Parasha Thoughts |
By: Rabbi Shlomo Zargari Shalom. In the final episode of Yosef and his brothers, after he lets them know his true identity, he asks them to go back to Cana’an and bring their father to Egypt. He sent special gifts to him and certain signs to prove the authenticity of the story. He then sent a message to his father through them saying : “G-d has made me master of all Egypt, come down to me, do not delay” (Bereshit 45:9). Rabbi Yaakov Naiman asks, Is Yosef giving good news to Yaakov? Does Yaakov give any importance to this fact that Yosef is the ruler over the most powerful government in the world? These are petty in the eyes of Yaakov who’s concern would be much more important matters. He answers that the good news wasn’t in the stated fact but the wording of it. Normally when a person gets a promotion after working very hard, he would thank this employee or that CEO and really deep down he would be patting himself on the shoulder for deserving and reaching these heights. Not Yosef. He didn’t say “Pharoh made me the ruler” or “My abilities or wisdom or talents brought me to this”, even though he wouldn’t be too far from the truth from the world’s point of view. Instead he looked at it from the divine perspective and showed his total belief in Hashem. He rightfully understood and conveyed that it was all orchestrated by Hashem. So now we understand how this is good news to Yaakov and a big cause for joy. After all the hard times that he put behind and being away from his father and still sticking to the principles taught to him by his father and nothing had a negative influence on him, that’s what Yaakov wanted to hear. This is one of the lessons of our Parasha. SHABBAT SHALOM. |
