Parashat Vayigash

Parasha Thoughts

Rabbi Yosef Shemtov

The most fascinating subject in this week’s portion is the confrontation between Yosef and his brothers. Now Yosef is the prime minister of a world power, Egypt, and his brothers are strangers who don’t have bread to eat. Yosef remembers his dreams and his brothers curtly as they had caused him so much sorrow. He remembers that he stayed in jail for 12 of the best of his years.

How does Yosef respond to his brothers when he introduces himself? “Don’t worry that you sold me into slavery because G-d has sent me here to provide you and the family with food.”

How did Yosef have such a power to forgive his brothers and comfort them? This is something supernatural. We know from last week’s portion that two years of jail time were added to Yosef’s punishment because he put his trust in human being by asking and begging so much the butler.

During these two years Yosef realized that God has a master plan and there must be a reason for everything that happens to a person. If Yosef went to jail, there must have been a reason for it. This way Yosef was able to forgive and forget.

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