Likkutei Sichos Vol. 30 – Vayigash 2
1. On the verse, “And he saw the wagons that Yosef had sent… and the spirit of their father Yaakov was revived,” the Midrash states (and Rashi cites it in his commentary on the Torah) that this was a sign Yosef sent to Yaakov: if Yaakov would not believe them that “Yosef is still alive,” they should tell him that Yosef had said, “At the time I parted from you… I was engaged in the section of Eglah Arufah” (and this is the meaning of “he saw the wagons [agalos] that Yosef had sent”). Following this, the Midrash explains (on the next verse), “And Yisroel said, ‘It is enough; my son Yosef is still alive,’” that Yaakov said, “Great is the strength of my son Yosef, that so many troubles befell him and yet he still stands in his righteousness—more than I, etc.” Simply put, the intent of the Midrash is to explain that “Yosef my son is still alive” means he is alive not only in a physical sense, but also—and primarily—in a spiritual sense: a life befitting the son of Yaakov—“Yosef my son is still alive.”
Now, from the fact that the Midrash places these two matters together—the sign Yosef gave his father that “Yosef is still alive” in the simple sense, and that Yaakov recognized that Yosef “stands in his righteousness,” and that this is his true life—it is reasonable to conclude that these two matters are connected: that the sign Yosef gave—beyond informing Yaakov that he is still alive physically—was primarily to prove that he “stands in his righteousness.”
And this is also clear on a simple level: the fact that Yosef remembers which Torah portion he was studying at the time he parted from Yaakov (over twenty-two years earlier) is proof that his Torah remains with him and he stands in his righteousness as before.
However, further explanation is needed: it is understood and obvious that all the deeds of the Patriarchs and the tribes (especially those recounted in the Torah) are precise in every detail. So too in our case: the sign Yosef gave Yaakov that he is still alive was not just a random sign (about some unrelated matter), but the content of the sign (the section of Eglah Arufah) is also connected to the message that “Yosef is still alive” (as the commentators elaborate on the connection between them). And according to the above—that the intent of the sign was to prove to Yaakov that he stands in his righteousness—it follows that the content of the section of Eglah Arufah is also connected to this message.
2. We can explain this as follows:
The subject of Eglah Arufah is explained in the plain meaning of the verses: “If a corpse is found in the land… fallen in the field, and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and judges (the Great Sanhedrin) shall go out and measure… and the elders of that city shall bring down the calf… and all the elders of that city… shall wash their hands… and they shall declare, ‘Our hands have not spilled this blood…’” The reason for this is explained—that the event of a “corpse… fallen in the field” will become public knowledge, making it easier to find the murderer, etc. And further (and this is the main point)—so that “they will hear and be afraid…” (as is stated regarding several matters), meaning, to prevent from the outset the possibility of a “corpse… in the field.”
The explanation of this matter—in the service of G‑d:
“Corpse” in a spiritual sense refers to someone whose connection to the Holy One, blessed be He—the source of his life—has been severed, as it is written, “And you who cleave to the L‑rd your G‑d are all alive today.” What causes this is being “in the field” (“fallen in the field”)—the domain of “Esav… a man of the field,” who seeks to harm those who are “in the field” (and not in the tent of Torah and Judaism), to sever them, G‑d forbid, from their attachment to the living G‑d, the source of their life, and to cause them to fall as spiritual corpses, G‑d forbid—“a corpse… in the field,” or at least to weaken in them the matter of “and you who cleave to the L‑rd…”
And this is the instruction of the Torah—“And your elders and judges shall go out…”—that it is the role and responsibility of the elders and judges of Israel in general, including the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, to do everything in their power to correct the situation and to utterly prevent the existence of a “corpse… in the field.” This is also emphasized in their declaration, “Our hands have not spilled this blood”—“We did not see him and send him away without food and without accompaniment.” That is, it is the duty of the elders of the city to accompany every Jew who leaves the city (to the field) and to provide him with provisions for the journey—food, which refers to Torah, called nourishment, as well as garments—mitzvos. [As it is stated in Tanna D’bei Eliyahu Rabbah on the verse “when you see the naked, clothe him”—“If you see a person who lacks words of Torah, bring him into your home and teach him Shema and prayer, etc., and encourage him in mitzvos, for there is no one naked in Israel except one who lacks Torah and mitzvos.”] This is in order to strengthen him and protect him from all the dangers that await him while he is “in the field.”
