Vayechi 5777

The Torah Portion of Vayechi 

Excerpted and Translated from the the Teachings of Rabbi Gershon Steinberg ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben Chaim ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat R' Yochanan Yitzchak Ben Nachum z"l 
L'ilui Neshamat R' Yaakov Ben Matisyahu HaLevi z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Esther Mushka Bat Yaakov HaLevi z"l
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaya Basha Bat Esther
L'refuat Hanefesh V'lrefuat Haguf L'Etan Naphtali Ben Zehava
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Rivkah Goldah Bat Chaya Basha 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Shimon Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Simcha Pearl Bat Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Moshe Shlomo Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaim Sh'muel Ben Rivkah Goldah 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Avital Bat Rut
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Eliezer Yitzchak Ben Bracha Devorah 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Michael Itzhak Nesshael Ben Avital 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Naomi Chana Bat Chaya Basha and
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'kol Am Yisrael V'l'geulah Hashleima Bekarov

"...and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly.  And Yaakov lived..." (Bereisheet 47:27-28)

The Baal HaTurim says, that it is written at the end of the Torah Portion of Vayigash "...and they were fruitful and multiplied greatly" (Bereisheet 47:27), and immediately following that verse the Torah states "And Yaakov lived..." (Bereisheet 47:28).  The close proximity of these two verses hints that Yaakov merited to see within his lifetime generations of descendents that numbered 600,000, and there are those that say that the number was approximately 300,000.

"Vayechi Yaakov..."  (In English "And Yaakov lived...") (Bereisheet 47:28)

The Hebrew word "Vayechi"  has the Gematria (numerical value of the letters)  of 34, for the main point of Yaakov's life was when he was together with Yosef, 17 years before the sale of Yosef, and in Mitzayim (Egypt) another 17 years.  Together this adds up to 34 which is the Gematria of the word "Vayechi".

"Vayechi..."  (In English: "And he lived...") (Bereisheet 47:28)

This Torah Portion speaks of the deaths of Yaakov and Yosef, and in spite of that the Torah Portion is called "Vayechi" ("And he lived").  Similarly, the Torah Portion of "Chayei Sarah" (in English:  "The life of Sarah") speaks about the death of righteous people and the Torah Portion is called "Chayei..." ("The life..").  The reason for this is that Tzaddikim (Righteous People), even when they are deceased, are still considered to be alive.

"And he told Yaakov and said: 'BEHOLD - your son Yosef has come to you'; and Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on THE BED."  (Bereisheet 48:2)

The Sages say that Yosef was the "same age", that is to say, he had the same "Mazel" (astrological star signs) as Yaakov, and the Sages explain that when someone visits a sick person and he has the same "Mazel", he takes away one part of 60 (that is, 1/60th) of the illness.  And that is hinted at in this verse.  The word for "BEHOLD" in Hebrew is "Hinay" with a Gematria (numerical value) of 60 ["Hinay" is spelled  with the letters Hey, Nun and Hey.  The Gematria of Hey = 5, Nun = 50, and Hey = 5, for a total of 60.]  The word for "THE BED" in Hebrew is Hamitah", with a Gemtraia of 59.  ["Hamitah" is spelled with the letters Hey, Mem, Tet, and Hey.  The Gematria of Hey = 5, Mem = 40, Tet = 9, and Hey = 5, for a total of 59.]  This is a hint to the words of the Sages that Yosef decreased Yaakov's illness by one part out of 60.

"...And Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on the bed."  (Bereisheet 48:2)

The Baal HaTurim says that it is written about Haman that he "fell on the bed" (Megillat Esther 7:8) and regarding Yaakov it is written "And Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on the bed".  The reason for this is that Tzaddikim (Righteous people), even when they are weak, strengthen themselves as it is written "And Yisrael strengthened himself", and Wicked people, even when they are in their full power fall, as it is stated, "and Haman fell on the bed".

"And he blessed Yosef..."  (Bereisheet 48:15) 

And right after that he said "The angel which rescues me..." (Bereisheet 48:16), and he blessed Menashe and Ephraim.  This present a difficulty, because didn't it begin with "And he blessed Yosef"?  But the explanation is that a blessing to the children is in its very essence a blessing to the father. (from the Ramban)

"...May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe..." (Bereisheet 48:20)

Why does every father bless his sons "May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe"?  The B'nai Yisachar says that Ephraim didn't hold himself proudly as being superior and act arrogantly toward Menashe, even though he was more important than his brother who was the firstborn.  Also, Menashe was not envious of his brother who was younger than him yet had been given more privileges and Yaakov had put his right hand on him.  Therefore every father blesses his sons that one of them should not act arrogantly toward the other, nor should one of them be envious of the other.  

