They recounted to him, saying, “Yosef is still alive, and he rules over all the land of Egypt.” (Bereishis 45:26)
Yosef’s brothers came back home and told their father Yaakov two things. First they told him that “Yosef is still alive,” implying he is still a tzaddik, as only a tzaddik is truly “alive.”
The second thing they told Yaakov is that Yosef “rules over all the land of Egypt.” They recounted his glory, grandeur and wealth.
Yaakov, after hearing their reports, responded: “It is great that Yosef my son is alive.” It was enough to hear that Yosef maintained his tzidkus. But he didn’t see what was so important about Yosef having become a great and powerful ruler. The important thing is that he is a tzaddik, and this made Yaakov happy, this made Yaakov want to go and see him. If chas v’shalom Yosef would have lost his tzidkus, Yaakov would not have had the desire to go see him.
This shows us what parents should be proud of. Fame and success are not important. Torah is.
When Yaakov finally saw Yosef, he said, “I will die only once, after having seen you, for you are still alive.” As we mentioned, “alive” implies that he is a tzaddik. Yaakov can now leave this world with confidence. His son’s merits will continue to benefit him even after his death. This is because someone who brings others to do mitzvos has a share in those mitzvos.
If we raise our children to Torah learning and Torah observance, besides the nachas, we will share in their merits in the next world. The reverse is also true: if a person neglects to raise his children to Torah and mitzvos, beside the grief and shame it causes him in this world, he will be punished for their sins even after he passes away.
This is why Yaakov was confident after seeing Yosef that he will die only once. If Yosef had become like the wicked Egyptians, Yaakov would die and die again – he would be punished over and over, for all the sins that his son continues to commit even after Yaakov passes away. But now that he saw how Yosef kept up his tzidkus, Yaakov has nothing to worry about. On the contrary, he will ascend from madreigah to madreigah after he passes away.
