Divrei Vayigash
Self-Delusions
Chazal (Avos 3:1) urge us to constantly remember “before Whom you will be giving ‘din v’cheshbon.’” Many of us are familiar with the Vilna Gaon’s explanation that “din” is the essential judgment that a person receives for performing an aveirah, and “cheshbon” refers to an accounting (and subsequent punishment) for the precious time that the person lost while engaged in that sin, for those moments could have been used for a mitzvoh. Says HaRav Elazar Menachem Mann Shach zt”l (Machsheves Mussar 254): HaRav Velvel Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rav zt”l, asked on this concept from the Gaon: Really, cheshbon should be considered part of the din itself, for the one mitzvoh that one certainly could have done while engaged in that aveirah is learning Torah (for during the time that one was busy doing that aveirah, he certainly wasn’t exempt from learning). Therefore, when one does an aveirah, aside from the punishment that one gets for that aveirah itself, one will also be directly punished for bittul Torah, which is part of din, not cheshbon. If so, what is the “cheshbon” that the Mishnah is referring to?
Rav Shach provides an answer from this week’s parshah. Rarely in history did anyone feel as sure of the correctness of their actions as did the brothers when they sold Yosef. Chazal tell us that the brothers carried out the trial and punishment strictly according to halachah, and later commentators have explained every action they took as proof of this concept. For example, the Brisker Rav zt”l noted that first, they threw Yosef into a pit, and only afterwards did they sit down to eat. He relates this sequence to the Gemara (Sanhedrin 63a) which states that on the day that Beis Din executes a criminal, the judges fast. In this case, only after the brothers had poskined to spare Yosef’s life, did they break their fast. Furthermore, when the nine brothers determined never to reveal to their father Yaakov what they had done, they needed a minyan to give their decision binding force. How did they do it? They included Hashem as a willing participant in their minyan! Even Yitzchok, who also knew of the sale, never told his son, for he saw that Hashem didn’t reveal it, either!
Even with these safeguards in place, over time the brothers’ deep fraternal love for Yosef bubbled over their reasoning, and they later began to feel some regret for their deed, to the point that when they visited Mitzrayim to buy food, they split up and entered the city through separate gates. Where did they search? Chazal tell us that the brothers looked for Yosef in a variety of places, none of which were respectable. For example, remembering that he was handsome, they checked out the batei zonos. (Breishis Rabbah 91:6)
Never did it enter into their wildest imaginations that their despised kid brother had become the all-powerful despot who seemed to delight in tormenting them, and so when they heard “Ani Yosef!”, the sheer shock left them utterly speechless. Rav Shach said that even afterwards, as Yosef spoke comforting words to them, such as “And now, do not be distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me me, for it was to be as a provider that Hashem sent me ahead of you” (45:5), every single word that Yosef said cut into his brothers like a knife. The entire phony pyramid of false assumptions, missteps, and ill-conceived notions now came crashing down upon them. No doubt, said Rav Shach, they would have even preferred that Yosef punish them, for then, at least, they would have felt a certain satisfaction from receiving that pain, rather than the complete humiliation which now enveloped them. As the Midrash (Breishis Rabbah 93:10) summarizes: “Woe is to us from the day of judgment; woe is to us from the day of rebuke!” The “judgment” and the “rebuke” are what they are; what are the “day” of judgment and the “day” of rebuke? The Midrash is referring to the overwhelming feelings of foolishness which now swamped the brothers.
Now, says Rav Shach, when the brothers sold Yosef, they had consoled themselves with “the ends justify the means:” They all knew that selling a brother into slavery was sinful, but they “made a cheshbon”: since they felt threatened by Yosef and his dreams, selling him would keep him from dominion over them. In the end, Hashem’s Will prevailed, and the brothers gained nothing from their plot: not only did Yosef rule over them for the eighty years they lived with him in Mitzrayim, but they themselves brought it about, for they were the ones who sent him there in the first place!
