Parashat Vayigash | In Extremes

“Now you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then put them together for yourself one to another into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. And when the sons of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: ‘Behold, I am going to take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.’[1]” These are the words of the Haftarah which we shall be reading this shabbat, where finally Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers.

These days, once again, the issues relating to the Kotel raise again to the forefront of the news. Many arguments are made regarding the ways of sharing the place when there are different ways within Judaism. On the one hand, we find extremists who say it all belongs to us, there is no way but our way. Let us not fool ourselves, we the non-Orthodox streams, but not only us, are not on the other side of the spectrum. Rather, on that extreme all those who claim that they do not care whatsoever. From their perspective the other extreme can have it all, and they do mind to sacrifice our rights to something that belongs to all Jews. There will come a day where they will understand that such a position is devastating.stating.tating.ating.ting.ing.ng.g..ing.stating.tating.ating.ting.ing.ng.g.ng.g.d they will be one in My hand.’’ ” These are the words of the Haftarah which we shall be reading this sShabbat, where finally Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers.you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.’[2]” A moment of drama – the union of the brothers who were separated supposedly due to the sale of Joseph to the convoy that was due Egypt.

We shall therefore return once more to Sefer HaAgada, edited by Bialik and Ravnitski, that as I have mentioned before we shall be using from time to time throughout this year. We find there a story, based on Bereshit Rabah, the following: “Rabbi Heya said in the name of rabbi Yohanan: Jacob should have gone to Egypt bound by a heavy iron chain… rabbi Berekhya said in the name of rabbi Judah Bar Simon: like a cow that was pulled to the slaughterhouse and would not budge. What did they do? Put her son before her and she would walk without choice behind him, and not to her favor. So was Jacob, he ought to have gone to Egypt bound by chain and collar, but the Blessed One said: shall I take my first born and lead him in disgrace? And if to bring him before Pharoah I shall not do that publicly, rather I will lure him by sending his son ahead of him and he will be obliged to follow, against his best interest – and the divine spirit followed him to Egypt.[3]”

Good gracious – first it is said that it would have been appropriate to have Jacob shackled in chains and bring him that way into Egypt. Moreover, he is compared to that cow which is to be slaughtered and refuses to do so. That is why its calf is brought to make her move into the slaughterhouse. Jacob is destined to finish his life outside of the boundaries of the Promised Land. Maybe it is in this portion of the Torah that we receive the clue of why all of that has happened. On one hand the Haftarah speaks of two pieces of wood that are united into one, making them stronger. The reading from the Torah speaks of the brothers who meet up and reunite. Jacob is the one who was the cause for this separation due to his inability as a parent to handle his family affairs in such a way that would keep it whole. When that unity was broken the result is the disintegration of a family, and of a nation.

These days, once again, the issues relating to the Kotel raise again to the forefront of the news. Many arguments are made regarding the ways of sharing the place when there are different ways within Judaism. One hand we find extremists who say it all belongs to us, there is no way but our way. Let us not fool ourselves, we the non-orthodox streams, but not only us, are not on the other side of the spectrum. Rather, on that extreme all those who claim that they do not care whatsoever. From their perspective the other extreme can have it all, and they do mind to sacrifice our rights to something that belongs to all Jews. There will come a day where they will understand that such a position is devastating.

We are there in the middle between the extremes. Absolutely accept the fact that there are those who wish to have the Minhag, the tradition, that they have developed there over the past several decades, a tradition that has evolved but was not always there. We also understand those who have decided to give it up, we are sorry about it, but that is their right. Nevertheless, we do and shall continue to insist that we can pray at the Kotel in the ways we wish to do so, a tradition that is not lesser than the orthodox traditions, nor is it less valuable. It is as valid as the demands made from both extremes. A demand that we give it up all is immoral and as an injustice. Just like with Jacob and his sons, there is a better way to be found for unity instead of separation.

Shabbat Shalom and wishes for Good Health.

Reuven Marko, 10 December 2021, 6 Tevet, 5782

[1] Ezekiel 37 16-19 [2] Genesis 45 1-8 [3] Sefer HaAgada, Bialik & Ravnitski, 3rd edition, 43, 19, 109 (based on Bereshit Rabah 86 2) – my free translation