Parshas Vayigash

This weeks Torah portion (sedra) is Parshas Vayigash, which literally means, "He approached", taken from the first word of the Torah reading this week. This refers to Yehuda, the son of Yaakov (and ancestor of Kings David and Shlomo, and Melech Ha'Mosiach), who "approaches" Yosef, after the children of Israel have returned to Eretz Mitzrayim (otherwise known as Egypt) for the third time. A short refresher: on the first trip they were sent by Yaakov to get food during the famine, when they arrived Yoseph accused them of being spies (one reason is that they entered the city from 10 different gates to split up and look for Yoseph, which he then used as a source for suspicion...), therefore he held Shimon captive on the condition that they should return to Eretz Canaan (Israel) and bring back their youngest brother Binyomin to confirm their story. Upon returning to their father Yaakov's house, they discover that the money they thought they had spent on food was still in their packs, and after much difficulty manage to convince Yaakov to send Binyomin (his youngest and only remaining son from favored, and now deceased, wife Rachel) back down with them to Mitzrayim (Egypt) to retrieve their other brother Shimon. The second trip goes as planned, however, Yoseph plants another sack of money in one food pack, and then sends a servant to retrieve the "stolen" money. It turns up in Binyomin's pack, and now the brothers must return once again to the House of Yoseph and somehow convince him of Binyomin's innocence, in order that their father should not be broken by the loss. This brings us to the beginning of our parsah, Yayigash; as we mentioned Yehuda "approached" Yoseph in order to plead for Binyomin's release. As a result of this show of brotherly unity, Yoseph can no longer control his emotions and finally breaks into tears and reveals his true identity to his brothers (including showing them his bris-milah). Yoseph inquires about his father, and eventually word reaches Pharoe of this good news, and he decides to bring Yaakov and his family down to Mitzrayim (Egypt) as well, and establish them with great wealth in the fertile land of Goshen. The brothers return to Yaakov in Canaan, and the whole family of "Seventy Souls" descend to Mitzrayim (Egypt). On the way God appears to Yaakov and makes the following promise: "Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again." Yisrael and his children comfortable settle in Goshen.

And now a short word from the Rebbe:
It's written in this week's parsha, "And Yosef nurtured... his brothers... [granting them] bread according to [the needs of] their children." In another place (the Book of Tehillim, Psalms) it is written that Hashem "leads Yosef like sheep", here referring to the Jewish people as a whole by the name Yosef. When the Torah does this it means that within every Jew there is a piece of Yosef, a part of them that "nurtures his brothers" and "gives bread for their family's needs". Additionally, Yosef did this kindness AFTER the cruel acts which his brothers had done to him, by selling him into slavery in the first place. This means that a Jew even has the ability to "nurture" those who had once before betrayed him very cruelly, "to repay those who are culpable with goodness". Furthermore, it is written in the Midrash that Yosef not only sustained his family according to their needs, but according to their deeds. This means, that although it seemed cruel to throw him into the pit and then sell him to traders, this began a long series of events that eventually landed Yosef in a position of great power to now help his family; therefore the objective outcome, the actualy deed itself (regardless of the motivations) is what Yoseph is "repaying". This refers to a level in our relationship with Hashem, that he treats us according to our deeds. He recognizes that on the inside we desire only to do good, and therefore objectively recognizes our good deeds regardless of the motivations that brought them about. This is the true way of nurturing, because by focusing for long enough on the good, eventually it to will come to the surface, and now we can be rewarded not just for our deeds, but also for the intentions behind the deed. Ultimately, this is a much higher level of "Divine Service".