Vayiggash 5771 Joshua Cohen 11 December 2010

Delivered by Joshua Cohen on the occasion of his barmtizvah

The spirit of the story of Vayigash is that of forgiveness and reconciliation. It is a story that teaches us how to know our values and to live by them. It is about doing what we know is right even in the face of temptation.

Overcome with emotion, Joseph cried out “Have everyone withdraw from me!” so he could make himself known to his brothers, and express the deep feelings that should be confined to the inner circle of close family. Only there could he voice his true feelings that demanded such expression.

After overhearing them speaking to one another, Joseph heard them talking of his story, how they felt true guilt of selling him into slavery, and so he was able to see how much they regretted what they had done to him. Only then did Joseph feel it safe to reveal himself.

The fact that Joseph could forgive them after such a string of events beggars belief. And as forgiveness, or sli-cha in Hebrew is a mitzvah, we should learn that to create a pure conscience, we must base forgiveness as one of life’s foundations.

Joseph goes on to say “Do not fear me, for it is I, your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. You are not responsible for past events, rather, that it was G-d. It was to save life that I was sent ahead of you.” This shows that Joseph not only forgave his brothers, but gave them a respectable reason for their actions, a justification, which will  inevitably soothe them, and give them peace of mind, so that they do not feel guilty in his presence.

Now, not only does this show how tactful Joseph was in dealing with the situation, it teaches another valuable lesson which we can learn from. It is that we should, as well as forgiving, give the offender peace of mind, so that it will be possible to build a friendly relationship between the offended party and the offending party.

Later the story goes on to speak of how Pharaoh welcomed Joseph’s father and all his brothers warmly into his circle of servants and friends, and let them settle in the Egyptian region of Goshen, a place suitable for growth of crops and cattle, so that Joseph and his family could live off of the few patches of land in Egypt that were almost unaffected by the famine, places that were reserved for only Royalty.

And so Joseph sent ten donkeys laden with the best gold, silver and all names of riches and ten donkeys laden with food to his father. But to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and several changes of clothes. As he sent his brothers away he said ‘do not be quarrelsome along the way’. We see from this that when Joseph sent them off, he placed his trust in every single one of the brothers. He wanted to ensure that all that they had been given would get back to their father safely, that they would share in their abundance, and that they would act respectfully to one another. Having had learnt their lesson, the brothers would now look out for each other. No longer would they be jealous, or seeking their own personal gain, but rather would look after their collective well-being, in love and respect. This certainly applies today in modern life, when we find ourselves in a group situation, in our family, with our friends, at school or at work. We should not focus on our own gain, but rather on our collective gain, and be careful not to violate each other’s trust.

Daily life does not seem to pick up on many of the teachings of the Torah. It seems we have been getting it wrong for around five thousand years. People are not always following the guidelines set down by our ancestors; it seems that for us humans, misguidance has been a barrier for centuries. I say this with a heavy heart, and no matter how hard we try, living a kosher life is not always as easy as it seems. And as a Jew, I know that we are very good at bending our own rules.  It is therefore essential that we incorporate the Torah’s ethical teachings in our daily life. From my Parashah we learn that to have a truly enriched life we need to learn to forgive and face our responsibilities to each other.

We should therefore be true to ourselves, the Torah, our family and our friends, and that way can lead a spiritually fulfilling life.