ישנם שני סוגים של אנטישמיות - אחת הבאה מבורות וחוסר הבנה, ואחת הבאה מעיוות מוסרי. ויש גם דרכים שונות להתמודד עימן, כפי שמציע המזמור שלפנינו.

מה משמעות הדרישה להגות בתורה יומם ולילה? 

  Even as Yosef’s emotions welled up, he had the presence of mind and sufficient control to ask his men to leave the room.  At this dramatic moment, Yosef did not lose himself in his emotions, and still thought clearly and made his decisions in a sound, rational manner. 

      We read in Parashat Vayigash of the gifts that Yosef gave his brothers immediately after revealing to them his identity.  The Torah relates that Yosef gave each of his brothers a new garment, but he gave Binyamin five new garments and three hundred silver coins (45:22).

 

 

            The Torah in Parashat Vayigash tells of Yaakov’s meeting with Pharaoh after moving to Egypt.  We read that upon seeing Yaakov, Pharaoh inquired about his age, to which Yaakov responded that he was one hundred and thirty years old, adding, “few and bad have the years of my life been, and they did not reach the years of the lives of my fathers…” (47:9).

 

 Why did Yosef find it necessary to tell his brothers to respond to Pharaoh’s question by informing him they were shepherds?  After all, as we know from earlier in Sefer Bereishit, Yosef and his brothers indeed did work as shepherds.

  When we rush, we naturally feel embittered by the time and effort required to reach our goal, as we are interested solely in achieving the final objective.  In interpreting Yosef’s admonition to mean, “Do not be angry at the road,” Chazal urge us to recognize the value and significance of the derekh, of the process, the journey we need to take in pursuing our goals. 

 The Torah in Parashat Vayigash tells of Yaakov’s dramatic reunion with his son, Yosef, after twenty-two years of separation.  We read that Yosef went to greet his father, and “he appeared to him and fell on his neck and cried…” (46:29). 

           We read in Parashat Vayigash of Yaakov’s relocation in Egypt, where he was reunited with his beloved son, Yosef, after a period of twenty-two years during which they had not seen each other.  The Torah tells that upon Yaakov’s arrival, “Yosef harnessed his chariot and went up to greet Yisrael in Goshen” (46:29).

        We read in Parashat Vayigash of how Yosef finally revealed his identity to his brothers, after hearing Yehuda’s impassioned plea that he allow Binyamin to return home to Canaan.  The Torah introduces this dramatic stage of the story with a difficult verse that has been subject to different interpretations among the commentators: “Yosef was unable to control himself in the presence of all those standing in front of him, and he called, ‘Send everybody away from me!’ – and so no person stood with him when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers” (45:1). 

עמודים

x