According to this, we can explain the (inner) reason why, at the time when Yosef separated from Yaakov, they were specifically studying the section of Eglah Arufah:
Before Yosef’s descent to Egypt—“the nakedness of the land,” where he would be in a situation of “taken captive among the nations”—at that time, he needed additional spiritual strength in order to remain righteous there. This is why Yaakov taught him the section of Eglah Arufah, in which the elders of the city are warned about their responsibility to accompany the person going out “to the field” and to provide him with all his needs for as long as he is in the field, as explained above. This was the empowerment given to Yosef to remain steadfast in his righteousness even in Egypt.
Therefore, when Yosef wanted to prove to Yaakov that he was alive (also) in the spiritual sense, he sent through his brothers this “sign” to Yaakov—that the section of Eglah Arufah was before his eyes, and with this strength he was not affected at all by the environment in Egypt and remained whole in his Torah and righteousness. And when Yaakov saw “the wagons… and the spirit of Yaakov their father was revived,” a new vitality was drawn into Yaakov’s spirituality (his spirit), especially since the (spiritual) life of Yaakov depends on the life of his descendants, as it is said, “Just as his descendants are alive, so too is he alive.”
3. However, we still need to understand: In the Midrash there it explains Yaakov’s words, “Rav! My son Yosef is still alive”—“Great is the strength of my son Yosef… He stands in his righteousness even more than I, for I sinned by saying, ‘My way is hidden from the L‑rd.’” [As explained in the Midrash regarding Yaakov’s words to his sons, “Why did you harm me by telling the man that you have another brother”—“So said the Holy One, blessed be He: I am busy making his son a ruler in Egypt, and he says, ‘Why did you harm me… my way is hidden from the L‑rd.’”]—Seemingly, what is the relevance here of the fact that Yosef “stands in his righteousness even more than I”?
It also requires explanation: According to Jewish custom—which is “Torah”—we conclude the “third aliyah” (and according to some customs, the “fourth”) of the Torah reading at the verse “And they spoke… and he saw the wagons… and the spirit of Yaakov their father was revived,” and the next verse—“And Yisroel said, ‘Rav! My son Yosef is still alive…’”—begins the “fourth” (or “fifth”). It is not understood—why do we interrupt in the middle of a topic?
The same is true at the beginning of the “third aliyah,” which begins in the middle of Yosef’s words to the brothers: “And now, it was not you who sent me here, but G‑d; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Seemingly, this is a clear continuation of the previous verses (that Yosef said to his brothers): “I am Yosef… and now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that G‑d sent me before you. For these two years there has been famine… and G‑d sent me before you to ensure your survival in the land and to keep you alive for a great deliverance.” (Here the “second aliyah” ends, and with the next verse begins, “And now, it was not you who sent me…”)—so why do we interrupt in the middle of Yosef’s words to his brothers, which are all one topic (that his descent to Egypt was by G‑d’s mission)?
It is also not understood: the emphasis on the negation—“It was not you who sent me here, but G‑d”—actually fits better with the earlier context, as a reason for Yosef’s statement to his brothers, “Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me here,” because “it was not you who sent me here, but G‑d.” So why is this emphasis stated specifically afterwards (after the interruption of the “third aliyah”), in direct continuation with “He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt”?
4. The explanation of all this is as follows:
The reason that Yosef was the first of the Children of Israel to descend to Egypt—and that this was the cause and beginning of the descent of all Israel to Egypt—is because the descent to Egypt is connected to the unique innovation in Yosef’s mode of service:
It is explained in many places that the reason the Patriarchs and the tribes chose to be shepherds is because this occupation, which does not involve excessive distraction and allows for a state of isolation from worldly matters, did not disturb them from being in a constant state of attachment to G‑dliness. However, Yosef’s service was different from that of the Patriarchs and the other tribes: even while he was involved in worldly matters—whether in the house of Potiphar, where he was appointed “over his house, and all that he had he placed in his hand,” or similarly in the prison, where “all the prisoners were placed in his hand, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it,” and certainly when he became viceroy to the king and managed all the affairs of Egypt (“By your command all my people shall be sustained… and without you no man shall lift his hand…”), all these immense distractions did not confuse or disturb him, and he remained in a state of utmost attachment to G‑dliness.
