10 Mar 2010 - 24 Adar 5770
Weekly Dvar Torah
As part of the community's education programme, members are invited to deliver a Dvar Torah after the Kiddush each Shabbat morning. If you are not on the list and would like to give a Dvar Torah, please contact the Synagogue office.
On this page can be found some of the many Divrei Torah given by members of the community. If you would like one of yours to appear please send it as a Word document to the Synagogue office.
Vayigash
When I gave the Devar Torah on this Sedra on two previous
occasions, I focussed on Judah’s great speech to Joseph and
Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers. This time I would like to explore
two different facets of this dramatic Sedra.
Joseph's wonder at his father's silence is joined by a
terrible sense of anxiety which grows stronger over the years, as seasons and
years pass by and no one comes. His anguish centres on his father: the voice
inside him asking "Where is my father?" is joined by another harsh
voice - "Why did my father send me to my brothers that day? Why did they
strip off my coat the moment I arrived and throw me in the pit? Didn't he know
how dangerous Shimon and Levi are, especially since I had brought him negative
reports about them? What did my brothers tell him when they returned? Can he
really have had no idea at all of what they had done?"
The voices resound and intertwine, eliciting alternating
waves of fear and helplessness, of anger and hatred. Being thrown into the pit,
the kidnapping to Egypt,
slavery - a few months would be enough to drive him mad - and no one ever
comes.
Finally, a quiet acceptance of his fate replaced the
anguish. His brothers must have succeeded in convincing Jacob, and HE HAD BEEN
DISOWNED. Leah must have convinced Jacob that his vain and arrogant son, who
dreamt of ruling over them all, had to be disposed of before he destroyed the
household. After all, had not Abraham consented to Sarah's insistence that he expel Ishmael,
despite his love for his son? Had not G-d Himself sanctioned this? Had not Esau
lost his birthright? And had not Isaac capitulated to Rebecca in choosing one
son over another? Perhaps God Himself had told Jacob that Joseph had sinned and
had to be expelled.
Many years of torment brought in their wake a quiet
acceptance of his fate. He would live according to his father's traditions but
apart from his home. He would not sin against G-d even though He had rejected
him; he would not be seduced by his master's wife. Years later, when Joseph
rides in the viceroy's chariot, when he shaves his beard and stands before
Pharaoh, it is clear to him that God must have decreed that his life would be
lived separately from his family.
Joseph gives expression to this feeling of sad regret in
the name he gives his eldest son, born of an Egyptian wife:
He called him Menashe, because "God
has made me forget (nashani) all my labour and my father's house." (41:51)
To forget his father's house! Yosef is more subdued when
his second son is born:
[He named him] Ephraim, because
"God has made me fruitful (hifrani) in the land of my suffering."
(41:52)
Joseph's entire world is built on the misconception that
his father has renounced him, while Jacob's world is destroyed by the
misconception that Joseph is dead. But the new world that Joseph has
constructed for himself is shaken when his brothers stand before him, not
knowing who he is, and bow down to him. At that moment, he must question the
new reality he has created for himself; "he remembers the dreams he dreamt
about them" (Gen 42:9), and he is thrown back into the past.
Stalling for time, he begins a line of inquiry - and action
- which is geared to one end: to find out why his father had rejected him, if
at all. He must get hold of Benjamin, so that his maternal brother can tell him
all that has transpired. After the conversation with Benjamin, he will be able
to decide whether to remain silent or to speak out.
All Joseph's actions from this point onward - including
arresting Shimon - are directed towards this goal. He wanted both to get
information and to force Jacob to send Benjamin to Egypt. The cup was planted in his
sack not to test Judah
- how could he have predicted his older brother's outburst? - but just the
opposite. Joseph assumed the brothers would not be able to save Benjamin, and
this would be his means of keeping his younger brother with him, ostensibly as
his prisoner. This was Joseph's plan to find out what had happened and how to
deal with it.
Judah’s
response was an attempt to obtain Benjamin's release by appealing for mercy for
his aged father. In so doing, he tells Joseph- totally unintentionally -
exactly what Joseph wanted so desperately to hear, thereby freeing him and eventually
Jacob from their mutual errors.
