Matching Faces | Rabbi David Sutton

Yosef HaTzaddik, the hero of Vayimaen, when he meets his father, Yaakov Avinu, after 22 years of separation, Yaakov says, I never dreamed I'm going to see your face. And the commentaries are bothered. It should just say: I'd never see you. What's this about Yosef HaTzaddik’s face? And they explain that when a person comes down to this world, there already exists a picture of him in a heavenly album, as it says, This is the book of the history of man. Every man's picture exists before he comes down to this world, and when he fulfills his mission properly, his picture down here matches his picture up there. Avraham, Avraham. Moshe, Moshe. They reached perfection. Their picture down here matched their picture up there. Yosef HaTzaddik came down to Mitzrayim, and living in such a place of degradation, Yaakov Avinu feared that even when he would finally meet him, he wouldn't look like he was supposed to look. Yaakov Avinu could sense what he should look like, and he was afraid of that. And when he saw Yosef, he said, I can't believe what your face looks like. Yosef’s face was shining. Yosef’s face is on the כסא הכבוד, in a way like Yaakov Avinu. And how did that happen? That act of refusal, that act of self-control, gave Yosef that countenance that his face down here matched his face up there. In life, situations sometimes spark you to think of Mussar. Not long ago, I was on a trip from Eretz Yisrael back to America, and carry-on only, everything should go smoothly. I take the W line with no line and I get to security and they say: Passport, please. And I show them my passport. They look at my passport and they look at me, and they look at my passport and look at me. And this lady says, I don't think this is you. I said: What do you mean? This is me. She says: No, it's not. This does not look like you. Okay, I'm a little older than the picture, maybe I lost a little weight, but it's me. It's not you. I have to call my superior. So the superior comes over and looks at me and looks at the passport and says: Sir, this is not you. I said: It's me. And he says: Well, okay. Start, you know, puff up your cheeks, take off your glasses, start squinting. And they made me go make all kinds of moves and motions, until finally they said: Okay, we think it's you. and they let me by. And I thought to myself: What happens after 120 years, when you finally get there? And they look at you and they say, This isn't you. What do you mean? It's me. No, it's not you. And maybe that's the famous line that we say at the end of the Amidah. You’re supposed to say a pasuk that begins with your name and ends with your name. Well, maybe that's just to prove your identity. It's me. But we shouldn't have to go through that whole trouble. Just... Make those moves, control yourself, and your picture down here will match your picture upstairs.