Joseph's Tears (part 2 of 2)
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
Parashat
MIketz
SICHA OF HARAV
****************************************************************************
With gratitude
and in honor of the bar mitzvah,
this year b'ezrat Hashem, of our twin sons,
Michael and Joshua - Steven Weiner and Lisa Wise
****************************************************************
Parashat
vayigash
SICHA OF HARAV
Josephs Tears
(Part 2 of
2)
Adapted by Dr.
with Rav Yoseif
Bloch and Rav
Translated by
Within a few months, the supply of
food taken back to Yaakov is finished.
The brothers then return to
As the child of his fathers old age,
who occupies a marginal position in the group, Binyamin is a unique
character. However, there is more
to his distinctness than his age, as the Ramban boldly points out. Noting Yaakovs words to his sons (as
recounted by Yehuda, 44:27): You know that my wife bore me two, the Ramban
questions: Were there [only] two? Did his wives not bear him twelve sons? He explains:
The reason [for this statement] is
that Yaakov willingly married only Rachel.
Therefore he says, My wife bore me meaning: there were born to me, of
the woman who was my wife by my own will, only two; and I invested my love in
them as though they were my only children, while the rest were, in my eyes, like
children of concubines.
Binyamin, then, is special in his own
right. Obviously, in relation to
Yosef, his status is unique for two reasons. First, not only is he Yosefs full
brother, but his very existence is bound up with their mother. Binyamin embodies the price that Rachel
and Yosef pay for him, for Rachel dies in giving birth to him. Second, Binyamin is the only one of all
the brothers who has played no part in the terrible plot. For this reason, too, the reunion
between Yosef and Binyamin is an intensely emotional one.
This is reflected in the verses. The Seforno, as noted above, asserts
that Yosefs weeping in the first encounter arises from his observation of their
anguish, but the verse there gives no indication of this. Here, on the other hand, it is stated
explicitly (43:30): Yosef hastened, for he felt compassion towards his brother,
and he wanted to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there. The element of
compassion, the inner, emotional bond that contrasts so starkly with the royal
role that Yosef plays in Egypt, rises up all at once, and with great power. This is expressed and emphasized, in
relation to the weeping, in the auxiliary verb: He wanted
(va-yevakkesh) to weep.
The root b-k-sh has three
fixed meanings in Scripture. One
expresses searching, as Yosef says (37:16): I seek (mevakkesh) my
brothers; similarly, Shaul seeks his fathers donkeys (I Shmuel
9:3). This bakkasha does
not express any special personal feeling; rather, it is a purely technical
search. In its second meaning, this
root refers to a request that one addresses to another. Queen Esther tells Achashverosh my wish
and my request (bakkashati) (Esther 5:7). The third meaning of this root is
will, not just the will that expresses ones desire, but rather will that
involves an effort at actualization; this is the clear meaning earlier in
Esther, when the plot of the would-be assassins Bigtan and Teresh is
uncovered: They desired (va-yevakkshu) to lay hands upon King
Achashverosh (2:21). Sometimes,
these various meanings are interwoven, as in the verse (Tehillim 27:4),
I make one wish of God; it is that which I request (avakkesh) in the
sense of seeking, requesting and willing.
It seems reasonable to assume that
here, the term va-yevakkesh means an effort, a will and an
aspiration. The tears do not flow
of their own accord; Yosef actively seeks to weep. In his first encounter with his
brothers, Yosef wanted to restrain himself, but was unable to; here, he seeks to
weep: that is what is psychologically and emotionally appropriate. Yosef is entirely accepting of his
weeping here; he merely seeks the proper opportunity and setting to carry it
out, so he entered his chamber.
The first and second encounters differ
also with regard to the location where Yosef weeps. At the first encounter, Yosef does
nothing more than turn his face aside, while he remains standing in his
place. Here, he moves from one spot
to another, as Rashi explains: He distanced himself from them so that they
would not see him weeping. He
heads from the vestibule to the hall.
The move expresses more than just a physical, geographical transition
from one place to another. It is a
transition from one level of existence to an entirely different one; from the
external world to the inner world, the world of home. There is a strong focus here on the
inner workings of man, especially in tragic circumstances.