Your servant our father said to us:
You know that my wife bore me two sons.
One has left me; I said he was devoured
and I have not seen him since.
[If] you take this son too and tragedy
befalls him, you will bring my old age down to the grave in agony. (44:27-30)
Joseph needs to hear no more. He finally realizes the naked
truth: No one has cut him off at all! Not Leah, not his brothers and, least of
all, his father. He has not been forgotten!
Joseph could no longer restrain himself
before all who were standing before him, and cried:
"Have every one leave me!"...
and he cried out loud...
and he told his brothers:
"I am Joseph; is my father still
alive?" (45:1-3)
Does he live? Is he yet my father, who loves me and has not
forgotten me? Is it possible?
Each of the players in our scene had a plan, and pursued
that plan. But the plan which was finally revealed was a higher plan, geared at
bringing Ya'akov's family to Egypt
and creating the Jewish people.
All the "forgetting" is revealed to have been a
tragic mistake. Jacob symbolically acknowledges the divine plan when, even
though he is blind, he knows that in blessing his two grandsons he must take
his hand off the head of Menashe (whose name connotes forgetting) and place it
on the head of Efraim (whose name connotes fruitfulness).
If we look at the text, and the text alone, this conclusion
is well-nigh unavoidable. This interpretation is directly based on Judah’s words,
paraphrasing his father: "I said he was devoured and I have not seen him
since." Now we see why these words caused Joseph to break down and reveal
himself - for he learned for the first time that his father was deceived; his
father did not reject him! Now we understand why Joseph names his son Menashe,
"forgetting." Only this interpretation is free of the assumption that
Joseph meticulously planned exactly what transpired, whereas the Torah itself
presents the climax as a total surprise to all who were involved in it.
So when Judah
said "Twelve brothers are we", he was alluding to the fact that there
were still twelve brothers alive, although he could not know this. If one seems
missing, it is only an illusion, a tragic misconception which will, at the
correct time, be revealed. Thus it is that this episode amply reflects the
Jewish mystical tradition, which differentiates between the revealed and the
hidden, between the best-laid plans of even the purest of men and the plans of Providence, and weaves
even failings and misunderstandings into the light of the Redemption, bringing
all twelve tribes together at last.
But with Joseph’s revelation, the story is far
from over. Joseph has now learned the truth. But how is Jacob to be
enlightened? And here, in this powerful story of a
family of brothers, a story about forgiveness and reconciliation, we find there
is buried a one-line mystery about a sister.
After Joseph reveals
his identity to his brothers, he sends wagons to bring his father, Jacob, to Egypt so Joseph
can take care of him. The text tells us: "Then Jacob and all his offspring
came to Egypt.
He brought with him his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his
granddaughters -- all his offspring. And these are the names of the children of
Israel, Jacob and his
descendants, who came to Egypt"
(Genesis 46:6-7). What follows is a very long list of men mostly, except for
Jacob's daughter, Dinah, and one granddaughter: "And the sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah, and their sister Serah" (Genesis 46:17).
What do we know about
Serah bat Asher? The Etz Hayim commentary indicates: "It is inconceivable
that Jacob's 12 sons should have had 53 sons and only one daughter. In light of
the general tendency to omit women from the genealogies, there must be some
extraordinary reason for her mention here, although no hint is given in the
text." Her name appears only one other time in the Torah, Numbers 26:46,
in the census taken by Moses in the desert. Since the same name appears in both
these lists, the rabbis assume that she must be same person. But how is it
possible for the same person to have gone into Egypt
with Jacob and his family and then be counted in the census after the Exodus
from Egypt
several hundred years later?
The
Torah tells us that after Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, he told
them to bring their father to him in Egypt. Just before they arrived at home, the
brothers began to consider what to do now. If they suddenly came and told their
father that Joseph was still alive, he might die of shock. Jacob had been
mourning Joseph for so many years; now they would have to break the good news
that he was still alive, occupying a high position in Egypt.
While they were discussing the problem, Asher's daughter Serach came
by. The brothers knew that she was an extremely intelligent young girl. After
greeting her, the brothers said, "We have an important favour to ask of
you. Take your harp and sing a song to Father. In the middle of the song mix in
the words, 'Joseph is alive. He is ruler of all the land of Egypt.'
