Sitting in the Driver’s Seat

The path to Redemption includes our mastery over all aspects of Egypt (read: exile, environment, dominant culture, fads). Rather than allowing it to influence the way we think and act, we harness the “wagons,” the vehicles that move us from one place to another in our lives, to follow in our direction—the direction of Judaism, that will lead us inexorably to the ultimate Redemption.

The Subtle Sledgehammer

Jacob had grieved for his son Joseph for the last twentytwo years. And now it was time for Joseph’s brothers to break the good news to Jacob that Joseph was still alive.

Obviously, there was concern that the good news would be too much for Jacob’s frail heart to take. Yet, the words Jacob’s sons used to convey the exciting news, in this week’s parsha, were rather blunt: “Joseph is yet alive, and that he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” At first, Jacob did not believe them. Only after showing him the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him to Egypt, did Jacob realize that indeed, Joseph was still alive.

There are several questions that come to mind. First, wasn’t the statement, “Joseph is yet alive and that he is ruler over all the land of Egypt” not exactly putting the good news subtly?

Second, even if we are to assume that they didn’t want to beat around the bush, they did not have to “schmaltz” the news by adding that he was the ruler over Egypt. Moreover, they even emphasized that he was not just the rule over Egypt, but that he was the ruler over all of Egypt. Why was that embellishment necessary?

Third, how did the showing of wagons convince him that Joseph was indeed alive?

Unhealed Wounds

Jacob’s grieving for Joseph was arguably the most pronounced illustration of grief that we find in all of the Torah. Twenty-two years go by and Jacob is as much troubled and saddened by the loss of his son Joseph as he was on the first day. Our Sages comment that the passage of time that always heals the wounds of the loss of a loved one, only applies to one who has actually died. Since Joseph was still alive, Jacob could not be consoled for the loss.

This premise, however, raises a question. Didn’t Jacob realize that the reason his wounds did not heal is precisely because Joseph was alive? Furthermore, did Jacob not harbor any suspicion that perhaps Joseph had not died, but was kept prisoner somewhere, as was indeed the case?

Uncomfortable Truths

The truth is that, most likely, Jacob did have a gnawing sense that Joseph was still alive. But that knowledge, in and of itself, was far from comforting. If Joseph was indeed alive, the likelihood was that he had been so alienated from his father’s way of life, that Joseph was lost to his father and his people.

Moreover, Jacob had the greatest hopes for Joseph. In his mind, Joseph was to him as he was to his father Isaac, and as Isaac was to his father Abraham. Joseph was groomed to be the next link in the chain of tradition that would lead to the creation of a Jewish people who would receive the Torah at Sinai.

But, alas, Joseph was ripped away from him. Would that mean that the chain that began with Abraham had come to an abrupt end, and G-d would have to find someone else from whom the Chosen People would descend? Would Jacob forever be denied the privilege of being a Patriarch of the Jewish nation? Would all of the past efforts of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs be for naught?

These thoughts were perhaps almost as disconcerting to Jacob as the prospects of Joseph having been killed. The only difference between the two was that whereas there is a healing process for the physical loss, there is nothing that can heal the ongoing feeling of illegitimacy that Joseph’s loss entailed.

So when Jacob’s sons had to break the news to Jacob, merely telling him that Joseph was still alive, would not necessarily be as comforting to Jacob as it sounded. Nor would it be so shocking. If Joseph was physically alive, but was living under the domination of Egyptian culture—the dominant culture of that period—he would not be alive in the true sense of the word.

Who Ruled Whom?

Thus, Jacob’s sons added that Joseph was the ruler over all of Egypt. They stressed that he was the ruler over Egypt. Joseph was not just their ruler; he exercised his influence over them rather than Egypt exercising its influence over him. Furthermore, Joseph’s mastery over Egypt was complete; he was the ruler over all of Egypt. There was not one area of Egyptian influence that compromised Joseph’s spiritual integrity.

Jacob was not shocked by the news, because upon hearing that Joseph was physically alive he was not taken by surprise. He always had a feeling that he might be alive. And even when he heard that Joseph was the ruler over all of Egypt, he found it hard to believe that that was possible.

Seeing the Wagons

How did Jacob finally realize that Joseph had not changed when he saw the wagons?

One explanation of this lies in the function of a wagon. A wagon, while enabling us to go anywhere, goes only where its master wants it to go. Joseph was hinting to his father that he was the driver in control over Egypt-the wagon.

The Two Moshiachs

One of the names the Jewish people have been given in the Bible is Joseph. We are all named after Joseph. The Joseph characteristic of each and every Jew is the one that our forebears—the “Jacobs” of the Jewish people—have invested much hope. And every so often, we drift away from our roots and wander off into the “Egypts” of our day and age.

In the Talmud, and particularly in the literature of Kabbalah, there is a reference to two Messiah’s. The first, who will pave the way for the second Messiah, is identified as the Messiah, the son of Joseph. According to the Zohar, this Messiah represents the initial phase of the Messianic Redemption. There is some debate among the classic commentators as to whether the Moshiach ben Yoseph is an actual personality who must precede the real Moshiach, or is he a stage in the unfolding of the Messianic drama. According to some, Moshiach ben Yoseph is actually one and the same as the Moshiach; it is a n earlier phases in Moshiach’s revelation.

Whatever scenario the Moshiach ben Yoseph phenomenon presents itself, it certainly convey a timeless message to us as to what our mission is in preparation for the coming of Moshiach.

Moshiach ben Yoseph: We are in the Driver’s Seat

Translated into practical terms, the path to Redemption includes our mastery over all aspects of Egypt (read: exile, environment, dominant culture, fads). Rather than allowing it to influence the way we think and act, we harness the “wagons,” the vehicles that move us from one place to another in our lives, to follow in our direction—the direction of Judaism, that will lead us inexorably to the ultimate Redemption.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayigash by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.