VAYIGASH 1998

In the Torah portion, Vayigash, we learn how Joseph becomes reconciled to his brothers, and how he brings them down to Egypt and settles them in the land of Goshen.  The Jewish people have now entered exile.  One of the underlying themes of this Torah portion is, how can we survive in exile? This Torah portion ends with the words, "And Israel lived in the land of Egypt and the land of Goshen and they acquired property in it and they were fruitful and multiplied very much."  The rabbis ask, what is this sentence doing here? All the previous sentences have to do with Egyptian politics, how Joseph bought the people's land and gave them food during the years of the famine. This last verse of this Torah portion is totally out of context.  As we all know, the chapter and verse designations of the Torah, which are found in every Chuman, even in the most ultra orthodox communities, is not a Jewish invention.  It was invented, most people say, by Stephen Layton, the archbishop of Canterbury in 1228. The Jewish way of dividing the Torah is 290 open paragraphs and 379 closed paragraphs.  An open paragraph is one in which the paragraph ends and then another paragraph starts on the next line.  A closed paragraph is one in which the paragraph ends and then 12 or 15 spaces down the new paragraph starts on the same line.  As we all know, the chapter and verse designation of the Torah is a much more convenient way of finding your way in the Torah;
therefore, it was adopted.  This, of course, fulfills the maxim of the Talmud that the truth is the truth and a good idea is a good idea, no matter what its source, so we need not fear using good ideas of many cultures and groups.
The rabbis all ask the question, why is it that the Torah here describes how Joseph dealt with the Egyptian economy? The Torah never does this.  It only talks about Jewish history.  Here we learn how Joseph strengthened Pharaoh's hand, how he does not agree to enslave the people.  He buys their land and, as in all feudal systems, they become serfs tied to the land.  He moves whole villages from one end of Egypt to another to emphasize the fact that Pharaoh owns the land.  He gives them a very favorable tax rate of only 20%; they keep 80%.  Today in America we pay higher taxes than that, and in feudal economies usually one-third of the grain went to the baron or duke who owned the property, half of the fruit, and three-quarters of the olives.  Joseph was a good ruler.  He served Pharaoh well.  Why, though, do we have to learn this?
Also, in the beginning of the Torah portion we learn how Joseph revealed h himself to his brothers.  It says, "And Joseph called, 'Remove all men from
VAYIGASH 1998 Rabbi Joseph Radinsky
me,' and nobody stood with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers." The rabbis criticize Joseph for this.  They say he could have put himself into danger. The brothers could have killed him.  How did he know that their former hatred for him was really gone? Other rabbis question this Medrash, and say, how could this Medrash even ask this question since the brothers seem to have done Teshuva? Look what Judah had said.  He was willing to be a slave in place of Benjamin.  This is true, the rabbis answer, but words are one ming and actions are another.  Sometimes people say they forgive you or no longer hate you, but when the opportunity arises, their old hatred flares up. Words are cheap, and usually we find that the person who complains the most about things is the person who does them himself.  The person who complains the most about talking in shul is usually the person who talks the most in shul. The person who talks about the importance of Jewish learning constantly and how we should all learn and join study groups himself hardly ever learns.  I remember once working in an office where someone was always talking about how people were stealing. The truth of the matter was there was someone stealing; it was that person who was complaining.
Joseph had to know whether or not the brothers really meant what they said. Was there true unity among the brothers?  Unfortunately, even today there are many people who are constantly talking about Jewish unity, but they will not sit with this person or talk with that person.  For the Jews to survive in exile, we need to have unity.
The second lesson we learn about survival in exile is that we Jewish people must be needed, like Joseph was needed, but we live in a Catch-22 situation. Throughout the ages, we have produced great advisors to kings.  Even today, our economy is flourishing because of Alan Greenspan and Secretary of the Treasury Rubin.  The problem is that although the general economy is doing well, there are always disgruntled people who are not, and they will remember how the Jews rooked them.
We also learn about how the Egyptian people came to Joseph and said, "Make us slaves so we can have food."  He did not do that.  He did buy their land and move them to other locations, although he did not disrupt their family or social lives.  Even though he saved Egypt and made it more powerful, they
remembered how they were living in different villages now.  Today, too, the economic expansion has caused the closing of many small businesses.  Super highways have killed small town businesses.  Walmart, etc., has killed off the rest of them, and although Sam Walton was not Jewish, people think he was. Our very success leads to problems.  We should not be surprised by the hostility of our neighbors.  We lived in Poland for 500 years with great prosperity.  We were the middle class of Poland.  However, when the Cossacks in 1648 rebelled under Cheminsky, they took out their anger not against the Poles but against us, and they killed one-third of the Jews of Poland.  Poland in mat day ruled from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and after that our situation in Poland was precarious.
We Jews have to realize that we have to do the best by the ruling powers, but that by our doing the best by the ruling powers, we also incite the envy, jealousy, and hatred of others, and when times change, this hatred may be directed at us, but we can overcome all this hostility if we are united.
That's why the last sentence of this Torah portion says, "And Israel," which
means the Jewish people, not just Judah or Benjamin or Reuben, but the Jewish people lived in the land of Egypt and they took hold there and they were fruitful and multiplied. There will be good times, as we learn in the Torah portion, Shmos, and there will be bad times, too. We can survive them all if we realize that Jewish history and the exile has its ups and downs, and, most important, if we realize that we must be united.
I am reminded of the story they tell about a man who went into a bar.  He ordered three whiskeys and then gulped them down.  He then ordered three more whiskeys.  The bartender looked at him and said, "You know, that's not good for you." The man replied, "You are right.  I know it's not good for me, especially for what I have." The bartender asked, "What do you have?" The man replied, "One dollar."  We are one people, and we should act united so we can overcome the hostility of the world, especially when we are in exile.  May we all do so so the Mashiach will come quickly in our day.  Amen.