Vayigash

Parasha VaYigash ‘to come closer’ is the eleventh Torah Portion in the yearly Torah cycle, and it is read after Hanukkah. Vayigash means to come closer to the light,  of the Creators, There are certain things we can do to help us move closer to the light, while others things  causes us to become more distant. Sharing brings us closer, for instance, while doubt and anger push us away. This reading gives us the power to move closer to the light of the Creators.

At the end of Parasha MiKeitz, Benjamin was an apprehended as a thief who had been caught red-handed with the viceroy’s cup. The eleven brothers stood haplessly at the mercy of this supposingly hostile all powerful Egyptian, who determine that Benjamin would have to remain in Egypt as a slave while his brother could return to their father.

Judyah step forward risking his life, while the other brother stood dumbfounded! His speech was simple yet eloquent; controlled yet emotional; respectful yet firm. Judyah petitioned without debasing himself; He could not protest the fairness of the verdict, because the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Like a true leader he offered up himself as a substitute, not realizing that he was speaking to the very brother whose life he had save in 37:26 and settle to sell him as a slave.

In 167 BCE, Hebrew rebels led by Judyah Maccabees rose up against the Greek ruler, Antiochus, who had desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. In a series of battles lasting some twenty-five years, the Maccabees defeated the much larger and better trained Greek army.

They reentered the Temple and purified it, after which a few night’s oil miraculously kept the Temple Menorah lit for eight days, which would become the basis for our contemporary celebration of Hanukkah, which was last week.

It is no coincident that the story of Vayigash is generally read on the Sabbath after Chanukah, because there is a link between the Maccabees who defeated the Greek and the consciousness espoused by the Torah portion of Vayigash.

Vayigash begins with the words “Vayigash elav Yehuda,” or Yehuda stood up to Joseph. This alluded to Judyah’s resistance to Joseph’s demand that Benjamin, their youngest brother be a slave in Egypt. Judyah protested that if Benjamin was forced to come to Egypt, Jacob, would die of grief.

What this Torah Portion Vayigash made clear is that like so many Torah Portion it is more than it appears to be, a story about events that took place thousand of years ago. Below the surface, it is describing the process of redemption, which can come only when enough righteous believers rise up, just as the Maccabees did against the Greeks, and Judyah did to the Egyptians.

Vayigash elav Yehuda speaks of our elevation through what the sages name azut dekedushah, or holy audacity. Rising up with holy audacity eventually led to the restoration of the Temple and the creation of the miracle of Hanukkah; where a few thousand dedicated Hebrews were able to defeat a more powerful Greek army. This victory had nothing to do with military proficiency, the miracles occurred because the Maccabees had Azut dekedusha and vayigash elav Yehuda. They had the holy audacity to stand up to the Greek. 

In the previous Torah portion of Miketz, we saw the brothers brought low by Joseph and by the challenging events they faced. This, unfortunately is our situation today. We are constantly been beaten down by the Galut, the darkness of the world.

This Torah portion Vayigash shows us how to challenge that. The great gift of the Sabbath of Vayigash is that it awakens within us the courage to stand up for ourselves when we are being oppressed; from victim to victory.

Spiritual courage and tenacity is a rare commodity in our world today. The bravery and audacity require to raise our hearts in our spiritual work is the hidden blessing of the Sabbath of Veyigash.

In Vayiash, Judyah was able to bring an end to the pain of his brothers, not because his spirit was so elevated, but because he had awakened the holy bravery within himself. One of the gifts of the Sabbath of Vayigash is that it gives us access to the consciousness of Judyah, to help us who lack the spiritual ability to awaken within us the righteous indignation. The Maccabees did it. Judyah did it. We can do it too.

Everything we want to achieve in our spiritual life has already been done by someone before us. We are not required to simply discover a new trail to the miracle of past generation. We are simply finding the trail to the miraculous that the spiritual giants of history have blazed for us.

How do we achieve holy audacity? We do it by reminding ourselves that our action reawaken what those before us accomplished, that we are only reconnecting to what they did. Because they opened up this channel for us, we can create miracles.