Parshas Vayigash - 5764
When Paroah met Yaakov for the first time, the first thing he asked him was,
"How old are you," which is sort of a funny question to ask someone whom
you just met. The Midrash explains by filling in the back story: The
entranceway to Paroah's chamber had a very low arch. This forced all who
entered to bow down in order to get through. By doing this they would come
out automatically bowing to Paroah as soon as they entered the chamber.
Yaakov, however, did not bow. He entered
the room fully upright and a miracle happened - the doorway rose up so that
he would be able to walk through unhindered. This miracle happened just once
before for one other great man. That man was Avraham himself. Avraham,
the grandfather of Yaakov, traveled to Egypt years earlier. He too did not
bow, and the doorway miraculously raised its arch for him. Since Avraham and
Yaakov had a strong family resemblance, Paroah thought that perhaps the man
in front of him now, was actually Avraham of old. Therefore he asked him his
age to clarify the matter.
Yaakov would not compromise his faith
one iota, no matter the circumstances or challenges that confronted him.
Yaakov stood tall and upheld the words of the Torah. He didn't look for
shortcuts; nor, did he try to manipulate the Torah Law to fit his personal
needs.
There once was a shul that needed a
new cover for their Sefer Torah. They decided to have a contest in which
each woman would make a Sefer Torah cover and a panel of judges would award
the winner with the honor of having their masterpiece covering the Torah.
For the next month, the women were designing, cutting, stitching,
embroidering, knitting, sewing and crocheting with excited frenzy.
Finally the big day arrived. First the
families all gathered together to bid on the right to dedicate the new Torah
cover, which was about to be selected. Thousands of dollars were bid to
obtain this great honor. Then, the covers were put on display for all to
see. The room was filled with oohs and ahs, as the most exquisite displays
of artistry and tapestry were beheld by the amazed onlookers.
The panel of judges strode the room with
official badges and serious looking clipboards. Their task was daunting, as
every possible creative pattern, design and theme was before them. Each and
every entry was stunningly beautiful. Choosing a winner would be a
staggering task.
Finally after much tallying and
deliberation, a winner was chosen. Everyone gathered in the sanctuary to see
as the winning cover was brought to the Rabbi who stood before the Aron
Kodesh (Holy Ark). It was a gem. It was the most dazzling, superb, elegant
Torah cover anybody had ever seen.
With great pomp and flair, the president
of the congregation removed the Torah from the Ark and the Rabbi himself
placed the new cover on the Torah. What happened next, filled the room with
horror. A loud collective gasp emitted from the crowd. The worshippers could
not believe what they saw.
The Cover was placed over the Torah but
it was too short. It would not cover the whole Torah. There was pandemonium.
They didn't know what to do. The Rabbi, the president, the board and the
judges conferred for several tense moments. Soon it became clear that they
were going to be forced to choose another cover.
At that point the woman who made the
winning cover yelled out, "Cut the Torah. Cut the Torah."
This something that each of us do in
varying ways and measures. We try to adapt the Torah to fit our
lifestyles, rather than adapt our lives to the Torah.
D'Var Torah - Parshas Vayigash
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman
Yehudah valiantly offered to serve a prison-slavery sentence in order
to win freedom for Binyamin. When Yosef saw how Yehudah
cared for his younger half-brother, he realized that the brothers were worthy
to be redeemed. Caring for our fellow Jew is so vital to our existence
and our eternity as the following true story illustrates:
This past summer 30,000 Boy Scouts joined
together in Virginia for a national Boy Scout Jamboree. Among the myriad
groups of scouts who attend this event that occurs every four years are many
Jewish Scouts as well. Mike Paretsky, a Vice Chairman of the GNYC Jewish
Committee on scouting, was the kosher food liaison to the jamboree. Special
food was ordered from O'Fishel caterers of Baltimore, so that the Jewish
scouts would be able to nourish their bodies as well.
One of the scoutmasters, a Jewish man caught a
glimpse of the kosher offerings. He had never eaten a kosher meal in his
life, yet when he saw the special meals, something stirred. He and his troops
were being served pork-this and bacon-that for breakfast, lunch and supper,
and all of a sudden this man decided he was sick of the monotonous treif
stuff. He wanted to eat kosher. Scoutmaster Paretsky gladly let him partake
in a meal, but that was not enough for the fellow. The man decided to keep
kosher during the entire jamboree!
Mr. Paretsky agreed to accommodate the neophyte
kosherphile, but a skeptic approached him. "Mike," he said, "what are you
wasting your kosher food on this fellow. He is not going to eat kosher after
this is over, and he observes absolutely nothing! Why waste the food on him?
Mike answered with an amazing story of the
Chofetz Chaim. When Russian soldiers entered the town of Radin, Jewish
townsfolk prepared kosher meals for the Jewish soldiers in the Czar's army.
Soon their acts of charity seemed to fly in their face as they saw the
soldiers devour the food and then stand on line to receive the forbidden
Russian rations.
