Written by R’ Avrohom Hillel Reich based on a lesson and story by Harav Ben Tziyon Sneh Shlita
My Rebbi, Rav Pam ztz”l, always told us when you “clop al cheit” and hit your chest on Yo m Kippur remembering your sins - don’t hit too hard. The real pain, he said, should come from inside. Our hearts should be hurting from what was done, not the striking of our chests. The story in this week's parsha – arguably the most emotional recounting in the entire Torah – paints itself on the canvas of our lives through the tears and passion of Yosef, Yaakov, and the brothers.
But we have to ask ourselves... Why? Why did Yosef put the shevatim through so many tests? Did he want them to suffer? And why did he wait so long to tell his grieving father that he was alive? The answer is in the dichotomy we face each day of our lives....
When something that is less than desirable happens to us, we can have two reactions. We can say “everything comes from Hashem and is all good.” Or we can explore an even deeper emotion. We can take the path of introspection and try to figure out what we did, perhaps, that caused our current situation. We would be foolish not to recognize that within each event there is a message – a message for us to change our ways.
Yosef’s brothers were quick to acknowledge their responsibility. Their initial reaction was asheimim anachnu- “We are to blame, for selling our brother.” This was comforting for Yosef, but he was not convinced. Would they pass the test of teshuvah? What if I were to take away a brother? Would they remain callous and unmoved? When Yehuda realized that the new prisoner, Binyomin, was not involved in the selling of Yosef, it was time for him to protest and delve deeper into the mitzvah of teshuvah - they were now playing for keeps. So he approached Yosef with a new conviction. And Yosef felt their sincerity, they had passed the test – they would no longer abandon a brother....
Ani Yosef - I am Yosef, he said...the secret was now out in the open. The midrash compares Yosef to one who harvests a field, and Yehuda to one who plows and prepares the field for growth. Yehuda, in charge of his brothers, needed to dig deeply into the field, preparing it for a new seeding... a new reality. Things were changing, the brothers would acknowledge their wrongdoing, reaffirming their commitment to the truth.
Turning to Yosef, they pleaded – “we have done our part- now do yours”- and Yosef initiated the tearful reunion of the lost tribes. Our commentaries make the most of this moment, calling it a harbinger of the messianic era when the ten lost tribes will all come back. But we can, on a personal level, also bring moshiach, by listening closely to our hearts.
May I suggest the time is ripe to choose one thing we can start changing today...it can be as simple as looking in the eyes of our spouse and children when speaking to them. In the age of Facebook, we need to look deeper than at their faces, but rather into their hearts.