Here lies the concept of “cheshbon” which answers the Brisker Rav’s question on the Vilna Gaon. Aside from the din, (which includes the aveirah itself and the bittul Torah involved), there is an additional issue. Why does a person knowingly do an aveirah? While the yetzer hara has an endless library of causes and excuses, one common factor stands out: it deludes him into thinking that his improper actions are nonetheless worthwhile, for they will bring him some benefit that he desires and thinks that he cannot attain through doing mitzvos. In other words, he hopes to somehow “beat the system.” In truth, however, Hashem utterly rules the world, and He alone decides a person’s destiny. “Cheshbon,” therefore, comes when the Divine Court shows a person that all his improper efforts were fruitless, for in the end, Hashem had His Way, and would have, whether that person sinned or not! Such a humiliation is unimaginable to us in this world.
The Chumash is not just entertaining us with stories from long ago; it is precise instructions for living. Every one of us who learns this parshah needs to absorb this lesson. Hashem has given us a glimpse of Divine judgment in this world; the brothers’ openmouthed astonishment and naked embarrassment are recorded for us, so that we too can realize the futility of trying to “beat the system.”
In fact, HaRav Shlomo Brevda shlit”a told how the Brisker Rav put this concept into practice. Of all the wars which the state of Israel has fought, perhaps the least-discussed occurred in ’56, when Israel, Great Britain, and France attacked Egypt, without the consent of the United States and the Soviet Union, the then-two superpowers, who, angered, temporarily made peace with other and, through the United Nations’ Security Council, threatened the three nations with dire consequences if they did not withdraw, which of course they did. A few days later, the Brisker Rav sat with several of his talmidim and dissected this war like he was learning up a Rambam. He defined every single country’s intentions, down to the three Israeli hopes, and then he revealed the Will of Hashem, what Hashem intended to gain from this war, and why He had brought it about. The Brisker Rav then showed how everything the French and English had wanted was not given to them, and how every Israeli goal was not only thwarted, but turned against them -- and only that what Hashem wanted, happened. (Lecture 11/27/01)
Self-delusion also happens on an individual level. For example, says Rav Shach, examine this all-too-common situation. If a man is faced with an opportunity to learn, yet doesn’t, because of his own laziness, he may justify his lethargy by telling himself that he has avoided all that “painful” effort which accompanies learning. In truth, says Rav Shach, anyone who has honestly exerted himself in Torah and so has experienced the geshmak that comes with accomplishment in learning will proclaim that it is a tremendous pleasure, and the more one learns, the more delightful learning becomes for him. On the other hand, one who half-tries to learn will not only miss out on the pleasures of learning, but as time goes on, he will be left as an am-ha’aretz, unable to learn properly, and his sufferings will increase, far beyond the original “pain” which he thought he was sidestepping in the first place. How terrible is it to become an am-ha’aretz? Rav Shach told of the mussar he received in his younger years in yeshiva. The Alter of Slobodka would motivate the bachurim by warning them: “Watch out! Don’t become an am-ha’aretz! Get learning!” Commented Rav Shach: “When the Alter would say this to us, we would feel it in our bones, for becoming an am-ha’aretz was the worst possible fate that could possibly befall us, for [we knew that] am-ha’aratzim had no true satisfaction in life. We didn’t need any more mussar after that!” (Mishulchano shel Rabeinu 25-26)
Chazal (Nedarim 9b) tell us that “the wicked are full of regrets.” We read this and wonder how it applies to us. After all, “all of a man’s ways are straight in his own eyes.” (source) From the brothers’ worst moment of their lives, we have a taste of what we must face after our lives in this world are over. Hashem has given us the free will to delude ourselves into thinking that we can control our own destiny (to the point that He joined with the brothers to make a minyan!), yet how many years of our lives are wasting in useless toil, hoping for that big success which we know is just around the corner, if only we cut a few corners in our avodas Hashem. Truly, the old adage “crime does not pay” is not just a good-guy cliché; it has a spiritual dimension all its own.
