How might we understand the significance ofthe wagons used in the wilderness, in the context of Yaakov’ family’s relocation in Egypt?
We read in Parashat Vayigash of Yaakov’s relocation in Egypt with his family, to escape the harsh drought that ravaged Canaan. Yosef, after revealing his identity to his brothers who had come to Egypt to purchase grain, sent them to Canaan to bring Yaakov and their families. Yaakov at first did not believe his brothers’ claim that Yosef was alive and serving as vizier in Egypt. But then, as the Torah writes, “They related to him all the words that Yosef spoke to them, and he saw the wagons which Yosef had sent to transport him” (45:27). At that point, Yaakov indeed believed that his beloved son was alive.
Rashi, in a famous passage, writes that Yaakov overcame his skepticism when he heard the message Yosef had sent through his brothers along with the wagons. The word agalot(“wagons”) relates to the word egla (“calf”), and alludes to the egla arufa ritual described in Sefer Devarim (21:1-9). Yosef reminded his father that this halakha was the last topic they studied together before Yosef left home twenty years earlier. This reminder convinced Yaakov that Yosef was indeed alive, and that it was he who summoned him to Egypt.
The Da’at Zekeinim Mi-ba’alei Ha-tosefot presents a different version of this Midrashic tradition, claiming that the wagons sent by Yosef were intended as an allusion to the wagons used by Benei Yisrael in the wilderness to transport the Mishkan. As we read in Parashat Naso (chapter 7), the tribal leaders donated wagons to the Leviyim on the day of the Mishkan’s inauguration, and the Leviyim used these wagons for transporting the various parts of the Mishkan as Benei Yisrael traveled in the wilderness. According to the theory presented by the Da’at Zekeinim, it was this topic that Yaakov and Yosef had been studying when Yosef left home, and to which Yosef alluded when he sent wagons to carry Yaakov.
How might we understand the significance ofthe wagons used in the wilderness, in the context of Yaakov’ family’s relocation in Egypt?
One possibility, perhaps, is that these wagons signify cooperation and the absence of petty competition. When the twelve nesi’im (tribal leaders) presented their gift to the Leviyim, they formed six pairs, each donating one wagon (“agala al shenei ha-nesi’im” – Bamidbar 7:3). The nesi’im did not attempt to outdo each other; there was no competition to determine who could bring the more lavish or more useful gift. They worked together in unison and cooperation, without any struggle for superiority or one-upmanship. They left their egos behind and chose to work together on behalf of the new institution of the Mishkan. The nesi’im’s concern was not how to best distinguish themselves and earn individual notoriety, but rather how to best serve the interests of Am Yisrael.
As Yaakov’s family made its way to Egypt for what would be an extended and harsh exile, it was hoped that a new chapter would begin, which would bring an end to the sorrowful chapter of jealousy and strife that had been written over the previous two decades. According to the Da’at Zekeinim, Yosef’s wagons symbolized the hopes for an end to petty competition among the tribes, an end to the destructive power struggles that undermine any hopes for success and tranquility. The story began with jealousy, competitiveness and hostility. The reunion of Yosef with his brothers was seen as heralding a new stage, a period of reconciliation and cooperation, as represented by the six wagons donated by the nesi’im, which teach us to work together in pursuit of our common goals, and not to turn religious observance into a source of fierce competition and a battle of egos.