"...May G-d make you like Ephraim and like Menashe..." (Bereisheet 48:20)

Another reason why the father blesses his sons that they should be like Ephraim and like Menashe, is that they were raised in Mitzrayim (Egypt) which was a place of impurity, and in spite of that they held onto their righteousness.  And thus the father blesses his sons that even if G-d forbid his sons will have difficult times, they will strengthen themselves and hold onto their righteousness like Ephraim and Menashe did.

"...By you shall Israel bless saying, 'May G-d make you like...' "  (Bereisheet 48:20)

The Baer Yosef asks, what is the meaning of saying "By you"?  He explains that this is referring to Yosef, for from Yosef we can learn that even though he was in the lowest of circumstances he was still able to ascend to the highest of heights.  Thus every father is able to bless his son that in any situation whatesoever, his son will still be able to ascend to the highest of heights.

"...Which I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow..."  (Bereisheet 48:22)

Rashi explains that this refers to wisdom and prayer.  Why doesn't Rashi explain this according to the simple meaning of the text, with a sword and with a bow?  The reason is that the way of war is to first shoot with an arrow from a distance, and afterwards when one gets closer to the enemy, to fight with a sword.  But in this verse it is written in the opposite order, first the sword and then the bow.  There are those who explain why prayer is likened to a bow.  Just as in the case of a bow, the more that a person draws it closer to himself, the further the arrow goes when it is shot; also in the case of prayer, the more a person has Kavana (intention or concentration) and makes an effort in prayer, the higher the prayer rises in the Upper Realms.  Another explanation of "with my sword and with my bow" is that it refers to the war against the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination).  First it is necessary to do battle with it from close up because it is is present in your heart, and afterwards to battle it from a distance so that it doesn't get close to you at all.

"...with my sword and with my bow..."  (Bereisheet 48:22)

An explanation of this is, with prayer and with requesting.  A sword hits immediately and a bow only hits afterwards (because it takes time for the arrow to reach the target).  So too it is with prayer.  Sometimes a prayer is answered immediately, and sometimes it is answered only after a period of time.  In the writings of the Gri'z (the Rav Yitzchak Ze'ev HaLevi Soloveitchek) on the Torah, he clarified that there are two kinds of prayer.  The first is the fixed Nusach (version) such as the Shemoneh Esrei which was established by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (Men of the Great Assembly), which has the strength to act and the Segulah (effectiveness) to be accepted like a sword because in and of itself it is sharp like a sword which can kill.  The second, is the private request of every single individual.  The Segulah (effectiveness) of this type of request being received depends on the strength of the prayer and the righteousness of the individual who is praying, and this is simllar to a bow and arrow, which in and of itself doesn't kill except by means of the man who is drawing the bow.

"...'Gather yourselves and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days.' " (Bereisheet 49:1)

The expositors of the Torah say that this comes to teach us that before the end, we need to gather ourselves and be unified and that will bring closer the coming of Mashiach, and that is the explanation of the words "End of Days".

"...for in their anger [in Hebrew "Apam"] they killed a man" (Bereisheet 49:6)

[Translator's note: The Hebrew word "Apam" can be translated as "their anger", and can also be translated as "their noses".]  The Chafetz Chaim says that occasionally it's possible to kill someone with only a nose.  For example, when a poor person wants to be hired for some kind of work in order to earn a living, and the owner of the business goes to ask people about him, if they turn up their noses (a body language expressing a negative attitude) they can destroy all his possibilities for supporting himself.

"Yehudah, you, your brothers shall thank..." (Bereisheet 49:8)

The Tirgum Yonatan be Uziel says that he blessed him that the children of Israel would be called by his name, the children of Yehuda (i.e., Yehudim or Jews, based on Yehudah's name).  And there are those that add that the sign of a son of Israel is that he always gives thanks to Hashem, and this is the name of Yehuda which is from the word Hebrew word "Hodia" (in English: "thankfulness"), and also he has within his name the letters of the name of Hashem. 

"...from the prey, my son, you ascended..."  (Bereisheet 49:9)

[On this verse, Rashi says, "from that of which I suspected you, 'Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces, an evil beast hath devoured him'...you withdrew yourself..."] The Chafetz Chaim says that Yaakov didn't know about the sale of Yosef until the day of his death, and only then was it made known to him by means of Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration), as it says in this verse "...from the prey, my son, you ascended...".

