From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, January 02, 2009 3:54 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshas Vayigash, 5769
What's the Point?
By Rabbi Joshua ( respectfully known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
At the beginning of this week's parsha, Yehudah pleads with Yosef not to put
Binyamin in prison for stealing Yosef's cup,because it would bring about his
father's death. Rather,proposes Yehudah, Yosef should take him as prisoner. The
Torah records Yehudah's remarks to Yosef at great length Finally, Yosef can no
longer contain his emotions,and asks that the Egyptians in the room leave
so that he can speak to his brothers privately.He then reveals his true
identity to them.Why does the Torah record this entire episode at such
length,instead of summarizing it in a few verses? There must be some
message to be learned from it. The rabbis tell us that the conversation of the
servants of the patriarchs is more dear than basic laws in the Torah, for the
Torah records the conversation of Eliezer with Rivkah's family at great length,but
presents important laws in a few short words.If this is so in regard to
the servants of the patriarchs, it certainly should be true in
regard to he children of the patriarchs. what, then, are we to learn from the
Torah's recording,at length,the argument that Yehudah made to Yosef on behalf
of his brother and his father?
Rav Chanoch Henach Leibovitz zt'l, in his Chidushei HaLev,cites a midrash
( Bereishis Rabbah, 93:3),which applies the verse in Mishlei (25:11),"a
word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in ornaments of silver" to the
verse in our parsha," Then Yehudah approached him"( Bereishis
44;!8).He explains that although the first requirement for a leader to be
effective in reaching people is to become permeated with fear of God and
proper character traits,including,especially, love of his fellow human beings,
it is also very important to know how to speak, to measure his words and
make his presentation in a cogent,comprehensible way.This is a skill that does
not come naturally,but,rather, must be worked on and developed carefully.
Yehudah understood this need, and therefore presented his arguments in a very
careful,disciplined way. By doing this,was able to reach Yosef's deepest
emotions,and persuade him to reveal his true identity and his
real intentions for Binyamin and the rest of the family.In order to teach us
this important message,the Torah presented Yehudah's words to Yosef in their
entirety. Although Rav Leibovitz doesn't say this, this may be the meaning
behind Moshe's initial resistance to becoming God's messenger to Pharaoh
to let the Jews leave Egypt,because he was not a man of words. Perhaps,in
fact,Moshe learned the need for a leader to know how to speak effectively
from the encounter of Yehudah with Yosef
I would like to suggest another reason for the Torah's lengthy coverage of
Yehuah's plea to Yosef for Binyanim. When Yehudah began to speak with
Yosef, he said," For you are like Pharaoh (Bereishis,44:18).
Yehudah,then,saw Yosef as an extension of Pharaoh,who was Egypt's primary
leader. Therefore, he had to treat him as such,and
exercise 'kevod malchus,' or honoring of kingship.We find that
Moshe,too,in speaking to Pharaoh, did so in a respectful way,and that the
rabbis say that he did so because of kevod malchus, despite the fact that
Pharaoh acted in a cruel way towards the Hebrew slaves,and refused to let them
leave Egypt .Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin, who was the chief
halachic authority in America for many years in the twentieth
century,before Rav Moshe Feinstein became recognized as such,wrote very
strongly against religious Jews who spoke disparagingly of Israel's Prime
Minister, because it constituted a lack of kevod malchus. Although these Prime
Ministers were not religiously observant,he said,they were not worse than
Pharaoh! My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik,spoke similarly of some Israeli
visitors to America who spoke to the United States president in a disrespectful
way. He said that the president was not worse than King Achab,to whom the
prophet Eiyahu spoke with respect,despite the fact that he was a very evil
king. Yehudah, in a similar way,spoke with respect to Yosef,even though he was
treating the brothers in a very harsh way. Perhaps,then,the Torah presented his
conversation with Yosef at great length,to instruct future generations of the
need to execise kevod malchus in speaking with the leaders of the
countries in which they would live. The Talmud in Chullin tells us that
any leader attains his position through God,and,therefore,he must be
shown respect This is what Yehudah recognized in his conversation with Yosef
and perhaps,we may suggest,this was, at least,in part,why Yakov later
blessed his tribe with kingship over the nation,as recorded in paeshas
Vayechi.
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