Thursday, December 6, 2018

Yosef: The Shabbos Man

After the brothers regret selling Yosef, The midrash cites the possuk (Job 12:14) הן יהרוס לא יבנה, once the עצה of the brothers was destroyed it was not  rebuilt.  The simple interpretation is that the brothers plans were thwarted by Hashem.  However, the language of the midrash indicates that it hasn't been rebuilt yet, but will in the future, what would be the meaning of this?

The Shem M'Shmuel explains that the avodah of the brothers was done with great fire and joy, their avodah was that of the heart.  Yosef is called קדקד נזיר אחיו, the midrash (end of Vayechi) says that Yosef called himself the head, he is the avodah of the שכל.  His avodah was in a manner of contemplation, calm and even-headed.  These two paths make up the difference between Shabbos and Yom Tov.  Shabbos is a day of oneg, it is a day where speech isn't encouraged, it is a time to come close to Hashem via meditation and deep thinking.  Yom Tov is a time of great joy, its a time when the heart can express its emotions freely.  The advantage of the avodah of the heart is that it can be accessible to all.  The advantage of the path of the brain is that the person rises above the world. The debate between Yosef and the brothers was which path to take, each side was trying to force the other side to follow their view.  The conclusion is that the way of the brothers can't fully be revealed yet.  It isn't time for everyone to be able to connect to Hashem and their must be some separation from the rest of the world.  However, there will be a time when the avodah of the brothers will come back.
 
The Ramban asks why didn't Yosef send a letter, text, whatsapp or email home to notify Yaakov that he was live and well?  He knew Yaakov was very distraught about his absence and this would've comforted him, why not show respect for his father?  In the above vein, the Shem M'Shmuel explains that Yosef lives a life of Shabbos, he doesn't take action to improve a situation, he lets Hashem work things out.  That is why the midrash is critical of Yosef for telling the sar haiskim to remember him, for Yosef isn't supposed to do any action to help out his situation; he sits and watches the play of God.

Rashi says that when Yosef dined with the brothers it was the first time they drank wine since the sale.  The question is why did the brothers partake if they didn't know they had relocated Yosef?  The Shem M'Shmuel explains that wine has the potential to cause danger if not drunk responsibly.  On Shabbos however, that damage isn't something to worry about for everything including wine is elevated on Shabbos.  Because they were united with Yosef, the brothers tasted "the taste of Shabbos" in the food and therefore partook of the wine as well.  The midrash derives from the possuk וטבח טבח והכן that Yosef kept Shabbos.  Why is that hinted to only now when Yosef is older already?  Explains the Shem M'Shmuel that Yosef can be the head, the Shabbos but only if the rest of the body is intact, only if the brother are with him.  As long as they were separated, Yosef and the brothers didn't keep Shabbos.  [It is quite a pela to say the brothers didn't keep Shabbos but that is what he says.  See Likutay Sichos volume 20 sicha 2 for a different approach as to why Yosef's keeping Shabbos is hinted here.]

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