"...He stooped down, lied down like a lion...' (Bereisheet 49:9)

There are those that explain that even if a man has all kinds of times and occasionally he is in a situation of stooping down and lying down, a period of decline, G-d forbid, he needs to regard himself as a lion and a strong person, and to strengthten himself in every kind of situation.

"Yissachar is a strong-boned donkey, lying down between the boundaries." (Bereisheet 49:14)

All the animals, such as the camel, can't stand to have a burden on their body at the time of sleeping.  The only animal that even at the time of sleeping carries a burden is the donkey. And that is what is hinted about Yissachar;  the intention of this verse is that it refers to the Torah which Yissachar will learn without stopping whether during the day or during the night, which is the time of sleeping.  

"And he saw a  pleasant resting place, that it was good...and he bent his shoulder to bear..."  (Bereisheet 49:15)

Someone who wants a life of pleasantness and restfulness, should accept upon himself to bear a burden, and should not be strict but rather give in to everyone.

"For Your Salvation do I long, Hashem." (Bereisheet: 49:18)

When it says "For Your Salvation", this apparently means for Hashem to be saved.  Since "I am with him in his suffering" (Tehillim 91:15) (that is to say that Hashem is together with us in our suffering), we pray, as it were, for Hashem to be saved, and then we also will be saved speedily in our days, Amen.

A Summary of Yaakov's Blessing

Reuven lost three things: the first born son's birthright, kingship, and the priesthood.  Regarding Shimon and Levi, Yaakov cursed their anger.  He said that the descendents of Shimon would be scribes and teachers, and they would be scattered throughout all the land of Israel to seek their livelihood and they would be poor.  Levi would need to go around to the fields to request Trumot and Ma'aserot (the donations and tithes that the other tribes are required to give to the tribe of Levi.)  Yehudah was blessed with kingship, success in war, the praise of his brothers, wine, and milk. Zevulun would have success in trade.  Yissachar would have success in Torah, and a good land.  From Dan would descend Shimshon HaGibor who would judge all of them as one man, and Yaakov prayed that at the end of Shimshon's days that Hashem would help him when the building with the Pelishtim would fall on him.  Asher would have in his portion a lot of olive oil and would produce delicacies fit for a king. Naphthali's land would produce crops quickly and from his fruits they would say the first blessings on them.  Yosef was blessed with grace, the blessings of the heavens, the blessings of the depths, many children, and with unlimited blessing until the four ends of the earth.  Gad was blessed that they would go to war and their wouldn't be amongst them any casualties. Binyamin was blessed that the king Shaul would descend from him who would be the first to reign, and he would eat the booty of the nations, and there would be descended from him Mordechai and Esther who would recevie the house of Haman with the booty. 

"...Perhaps Yosef will hate us..."  (Bereisheet 50:15)

The Baal HaTurim says that at the time that they returned from the funeral of Yaakov Avinu, in the middle of the journey Yosef saw the pit which he had been thrown into and said the blessing about Hashem doing a miracle for him at that place.  Therefore the brothers were apprehensive that feelings of hatred would be aroused in Yosef about the sale and perhaps he would punish them.  Because of that, they said to him afterwards that their father requested that he would forgive them.

"Although you intended me harm, G-d intended it for good..." (Bereisheet 50:20)

This is similar to a case of someone pushing his friend into a pit of mud and dirt, and the person finds a very valuable diamond inside the pit.  When he comes up he says to his friend, thank you for throwing me into the pit because I've made a lot of money because of it. So Yosef said to his brothers, you thought to do to me evil, but from that came out a great goodness for all of us.  (from Masters of Mussar, ethical teachings)  

"...'please forgive the spiteful deed of your brothers and their sin for they have done you evil'...." (Bereisheet 50:18)

Rabeinu Bachya says that when the brothers of Yosef requested forgiveness from him, he didn't answer them explicitly that he forgave them.  Rather, he only said to them that they didn't do anything, and that everything was from Heaven.  And because Yosef didn't say that he forgave them the children of Israel were punished afterwards with the Eser Harugai Malchut (Ten Martyrs who were killed by the Roman Kings).  And this is a lesson for the generations, that when one person asks another for forgiveness he should answer him explicitly that he is forgiven. 