Do not pronounce the words clearly; let them be swallowed up by the song. Do it
so that Father will not realise what you are saying until you have sung it many
times. Let every refrain end with those words." The brothers had made an
oath that no one should tell that they sold Joseph, and that anyone who
violated this oath should be excommunicated. They now sat down and annulled
this oath so that they would be able to tell Jacob that Joseph was still alive.
Serach took her harp and went to Jacob, singing a very beautiful, haunting
melody. She sang that Joseph was alive and a ruler in Egypt; and
although she did not sing the words clearly, Jacob heard them and began to pay
attention. Each time he caught the words more and more clearly, and soon he
began to understand that she was trying to tell him that Joseph was still
alive.
At this point the brothers appeared. They had sent word through their
servants that they had arrived, and now Jacob saw them returning dressed
magnificently. The brothers had sent Naphtali ahead with the news, since he was
a very fast runner, and the other brothers were now able to confirm the words
to which Serach had alluded in her beautiful song. Thereupon Jacob blessed his
grand-daughter saying, "You brought my heart back to life with your good
news and your beautiful melody. May you
live forever and never die."
Sing,
Serah, Asher’s child, what thou hast learned
From the eleven now out of Egypt
returned.
Sing how that God in His mercy has blessed them
That to the man down below they addressed them.
Who then the man, who but Joseph is he,
My uncle
as tall and as fine as can be,
Old one, look up, it is thy dear son,
Greater is Pharaoh only by his throne.
Lord of the lands his name they call,
The state's first servant they name him all,
Kings of the earth his praises sing,
Stranger folk kneeling to him tribute bring,
Over uncounted lands is he set,
To all the people he giveth their meat,
From thousands of barns he spendeth them bread
To carry them over their hunger and need,
For he it was in foresight wisely hoarded
And therefore is his name o’er all belauded.
His garments in myrrh and in aloes are pressed,
In ivory palaces he sets up his rest,
Forth from them like a bridegroom doth he come--
Lo, old one, behold what has come of thy lamb!
Rarest wonder,
past believing,
That in one should be the two:
That all poesy is living,
And the beautiful the true.
Here for once is now achieved
That for which the soul doth strive,
Let my burden be believed,
True and beautiful, thy son's alive!
SERACH’s SONG
From “Joseph
and His Brothers” by Thomas Mann
Jacob's blessing was highly significant for the
merit of her act. Midah keneged midah, the blessing to fit the deed.
When Jacob thought Joseph was dead, his grief was so great that he became as
dead himself. His spirit was so low that the Ruach Hakodesh left him; his
spirit withered and died within him. Serach's words restored the Ruach Hakodesh
to him--quite literally resurrecting him from the dead. Lies bring death; truth
negates that and restores life. When Serach spoke the truth, the words of her
mouth had the power to resurrect Jacob from his spiritual death. This power of
speech and song to restore life is one of the secrets of Serach's name.
Serach was "bat Asher", daughter of
Asher. Leah had called herself fortunate and happy at Asher's birth. Serach,
too, was a daughter of joy and happiness. The very name “Serach” can be
understood to mean abundant life. Serach's name means "abundance" and
is also very similar to, and a form of, "Sarah", which means
"princess". The difference between the two names is that the last
letter is a 
(chet) rather than a 
(heh). The chet is the letter in the Hebrew
alphabet that stands for life (chai). Serach’s spiritual joy flowed through her
soft song and enthused Jacob with new life and joy in his salvation, just as
King David would one day sing psalms with his harp and ask to have the joy of
his salvation restored to him. Serach's song came from a spiritual level where
there is only joy; no sorrow or sadness can exist there at all, for it is the
place of the Divine Presence, of the Throne of Hashem. Her joyous melody
repaired the violent damage that had been done to Jacob’s soul. "Joseph is
alive; he is a ruler over Egypt."
Her soft words poured into her grandfather like a healing balm from heaven.
