Get It While You Can

"Vayikach Moishe es atzmois Yoisef imoi," ("And Moses took Joseph's bones with him"). Many commentators on the Torah ask why it specifically states that Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, since this task had been charged to all of Bnei Yisroel (the Children of Israel). The Medrash states that the reason why it states that Moshe took the bones was because the rest of the people, while preparing to leave Mitzrayim (Egypt), were busy collecting the riches of the Egyptians as spoils after G-d defeated the Egyptians through the plagues. However, how is it that Bnei Yisroel is spoken of negatively as being "busy" with this task, when we see in last week's parsha that Moshe ordered the Jews to take from the Egyptians all that they could get out of them?

The Kedushas Tzion zt"l, one of the previous Bobover rebbes, gives an answer to this question. He says that clearly, if Moshe commanded the Jews to do something, it was a Divine directive, and cannot be seen as negative, but actually quite the opposite. The problem, says the Kedushas Tzion, was not in what was occupying their time, but the manner in which they were doing it. To explain, the Kedushas Tzion gives a different, but equally valid, translation of "atzmois Yoisef". The Kedushas Tzion says that it means the "essence of Yosef," meaning that Moshe was able to channel Yosef's great kavanah (Divine intention) in the activity that was being done. When Yosef had been a powerful minister in Egypt, he made sure to bring great wealth to the kingdom, knowing that one day the descendants of his father would leave Mitzrayim and be able to take the wealth with him. Because of this, he wanted the people to have enough wealth to take care of themselves in the wilderness so that they would be better equipped to do the will of G-d. When the Jews were going around collecting the wealth, however, they were collecting it only to be wealthy, and did not think at all about the greater reason for material wealth. Moshe Rabbeinu, on the other hand, took the "atzmois Yosef" with him, and collected the riches with the sole purpose of using it to use it later doing whatever G-d asked of him regarding what he collected.

Read 'Em and Weep

In this week's parsha (Torah portion), Vayigash, we find several instances of people crying. In Bereishis (Genesis) 45:14, Yosef (Joseph) and his brother Binyomin (Benjamin) fall on one another's neck and weep. Rashi explains that Yosef and Binyomin were crying because of the future destruction of the beis hamikdash (temple), which would take place within their territory in the Land of Israel. Similarly, in the very next verse, it is recorded that "Yosef kissed his brothers and cried over them." In this instance, however, Rashi does not explain that they were also crying over the destruction of the beis hamikdash.


To explain the difference between the two situations, the Aish Kodesh brings support from the Gemara in Rosh HaShanah 28a, where it states, "Commandments were not given to provide enjoyment." Rashi, in his commentary on the Gemara, explains that commandments were given to Israel as a yoke on the neck. This, then, is an explanation of the symbolism found in the account of Yosef and Binyomin. When the two cried with one another, they did so on each other's necks, showing that they mourned the instances of Jews throwing off the yoke of the mitzvos that would happen after the beis hamikdash would be destroyed.

The Aish Kodesh explains that each Jew carries the yoke of the mitzvos on their neck, as we go through life with a specific Divine task. We are required to learn Torah and observe the mitzvos everyday, and are charged to have holy thoughts and speech. The Aish Kodesh says that even at times when we are physically prevented from observing certain mitzvos, we must put forth even greater effort, as we still have the yoke of the mitzvos. In a time of complete catastrophe, when suffering is overwhelming and the world seems to be turned completely upside down, people can not only come to abandon certain mitzvos, but they can shrug off the entire yoke of the mitzvos altogether.


When Yosef was once again reunited with his father Yaakov (Jacob), the Torah records (Bereishis/Genesis 46:30) that Yosef cried on his father's neck, but it does not say that Yaakov cried on the neck of his son. Rashi notes that while Yosef cried, Yaakov was reciting the Shema (the group of verses that are of central importance in Judaism). The Aish Kodesh explains that Yosef came to his father, and began to cry on his father's neck, mourning the future plight of the Jewish people. Yosef also knew that his father, as well as the rest of the people, were now coming into Mitzrayim (Egypt), which would result in an eventual enslavement that would introduce the Jewish people to great levels of tumah (impurity). Yosef, therefore, wanted to know how the Jewish people would survive their time in Mitzrayim, and persevere to reach Har Sinai, where they would receive the Torah. Yaakov, to answer his son's deepest yearning for understanding, began to recite the Shema, showing Yosef that the people would survive by a constant returning of their souls to G-d. This is because the recitation of the Shema, when it is recited carefully and with great intent, serves to rededicate ourselves to Divine service, echoing the words of the sefer Ma'or v'Shamesh, which states that one who recites the Shema properly during shacharis (the morning prayer service) will find his avodah (Divine work) successful throughout the day.