Rabbi Frand on Parshas Vayigash
This dvar Torah was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 220, Host
Mothers in Halacha. Good Shabbos!
The Identity of a Jew
The Torah tells us that Yosef sent wagons (Agalos) laden with food to
Yaakov, in order to provide proof that he was still alive [Bereshis 45:21].
There is a famous Medrash which explains that the reason Yaakov was
convinced that Yosef was still alive was that this gift was really a play on
words. The word Agalah [wagon] was symbolic of the word Eglah [calf]. Eglah
was reminiscent of the halachic subject of Eglah Arufah [the decapitated
Calf]. [Devorim 21:1-9; Sotah Chapter 9] Yaakov and Yosef were in the middle
of studying this subject, Eglah Arufah, when they were separated.
As soon as Yaakov saw the wagons, he realized that Yosef was alive, and had
not even a shadow of a doubt [45:27]. Yaakov immediately associated the
Agalos with the Eglah Arufah, the last halachic section they had studied.
I would like to relate a very interesting incident that happened in the time
of the Gaon of Vilna. Apparently, a couple had gotten married, and
immediately after the wedding the husband vanished. He was never heard from
again. The wife was an Agunah [a 'chained' wife]; she was unable to remarry
because she was still married to her vacant husband, and the Beis Din had no
way to know whether her husband was not, in fact, still alive.
Thirty years later, a fellow walked into town, went to this woman and
announced, "I'm home". The halachic question was -- do we believe this
fellow who claims to be the husband, or not? People change a tremendous
amount in thirty years, but still, no one recognized the man. This was a
very serious matter, involving an Eishes Ish [a married woman].
On the other hand, the fellow did not come unprepared. The man told the
woman things that only the husband could conceivably have known. He told her
all about the wedding. He even knew intimate information about her. The man
provided seemingly undeniable proof that he must be the husband. The details
that he presented were all things which ostensibly only the husband could
have known.
The Vilna Gaon was consulted regarding whether or not the man could be
believed. The Vilna Gaon told them to take the man into the shul [synagogue]
and ask him to identify his makom kavuah [regular seat] where he used to
pray. They took the man into the shul and asked him to identify his regular
seat. The man was unable to identify his makom kavuah. The Gaon then
identified the person as a fraud and a liar. Why?
This person wanted to trick the poor woman... He obviously had spoken to
the real husband and bothered to find out many "important" details, but
since he was not an honest, God-fearing, Jew, he did not bother to find out
about matters of spirituality (Devorim she'b'Kedusha). The man could
identify the color of his suit on the wedding day, the color of the flowers,
the name of the band, all the 'foolish' matters. But there is one thing that
a person who does not take his Judaism seriously will not think about
finding out: the Devorim she'b'Kedusha, the holy matters in the life of a
Jew.
The important thing in our lives is not what color our car is. The important
thing in our lives is where we pray in synagogue, what tractate of Talmud we
are studying, etc. Therefore the Gaon knew that this person was a con artist
and was not the real husband.
We learn this lesson from Yosef and Yaakov. When Yosef wanted to give
undeniable proof to his father Yaakov that he was indeed Yosef, the
incontrovertible piece of evidence he presented was the halachic portion
that they were studying. On the day that Yosef left, what was the 'Daf'
[folio of Talmud] that they studied? What was the 'sugyah' [Talmudic
subject] that they were studying? That is the way serious Jews identify
themselves. Not by where they went fishing together, nor by where they played
ball together, nor by all the other foolish aspects of life. Yosef identified
himself to Yaakov by the essence of Jewish identity -- the Torah topic that
they last discussed.
The Vilna Gaon was not engaged in miraculous revelation. This was just
common sense. A Jew knows where he prays and where he learns -- because
those are the key aspects of his life.
Sources and Personalities
Gaon of Vilna (1720-1797) [Rav Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman]; Vilna.
Rambam (1135-1204) [Rav Moshen ben Maimon]; Spain, Egypt.
This write-up was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tape series on the weekly Torah portion.
The complete list of halachic topics covered in this series for Parshas
Vayigash are provided below:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