(chet) rather than a (heh). The chet is the letter in the Hebrew
alphabet that stands for life (chai). Serach’s spiritual joy flowed through her
soft song and enthused Jacob with new life and joy in his salvation, just as
King David would one day sing psalms with his harp and ask to have the joy of
his salvation restored to him. Serach's song came from a spiritual level where
there is only joy; no sorrow or sadness can exist there at all, for it is the
place of the Divine Presence, of the Throne of Hashem. Her joyous melody
repaired the violent damage that had been done to Jacob’s soul. "Joseph is
alive; he is a ruler over Egypt."
Her soft words poured into her grandfather like a healing balm from heaven. And what was the song that Serach sung on that
unbelievable day? The midrash does not tell us. But in his magnificent epic
“Joseph and His Brothers” Thomas Mann puts into Serach’s voice a lyrical
rhapsody that captures the spirit of this dramatic moment. The entire poem runs
to close on 200 lines, so I shall give you just a flavour of that version;
So it was entirely fitting that Jacob gave her
the blessing: "May you live forever and never die." Legend
tells us that Jacob’s blessing was amply fulfilled. It was said to be Serach
who showed Moses where to find Joseph’s coffin, so that it could accompany the
Jewish people on their journey to the Land of Israel.
According to Midrash, she performed various other kind deeds and lived into the
time of King David, although there is another legend that says that she lived
into the ninth century of the Common Era and that a tomb was consecrated to her
memory in Persia.
But all the commentators agree that she became one of the few souls who went
into Heaven alive, fulfilling her grandfather's blessing that she would never
taste of death.
Neville Nagler 3rd January 2009
Oh wondrous strange, for now the truth is plain
That
quite, quite otherwise it came to pass.
Oh let my soul sing a new song as it
goeth,
For a fine chant on eight strings my
heart knoweth.
Of
what it is full let it runm over in rhyme
More
precious than gold and fine gold from the mine,
Sweeter
than purest honey in the comb,
For
the spring's message I bring home.
"Hearken
all people to my harp-tone sweet,
Listen
and mark what I may here repeat,
For upon
me the lovely lot doth fall,
And I
am chosen out among the daughters all,
For given
am I the strangest matter yet
Singer
ever fell onto his harp to set,
Now on
my eight my little fingers string
To
Grandfather old the golden news to bring.
Lovely
notes in order ringing,
Balsam
to all worldly woes,
Sweeter
when to lofty silence bringing
Singing
voice in words the meaning shows.
How
all that is then exalted,
Full
of sense the sweetest sound,
Over
all is praise allotted
To
song and psalter in combined round.
"Burden,
worthy of the music,
Tone
and word together strive,
Each combining
other's beauty,
For they sing: the lad's alive!
Yea, 0 Beneficent, what has here been wrought,
And what
have the ears of me little one caught,
And what
open-mouthed just now have I 1earned
From
men who were in Egypt
and returned,
From Father
dear and high uncles mine
Who
show me words to make a song so fine.
And they
gave me matter of splendour unmeasured,
For
who was it in Egypt
they discovered?
Little
Grandfather dear at first you will not follow,
But
in the end you will have it to swallow,
Lovely
as a dream yet true withal,
And just
as real as it is wonderful.
Rarest
wonder past believing
That
in one should be the two,
That
all poesy is living
And
the beautiful the true.
Now
for once is here achieved
That
for which the soul doth strive,
Let
my burden be believed,
True
and beautiful, thy son’s alive.
Still
'twere better if you think it,
Beautiful
awhile but yet not true,
Lest
the cup if suddenly you drink it
Fling
you on your back and lay you low.
As
when once the worthless bloody token,
Lying
in their throats, they brought you home,
Night
fell on your soul for ever unbroken,
Straight
a pillar of salt you would become.
Ah,
what pangs you bore in thinking
Nevermore
to see him with your eyes,
Dead
he lay within your heart and buried,
Now
therein he sweetly doth arise.
Sing,
Serah, Asher’s child, what thou hast learned
From
the eleven now out of Egypt
returned.
Sing
how that God in His mercy has blessed them
That
to the man down below they addressed them.
Who
then the man, who but Joseph is he,
My uncle as tall and as fine as can be,
Old one,
look up, it is thy dear son,
Greater
is Pharaoh only by his throne.
