Vayigash
Yosef's dreams are realized in this week's Torah reading. His brothers
kneel before him, his father comes down to Egypt to witness his greatness
and power, and he correctly sees himself as the leader and savior of his
family. But like many dreams that are realized, Yosef's triumph is tinged
with bittersweet emotions. Yosef weeps and does not laugh in joy at his
moment of supreme triumph. Too many years have intervened between the
dreams of the gifted teenager and their fulfillment when he is a mature
adult. Too much pain has been inflicted upon all of the members of the
family for Yosef to feel full contentment at the final unfolding of the
affair. And Yosef is aware of the residual undercurrent of bitterness and
suspicion that his brothers still harbor towards him. The dreams have been
realized, the myth has been fulfilled, but the victory has been very costly
and thus the Yosef's cup is still not full. It will never be full. Such is
the course of life. No fulfillment of any of our dreams ever lives up to
the promise of the dream itself. Joy is usually found in anticipation,
rarely in realization.
It is precisely the understanding of this sober truth of life that allows
Yosef to become a greater hero in our eyes, after his dreams have been
actualized, than he was before their fulfillment. He is now sensitive to
his brothers in a fashion that was not present earlier in his attitude and
behavior towards them. He realizes how empty his triumph is, if his
brothers still despise him and are frightened of his talents and leadership
qualities. He therefore "speaks to their hearts," supports them physically
and emotionally, and attempts to rebuild the house of Yaakov in unity and
serenity and equality. The very accomplishment of the dream changes its
message to Yosef. He no longer wishes to dominate but only to lead and
help. His arrogance has dissipated and has been replaced by sober humility.
Age, experience, life itself, has taken its toll on the once over-confident
youth. Yosef now realizes that there was another part to his dreams that he
had not originally anticipated - the part that demanded responsibility,
care for others and magnanimity. Yosef sees that the dream is greater than
the reality and that all dreams must be continually pursued for none of
them are realized in their entirety in our human lives.
In our generation, a number of seemingly impossible dreams of the Jewish
people have come to actual life. The existence of a strong and prosperous
Jewish state in the Land of Israel; a strong, affluent and astoundingly
influential Jewish presence in the Diaspora; a rededication to Torah
learning and tradition in large numbers and great quality, all are the
realization of ancient dreams of the Jewish people. Yet, the realization of
each of these dreams has brought with it the understanding that our cup is
also not full. Many unseen problems and surprising disappointments have
accompanied the fulfillment of these dreams. The Jewish State is far from
perfect, the Diaspora is rapidly committing spiritual and national suicide
because of its rates of intermarriage and assimilation, and the Torah
community is beset by many serious internal and external problems. Yes, our
dreams have come true, but the Jewish world is still far from being a
joyous society. Like Yosef, we need greater maturity, more sensitivity
towards others, a larger sense of humility and less certainty and
triumphalism, in order to reassess our dreams and continue to attempt to
improve upon them. A people cannot live and grow without dreams. And the
dreams should always be greater than the eventual reality. But all of our
dreams should carry a warning on their packages. The realization is not the
end of the dream. Many times it is only its beginning and the process of
the realization of the dream is perhaps never-ending. It seems clear that
such is the will of our Creator as seen through all of the events of human
and Jewish history. May we prove worthy of our great dreams.
Shabat Shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein
Text Copyright © 2000 Rabbi Berel Wein and
Project Genesis, Inc.
