The articles in this column are transcriptions and adaptations of shiurim by Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, zt”l. The Rav’s unique perspective on Chumash permeated many of the shiurim and lectures he presented at various venues over a 40-plus-year period. His words add an important perspective that makes the Chumash in particular, and our tradition in general, vibrant and relevant to our generation.
This week’s d’var Torah is dedicated in memory of the first yahrzeit of Rabbi Beirish Schreiber, z”l.
Although Parshas Miketz usually coincides with Shabbos Chanukah, there are years that Parshas Vayeshev also coincides with a Shabbos Chanukah, including the rare occasion that Parshas Vayeshev is the only Shabbos Chanukah for that year. Since Chazal are of the opinion that the Torah portion read on a holiday or religious occasion is connected in some way to that occasion, we must understand the connection between Parshas Vayeshev and Chanukah.
Jacob sent Joseph to inquire as to the welfare of his brothers who were tending their flocks. “And he sent him from the Valley of Hebron”. Rashi comments that this is a reference to “from the depths of the idea of that great tzadik who was buried in Hebron”, referring to Avraham Avinu. Hashem promised Abraham in the Bris Bayn HaBesarim that his children will be enslaved in a distant land. Ultimately, that debt had to be paid and Jacob and his children would be responsible to fulfill the promise. The purpose of the drama associated with the sale of Joseph was to pave the way for bringing Jacob to Egypt. The Midrash says that had Jacob not gone to Egypt under the pretext of seeing Joseph he would have been brought there regardless, in chains if necessary, to fulfill the Bris Bayn HaBesarim.
Jacob was well aware that the brothers hated Joseph, yet he sent him to them anyway. What was the purpose of sending Joseph to his brothers? If they were in need of help, of what benefit would Joseph, who was younger than the others, be to his stronger and older brothers? Jacob acted contrary to reason. This is what Chazal meant when they commented, as cited by Rashi, from the depths of the idea as revealed to Abraham. It was the divine will that guided Jacob that fateful day to act in an irrational manner and send Joseph to his brothers in order to facilitate the keeping of the promise “For your children shall be strangers in a land that is not their own.” On the day that Jacob sent Joseph from his house to seek his brothers, the divine roadmap of Jewish destiny began to unfold.
Our Rabbis said that on that very day Hashem was engrossed in the light of the Moshiach. The events of that day initiated the great drama that is the Nation of Israel, a drama that continues to this day, and will continue till “the saviors climb Mount Esau.” On that fateful day the prophecy given to Avraham expanded itself beyond the exile in Egypt, and set in motion the chain of events marked by our national history and those that are yet to befall the Jewish Nation till the arrival of the Moshiach. In addition to the story of Joseph that initiated our exile period, Parshas Vayeshev is also preoccupied with the story of Judah and Tamar, culminating with the story of the birth of their twins, one of whom is the ancestor of the Melech HaMoshiach. In summary, in Parshas Vayeshev we find both the beginning of the long night of exile as well as the planting of the seeds that will lead to the dawning of our ultimate redemption from that exile.