok Shlomo ben Leibel
(Aryeh) Ha levi, whose yahrzeit occurs this Shabbos, the 23rd of Kisleiv.May
his memory be a blessing.
This week's parsha begins the saga of Yosef and his brothers, which leads eventually
to the descent of Yaakov's entire family to Egypt, and the beginnings of the
exile there. The Talmud ( Shabbbos, 10b), commenting on tYaakov's giving of the
kesones passim, the special wool garment, exclusively to
Yosef, tells us that a father should never favor one son
over the others, because as a result of the two selaim worth
of wool that Yaakov gave to Yosef and not to the
other brothers, the matter developed and our ancestors had to go
down to Egypt.This favoritism that Yaakov showed to
Yosef over his brthers is mentioned by the Torah in the verse,
" And Yisroel loved Yosef more than all his sons, since he was a
child of his old age and he made him a fine woolen tunic" ( Bereishis
37:3)..It is interesting to note that the Talmud faults Yaakov for making
Yosef a special garment, but not for actually loving Yosef more than the other
brothers, even though the next verse tells us that the brothers hated Yosef
precisely because they saw that their father loved him more than he loved them.
Why should this be so? I think that several answers can be given to this
question.
On one level, we can
simply say that a parent cannot help but have a closer connection with some
children than with others. This is simple human nature,and it would, in fact,be
dishonest not to acknowledge it. The problem begins when the parent
acts on these feelings, and differentiates between the children in regard to
the things which he gives them. when Yaakov gave Yosef a special garment that
he did not give to the rest of his sons, they felt discriminated against, and
took their bad feelings out on Yosef.. However, while tthis may in itself be
true, a look at the various commentators reveals that there is a
deeper message involved, as well.
The Netziv, in his commentary Ha'amek Davar, points out that the Torah says
that Yisreol loved Yosef more than all his sons, rather than using the name
Yaakov. The name Yisroel, according to the Netziv, refers to the spiritual side
of this patriarch, unlike the name Yakov, which refers to the more physical
aspects of his personality. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch in his commentary Ta'am
VaDa'as, makes the same observation, without mentioning the Netziv. Thus, the
Torah is telling us that Yisroel sensed, in Yosef's personality, a
spiritual direction that was similar to his own. and this spiritual connection
that they shared was carried to excess once it manifested itself in a physical
differentiation between the sons on Yaakov's part. The sons did not perceive
that Yakov's special relationship with Yosef was of a spiritual nature, because
Yakov gave Yosef something that he did nit give to them, and that is why
the Talmud criticizes Yalov precisely for differentiating between his sons by
giving one of them a garment worth two selaim.
Actually, the Ylakut
Reuveni supports the reading of the Netziv and Rabbi Sternbuch, by noting that
the verse begins with a seemingly superfluous letter 'vav,' rendering the
beginning of the verse as " And Yisroel loved Yosef more ...," rather
than simply ( Yisroel loved Yosed more...' The lettter 'vav,' says
the Yalkut Reuveni, refers to God, who joined Yisroel in the special love he
had for Yosef was of a spiritual nature Rabbi Sternbuch cites the Ba;al
HaTurim, who says that when the Torah says that Yisroel more than all his sons
because he was a child of his old age, the Hebrew word for 'old age,'
'zekunim,' is actually to be understood as referring to five of the six orders
of the Mishnah, with each of the five letters of the word referring to a
different order of the Mishneh. This explanation is a reference to the
midrashic teaching that Yaakov gave over to Yosef the teachings that he had
received fin the yeshivah of Eiver before he left for Charan. As R. Yaakov
Kaminetsky wrote, the Torah he learned there consisted of the path he should
take in adhering to the Torah in exile. Interestingly, the order of the Mishneh
that is left out is that of Taharos, or purity. The Beis Yisroel explains that
maintaining one's purity in sexual matters, which was a special power that
Yosef exhibited when he resisted the advances of Potiphar's wife, is not
something that can be taught solely through books. No matter how much one
studies, he cannot be prepared for the challenges presented by the immorality
that existed in Egypt. Divine assistance is needed in this area, but, if
one puts in the required effort, the principle of' one who works on purifying
himself will receive aid from above' takes effect, and God helps see him
through his ordeal. This is the meaning, according to the Beis Yisroel,
of the rmidrsh, cited by Rashi,which tells us that when Yosef was
about to succumb to the advances of Potiphar's wife, the image of his father
appeared to him and he was able to resist her.
Perhaps,then,it was in
this sense that Yisroel,as Rashi explains,saw that Yosef's image was similar to
his,and because of this he loved him so much. As Rav Sternbuch explains,this
does not refer to the physical image of Yosef,but his spiritual
image,pertaining to the collective nature of the Jewish people. Just as Yaakov
paved the way for the Jewish nation to maintain its collective character while
in exile,so,too, would Yosef be able to make the effort to maintain
his purity in Egypt despite all of the temptations he would face,
and receive, in response to that effort, divine assistance, and thereby pave
the way for the Jewish nation to do so as well.
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