Lord
of the lands his name they call,
The state's
first servant they name him all,
Kings
of the earth his praises sing,
Stranger
folk kneeling to him tribute bring,
Over
uncounted lands is he set,
To all
the people he giveth their meat,
From thousands
of barns he spendeth them bread
To
carry them over their hunger and need,
For he
it was in foresight wisely hoarded
And therefore
is his name o’er all belauded.
His
garments in myrrh and in aloes are pressed,
In ivory palaces he sets up his rest,
Forth
from them like a bridegroom doth he come--
Lo,
old one, behold what has come of thy
lamb!
Whiles
thou believedst him mangled and dead,
And
with tears hast watered thy daily bread,
Twenty
measured years have sped,
Mourning
him with ashes on thy head---
Lo,
now, old one, behold and see,
God
He can scourge and can heal;
How
marvellous all His Ways can be
For
human children’s weal!
Past
understanding is His rule,
Great
all the work of His hands;
He
dealt with His servant as a fool
And
laid thee under bands.
Creation
laughs at the lordly jest,
Tabor
and Hermon leap:
He
snatched away thy dearest and best,
But
now thou shalt have him to keep.
Thou hast
writhen, old man, in thy pain,
And found
thyself in it again;
But
now he is returned to you,
Still
lovely, though rather stouter to view.
Thou
knowest not his face,
Nor yet his name canst guess;
Stammering
you will greet
Nor
know who shall fall at whose feet.
Thus,
God went about at His ease,
My dear
little grandfather to tease.
For a
word of beauteous rareness
In my
music interweaves,
Matching
all it hath of fairness.
And
it says: Thy darling lives!
Match,
O soul, in exultation
Golden
music of the strings;
For
the grave no longer hath him --
Heart,
he is arisen - sing!
Heart
it is the sorely missed,
For
whom the earth its anguish bore,
Whom
they lured into the coffin,
Whom
the boar's vile tushes tore.
Ah,
he was no longer present,
Desolate
the barren earth,
Till
we heard: He is arisen--
Dear
old Father, pray have faith!
Godlike
in his steps he paces,
Round
his head bright summer birds do reel,
As
across the flowery spaces
Lo,
he greets thee with a smile!
Wintry
grief and deathly anguish
From
his kiss away have flown;
On
his lips and cheeks and forehead
Hath
the Eternal favour strewn.
Read
it in his laughing features
All
was but a godlike jest;
And in
late-believing raptures
Take
him to thy father-breast!
Who
then do I sing, O Grandfather mine,
Who
but my uncle so tall and so fine?
Look
up, old man, it thy dear son,
Greater
is Pharaoh only by his throne.
Grandfather,
at first you cannot follow,
But
in the end you will have it to swallow.
For a
word of wonder-rareness
In my
music interweaves,
Matching
all it hath of fairness,
And
it says: Thy darling lives!
Match,
O soul, with exaltation
Golden
music of the strings,
For
the grave no longer hath him,
Heart,
He is arisen—sing!
Ah, he
was no longer present,
Desolate
the barren earth—
Till we
heard: He is arisen.
Dear old
Father, pray have faith!
From thousands
of barns he spendeth them bread
To
carry them over their hunger and need;
For
he like Noah wisely hath provided,
And
therefore is his name o'er all beloved.
His garments
in myrrh and in aloes are pressed,
In ivory
palaces he sets up his rest,
And
issueth like bridegroom forth from them--
Old one
behold what hath become of thy lamb!
Rarest
wonder, past believing,
That
in one should be the two:
That all
poesy is living,
And
the beautiful the true.
Here for
once is now achieved
That for
which the soul doth strive,
Let my
burden be believed,
True and
beautiful, thy son's alive!
Lo, now,
old one, behold and see,
G-d, He
can scourge and can heal,
How marvellous
all His ways can be
For His
human children's weal!
He snatched
away thy dearest and best,
But thou
shalt take him again to thy breast,
Thou
hast writhen, old one in thy pain,
Yet found
thyself in it again;
But now
he returneth to you,
Still
lovely, though rather stouter to view.
So G-d
goes about as He pleases
And
dear little Grandfather teases.
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