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Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Vayigash on JM in the AM (5786)
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Avrumi Finkelstein presented Rabbi Benjamin Yudin, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Fairlawn, New Jersey, on this morning's JM in the AM to discuss Parshas Vayigash. Wishing everyone Shabbat shalom!
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Auto-generated transcript. Not time-synced to the video.
Good morning every good shabas everybody
tomorrow we have the privilege of
reading paras vigash
whoa in paras
we are moving in a very literal sense
is leaving it kahan he's going down to
Egypt the rabbis tell us that in theory
hashem could have brought down to Egypt
in chains
Meaning that this must be Hashem says to
Abraham in chapter 15 in Schmo Puk 13
that ger
your descendants are going to be first
strangers then Abu Dum they're going to
be enslaved then
and they're going to be persecuted for a
total of arameosana
400 years and the calculation of 400 210
is something that we can't go in. But
one way or another, Yakob has to come
down. So how does Hashem bring Yakob
down? In the sweetest way possible, he
has not seen his son Yoseph in 17 years.
And now he's going down to see Yoseph
before he dies. And we know he's going
to have another 17 years which might
very well have been the best comforting
of his life. Now there is so much to say
about paras
vigos. I'd like to share with you that
perhaps talk about center stage tonight
tomorrow. Who's on the center stage? The
answer is the parisha begins with
viceroy Yehuda
and spokesman for the brothers
I'm sorry viceroy yoseph and spokesman
for the brothers Yehuda. Now we know as
the verse appears entail
perk me 48
9. Now this happens to be the shyom that
we recite every Monday. So on the verse,
behold the kings assembled of
they pass by together. Who among the
many interpretations? Who are these
kings? These kings are none other than
Yoseph and Yehuda. At the moment, Yoseph
is the second in command to all of
Egypt. And Yehuda is going to be as we
know next week appointed as the king of
Israel. We have two divergent
characters,
two divergent
personalities
and it's important that we take a look
at both.
I'd like to suggest
as indeed the Shish does
that we just celebrated
the Yomto of Kaneka and the Yom of
Kaneka can be described in two words
pursua
meaning that we light the manora in the
window we proclaim to the outside world
who we are that we are Jewish and we are
proud to be Jewish.
This is something which Yehuda
who we know was king of Israel. And the
medish asks what did Yehuda desour?
What did he do in order that he should
get Malus?
And so
the topha says in bro
that because nakon
ben aminov
was the first to jump into the yamsov in
front of everybody.
This was a miracle of msira nephesh
pabim in front of the entire nation.
In contrast,
you have whereas Yehudo
admits publicly
many in the incident with Tamar.
Yoseph
performs
a great
act of Msesh
literally
of getting thrown into jail and leaving
his coat behind.
All that is in private
ishayas. The Torah says that there was
not an individual in the home. Nobody
was there to see it. Had Yoseph sinned,
quote, nobody would have known. And yet,
Yoseph rises to the occasion. And Yoseph
does not sin.
So what we have in front of us is what
you can call
you representing
the Kaneka story, the Kaneka miracle,
the public miracle
and Yose representing the Purim miracle.
Where is God in Purim? We don't see him.
Ter
God is going to hide himself. It
happens. Just so happens the king got
drunk. Just so happens he asked for the
queen. Just so happens she didn't come.
Just so happens Esther was attractive
and she becomes the next king. We can go
on and on and on. And just so happens
the king couldn't sleep. And just so
happens someone comes. All these just so
happens correct. None of them per se is
a miracle. But we believe and we say the
same before we readil
as we just did regarding.
And so we have two personalities. One
you might call outgoing and the other
one more introverted. one focusing on
the community and one focusing on the
private individual. Now I ask you which
one is I can't even say the better one.
The answer is clearly we need both. And
I'd like to stress a very interesting
point. Point I'd like to stress is two
words. Be yourself. You have to take the
time to look carefully at yourself and
ask yourself, who am I? What am I? Is my
inclination more as a Yehuda? Am I more
an outgoing person? Or is my inclination
more of a safe? Am I more withdrawn into
myself and into perfecting my character?
