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Thoughts on the Parsha ~
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 Ramban[2] 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 lenses,
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 passuk[3] 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.” Rashi[4] 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 Maharal[5]
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 Tzadikkim[6] 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 Aruch[7] 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 thoughts[8] 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.
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