‘Come to Me’  Parashat Vayechi 5785

Last Shabbat, in which we read the Portion of Vayigash, Moreshet hosted Rabbi Harel Katzin, a person with a rich background in defence, who also happens to teach at the Hesder Yeshiva in Sederot. The talk he gave after services on Shabbat morning was exceptional. Fortuitously, the talk pertains to the Portion of Vayechi, as well. And so, not without trepidation, in this essay I will summarise Rabbi Katzin’s talk and I will add a few thoughts of my own.

A Torah scroll is made up of paragraphs, called “parshiot”. Two variants of parshiot are found in nature: an open variant and a closed variant. The open variant begins a new line, serving as a scriptural “return-key”. The closed variant begins on the same line, following an empty space at least nine letters long after the end of preceding parshiya. As a rule, a Torah portion begins with a new parshiya. The one exception to the rule is the Portion of Vayechi, which is separated from the Portion of Vayigash by only one empty space. Rashi[1] notices this anomaly and writes, “Why is this parshiya totally closed? Because, comprising as it does an account of the death of Jacob, as soon as our father Jacob departed this life, the hearts and eyes of Israel were closed because of the misery of the bondage which [the Egyptians] then began to impose upon them”. Rashi’s explanation is somewhat surprising because at the time, Joseph was still the Egyptian Viceroy, second in command only to Pharaoh. It is not until the beginning of the Book of Shemot, after Joseph has died and after a new Pharaoh has been appointed, that the Jewish People are subjugated. If there should be one parshiya that is completely closed, it should be the one at the beginning of the Book of Shemot.

Rabbi Katzin draws our attention to a verse in the Portion of Vayechi, which appears immediately after Jacob has died. Jacob has commanded Joseph to bury him in the Cave of Machpela in the Land of Canaan. Like any high-ranking government official, Joseph must request approval to take what will surely be a lengthy leave of absence [Bereishit 50:4-5]: “Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s Court, saying, ‘Do me this favour, and lay this appeal before Pharaoh. My father made me swear, saying, ‘I am about to die. Be sure to bury me in the grave which I made ready for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now, therefore, let me go up and bury my father; then I shall return”. What is this “Pharaoh’s Court”? According to our Sages in the Midrash, Joseph went to the Queen’s hairdresser, who went to the Queen’s makeup artist, who went to the Queen, who asked the king, who approved the trip. Why does Joseph approach “Pharaoh’s Court” and not go straight to Pharaoh himself? After all, Pharaoh was his direct boss, wasn’t he? The lack of direct communication is a signal that Joseph and Pharaoh experienced some sort of falling-out. This is what Rashi is alluding to.

Rabbi Katzin suggests what might have happened behind the scenes in the Royal Palace. When Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, Pharaoh is excited, and for a good reason: Egypt is about to receive an influx of even more Josephs. If one of Jacob’s sons could save Egypt from famine and elevate it to superpower status, imagine what ten more of them could do. Pharaoh tells Joseph [Bereishit 45:17-18] “Say to your brothers, ‘Do as follows: load up your beasts and go at once to the land of Canaan. Take your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall live off the fat of the land.’” Joseph sends a message of his own to his father [Bereishit 45:9-10]: “Thus says your son Joseph, ‘G-d has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me without delay. You will dwell in the region of Goshen, where you will be near me – you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that is yours.’” Here is where the dissonance kicks in. Pharaoh tells Jacob, “Come to me”. Joseph tells his father, “Come down to me”. Pharaoh wanted Jacob and his family to integrate into the Egyptian society just as Joseph had done. But Joseph has different plans. He wants his family to remain separate. He wants his family to live in the suburbs, “Goshen Heights”, as Rabbi Katzin called it. Not in Midtown, but on the Upper West Side. Not in the CBD, but in Caulfield. Not on Spadina, but in Thornhill. Joseph wanted to establish a Jewish ghetto.

Pharaoh orders Joseph to bring his brothers to the palace where he can meet these people of whom he has heard so much. He hopes to find his next Minister of Defence, Minister of Finance, Head of his Mossad, and a bunch of venture capitalists. Joseph, knowing what Pharaoh has in mind, coaches his brothers, advising them to tell Pharaoh [Bereishit 46:34] “‘Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers’ – so that you may stay in the region of Goshen. For all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.” We’re not the people you’re looking for. Pharaoh is no fool. He recognizes what Joseph is doing. He tells Joseph’s brothers [Bereishit 45:6] “The land of Egypt is open before you: settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them stay in the region of Goshen. And if you know some men of ability among them, put them in charge of my livestock”. Your brother has decided that you will never become part of our society. From that moment on, Pharaoh has no more words to say to Joseph. At that moment, the misery of the bondage which [the Egyptians] had begun.

Eventually, Pharaoh’s fears come true. The population of the Jewish People grows unnaturally and the Egyptians take notice [Shemot 1:9] “Behold the Jewish People (Am Bnei Yisrael) are too great for us (mi’menu)”. Implementing an explanation we proposed in an earlier essay[2], this verse can also be translated as “Behold, the Jewish People have become a nation that has become great because of us”. Because of our mismanagement, because we allowed them to remain separate, they have become a fifth column that must now be dealt with.

The Ramban[3] teaches that actions of the fathers serve as guides to the sons (ma’aseh avot siman l’banim). Rabbi Katzin brings the example of U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East, Amos Hochstein. Hoschstein grew up in Israel. He went to the prestigious Netiv Meir Yeshiva High School followed by three years of service in the IDF. When Hochstein served under Vice President Biden, he spoke to Israelis in Hebrew. When he served under President Biden, he began to speak to Israelis in English. He did not want to be accused of dual allegiance and so he chose to come to Pharaoh and not to Joseph.

The October 7 massacre deeply affected the American Jewish community. In the aftermath, many turned to faith and community for support and healing. A large number began engaging in daily prayer and regularly attending services in synagogues. The Winter 2024 edition of “Jewish Action”, the quarterly magazine publication of the Orthodox Union (OU), is dedicated to this phenomenon. It includes a three-part symposium called “Welcoming October 8th Jews Home”. The editor writes, “In the wake of October 7, thousands of American Jews, once disconnected from their heritage, are now embracing their roots. So, how can the Orthodox community rise to meet this moment? How do we ensure our shuls, schools and communities are truly welcoming to those seeking to come home?” The uptick in antisemitism in the U.S. is likely also a trigger, such that the recent resurgence of the American Jewish Community is a combination of group therapy and circling the wagon. Counterintuitively, this response is likely to exacerbate antisemitism. The more the Jewish community separates itself, the easier is it to define as a target which will lead to a positive feedback loop: antisemitism leads to separation which leads to worse antisemitism. And positive feedback inevitably leads to instability. For two millennia, this loop has been part and parcel of the Jewish diaspora experience. Israeli Jewry will not stand at the wayside. On our knees, we plead to our brothers overseas: Come to me!

Ari Sacher, Moreshet, 5785

Please daven for a Refu’a Shelema for Shlomo ben Esther, Sheindel Devorah bat Rina, Esther Sharon bat Chana Raizel, and Meir ben Drora.

[1] Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known by his acronym “Rashi,” was the most eminent of the medieval commentators. He lived in northern France in the 11^th century.

[2] Shemot 5773

[3] Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, known by his acronym “Ramban”, lived in Spain and Israel in the 13^th century.