When they complained to the Chofetz Chaim and
threatened to stop preparing kosher food, he reflected with an insight that
must be passed on to generations. "Every mitzvah that a Jew does, every good
deed and every bit of kosher that he eats is not a fleeting act. It is an
eternity. No matter what precedes or ensues, we must cherish each proper
action of a Jew."
D'Var Torah (5761) - Parshas Vayigash
By Rabbi Baruch Lederman
Yaakov and Yosef were separated for 22 long, hard, sad and
lonely years when they were finally reunited. Sometimes a father and son can be
"reunited" even after death, as the following true story illustrates:
A Rabbi in Long Island was once approached by a young man to have
kaddish recited for his recently departed father (Kaddish is a memorial prayer
that brings merit to a departed soul. It recited every day for a year after a
persons death, usually by a family member). The young man made it clear that he
would not be saying the kaddish himself but would pay for the Rabbi to arrange
for someone else to say the kaddish on his deceased father's behalf.
Some time passed and the young man suddenly began showing up in
shul and reciting kaddish himself. The Rabbi asked the young fellow what had
changed and he told him the following:
When I was growing up, my father never showed any warmth
or affection. He was always cold and uninvolved. One incident that
always epitomized this for me was when I was in 5th grade. We had a paper
airplane contest in school. I worked real hard to make a great airplane. When it
was finished I wrote DAD on it with a bold blue marker. The plane won 1st Prize.
When I came home I was so excited, I ran over to my dad, gave him the plane and
told him I won. He showed no reaction. He didn't say a thing, he just took the
plane and shoved it away somewhere. Not one kind word or even a smile. That
incident told me that my father didn't care a bit about me. I knew he didn't
love me.
When he passed away, I realized my kaddish obligation, but I
just could not say kaddish for such a man. I came to you to arrange for the
kaddish to be said by someone else. This way my obligation would be dispensed
but I wouldn't have to physically say it.
Yesterday I went downtown to his office to clean out his
desk. His secretary let me into the room and I got to work. When I went
through his top drawer I found the paper airplane that I made in fifth grade. I
picked it up and held it. I stared at it. When I eyed the word DAD written in
blue, a lump formed in my throat. At that moment, his secretary walked into the
room and said to me, "Your father used to stare intently at that plane with the
exact same misty eyed look you have now. I always wondered what was so special
about that plane." I wanted to answer her but I couldn't speak.
I realized that my dad cared about me all along. He just wasn't a
man of many words. He didn't show his emotions and I didn't know how to see them
but now I understand that they were always there. He did love me. Today I came
to say kaddish for that wonderful man - my staunchest admirer, my hero, my
dad.
DVAR TORAH: Vayigash
Yosef and all his
brothers had a lot of conflict, but in the end, they were a family and
truly loved one another, in addition to sharing a tremendous reverence
for their father. Overcoming family friction and honoring parents makes
everyone’s life better and richer as the following true story
illustrates:
Martin Greenberg (name
changed) recently graduated from medical school and was taking a much
needed break at his parents home. The pressures of medical school and
the boards was intense. He had a little precious time to unwind before
beginning the grueling program of internship and residency.
One day, his mother had
company. A number of friends and relatives came to visit and she
glowingly told them about her ‘son the doctor.’ After telling the whole
story of his arduous trek through medical and the rigors of the program,
she added, “I know what, I’ll call him down and ask him to take out his
stethoscope and listen to everyone’s heart and take their blood
pressure.”
She then called Martin
and asked him to give everyone an exam ‘just like a real doctor.’ Martin
couldn’t help but groan and roll his eyes to himself. He came home to
relax, not to be put on display like a dancing bear. Couldn’t his mother
give him some peace for once in his life? It was annoying and
embarrassing.
But in spite of
everything else, Martin knew that he was a doctor second and a son
first. A son who loved and honored his mother (no matter how much she
drove him crazy). So if taking everyone’s’ vital signs was what she
wished, then taking everyone’s vital signs was what he would do. He took
a deep breath, gulped down his pride, and got ready for ‘showtime’.
He began on one side of
the room and went around the room listening to each person’s heartbeat
and taking each person’s blood pressure. His mom was kvelling (beaming).
After doing this for a
few people, Martin turned to one cousin and asked if he had heart
condition. The cousin said no. Martin explained that he detected a heart
defect and urged him to see a cardiologist. Martin wrote down the name
and number of an excellent cardiologist.
The man went to the
cardiologist and it was determined that he did indeed have a heart
defect. Since it was caught early enough, it could be treated. Had it
gone unnoticed much longer, explained the cardiologist, it would have,
in all probability been fatal.
One man’s life was
saved because another man did a mitzvah of honoring a parent. Imagine if
Martin had protested being shown off!
It is written in the
Torah that honoring your parents will lengthen your days upon the earth.
Now we see it can also lengthen your cousin’s days upon the earth.
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