A teaching of the Rebbe on the parsha
adapted for children
In parashah Vaigash, the Torah tells us that before descending into Egypt, Yaakov sent Yehudah there: "Yaakov sent Yehudah ahead of him." Rashi explains on this that this was to establish a Study House, a yeshiva, in Egypt.
Why did Yaakov need to ask this from Yehudah? Couldn't the tzaddik Joseph, who ruled Egypt, who had more possibilities, do it much better and more successfully? And what can we learn from this for our daily service to HaShem?
Joseph's spiritual status was very high. He was able to study Torah from his father Yaakov and keep it during the entire time of his stay in Egypt, the spiritually lowest place. However, Joseph's task was to manage the economy of Egypt and the whole world: "He took care of all the people", and due to this occupation he could not devote all the time to study Torah.
Our Holy Patriarchs Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and also Yaakov's sons, the tribes, chose from the beginning a job with few material concerns that left them a lot of free time to study Torah, they were shepherds. In order to establish a yeshiva, “a Study House from which teachings would come out for many”, Yaakov chose precisely his son Yehuda, who could give himself completely to the study of the Torah.
Yaakov agreed to go down to Egypt only when he was sure that a yeshiva was raised there, not before. The success of every Jew, also in material things, depends on a strong spiritual foundation, studying Torah in a yeshiva with tranquility and peace. For this, the basis of the education of every Jewish boy and girl, must begin in childhood with the study of the Torah "with purity and holiness", Jewish education without compromise and study the Torah in detail. That is the true tool for a successful Jewish life both materially and spiritually until "even though he grows old he will not depart from it."
