Top secret Indications: Passing on Judaism’s Code of Perform (Parshat Vayigash) | Kenneth Brander
Is there a mandated moral course of action to take in situations where there is no explicit ruling in the Torah?
In this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Vayigash, we find assurances of how this obligation is part of the Jewish halakhic mandate.
When Yosef reconciles with his brothers, he sends them back home with gifts and food for his father and family – including something which, on the surface, is puzzling:
וַיִּתֵּ֨ן לָהֶ֥ם יוֹסֵ֛ף עֲגָל֖וֹת עַל־פִּ֣י פַרְעֹ֑ה
Yosef gave them agalot – wagons, or cows, dependent on the translation – with the permission of Pharaoh.
And when Yaakov sees these agalot and is instructed that his son, Yosef, is alive, his spirit is revived mainly because of the concept these agalot convey. Quickly, Rashi, quoting the Midrash, clarifies the connection among this gift of agalot and Yaakov’s spirit.
Yosef knew that his father might not believe his brothers when they inform him that he is still alive.
He therefore sent the agalot as a indication, a secret code indicating to his father that he has not forgotten the previous matter they examined with each other right before they ended up separated: the halakhic concept of the “eglah arufah.”
According to the laws of the eglah arufah, people of a have are intended to escort browsing attendees to the outskirts of the town in purchase to guard them.
If a traveler is murdered in the spot concerning 1 town and the future, the city leaders have to consider responsibility for not keeping him/her safe.
This transpires through the medium of the eglah arufah ritual.
On the one hand, sending the agalot to Yaakov is Yosef’s way of telling him that he is, in actuality, alive.
But at the same time, it is also Yosef’s way of sending his father an fundamental concept: perhaps Yaakov is not completely free of responsibility for Yosef’s life of tragedy. After all, Yaakov despatched Yosef alone from Hebron to his brothers.
There is also a much larger narrative highlighted by Yosef’s gift of the agalot that we Must extrapolate from the text.
Mentioning the study session between Yaakov and Yosef reminds us that our patriarchs’ and matriarchs’ lives ended up eaten with discussing ideals that would ultimately make up the moral and thical fiber of the Jewish people.
We see this during Bereishit. Another case in point is in the famous discussion concerning Avraham and God around Sodom and Amorah Avraham reminds God, “Far be it from You! Shall not the Choose of all the earth offer justly?” – would not the Creator of the universe want ethics and righteousness to be section of His carry out with Sodom and Amorah?
This moral and moral foundation is emphasized several times within the Reserve of Bereishit and it is why our Sages get in touch with it ספר הישר – “The Guide of Righteousness,” for it animates an ethos that will shape Judaism and its worldview.
Baked into the Jewish tradition is an elastic clause that demands from us to do good and right in all times and in all situations.
A responsibility to be a moral and ethical people.
When we read the story of the agalot through this prism, we learn that Yosef is sending his father Yaakov an important message. He is indicating, “Abba, your classes were being not misplaced on me. I acted ethically and morally even in Egypt.”
May perhaps we merit to successfully pass on our spiritual genetic makeup to future generations and conduct ourselves according to the ethics embedded in Judaism.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander is President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone, an Israel-based network of 27 educational and social motion applications reworking Jewish daily life, dwelling and leadership in Israel and across the earth. He is the rabbi emeritus of the Boca Raton Synagogue and founder of the Katz Yeshiva Large College. He served as the Vice President for College and Local community Existence at Yeshiva University and has authored quite a few articles in scholarly journals.
