Parshas Vayigash
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Question:
"And they told him, saying, 'Joseph is still alive,' and [they told him] that he ruled over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart changed, for he did not believe them. And they told him all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. And Israel said, 'Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'" (Genesis 45:26-28).
Why did Jacob only believe his sons that Joseph was alive when he saw the wagons that were sent?
Do it Yourself
Jacob and Joseph are about to be reunited for the first time in 22 years. The Torah tells us:
"And Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he appeared to him, and he fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck for a long time" (Genesis 46:29).
Joseph was viceroy of Egypt and surely had many things to do. Why did he prepare his chariot when he could have had it done for him?
Rashi comments:
And Joseph harnessed his chariot He personally harnessed the horses to the chariot to hasten to honor his father.
Rashi says that the reason Joseph harnessed the chariot was in order "to hasten to honor his father." How will Joseph doing it himself speed anything up?
Joseph coming out to meet his father would be honoring him. But when Joseph, second in command of Egypt, prepares the chariot himself in order to meet his father, he is showing that his father his so honorable that it is fitting for such an important person to do menial work in order for Jacob to be honored. Furthermore, because preparing the chariot will give honor to Jacob, Joseph, wanting to honor his father as soon as possible, wants to start immediately and thus he readies the chariot.
Food for thought and discussion:
Since it is better to do a mitzvah oneself rather than use an agent (Kiddushin 41a), why does G-d sometimes require us to use agents such as Kohanim (the priests) who offer the sacrifices for us?
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
This is in the merit of my grandmother Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
A note: Comments within double brackets, [[abc]], are notes I write for myself so that when I look back later on the topics I discussed, I see all the sources I looked at and how I understood them. Readers are encouraged to skip them.
Question:
"And they told him, saying, 'Joseph is still alive,' and [they told him] that he ruled over the entire land of Egypt, and his heart changed, for he did not believe them. And they told him all of Joseph's words that he had said to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, and the spirit of their father Jacob was revived. And Israel said, 'Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.'" (Genesis 45:26-28).
Why did Jacob only believe his sons that Joseph was alive when he saw the wagons that were sent?
Do it Yourself
Jacob and Joseph are about to be reunited for the first time in 22 years. The Torah tells us:
"And Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and he appeared to him, and he fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck for a long time" (Genesis 46:29).
Joseph was viceroy of Egypt and surely had many things to do. Why did he prepare his chariot when he could have had it done for him?
Rashi comments:
And Joseph harnessed his chariot He personally harnessed the horses to the chariot to hasten to honor his father.
Rashi says that the reason Joseph harnessed the chariot was in order "to hasten to honor his father." How will Joseph doing it himself speed anything up?
Joseph coming out to meet his father would be honoring him. But when Joseph, second in command of Egypt, prepares the chariot himself in order to meet his father, he is showing that his father his so honorable that it is fitting for such an important person to do menial work in order for Jacob to be honored. Furthermore, because preparing the chariot will give honor to Jacob, Joseph, wanting to honor his father as soon as possible, wants to start immediately and thus he readies the chariot.
Food for thought and discussion:
Since it is better to do a mitzvah oneself rather than use an agent (Kiddushin 41a), why does G-d sometimes require us to use agents such as Kohanim (the priests) who offer the sacrifices for us?
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
posted by Mordechai18 at 1:28 AM
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