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| Parshat Vayyigash | |
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| Parshat Vayyigash | |
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"He (Yaakov) sent Yehuda before him to Yosef, to clear a place for him in Goshen; and they came to the land of Goshen" Yaakov sent Yehuda in advance of his coming to Egypt. The verse teaches that he was directed lehorot "before him in Goshen". The word lehorot can be explained as to point out, or to direct. In other words Yehuda was a sort of a scout and was sent to find the most appropriate place in the land of Goshen. Rashi sees this as the interpretation of Onkelos who says: lefanaa lefanaw "to clear a place for him." This is certainly a possible interpretation and an accurate rendering of the use of the verb. Another example of the use of the same verb in the same sense is in Shemot 15 25. "He cried out to Hashem, and Hashem showed him a tree..." The same verb appears in the form vayyorehu, which Onkelos renders as vealfe which mans to show or "to instruct". Rashi does not comment on the meaning of the word, but there is no reason to think that he doesn't accept the position of Onkelos as the peshat. Another instance is in Mishle (6:13) . "A (man) who points with his fingers," Hebrew 'more', which is the root that we are dealing with. Nevertheless, in our verse Rashi is not satisfied with this peshat rendering whose source is in Onkelos. Rashi quotes the words of chazal calling the source an Aggadic Medrash, hinting that the interpretation he is about to suggest is not included in the general rubric of peshat. Rashi says: Yaakov sent Yehuda "to establish a house of study for Yaakov, from which instruction shall go forth. Though it is hard for us to visualize how this was to happen but the idea itself seems plausible. Yaakov understood that without the Torah, the family, which was to become the "people of Yisrael" would not be able to maintain. Therefore he wanted to insure that the Torah would have a place in Goshen when the family arrived, and they would be able to accept their obligation to the Torah immediately. The method Yehuda might use to bring this about was unclear, but the point is very clear. There is another story that Rashi gives a hint about. Yosef was the king in Egypt and the dream in which all the brothers were to bow down to Yosef was coming true. Yet there was another king who was being prepared for the role of leadership and that was Yehuda. There is evidence that Yosef studied Torah during the time that he spent in Egypt. There is a clear statement in Breshit Rabba (84 8) that Yosef was a great Torah scholar: "All the laws which were taught by Shem and Ever (in their Yeshiva) were given to him". Further in our Parsha (45 27) we learn: "And they told him the words of Yosef, and he saw the wagons that Yosef has sent to transport him, and the spirit of Yaakov was revived". Rashi explains: Yosef gave his brothers a sign to relate to Yaakov. When he left Yaakov's house, they were studying the laws of egla arufa (in chavruta), and when he saw the wagons that Yosef sent (Hebrew for wagons is agalot), he would understand that Yosef had really been identified. This is the kind of sign that only a student of Torah could send to another student of the Torah. No one else would understand. We have a further indication that Yosef was involved with Torah study even when in Egypt. Why did Yaakov feel (according to Rashi) that he had to sent Yehuda in advance to establish a Torah center in Goshen? The bracha that Yaakov gave to Yehuda before his death contains the following blessing: (Breshit 49 10): The rod shall not depart from Yehuda, nor a lawgiver from between his feet..." Rashi explains that Yaakov intended to say that both kingship and lawgiving would be part of the inheritance of Yehuda. It finally becomes clear to all that he will receive the leadership, both political and spiritual through the Torah. Yehuda becomes the leading student and interpreter of the Torah. When Yaakov began his trip to Egypt he thought that it was important to indicate that the mantle of the Torah would eventually pass from Yosef, to Yehuda. He asked Yehuda to search out a place for a bet medrash, in Egypt. He did this in spite of the fact that he knew that Yosef had continued to study while in Egypt. Yehuda was to become the king of Yisrael and as king he had to maintain his devotion to the directives of the Torah. Apparently, for Yaakov there was not division between church and state. The state was directed by the Torah and the leadership (the king) had to be knowledgeable enough to ask the proper questions. Gut Shabbos Chaim Brovender
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