With this, we can understand the (inner) reason why the beginning of the descent of the Jewish people to Egypt was through Yosef’s descent: because Yosef (through his service there) gave the Jewish people the strength to withstand and persevere even while in exile, in a land not their own, in Egypt.
This was Yosef’s intent in telling his brothers—“G‑d sent me ahead of you to preserve life… and G‑d sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival in the land”—that his descent to Egypt was a mission from the Holy One, blessed be He, in order “to open the channel” and give the Jewish people the power to endure in exile, to live a spiritual life, “and you who cleave to the L‑rd your G‑d are all alive,” even in Egypt.
This also explains Yosef’s precise wording: “G‑d sent me… and G‑d sent me… and now, it was not you who sent me here, but G‑d”—specifically using the name Elokim, which refers to the attribute of judgment and severity (and not the name Havayah, which refers to the attribute of mercy)—because this mission was in a manner of descent into exile, a place of concealment and hiddenness, etc. [and in a way that caused pain and anguish to Yosef and to Yaakov, etc.], where the mercy of G‑d is not openly apparent—and even in such a state, Yosef accomplished that his descent there would be “to preserve life… to ensure a great deliverance for you.”
5. However, this matter is still not the ultimate purpose of Yosef’s mission to Egypt—for this is only a benefit and effect of a negative kind: protection from the undesirable aspects of exile, so that a person remains attached to G‑d (as before) even in such a situation—
The main innovation of Yosef is—as his name implies—Yosef, from the root meaning “increase,” as explained in the verse, “May G‑d add for me another son,” which means that Yosef’s role is to transform even the “other” (i.e., one who is not connected to the side of holiness) so that he becomes a “son” to G‑d. That is, not only is he not affected by the obstacles and hindrances of exile, but on the contrary, he rules over them to the extent that he subdues them under the dominion of holiness.
[This is similar to the words of the Rambam regarding King Moshiach, whose task is not only “to restore the kingdom of David to its former state… (so that) all the laws will return in his days as they were before” for the Jewish people (by building the Temple in its place), meaning that the Jewish people will serve G‑d in complete perfection, but also “he will perfect the entire world to serve G‑d together, as it is said, ‘For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the L‑rd…’”]
As it was in actuality with Yosef in Egypt, where he was the viceroy to the king, as it says, “Without you, no man shall lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt,” and Yosef ruled over them in practice, “And Yosef was the ruler over the land.” [As is recounted at length at the end of our parsha, that Yosef acquired the Egyptians and their land, and even moved them from one end of Egypt’s border to the other, etc.] And Yosef’s intention was not only for material dominion, but that they should recognize the G‑d of the heavens and the earth, and observe the seven Noahide laws, to the extent that our Sages say—and Rashi brings this on the Torah—that he compelled them to circumcise themselves.
6. Now, there is a fundamental difference between these two aspects of Yosef’s mission to Egypt: (a) granting the Jewish people the strength that the matters of Egypt—the exile—should not disturb their attachment to G‑d; (b) dominion over the matters of exile—that they should be subdued, and even transformed into holiness themselves.
The first matter, the strength that the affairs of exile should not confuse the Jewish people in their attachment to G‑d, although its source is Yosef, nevertheless, through Yosef this power is drawn into every single Jew in an internal way, to the extent that it is called by the name of each and every individual.
And this is the inner meaning of the teaching of our Sages, “All Israel are called by the name Yosef, because he sustained and provided for them in the days of famine”: Yosef’s sustenance of his brothers during the years of famine includes that Yosef gave the power to every Jew, that even in times of spiritual “famine”—a state of exile, concealment and obscurity—they are able to live a spiritual life as is fitting. And this power Yosef drew into the Jewish people in the manner of food, which becomes blood and flesh like his own flesh—that is, it becomes so internalized within them that it is their own matter. Therefore, “all Israel are called by the name Yosef,” because this quality of Yosef becomes part of their very being.
But the second matter, dominion over Egypt, pertains only to the level of Yosef himself, just as in the simple sense only he was the ruler over Egypt; and the fact that the Jewish people can rule over the matters of exile (in the manner of Yosef) is not something that relates to them themselves, but to Yosef, and simply put—that their power to rule over the affairs of exile is only as emissaries of Yosef.
