Amittah shel Torah:
A Unique, In-Depth Exploration of the Parashiyot
By Rabbi Yitzchak Twersky

Vayigash

Is My Father Still Alive?

The Midrash about Yaakov and Yosef's study of the parashah of eglah arufah is well known. At the same time, the difficulties in this account are glaring.

Where do we find that they had been studying the laws of eglah arufah? What is the connection between agalot (wagons) and an eglah (calf)? If we are correct in what we suggested in the previous parashah, namely that Yaakov believed Yosef was alive, we have yet another problem: why the initial disbelief of Yaakov at this point?

The answer to all of these questions is simple. Yaakov was shocked by the news he received concerning Yosef. That his son was alive came as no surprise to him. Yaakov fully expected that news. What bothered him was the idea that Yosef was viceroy in Egypt, the source of all food in the region, and yet did nothing to help his starving family.

Is it possible, asked Yaakov, that the same Yosef who dreamed of his bushel being at the center of the family was now in the ideal position to actualize those dreams, and did nothing to sustain Yaakov and his family?

This is the contradiction that Yaakov felt was innate to the facts as they were presented to him: עוד יוסף חי וכי הוא מושל בכל ארץ מצרים. (Bereishit 45:26)

The parashah of eglah arufah is about the responsibility of the leaders to take care of their people. Chazal explain that the leaders must bring the eglah arufah and say, "Our hands did not spill this blood," because the leaders have a responsibility to take care of the physical and spiritual needs of their people (Sotah 45b).

This is the "parashah" that Yaakov and Yosef were involved in when they were together in Canaan. These were the dreams of leadership that Yosef had (in an embryonic form).

When Yaakov heard the words of Yosef (i.e., his plans to sustain the family) and saw the agalot (that were sent to bring them to Egypt), he knew that indeed Yosef was yet alive.

The agalot, including their function, expressed the definition of leadership that they had been involved in back in Canaan. The agalot and the eglah are expressions of the same value; we merely need to understand what they are truly about.

In the beginning of our parashah, we read of a key encounter between Yosef and his brothers. The Torah says: ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אני יוסף העוד אבי חי ולא יכלו אחיו לענות אתו כי נבהלו מפניו. (Bereishit 45:3)

This is very puzzling. Yosef had been told numerous times that his father was still alive. Why was he asking yet again? If he still did not know, why did he proceed on the assumption that he was indeed alive, given the fact that the brothers never responded?

There are, of course, many approaches to these questions. One might understand the text in the way that the Beis HaLevi does (based on his understanding of the Midrash).

Another possibility is to suggest the following: Until this moment, the brothers believed that they were speaking to the viceroy of Egypt. They were discussing their father with him. The claim that their father was alive was clearly essential to their plea for Binyamin's freedom. Yosef now reveals himself and for the first time they know with whom they are speaking. At this point Yosef says to them: "Now that you know that I am your brother, tell me the truth, does my father still live?"

There is another possibility that is, to my mind, the one that comes closest to the mark.

Yosef had already been told numerous times that his father was alive. He knew full well that his father had not died during his absence. The question that burned in his mind was a different one: Was the Yaakov that Yosef remembered alive or not?

The language that the Torah employs to discuss whether Yosef was alive and the language used to discuss whether or not Yaakov was still alive are precisely parallel. They may well convey similar ideas.

We already saw that Yaakov did not doubt the physical existence of his son. Rather, he questioned whether he was the same person that he remembered. The same may be true here, as well.

Even a casual reading of the actions and words of Yaakov during the absence of Yosef yields the clear impression that Yaakov was deeply affected by the loss of his son. He was not the same Yaakov as before.

The Torah notes clearly that this changed when he learned that Yosef, the Yosef he remembered, was still alive. It was at this point that Yaakov was brought back to life (Bereishit 45:27).

Until that point, the answer to Yosef's question ("Is my father still alive?") was actually no! This is part of the reason that the brothers were unable to answer Yosef. They could not bring themselves to say that they had "killed" their father - if only temporarily! This may well be the intent of Chazal when they characterize this question as a rebuke. Yosef was truly asking them a question which he desperately wanted them to answer. Nonetheless, the effect on his brothers was one of deep and powerful rebuke.

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