פרשת ויגש
In this week’s Parsha, the dramatic events that have unfolded in the past few Parshios between Yaakov and his children, and more specifically between Yosef and his brothers finally reach their climax with Yosef revealing his true identity to his siblings. Yosef, who is now the uncontested ruler of Egypt, answering only to Pharaoh, seems to treat his brothers very harshly up until the point that he exposes himself to them. The Ramban explains that Yosef was not cruel at all, but rather wanted to ensure that his brothers had removed all traces of jealousy from their hearts before he disclosed his identity to them because this was the very characteristic they displayed in selling Yosef himself in the first place. For this reason, Yosef placed his goblet specifically in Binyomin’s knapsack because Yosef and Binyomin shared the same mother (Rachel), and she was Yaakov’s favorite, and if the brothers were holding on to any more jealousy, it certainly would have been directed toward Binyomin. Alas, the brothers had indeed completely removed all traces of envy from their hearts, and stood up for Binyomin to the point that they were willing to give up their lives for him.
However, there was one brother in particular who stood out in his exceptional gallantry in this attribute, and that was Yehuda. Yehuda was the one who convinced his father to let Binyomin go with them down to Egypt by placing his own portion in the world to come at stake if he were to have failed, and Yehuda was the one who was willing to go to war in Egypt, and kill off the entire country, or even sell himself as an indentured servant in place of Binyomin so that Binyomin could return home to their father. However, Yehuda’s behavior seems strange on two accounts. Firstly, how did Yehuda feel comfortable taking responsibility for something that he did not know the outcome with any certainty? Such a commitment seems irrational. Secondly, how in the world could he be so certain that he would succeed in his mission, that he was willing to gamble his entire portion in the world to come? How could he know that no unexpected tragedy would happen to Binyomin during the course of their travels and stay in Egypt? And perhaps even more perplexing was the fact that this commitment on Yehuda’s part seems to have convinced Yaakov, whereas a very similar commitment made by Reuven seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What was it in Yehuda’s demeanor which persuaded Yaakov to agree to send Binyomin to Egypt?
R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz explains that in truth, Yaakov did not feel comfortable sending Binyomin down to Egypt for fear that he would suffer the same fate as Yosef. But when he see the absolute dedication that Yehuda displayed in his commitment to returning Binyomin safely, his fears were somewhat allayed. R’ Chaim goes on to explain that this principle works based on two factors. Firstly, when a person is committed to something completely, that means that they are not willing to rest or falter until that agenda has been achieved. Chazal teach us that nothing stands in the way of a person’s will. When Yaakov saw the absolute determination in Yehuda’s eyes, he felt confident that Yehuda would succeed in his objective. And secondly, Hashem gives a person a special Heavenly aid when they set their mind to accomplish something. When Yaakov saw how resolute Yehuda was to bring Binyomin home safely, he felt that Yehuda would certainly merit in receiving this Heavenly aid. It is interesting to note that whenever a young groom was getting married in the Yeshiva, R’ Chaim would put his arm around their shoulder and tell them that because they have taken on the yoke of a wife, this is why Chazal teach us a groom gets forgiven for all his sins. And R’ Chaim would bless the young Chassan that he succeed in his noble intent to take responsibility for another human being.
The Sefas Emes however, asks an interesting difficulty. The Midrash in this week’s Parsha cites a verse in Mishle which says, “My son, if you take responsibility for another, your mouth has gotten you in trouble”. The Sefas Emes asks what this verse has to do with Yehuda. It seems like Yehuda specifically ignored this dictum from King Solomon’s wisdom! He explains that there are two different kinds of commitments. The first type of commitment is physical in nature, and the second is spiritual. When it comes to one’s friends, and acting as a guarantor on their behalf when it is not mandated by the Torah, this type of commitment is very risky indeed. We have enough obligations from the Torah that we don’t need to take any more upon ourselves. Indeed, the world calls a guarantor for a loan, “A fool with a pen”. But when it comes to one’s spiritual endeavors, Shlomo Hamelech was not referring to these at all. Regarding spiritual commitments, the more one takes on oneself to be concerned with his friends’ spirituality, the more praiseworthy it is. He explains that the “b” behind this axiom is that when it comes to my physical guarantees, all I have is my body to back me up, and that is not a reliable entity, but when it comes to my spiritual promises, I have serve my soul as a collateral, and that is a powerful ally indeed!
I would just like to conclude with a very appropriate story which demonstrates the power of commitment. There was a young man learning in Yeshiva some years ago whose name was Shimon. Shimon was very successful in his learning and was the pride and joy of the Yeshiva. Shimon’s best friend in Yeshiva was Gad, who was the complete opposite of Shimon and was not flourishing in the Yeshiva by any stretch of the imagination. Gad had an aunt in the hospital who was dying of cancer and one night, Gad asked Shimon if he would mind accompanying him to visit his aunt in the hospital, and Shimon consented. At the hospital, the aunt turned out to be a very impressive woman, who had recently become very religious, but unfortunately her situation was so dire that the doctors did not expect her to live out the month. Gad’s aunt asked Shimon if she could speak with him privately, and he agreed. She said that she had a son, who was a very good boy, but who unfortunately was never shown the right path, and whose father was unable to train him in the way of Mitzvos. She asked Shimon to promise that he would take her boy under his wing, and train him to become a true Torah student, completely dedicated to the word of Hashem. Shimon, who heard the woman’s desperate plea, approved of her request, and gave her his word that he would help her son. Shimon and Gad left the hospital, and Shimon returned to his studies with great enthusiasm, and within a few days, completely forgot about the encounter. As time went on, Shimon grew more and more in his studies until he became a huge Torah scholar, and married a wonderful girl in the community. However, they were married for many years and were not blessed with children, so Shimon was advised to seek the council of a certain Gadol. This Rabbi told Shimon in no uncertain terms that if he wanted to have children, he should begin to work with boys who didn’t quite fit into the “Yeshiva system”, and who were falling between the cracks. That night, Shimon hung up a sign in the local Shul advertising this free service and it didn’t take long before Shimon had a very nice size following. Within a couple of years, the “boys” in his group became so numerous, that he had to purchase a building just to house and teach these boys whom he put his heart and soul into. At the first wedding of Shimon’s star success story, (which of course he himself was officiating), Shimon noticed his old friend Gad. After their initial greetings, Shimon asked him what he was doing there. Gad responded that the boy getting married tonight (Shimon’s student) was the son of that aunt who they had visited in the hospital so many years ago. When Shimon heard this, he began to weep on two accounts. He felt bad that he had neglected his responsibility that he had committed to so many years ago, but he was awestruck by the powerful Heavenly aid a person receives when he obligates himself with sincerity toward a spiritual pursuit, such that even though he completely forgot about it, he succeeded miraculously in fulfilling his promise.
May we all merit to successfully take upon ourselves, and fulfill all of our spiritual obligations toward ourselves, and toward others.