SHABBAT CHAZAK

This Shabbat is Shabbat Chazak, when we finish reading one of the books of the Torah (Sefer Breisheet).  When the congregation says "Chazak, Chazak, V'nitchazek" at the end of the Torah Portion, the one who has been called up to say the blessings on the reading of the Torah should not say it, in order not to interrupt between the reading of the Torah and the blessing that he says after the Torah reading.

The Torah Portion of Vayechi has 85 verses.Haftora: "V'yikrivu Y'mai David" (Malachim Aleph Chapter 2).

We say Borchi Nafshi.  



May you all have a  light-filled and happy Shabbat.  
Shabbat Shalom.

L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772

Vayigash & The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet 5777

The Torah Portion of Vayigash 

Excerpted and Translated from the the Teachings of Rabbi Gershon Steinberg ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben Chaim ztz"l
L'ilui Neshamat R' Yochanan Yitzchak Ben Nachum z"l 
L'ilui Neshamat R' Yaakov Ben Matisyahu HaLevi z"l
L'ilui Neshamat Esther Mushka Bat Yaakov HaLevi z"l
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaya Basha Bat Esther
L'refuat Hanefesh V'lrefuat Haguf L'Etan Naphtali Ben Zehava
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Rivkah Goldah Bat Chaya Basha 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Shimon Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Simcha Pearl Bat Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Moshe Shlomo Ben Rivkah Goldah
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Chaim Sh'muel Ben Rivkah Goldah 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Avital Bat Rut
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Eliezer Yitzchak Ben Bracha Devorah 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Michael Itzhak Nesshael Ben Avital 
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'Naomi Chana Bat Chaya Basha and
L'refuat Hanefesh V'l'refuat Haguf L'kol Am Yisrael V'l'geulah Hashleima Bekarov

"And Yehudah approached him and said, 'please...' " (Bereisheet 44:18)

The Alshich HaKodesh asks, what was Yehudah's complaint?  Didn't he himself say that all of them would be slaves to Pharoah, so why did he change his mind and complain?  All the moreso, Yosef had made it easier for them and said that only Binyamin would be taken as a slave.  And the Alshich HaKodesh explains, that in the beginning Yehudah thought that they deserved all the suffering because of the selling of Yosef, but since he saw that the man only wanted to take Binyamin, he therefore decided that this was probably a false charge since Binyamin wasn't involved in the sale, and because of that he came to Yosef with complaints.

"For how can I go up to my father and the youth is not with me..." (Bereisheet 44:34)

There are those that explain this according to Mussar (Ethical Teachings), "how can I go up" after 120 years to Our Father in Heaven to give a judgment and accounting "and the youth is not with me", that is, the days of my youth have not been rectified and I damaged them?  And it is necessary to learn from this to be concerned about guarding the days of youth when one is still young and able to correct everything easily.

"And it will happen that when he sees that the youth is gone, he will die..." (Bereisheet 44:31)

The Bait HaLevi explains that Yehudah said this, because he was concerned that Yosef would claim that if Yaakov was a Tzaddik (Righteous Man) in accord with what they had said, behold, when he would hear that his son Binyamin was a thief, his love for him would end and he would agree that it was appropriate to punish him so that he would be a permanent slave.  Therefore, Yehudah hastened to say that immediately upon their return home when Yaakov would see that Binyamin was gone he would die immediately, and they wouldn't have sufficient time to tell him about what that Binyamin had done, and that is what it means by saying "when he sees that the youth is gone, he will die" -- immediately.

"...I am Yosef..."  (Bereisheet 45:3)

The Chafetz Chaim says that the brothers had many questions about the difficult behavior of Yosef towards them and about the imprisonments, but when he said "I am Yosef" they immediately understood everything that had happened previously.  So it will be in the future to come when the Glory of Heaven will be revealed, and the Holy One Blessed Be He will say "I am Hashem", then all of the hardships and sufferings that happened to the people of Israel during all the generations will be immediately understood.

"...I am Yosef..."  (Bereisheet 45:3)

There are those Meforshim (expositors of the Scriptures) who ask, why didn't he reveal to them that he was Yosef immediately when they arrived?  And they explain, that it was necessary to fulfill the dream that they would bow to him, and if he had revealed himself to them before that, they would have great embarrassment that they had to come to him and bow to him.  And because they didn't recognize him they had less embarrassment from that.