Elizabethan theater in
In Yosefs inner chamber, the weeping
busts forth with such intensity that, when he emerges, he must recompose himself
(43:31): He washed his face and he emerged, and he restrained himself, and he
said: Bring bread. When he weeps
the first time, Yosef has no need to wash his face. Here, the washing of the face is more
than a physical act. Yosef must
compose himself and rearrange his official mask; when he leaves the chamber, his
face washed and his demeanor composed, he is once again Tzafenat Paneach (41:45), the Revealer of Secrets,
viceroy over
The difference is expressed in another
slight difference: He restrained himself (vayitapak). This insertion is critical for an
understanding of Yosefs situation in
In Yosefs case, I believe, the
restraint has a completely different meaning. The transition here from restraint to
its absence is of far greater significance. When Yosef reveals his identity, we read
(45:1-2):
Yosef could not restrain himself
before all those who stood before him, and he called out: Take every person
from my presence! So no one stood
with him when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers. He gave his voice to weeping, and the
Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
Until now, Yosefs weeping has been
conducted in secret. First he
turned away to weep, then he entered his chamber to weep. Now he no longer cries alone, in
solitude. His weeping is
full-voiced and public: He gave his voice to weeping. His tears over his brothers reach all
the way to Pharaohs house; his weeping is heard throughout the
What is the nature and significance of
this weeping, when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers? I believe that on one level, at the
beginning, Yosef cries out of sheer emotion, heightened by the drama of the
occasion, combining great joy with sadness. In another sense, Yosefs weeping
here expresses a sort of release.
Freed of the yoke of his public position, Yosef transforms the outer
chamber to an inner chamber; he is master of an emotional domain that contains
both. The Rashbam explains:
Until now, he has performed all of his
actions by virtue of being inwardly restrained, as it says above, He restrained
himself.
This expression He restrained
himself is mentioned only once, but the Rashbam seeks to draw a broad,
all-encompassing conclusion from it.
He views the lone example as a prototype, reflecting Yosefs state of
being and demeanor throughout this narrative.
I am strongly inclined to adopt the
Rashbams interpretation. As
discussed above, I perceive Yosefs restraint as fundamentally different from
Hamans restraint or, lehavdil, the restraint that Yeshayahu perceives in
God. Yosefs restraint reflects
an existential struggle, a conflict of identity. It speaks to the chasm between his inner
being and his external appearance, all the more so because the external
appearance is not merely play-acting and reflects a genuine aspect of Yosefs
existence in
At the same time, Yosef constantly
carries within himself a mental picture of his fathers house and his Hebrew
identity. This consciousness is
given startling depiction in a midrash which, notwithstanding its extreme
imagery, expresses the Sages view of Yosef. The text tells us that Yosef imprisons
Shimon in the other brothers presence; in the midrash (Bereishit
Rabba 91:8), Rabbi Yitzchak states: In their presence, he imprisoned him;
but when they left, he gave him food and drink, bathed him and oiled him. Outwardly, Yosef presents himself as a
harsh ruler, the master of the house and sovereign of the country. In his heart of hearts, though whether
out of fraternal love or out of compassion he does not suffice with providing
food for his brother, but actually serves him; not only does he bring him food
and drink, but he bathes him and oils him! Such is the extent of the contrast
between the inscrutable ruler who locks up Shimon and the brother who serves
Shimon, tending to him as would a common slave.
Indeed, an enormous chasm separates
these two identities. It is
precisely the intensity of the contrast that reflects Yosefs feelings and the
reality of his life. Here, of
course, his restraint is that point of contact and equilibrium between his
Jewish aspiration, his inner, spiritual and existential purpose, and the
external appearance with which he plays out his role in the outer chamber
which also seeps inward and smolders within him. The compassion and the weeping that
accompanies it are essentially connected to his inner, Hebrew identity; this
part of his being desires to be merciful and needs to weep. The world of Judaism is full of love and
compassion. Jews are defined as
merciful ones, descendants of merciful ones (Ketubot 8b), while
scholars have noted the death-fixation of Egyptian culture.
The mercy that is aroused along with
the tears has a connection to Yosefs fathers house. There, he was neither ruler nor
sovereign nor master. In his
fathers house, Yosef was simply a boy.
It reminds me of a letter a good friend sent me upon the death of my
mother, zl:
When Rav Kooks mother passed away, he
cried bitterly. Someone approached
him and asked: Rabbi we all understand your pain and sorrow, but [why do you
weep] to such an extent?
Rav Kook answered, She was the only
one who called me mein kind, my child.
Such was the case for Yosef. His Jewish identity is expressed,
inter alia, through weeping, while his restraint must hold back, and
sometimes even suppress, those mixed feelings that jostle for position in his
consciousness. His is a situation
of equilibrium between two worlds, and here Yosef seeks his innermost
identity.
Ultimately, his personal history comes
out. From this point onwards, while
he continues to rule over all of
Yosefs encounter with Binyamin serves
as a catalyst; it spreads, deepens and overtakes the entire scene. Nevertheless, at the moment of Yosefs
revelation, the essence of his weeping is not altogether clear. According to the literal text, only
Binyamin and Yosef weep, while the other brothers do not (45:14): He fell upon
the neck of Binyamin, his brother, and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his
neck. From Yosefs perspective,
the weeping that begins with Binyamin continues when he faces the rest of his
brothers (45:15): He kissed all of his brothers and he wept upon them. We hear nothing of their weeping. For Yosef, however, this is an event of
immense significance. The
excitement and emotion, the need to restrain himself up until this point, the
inner conflict all of this has been transformed into a sigh of relief,
accompanied with great joy.
