These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly portion: #1362 – Flying East to West-West to East on a Fast Day-When Can You Break Your Fast? Good Shabbos!

We are all familiar with the dramatic story of Yosef finally revealing his true identity to his brothers. He then tells Pharaoh that these men are his brothers. The pasuk says, “Pharaoh said to Yosef: Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load up your animals and go, enter into the land of Canaan.'” (Bereshis 45:17). Pharaoh promises Yosef’s family first class accommodations in Mitzrayim.

Pharaoh saw what Yosef had done for the country. Pharaoh saw what a smart man Yosef was. Due to Yosef’s wise plan, Pharaoh was now sitting on a boatload of money because everyone had to come to Mitzrayim to buy food during the years of famine. Pharaoh figured that he wanted to keep Yosef happy and he also figured that if Yosef is so smart, he could only imagine what Yosef’s father was like: Pharaoh wanted Yosef’s father to come to Mitzrayim and be comfortable. “And take your father and your households and come to me. And I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the choicest of the land. And you are commanded to say, ‘Do this: Take for yourselves from the land of Egypt wagons for your small children and for your wives. Transport your father and come. And let your eyes not take pity on your vessels, for the best of the entire land of Egypt – it is yours.'” (Bereshis 45:18-20).

Yosef followed Pharaoh’s instructions and gave the brothers wagons to bring their father and the rest of the family down to Mitzrayim. The brothers came back to Canaan and announced to their father “Yosef is still alive and he rules over the entire land of Mitzrayim.” Initially, Yaakov could not believe it. They repeated to him the whole story – “and he saw the wagons that Yosef sent to transport him.” At that point his spirit was rejuvenated.

Rashi (45:27) famously comments that the wagons were a signal to Yaakov regarding the Torah subject that he and Yosef had been learning immediately before their separation. They were learning the sugya of eglah arufah (the decapitated calf). The Hebrew word for wagon (agalah) is cognate to the word for calf (eglah) and Yaakov grasped the message that Yosef was sending.

We can ask three questions about this Rashi.

The first question is: Rashi emphasizes that these were the wagons that Yosef sent, not the wagons that Pharaoh sent. This seems to contradict the straightforward reading of the earlier pesukim, which clearly state that these were wagons that Pharaoh sent.

A second question is: What was so special about the wagons that caused Yaakov’s spirit to suddenly be rejuvenated?

A third question is: It is quite a stretch to claim that upon seeing the wagons, Yaakov recalled the fact that he and Yosef were learning the parsha of eglah arufah when they were last together. This is not a gezeirah shava. There is no immediate word association between agalah and eglah that would prompt Yaakov to make a connection with the Torah subject that he had learned many years earlier with his favorite son.

I saw an essay from Rabbi Zev Leff, the Rav of Moshav Matisyahu in Eretz Yisrael, which addresses this Rashi:

As we mentioned, Pharaoh wanted Yaakov to come down to Mitzrayim in the worst way. Pharaoh’s method to get Yaakov down to Mitzrayim was to tell him “Don’t worry about anything. Let your mind not take pity on the vessels you will have to leave back in Canaan. You need not bring anything with you. We will provide you with all your needs here. You will have the best of everything in Mitzrayim.” That was the enticement – in Pharaoh’s mind, to get Yaakov to agree to come.

However, Yosef knew that if Yaakov Avinu felt he could not transport Eretz Canaan with him to Mitzrayim, he would never come. Yaakov was worried about one thing and that was the assimilation of this family. If Yaakov would be coming to Mitzrayim without his clothes, without his shtreimel, without his kapota, and without his bookcases full of sefarim – without all of that, and he would come to a brand-new place in Mitzrayim with an Egyptian wardrobe and everything that was the “best of Egyptian culture” – Yaakov would refuse to come.

Therefore, Pharaoh only sent three or four wagons – just enough to carry the people. Pharoah’s plan was that there was no need to pack suitcases with clothes or furniture or household belongings. We will outfit you with everything you need, with the best that Mitzrayim has to offer. The wise Yosef realized that this was not the way to bring his father down to Mitzrayim. Therefore, Yosef sent many more agalos – to carry all the furniture and possessions that Yaakov had acquired in Canaan. Yaakov needed many wagons to take every stitch of clothing, every sefer, every Chanukah menorah, every Shabbos candlestick, the silver esrog box etc., etc., etc. Yaakov didn’t want to start afresh. He wanted to recreate his Eretz Canaan experience in Mitzrayim.

The questions we raised above can be answered by hypothesizing that there were two sets of wagons. There were the wagons that were sent by Pharaoh (to bring the wives and children) and then there was a totally different set of wagons that were sent by Yosef to bring all of Yaakov’s possessions. That is why Rashi emphasizes “The wagons that Yosef sent.”

