RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:VAYIGASH:EZEKIEL:

RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:JEWISH RENEWAL:JEWISH SPIRITUAL RENEWAL:VAYIGASH:EZEKIEL:

 

Parasha Vayigash: Genesis 44:18-47:27

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
 

"Brother, bring some lovin' here today"

 This Shabbat we read: "then he (Joseph) fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck. He then kissed all his brothers and wept upon them" (Gen 45:14-15). When Joseph finally removed the mask behind which he was hiding and revealed himself to his brothers his joy could not be contained. He had already forgiven them and saw that they indeed had learned compassion and tolerance by the way they were concerned about Benjamin and their father Jacob.

 

The Midrash teaches something else as well. It says that Joseph, the dreamer, wept not only tears of joy, but of sadness. He could foresee that the exile in Egypt, which his family was now beginning, would not be their last exile. He could foresee, the Midrash says, the future suffering of our people.

Our ancient rabbinic sages expound that Joseph wept over the destruction of the Temples and that he could also foresee the time when his brothers again would fight and break up into two kingdoms (after Solomon's reign). The Zohar takes this even a step further. Joseph also foresaw the scattering of ten of the brothers' tribes to be lost forever (after the Assyrian battles).

In this Parasha's Haftarah from the Book of Ezekiel (Ez 37:15-28), our prophet speaks of the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied   the first Temple's destruction and the exile of Judah to Babylon. Ezekiel was himself one of the refugees. Out of the despair of galut (exile), he said that God told him that He would "take the Children of Israel from among the nations to which they went, and I shall gather them from around and I shall bring them to their soil." (Ez. 37:21) and "I shall seal a covenant of peace with them." (Ez. 37:26).

As a people we have always been stiff-necked and quarrelsome. But we are commanded to not be like Korach, fighting among ourselves. We were at our zenith when we accepted our differences and believed that despite them, we were all Jews.

The Talmud is replete with different opinions of rabbis spanning the centuries. We can relate the story of how Rabbi Hillel wanted the Hanukah menorah lit as opposed to the way that Rabbi Shamai wished it to be done. But the rabbis accepted the fact that different groups from different areas did things differently. They jested about these groups, sometimes in unkind ways, but the minhags (traditions) were accepted.

Talmud Beracoth says that kavenah (spiritual intention and concentration) is the most important part of prayer and that praying in one's vernacular in an abridged version with true kavenah is better than rushing thru a prayer service in Hebrew and not understanding it. Talmud Kiddushin says a Torah service where just three lines are read completes the mitzvah of reading the Torah. Talmud Sanhedrin relates how Rabbi Hillel was not a believer in the messiah from scriptural references. Rabbi Akiva thought that General Bar Kochba was the messiah. And Rabbi Judah ha Nasi, the redactor of the Mishna, did not wish to codify the celebration of Hanukah into our halacha (Jewish law) as he wanted us to live in peace and not be constantly reminded of our past wars. He also wanted to do away with Tisha B'Av and Purim as well. Yet we were great and survived because we respected our differences to the point that we carefully recorded them.

There are so many ways and paths to reach God. Many gain closeness to God by doing ritual and all its minutia. Others gain a spiritual closeness by doing the mitzvoth of visiting the sick, tutoring a student in an afternoon program, helping the elderly or raising a family. Many others enjoy a festive Shabbat meal or singing joyous songs of praise to God. Still others gain spirituality by quiet study and reflection or through individual prayer.

We are all made in the image of God, and His emanations are as different as the sands on the earth's beaches. Man is equally varied. The time has come to universally realize that no one group of Jews has the right and only path (halacha) to reach God. Each of us approaches God differently, and hopefully He reaches us in different ways at different times in our lives.

An important message from this parasha it is that we are all brothers with different strengths, weaknesses, customs and traditions. Yet, like Joseph's siblings, we have the same Father. "Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us all? Why do we deal treacherously with one another?" (Malachi 2:10). Let us all strive to relish our differences, customs, rituals or lack thereof, and even modes of dress. Let us try to banish loshan ha ra from our lips and ridicule from our hearts. Let the "covenant of peace among the people of Israel" prophesied by Ezekiel come to pass. We can then "behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity." (Psalm 133:1).

Shabbat Shalom:

 

Rabbi Arthur Segal
Hebrew College, Newton Centre, MA, USA
Via Shamash Org on-line class service
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Spiritual Renewal
Hilton Head Island, SC;Bluffton, SC, Savannah, GA
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