"...I am Yosef.  Is my father still alive?..."  (Bereisheet 45:3)

It is written in the Midrash Saichel Tov, "Abba Kohen Bardela said 'Woe is us on the Day of Judgment, Woe is us on the Day of Reproof.  If in the case of Yosef who was younger than the other brothers, his brothers were not able to answer him; in the future to come when Hashem judges every individual according to his deeds, all the moreso.' "  It has been asked, what is the meaning of the words (in the preceding Midrash) "according to his deeds"?  The explanation is that when a man will be asked in the Heavenly Court why he didn't give charity, and he will answer that he didn't have enough money, it will be said to him "Behold, for other things and even for inconsequential things you had money to waste, and only for charity not."  Or if he will be asked in the Heavenly Court why he didn't learn Torah as much as he should have, and he will answer that he didn't have enough time because he was busy with his work, it will be said to him "Behold, on Shabbos and Yom Tov you had enough free time so why didn't you learn then?"  And this is the explanation of "according to his deeds" -- for each and every individual it will be according to his situation and his level.  And this is the meaning of the reproof that Yosef said to them "I am Yosef.  Is my father still alive?"  Behold, they were speaking all the time about their father, so doesn't it seem a strange question to ask them if his father were still alive?  The explanation is that Yosef was rebuking them, as if to say, "If you are so worried about Father's welfare, why didn't you worry about him when you sold me, for behold you knew that Father loves me very much?  And only now you are worried about him."  And there are those that give another explanation, that Yosef thought that it was possible that in truth Yaakov had died, and they only wanted to arouse his mercy on them so that he would release Binyamin, and therefore they told him to release Binyamin because of the suffering of their father.  Therefore he said to them, "I am Yosef, now tell me the truth, Is my father still alive?"

"And now, do not be distressed...because as a supporter of life G-d sent me ahead of you."  (Bereisheet 45:5)

This presents a difficulty, for what sort of comfort for them was it that he said "as a supporter of life G-d sent me..."?  Behold, they didn't have an intention for the good (when they sold him), and  the Sages say (in Nazir 23a) that someone that intended to pick up a piece of pig (to eat) and ended up picking up a piece of lamb, needs atonement.  The explanation is thus: the Sages said (Kiddushin 29b) that a thought doesn't cancel out a deed, but does cancel out a thought; and spoken words cancel out spoken words.  And  if so, when a person transgresses and does an intentional sin, and the damage was in deed as well as in thought because he performed the sin intentionally, the regret that he has in his thoughts as well as the speech when he repents and confesses are effective to uproot the thought which was connected with the sin, but the deed of the sin is not uprooted.  But here, when the brothers regretted selling him and said "but we are guilty about our brother...therefore there has come upon us this distress", the bad thoughts were uprooted by means of the regret and also the confession that they said "but we are guilty about our brother".  But even so, the brothers were worried that behold, the deed still remained.  Therefore, Yosef said to them, "and now, do not be distressed", because also the deed is canceled, for behold, the deed was for the good "because as a support of life G-d sent me ahead of you".  And also, Yosef himself was comforted from his suffering, because it was due to that suffering that he was made a ruler in all of the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt),  (from R' Tzaddok HaKohen from Lublin)

"...and Binyamin wept on his neck."  (Bereisheet 45:14)

Binyamin wept on Yosef's neck, and Rashi explain that he wept about the Mishkan in Shiloh that would be destroyed in the future.  There are those that ask, isn't it the case that this is the appropriate sequence of events, that after the time period when the Mishkan was Shiloh, the Beit HaMikdash (the Temple in Jerusalem) would be built, so what reason did he have to weep about that?  And the answer to that is, even though this was the appropriate sequence of events -- but why did it need to be that it would come about by means of destruction by the Philistines who destroyed it?

"To each of them he gave changes of clothing; but to Binaymin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing."  (Bereisheet 45:22)

The Sages ask, how could it be that Yosef would arouse jealousy between the brothers yet another time, after he saw that with regards to himself this kind of thing caused the brothers to stumble (that is, when Yaakov had given Yosef a special garment that was different from what he gave to the other brothers)?  And the Sages explain, that Yosef wanted to hint by means of this that from Binyamin would come out Mordechai HaTzaddik, who went out with five garments, as it is written: "And Mordechai went out from before the King dressed in the royal garments of turqoise and white and a large gold crown and fine linen and purple" (Megillat Esther 8:15).  And the Gr"a asks, and for the sake of a hint is it necessary to arouse jealousy?  And he answers, that the five changes of clothing given to Binyamin were of the same value as the one garment given to each of the brothers.  And this is hinted at because different forms of the Hebrew word "Chalifot" (in English: "changes of garments") are used for Binyamin and for the other brothers.  For the other brothers, the Hebrew word  "Chalifot" is written out fully  (with the letters Chet, Lamed, Fey, Vuv, Taf)  , but for Binyamin, the word "Chalifot" is written with the letter Vuv missing (Chet, Lamed, Fey, Taf).