Now we understand the Medrash which Rashi brings, that Yaakov sees the wagon and immediately associates them with the sugya of eglah arufah that they had last been learning. Yaakov was rejuvenated by the thought “My son Yosef has been away from me for so long and yet he is still worried about assimilation and that is why he sent those extra wagons.” The brothers had told Yaakov that Pharaoh sent wagons for the people and Yosef sent wagons for the possessions. Yaakov immediately understood that Yosef, too, was still concerned about assimilation, and appreciated the importance of bringing down all of the family’s precious possessions, representing their life-style in Eretz Canaan.

Finally, we can understand the connection to the parsha of eglah arufah. It was not merely a play on words between agalah and eglah. It is much deeper than that.

What is the yesod (underlying concept) of the parsha of eglah arufah? Someone finds a dead body. The elders of the closest city need to come and say “Our hands did not spill this blood and our eyes have not seen.” In other words, “We are not responsible for this murder.” The Gemara (Sota 38b) explains that this means that they gave the person provisions before sending him on his way and they escorted him part of the way.

What is the distance requirement for escorting a departing visitor? The answer is four amos (which is no more than eight feet, at most). How does escorting a person for eight feet grant him any type of security? The Maharal explains how this makes him secure. The fact that they escorted him four amos demonstrates to him that “You are still one of us. You are not on your own. You are still part of our community.” In a short while the person will be a mile down the road or even ten miles down the road, but he is still bound to the community who escorted him at the beginning of his travels. That knowledge – that someone can be physically located at point “X” and yet really be connected to point “Y” is all the chizuk that a person needs. This chizuk gives the person the fortitude to fight off any danger than confronts him on the road because he knows “I am still part of a community.”

This is the yesod of eglah arufah and it is the yesod of the mitzvah of levaya (escorting). Yosef was sending the message to Yaakov Avinu: You may be in Mitzrayim but you can still be attached to Eretz Canaan. By bringing your possessions down to Mitzrayim, you can recreate your current experience. Levaya teaches us that geography is not destiny. You can be in a different place and all alone, but still be tied to the original place.

That is what Yaakov grasped that Yosef was trying to tell him: “Daddy, don’t be afraid. You will come down to Mitzrayim but we won’t get assimilated. Do you know why? It is because you will be able to recreate Canaan in Mitzrayim. You will be able to do that because you will have your sefarim and you will have your clothes.” (They did not change their names and they did not change their dress.)

These were the extra wagons that Yosef sent, and that is why Yaakov’s spirit was rejuvenated.

Transcribed by David Twersky; Jerusalem [email protected]

Edited by Dovid Hoffman; Baltimore, MD [email protected]

This week’s write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissochar Frand’s Commuter Chavrusah Series on the weekly Torah portion. A listing of the halachic portions for Parshas Vayigash is provided below:

• # 036 – Taxing the Community
• # 078 – The Uses of Snow in Halacha
• # 127 – Baby Naming
• # 174 – Twins
• # 220 – Host Mothers in Halacha
• # 264 – The Bracha for Kings and Presidents
• # 310 – Honoring Elderly Parents
• # 354 – Honoring Grandparents
• # 398 – K’rias Shma: How Early, Interruptions, Misc.
• # 442 – The Umbrella on Shabbos
• # 486 – Grandchildren in Halacha
• # 530 – Performing a Mitzvah Personally
• # 574 – Being the Bearer of Bad Tidings
• # 618 – K’rias Shema: Fascinating Insights
• # 662 – Learning and Davening on the Road
• # 706 – Z’man K’rias Shema
• # 750 – Will I Make Z’man K’rias Shema?
• # 794 – Must I Always Stand For the Rov
• # 838 – Answering Kedusah in the Middle of K’rias Shema
• # 882 – Father or Grandfather – Whom Do You Honor?
• # 926 – It’s The Thought That Counts
• # 969 – Burial In Eretz Yisroel II — How Important Is It?
• #1013 – My Chumrah vs Your Hurt Feelings
• #1057 – Lashon Kodesh: The Uniqueness of the Hebrew Language
• #1100 – K’rias Shema: What Is The Proper Kavanah?
• #1143 – Oops! I Forgot today is a Fast Day after I Mad a Bracha on Food
• #1186 – Facts About K’rias Shema You May Not Know
• #1230 – Waking Up Early To Eat Before a Taanis
• #1274 – Honoring Grandparents Revisited
• #1318 – Ectogenesis: Artificial Wombs – The Coming Era of Motherless Birth?
• #1362 – Flying East to West-West to East on a Fast Day-When Can You Break Your Fast
• #1406 – Being an Araiv – Guarantor – Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
• #1450 – I Came to Shul Late and They Are Saying Krias Shema – What Should I Do?
• #1494 – Should You or Should You Not Take the Corona Vaccine?
• #1538 – K’rias Shema: What Should or Should You Not Be Thinking?
• (2022) – She’Hechiyanu on Seeing a Long Lost Friend

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