Patterns
HaRav Tuvia HaLevi zt”l was one of the gedolei Tzfas during its Golden Age; he learned under HaRav Yosef Caro zt”l and HaRav Shlomo Sagiss zt”l. His commentary on Chumash, Chayn Tov (from the posuk in Mishlei (22:1): “A [good] name is preferred to wealth, and goodly favor (chayn tov) to silver and gold.”) is in the process of being reprinted, with sources and footnotes. At the time of writing (5764), the first volume has come out.
Much of the Chayn Tov’s commentary on Parshas Vayigash centers upon the rivalry between Yehudah and Yosef, the two brothers destined for leadership. Their strife, which began in their youth at the beginning of Parshas Vayeishev, actually continued on, long after Klal Yisroel had left Mitzrayaim. In fact, even though we have lived under the hegemony of Yehudah for the past two and a half millennia, the issue will rise again, yet be resolved, this time forever.
The Midrash (B.R. 93:2) tells us that Tehillim Chapter 48 (which we recite every yom sheni as the Song of the Day) focuses upon this competition between the brothers. The Chayn Tov expands upon this midrash and shows, posuk by posuk, how the events between Yehudah and Yosef were played out during the time of Dovid HaMelech and his successors Shlomo and Rechavam, who dealt with revolts by Sheva ben Bichri and his son (see Sanhedrin 101b) Yeravam ben Nevat, who came from the tribe of Ephraim, and therefore from Yosef.
A song, a psalm, by the sons of Korach. Great is Hashem and much praised, in the city of our G-d, mount of His Holiness. Yosef’s brothers derogatively called him “the master (ba’al) of dreams.” (37:19) The Midrash (B.R. 84:14) learns from this unusual name that one reason that Yosef’s brothers sought to kill him was that they saw, through prophecy, that descendants of his would missionize their descendants to worship the Ba’al, as Achav, who like Shave and Yeravam came from Ephraim, eventually accomplished. The only city to be spared from the pernicious plans of the descendants of Yosef would be Yerushalayim, the “city of our G-d,” with its Bais HaMikdash on the “mount of His Holiness.” The cities of the Ten Tribes, whose residents would be prevented from visiting Yerushalayim, would be infected by the Ba’al. Better to kill Yosef now, they reasoned, than to let such a catastrophe occur.
Most beautiful of sites, joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, by the northern side of the great king’s city. In her palaces, G-d is known as the Stronghold. Why did Yeravam set up guards to prevent the Ten Shvotim from performing the mitzvoh of aliyas regel? He reasoned (Melachim 1:12;27), “If this people will go up to bring offerings in the Temple of Hashem in Yerushalayim, the heart of this people will revert to their lord, to Rechavam, King of Yehudah, and they will kill me and return to Rechavam King of Yehudah. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 101b) comments that Yeravam feared that when the people would enter the beautiful, joyous Temple Courtyard to accomplish the mitzvoh of Hakhel. they would see Rechavam sitting and reading from the Torah, and Yeravam standing like a commoner (for Hashem, the Stronghold of His Palace (the Temple), has commanded that only a king of Bais Dovid may sit in that area). They would then realize who was “the great king” and who was the imposter, and Yeravam would be executed as a rebel against Rechavam.
For behold, the kings assembled, they came together. When Yehudah and Yosef, the kings of the brothers, would come together, they could never share power; when one rose up, the other went down. For the rest of Yosef’s life, he dominated the family; all the brothers, including Yehudah, feared that he would punish them for selling him. (see 50:15-21) Likewise, when Sheva rebelled (Shmuel 2:20), Dovid temporarily lost power; and when Yeravam declared himself king, he nearly deposed Rechavam, who was left with only two shvotim.
They saw and were indeed astounded, they were confounded and fled in haste. Trembling gripped them there; convulsions like a woman in birth travail. The Midrash (B.R. 93:7-8) details the superhuman shows of strength that Yehudah and Yosef demonstrated to each other during their confrontation at the beginning of the parsha. For example, Yehudah took iron bars and ground them to dust in his teeth, and Yosef kicked the marble base of his throne so hard that it shattered. The other brothers stood there, shocked and confused by the Egyptian grand vizier who seemed as powerful as themselves. Only Yehudah found the courage to respond. Likewise, when the roles were reversed and Shlomo sat on the throne, only Yeravam, of Ephraim, was brave enough to reprove him blocking the Millo, a public area used by olei regel, in order to build a palace for the daughter of Pharaoh. The other tribes meekly stayed quiet.