7. According to this, we can understand the above-noted precision (section 3) in the wording of the verses and the division of the “third” aliyah of the parsha:
The two aforementioned modes in Yosef’s mission in Egypt are precisely the two matters that Yosef told his brothers in describing his mission that “G‑d” sent him to Egypt: (a) “For sustenance (to be for you a provider) G‑d sent me before you… to ensure your survival in the land and to keep you alive for a great deliverance”—Yosef acted upon the Jewish people and gave them the strength to withstand exile. (b) “And now, it was not you who sent me here, but G‑d; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and master of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt”—the effect of his mission that he, Yosef, would be the ruler and sovereign over Egypt.
[And even this mission (the second one) is specifically associated with the name Elokim—because dominion and rule over the nations (and the matters of exile) are associated with the name Elokim, which is an aspect of judgment and justice (which is why judges are called “elokim”).]
With this, we can explain and clarify why only regarding the second matter does Yosef emphasize the negation, “It was not you who sent me here”—it can be said that Yosef’s intent here is not only to negate (as is the simple meaning) that the reason for his descent to Egypt was not due to the brothers’ intent (in selling him to Egypt), but that his mission to Egypt (in its second purpose above—“He has made me… ruler over all the land of Egypt”) does not pertain to them (“not you”), but only to his own unique level and quality, that he is the ruler over the entire land.
And this is the reason why in the Torah reading these two matters are separated into two aliyos—because the second matter in Yosef’s mission is higher (“an aliyah”) relative to the first matter, for it is specifically in this that the increase (“may G‑d add for me another son”) is realized.
And similarly, at the conclusion of “Shelishi” (the third aliyah), regarding Yaakov:
The first matter—“And he saw the wagons that Yosef had sent”—showed Yaakov that Yosef remained righteous even in Egypt—“and the spirit of Yaakov their father was revived” (as mentioned above).
However, this is not such a great novelty with regard to Yaakov—for we also find something similar (at least in some measure) by him: he spent twenty years in the house of Lavan the Aramean (which we do not find by Avraham and Yitzchak), and he worked there with all his strength—yet nevertheless, he was “complete in his Torah,” “I lived with Lavan the wicked and I kept the 613 mitzvos, and I did not learn from his evil deeds.”
This is not the case regarding the second matter mentioned above—that Yosef became the ruler over all of Egypt—this is a novelty even with respect to Yaakov. Therefore, after “the spirit of Yaakov… was revived,” he added and said, “Rav—my son Yosef is still alive,” meaning that Yosef’s strength is “great” and “greater than mine.” [And that is why this matter comes in a separate “aliyah,” as explained above at the beginning of “Shelishi.”]
8. From this, we can derive a special lesson for our generation—that the leader of the generation, my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, his (first) name is “Yosef”:
My revered father-in-law, the Rebbe—the “Yosef” of our generation—opened and paved the way for all his students and emissaries who follow in his path, and through them for all Jews, that they are able to engage in spreading Torah and Judaism, and in spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus, in every place and circumstance—even in “Egypt,” in the outermost reaches, “outside of which there is nothing further.”
And in such a way that not only does their being in the place of “outside” (Egypt) not diminish their attachment to G‑d, but on the contrary—they act and influence throughout “the entire land of Egypt,” “to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the descendants of Noach were commanded… because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and made them known to us through Moshe Rabbeinu” (as is the clear ruling of the Rambam).
And even if at first it sometimes appears that this is a mission of “Elokim”—in a manner of judgment, concealment and hiddenness, and especially if there are concealments and obstacles, etc., that can cause pain and distress, etc.—through “Yosef” one receives the strength to reveal G‑dliness even in the place of the mission, and furthermore—to reach (through this descent) the greatest possible elevation, “may G‑d add for me another son,” to an ascent and increase that is beyond all comparison.
And by increasing with greater strength and vigor in the work of “Yosef”—spreading Torah, Judaism, and the wellsprings to the outside, even to the outermost reaches—this brings closer and hastens the true and complete Redemption through our righteous Moshiach, who will build the Temple in its place, gather the dispersed of Israel, and perfect the entire world to serve G‑d together, speedily in our days, literally.
(From a talk of Tuesday, 5 Teves, 5747)