Now, this is so significant. Number one,
we dare not try to be who we are not.
And more important, listen carefully.
It is bad if one doesn't know their
faults, theiros.
But it's worse if one doesn't know their
malos,
their
good points, their their good features.
You have to be aware of this so that you
can be yourself.
And that is I believe a very important
aspect
that we take away from parasikash
very different in nature but as the ha
tora tells us or paras
we read from the book of
and Hashem tells Yale Hanovi to take two
pieces of wood and he should write on
one of these pieces of wood he should
write the name of Yehuda. On the other
one, he should write the name of quote
Yoseph, meaning Ephraim,
one of the sons of Yehuda. And what
should he do? The oam.
And literally he should bring close one
to the other. They should become one
single wooden tablet. They shall become
one in your hand. It's going to happen
that there's going to be in the future.
There's going to be this true aus and
each person is going to recognize the
worth of the next one and realize, wo,
how different we are. But we're all the
same as we are in this world to serve
Hashem and to make this world a better
place. Interestingly, what is the rashi
on
Israel? Hashem eloku. Hashem.
So rashi on this spot tells us Israel.
Listen carefully. Israel. Hashem locu.
Right now, Hashem is our God. We, the
Jewish nation, are the only ones that
really serve him. However, Hashem God.
In the future, the entire world will
come to recognize that Hashem is the
quote unquote one and only. Now, talking
about recognizing Hashem is one of the
only, one and only. And clearly, I want
to remind everyone that this coming
Tuesday is
it is a fast day. It is a fast whereby
we remember that the
king of Bavil
Nadar
put a siege around Jerusalem
for
two and a half years and this marked the
beginning of the end of the first pesa
mikdash.
Interestingly,
first of all, let's just remind one
another the fast begins in the New York,
New Jersey area approximately
5:50
in the morning, 10 minutes to 6, and it
ends approximately 511
in the evening. Clearly the shortest
fast that we have. But while it might be
the shortest fast, it is also extremely
significant. If you're not allowed to
fast, don't fast. If you can fast, you
should fast. Now, listen carefully.
There's a famous teaching of the
Avraham.
And the Abu Jaham bases this on a verse
in the book
of Yesl
chapter 24
be
the Hashem says to the Niad
write down This day as
this very day what happened
elim
the king of put the siege on Jerusaleim
and once again that same phrase
on this very day the Abu Draam in his
commentary on the sitter writes that if
a sur would fall on a shabas we would
fast on chabas
Whoa. This is something that we only do
because the Torah says the same three
words
on this very day. Now think about it. If
tisha when and if it falls on a shabas
we don't fast on shabas we postpone it
to the next day to Sunday. What is there
about?
So theam sofer in his commentary on
for Assurves writes the following that
every year on Assarves,
Hashem convenes the heavenly court and
they determine whether or not there's
going to be the third bite built this
coming year or unfortunately
another year without the bas mikdash. On
what day is this decision made? It's
made on a suret base. Ah, if so says
theam sulfare that just like if one has
a terrible frightening dream so they're
allowed to fast even on shabas and their
fasting is a kind of owning for them.
It's a kind of relief and pleasure for
them because they want to undo the sad
event that they saw in the dream.
Similarly, if there is a judgment on a
surve,
we would fast on this day showing how
much we pine, how much we miss the ban
mikdash, how much we yearn for it. So
the idea is one more time if you can
fast
and if you do and even if you don't what
should your focus be this coming Tuesday
your focus should be first of all on the
Jewish nation that we as a nation pine
can't wait until we have the third base
amigga
And it's a time of introspection,
which I'd like to suggest in simple
English means be yourself. Live up to
the capabilities,
live up to the characteristics that
Hashem has blessed you. And if each one
does theirs and lives up to their
toughkid, their potential,
we are certainly going to bring the
basikdash
a big step closer.
Shabbat shalom and a meaningful fast to
all.