With an east wind, You smashed the ships of Tarshish. When the other brothers plotted to attack Yosef in the throne room, Hashem scattered them like ships in a storm, so they could not harm him. Later, ten shvotim were lost, like ten ships lost at sea. Only Yehudah and Binyamin (whose territory included Yerushalayim) would weather the storm.
As we heard, so we saw in the city of our G-d, in the city of Hashem of Legions, in the city of our G-d, may G-d establish it to eternity, Selah! Just as we heard about the clash between Yehudah and Yosef, so also will we see that very same strife occur again, between Dovid and Sheva, who sounded the shofar and announced, “We have no part in Dovid!” While Sheva’s rebellion seems to be a result of a slight by the leaders of Yehudah, who did not notify the other tribes of the welcoming celebrations for Dovid after he had quelled Avshalom’s rebellion (19:42-44), the real issue started centuries before.
When all Israel joined together in Yerushalayim, it was the city of Hashem of Legions, for vast armies of Jews would visit the city. When, however, Yeravam’s rebellion split the kingdom, he placed armed guards on the roads, in order to prevent his citizens from visiting Yerushalayim. Far fewer people came. It fell from its high level of closeness to Hashem, and it became only “the city of our G-d.” Still, “may Hashem establish it for eternity;” may it never be destroyed!
We hoped, Hashem, for Your kindness in the midst of Your Sanctuary. Even after the Ten Tribes are exiled, we hope that You show chesed to the two remaining tribes and keep them close to Your Temple.
Like Your Name, O G-d, so is Your Praise, to the ends of the earth. Righteousness fills Your right hand. Even those Jews who live at the ends of the earth, in exile, hope that You will do for them righteousness: As long as Yehudah and Binyamin did not sin, they were allowed to stay in Eretz Yisroel and enjoy the spiritual benefits of the Temple; so also, if Your nation in exile proves itself worthy of return, may You return us.
May Mount Zion be glad, may the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of Your judgments. Still, even when the two tribes sinned and were exiled, their tzaddikim found reason to rejoice, for they saw the hand of Hashem, even in judgment. In Mishlei (21:15) it says, “Justice is a joy to the righteous,” and the Midrash Shochar Tov (3) explains that when the righteous see that in the judgment and the subsequent revelation of Hashem’s ways, His Name becomes uplifted and sanctified, their pain is sweetened.
Walk about Zion and encircle her, count her towers. Mark well in your hearts her ramparts, raise up her palaces, that you recount it to the final generation. When Yerushalayim was at its zenith, record its greatness in all its details, so that later generations will look forward to an even greater Yerushalayim, built at the End of Days. Furthermore, we mark well in our hearts that everything which happened to our ancestors will also happen in the future. The rivalry between Yehudah and Yosef will carry on, this time between the house of Dovid and the House of Sheva. Just as Yosef drew the brothers down to Mitzrayim and ruled over them for their own good, so also did Yeravam draw the hearts of Israel and rule over them, but this time, for evil. In the end of days, history will repeat on a grand scale. Moshiach ben Yosef will gather the dispersed of Israel and rule over them. Then, however, the kingship will transferred to Moshiach ben Dovid, and Moshiach ben Yosef will be secondary to him. There will be a great reconciliation, as Yeshaya foretold (11:13) “Ephraim will not be jealous of Yehudah, and Yehudah will not harass Ephraim.”
For this is G-d, our G-d, forever and ever, He will guide us forever. The Leviim chose to sing this song on yom sheni, the day in Creation when Hashem made a separation, a machlokes, between the lower and higher waters. Likewise, Hashem has planned this machlokes between Yehudah and Yosef from beginning to end!