Parshas
Vayigash
Two-Face:
The One Tracked Mind
By:
Daniel Listhaus
וְהַקֹּל
נִשְׁמַע בֵּית פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר בָּאוּ
אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינֵי פַרְעֹה
וּבְעֵינֵי עֲבָדָיו
“The
news was heard in Pharaoh’s house saying, 'Yosef's brothers have
come!' And it was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of
his servants.”
-Vayigash
45:16
After
being separated from his family for twenty-two years, Yosef was about
to find himself being reunited with his father, Yaakov. The passuk
(verse)1
relates
that when Pharaoh heard that Yosef's family was coming down to
Mitzrayim
(Egypt),
he was extremely happy. However, the reason he was happy was not
because he was sharing in Yosef's simcha
(joyous
occasion) of
being reunited with his family. Instead, Pharaoh was ecstatic for a
very different reason.
When
Pharaoh appointed Yosef as second-in-command of the entire country,
there were many people who raised an eyebrow. How could Pharaoh take
Yosef out of prison and bring him into royalty? Yosef was not only a
slave in Mitzrayim,
but a foreigner. It was unheard of that a foreign slave should reach
any position of importance. The people in Mitzrayim
may
have understood that Pharaoh did not have much of a choice, and that
Yosef was indeed necessary to save the economy; however they were
still furious at Pharaoh for nominating Yosef as part of the royal
palace. The Ramban2
explains
that when Pharaoh heard that Yosef's family was coming, he was
relieved because now people would see the type of background that
Yosef came from and would no longer be ashamed that such a person was
vice president of Mitzrayim.
After all, Yaakov's household was one of royalty and wealth, not one
of destitute slaves. So, when the Mitzriyim
would
see them, they would stop pestering Pharaoh about his decision of
appointing Yosef over Mitzrayim.
This
Ramban
really
puts Pharaoh in perspective. He was a completely
self-centered individual who looked at everything through colored
glasses, trying to see how any occurrence could benefit him. One
would think that after all that Yosef did for Pharaoh, Pharaoh would
at least feel a minimal connection to Yosef, and should have been
happy for Yosef when he heard that Yaakov was coming to Mitzrayim.
Yet, as the Ramban
explains,
we must not be fooled by Pharaoh’s expression of happiness, because
he was only happy for selfish reasons.
Just
to give an example closer to home, imagine for a moment a girl whose
father went to fight in Afghanistan for many years. Growing up in a
home with only a mother to support the family was very stressful for
this child and as a result she eventually started causing problems at
her private school. Because of this girl's behavior issues at school,
some prospective parents were turned off and decided not to send
their kids to such a school where there were kids with attitude and
behavior problems. Then, one day, this girl's father comes back from
overseas and decides to pay a surprise visit to his daughter at
school. He goes to the school office and has them page her over the
intercom. One could imagine the happiness of this girl as she walks
into the office and is surprised to see her father. During this
emotional scene, the principal is standing in the office and smiling
as he watches this girl's father embracing his daughter for the first
time in years. The situation might suggest that the principal is
happy for the girl, and feels a rush of emotions while witnessing,
first-hand, the surreal experience that this girl is having. Imagine,
however, that although the principal is standing there smiling, you
are able to read his mind and know that he is really thinking to
himself nothing other than, “Finally, now this girl might start
behaving and we could have an easier time recruiting new students”.
If
one were indeed able to read the principal's mind and found that he
was in fact thinking such thoughts, one would be absolutely disgusted
with him. How could one be so selfish, that at such a momentous event
in someone's life, to only be thinking about how the ramifications
are good for himself? Yet, this was exactly what was going through
Pharaoh’s head. When the news came that Yaakov was coming to
Mitzrayim,
Pharaoh stood there with a smile on his face, but only because he
thought of the relief that would finally come to him after years of
hearing complaints about Yosef the slave becoming second to the king.
The
family of Yaakov, however, has a very different approach to life.
When
Yaakov finally came down to Mitzrayim,
the passuk3
states,
“Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Yisroel his
father, to Goshen; and he appeared to him, fell on his neck, and he
wept on his neck excessively.” Rashi4
explains
that although Yosef fell on Yaakov's neck, Yaakov did not immediately
return the affection with a hug, kiss, or crying tears of joy,
because he was reciting
Shema.
The
obvious question is why did Yaakov have to be saying Shema
at
this point? He was about to see his son, who he thought had died,
after so many years. Why didn't Yaakov go to an earlier minyan?
Yaakov should have scheduled his reciting of Shema
in
a way that would not interfere with his reuniting with Yosef. So, why
was Yaakov saying Shema
at
this particular point?
The
Maharal5
explains
that Yaakov avinu
wanted
to channel all the love and excitement that had poured into his heart
with the thought of seeing Yosef after such a long time. So, right at
the climax when he was about to see Yosef, Yaakov invested all those
emotions into announcing Hashem's Oneness and declaring his love
towards Hashem.
Yaakov's
mind worked in the exact opposite way of Pharaoh’s. As
aforementioned, Pharaoh was someone who would take anything he
witnessed and try to figure out how it could benefit him. Yaakov, on
the other hand, would take any actions, emotions, and thoughts he
had, and have in mind that they should all be for Hashem. Yaakov
lived a life of higher purpose and therefore realized the importance
of having good intentions when living his life.
The
Orchos
Tzadikkim6
describes
that everything we do could be used for kedusha
(Holiness)
as
long as we have the right intentions when doing them. Even things as
simple and mundane as taking a shower, could be a mitzva
if
we have the correct mind-set. We could wash ourselves so that we look
clean, or we could wash ourselves because we recognize that we are
representatives of Hashem, and it is therefore part of our duty to
look and dress in a respectable manner. The same activity with just a
slight difference in intention could make a tremendous difference in
the quality of the action.
The
Shulchan
Aruch7
brings
a halacha
(law)
that
although it is very nice if a shaliach
tzibbur (the
one
who leads
davening)
has a good, sweet voice, if he is davening
as
shaliach
tzibbur because
he likes showing off his voice or likes to hear himself sing, then it
is disgusting for such a person to represent the congregation. Unlike
Pharaoh who viewed the world selfishly, only caring about how things
benefited him, our perspective as Jews is to do everything with the
intention of bringing kiddush
Hashem
(literally – sanctifying Hashem['s Name]) into the world –
whether it be doing things for others to bring peace or even things
for ourselves, but with the intention of doing it with kedusha.
There could be two people singing the same way. However, Hashem knows
our thoughts8
and the one who sings to show off his voice is repulsive in the eyes
of Hashem, while the one who does it solely to beautify the davening
is
considered pleasant.
There
is no doubt that it is extremely hard to separate our own personal
motives and do things for purely the right reasons. We constantly
allow our personal hopes and desires to get in the way. However, we
must understand that being a two-face like Pharaoh with a one tracked
mind of self interest is not the proper way to live. Rather
everything we do should be used as a means for becoming closer to
Hashem.
2Ibid.
4Ibid.
5Maharal
Gur Aryeh 46:29. See also
Pardes Yosef 46:29
6Orchos
Tzadikkim - Sha'ar HaGaivah
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