Still, there is another, darker
element that is interwoven. This
should have been Yosefs greatest hour; it is the realization of his dream. He has dreamt of having everyone
dependent upon him and now this dream has become reality! Yosef believes that at this encounter
his brothers will be filled with joy.
He removes the mask from his face but he is suddenly taken aback. Instead of having his brothers plead
before him, he pleads before them: Please (na) come near me
(45:4). The word na always
indicates pleading. What is he
begging for? Is this moment not
meant to be the
Let us look at Yosefs message for
Yaakov (45:9-11):
Hurry and go up to my father, and tell
him: So says your son, Yosef, God has made me lord over all of
His message is clear: I will bring; I
will support; I will nourish; I will lead.
I will treat you as though I am one of you but you will all be
dependent upon me.
At this moment it becomes clear to
Yosef the terrible price he has paid for his success, for his integration into
Egyptian culture, for all of his restraint. Yosef stands alone. Even once he has decided to emerge from
his isolation, to put an end to his alienation, those around him remain
alienated from him. It is only now
that Yosef discovers what he has sacrificed in exchange for the power that he
has accumulated, for being the ruler over all of
This tone, so tragic for Yosef, finds
further expression later on. After
Yaakovs death, Yosef cries once more (50:1): Yosef fell upon his fathers face
and wept upon him and kissed him.
Understandably, he is filled with sorrow over the death of his father,
but why is he the only one weeping?
Where are all of his brothers?
It seems that what separates Yosef at
this point is not the grief over Yaakovs passing, but the guilt over his
separation. It is not only the two
decades of silence; even the seventeen years during which Yaakov lives in
It is after the burial that Yosef
stands at the most difficult climax of the story. All of the fear that has accompanied
him, the abyss that has opened between him and his brothers all of this now
confronts him in his final scene of weeping, when confronted with the imaginary
story that his brothers concoct:
When Yosefs brothers saw that their
father had died, they said: Perhaps Yosef will hate us and repay us for all the
evil we did to him!
So they sent word urgently to Yosef,
saying: Your father commanded before he died, saying: So shall you say to
Yosef, I pray you, please forgive the sin of your brothers and their iniquity,
for they caused evil to you. And
now, please forgive the sin of the servants of your fathers God.
And Yosef wept as they spoke to
him.
It is clear why Yosef cries: what more
could he have done for them in order to gain their faith, their affection, and
their trust? Yosef has removed his
mask; he has returned to his roots.
He has revealed himself, wept aloud, brought together the torn shreds of
their fraternity. What else can he
do? Despite all of this, Yosefs
brothers continue to regard him with suspicion, and fear that he will take
revenge. Is this the level of
brotherly love they award him? Admittedly, they have moved away from their
starting point of They hated him even more, but the same primal distrust
remains.
At this moment, Yosef discovers the
limits of raw power. He discovers
the extent to which the human connection, the personal connection, the family
connection, hold far more value and importance than does power both for the
person himself and for all those around him. Ultimately, power finds expression in
dependence. When all is said and
done, who is dependent upon whom?
Are Yosefs brothers dependent upon him the master, the lord, the
ruler, the viceroy or is he perhaps dependent upon them, yearning for their
acceptance, desiring their closeness?
Many years later, Yosef again faces
the limits of power: Yosef said to his brothers: I am dying (50:24). In death, all power disappears as though
it has never existed; everything is lost.
He continues, But God will surely remember you: you belong to the
Who will bring up the bones of the
brothers to the
Here the secret is revealed. It is this that causes Yosef to weep in
the beginning, and it is for the same reason that he cries in the end. He weeps over the weakness inherent in
power, over the terrible price that he has paid for it. His dreams have indeed been realized, on
some level, but the tragedy remains just as real. The torn shreds of the family have not
been made completely whole.
When will the shreds be made whole?
Only a few hundred years later, with someone who appears on the stage of Jewish
history as an infant crying in a basket among the bulrushes. It is he who seeks the bones of Yosef
and, in the midst of the exodus, takes the trouble to bring them up for burial
in
The story of Yosefs weeping is a
stirring tragedy, full of lessons, brimming with spiritual, psychological, and
social significance. His weeping
conveys the inner reality of a person who allows himself to lower all the
barriers with which a person tends to surround himself. By weeping, Yosef allows his inner self
to break through and to rise up.
We, too, surround ourselves with
barriers, preserving and protecting our individuality and independence, our
inner reality; we, too, live in a state of perpetual restraint. We must learn from Yosef how to overcome
our restraint and allow the spiritual essence within us to have its
say.
(This sicha was delivered at
the Yemei Iyun be-Tanakh sponsored by