"...and he appeared to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a lot." (Bereisheet 46:29)

Rashi explains, "but Yaakov did not fall on Yosef's neck and did not kiss him...because he was reciting the Shema prayer".  And the Meforshim (expositors of the Torah) ask, why wasn't Yosef reciting the Shema prayer if it was the time for reciting the Shema, for behold, there is one time for everyone to do it, and those who are alacritrous hurry to do it as soon as possible?  And in addition, from where do we know that he (Yaakov) was reciting the Shema prayer, perhaps he was saying a different prayer?  And the Maharal explains that it was not the time for reciting the Shema prayer, but when Yaakov saw Yosef his son ruling like a king after the great sorrow that he experienced over him,  there came into his heart the love and fear of Hashem who had done this for him, and how His traits are good and perfect and He pays a good reward to those who fear Him, and he accepted His kingship and the love of Him and the fear of Him, and that is what is expressed in the recitation of the Shema prayer, in which is mentioned the unity of Hashem's heavenly kinghsip and the love of Hashem.  And that is the character trait of those who are devoted to Hashem, when something good happens to them, they attach themselves to the Holy One Blessed Be He because of the goodness and truth that He did with them. And there are those who say, in the name of HaGri"z, that it's possible to say that it was the time for the recital of the Shema prayer, and that Yosef did not recite the Shema, because he was occupied with the Mitzvah of honoriing his father, and someone who is occupied with one Mitzvah is exempted from doing another Mitzvah.

"With whomsoever you find your gods, he shall not live..." (Bereisheet 31:32)

The Chafetz Chaim says that Yaakov said to Lavan "WIth whomsoever you find your gods, he shall not live", and because of that Rachel was punished and died on the way.  And behold, we see that when Yosef's brothers came from Mitzrayim (Egypt) and told their father that the ruler of the land thought that they were spies and in addition commanded them to bring Binyamin, at that time Yaakov Avinu did not curse the ruler.  On the contrary, he commanded to bring him presents, a little bit of honey, etc.  And he prayed for them that they would find favor in the eyes of the man. And if Yaakov had brought out from his mouth words of cursing against the man that had spoken to them harshly, he would have killed his son Yosef whom he loved more than all his other sons.  From this we see how we need to be careful not to express words of cursing from our mouths.

"And Yaakov said to Pharoah, 'The days of the years of my sojourning have been 130 years, few and bad have been the days of the years of my life...' (Bereisheet 47:9)

There are those that explain that because Yaakov came to Mitzrayim (Egypt) there was a blessing on the Nile River and the famine ceased.  And Pharoah saw that Yaakov appeared to be a very old man and worried that he was going to die and the blessing would end, and therefore Pharoah asked Yaakov how many were the days of years of his life.  And on this Yaakov answered him that the fact that he appeared old was only because of suffering, but with the help of Hashem he would live more years which would be good, and so it was that he lived another 17 years.  [Translator's note:  Note that the Gematria of Hebrew word for "good" (that is, "Tov")  is 17.]

THE FAST OF THE TENTH OF TEVET

On the eighth day of Tevet, Talmei the king of Yavan (Greece) forced the Sanhedrin to write the Torah in the Greek language and the world was darkened for three days.  The ninth of Tevet is the Yahrzheit of Ezra and Nechemia.  On the tenth of Tevet the king of Bavel (Babylonia) besieged the city.  It is written in the Abudaraham that if the tenth of Tevet fell on the day of Shabbat, they used to fast also on Shabbat, since it is written "specifically on that day".    In the Chatam Sofer it is written that every year on the Tenth of Tevet it is judged in Heaven whether the exile will continue or whether the final redemption will come.

The Torah Portion of Vayigash has 106 verses.Haftora: "Vayehi D'var Hashem" (Yechezkel 37).

We say Borchi Nafshi.  


May you all have a  light-filled and happy Shabbat.  
Shabbat Shalom.

L'ilui Neshamat HaGaon HaTzaddik R' Gershon Avigdor Ben R' Chaim ztz"l, Nilkach L'Bait Olamo Yud Gimmel Tishrei 5772