Parashas Vayigash, Part 1: Why Yaakov Recited Shema Upon Seeing Yosef

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. This week's parsha, Parshas Vayigash, Yaakov Avinu is reunited with his son Yosef. By shishi, perek mem-vav, pasuk chaf-ches, speaks about the introduction of Yaakov's going down to Mitzrayim. He sends Yehuda. V'es Yehuda shalach lefanav el Yosef, l'horos lefanav Goshnah, to tread the way, to tread the way. And of course, Chazal, famous, Yehuda was sent to make a yeshiva, Beis Talmud. Why was there a need for Yaakov Avinu to send Yehuda to make a yeshiva? You'll come there, you'll settle, you'll see the terrain, the area, you'll assess where, what, when, who, and you'll make a yeshiva. Why was it necessary for Yaakov Avinu? To make the yeshiva even before he even went there. Lastly, based Talmud, he set up a yeshiva before he even begins his journey down to Mitzrayim. This had to be before he even went, that it was arranged that there was a yeshiva. Why? If you look further in the pasuk, the pasuk says, Vayeser Yosef markavto, vayal likras Yisrael aviv Goshnah. Yosef goes to Goshen to greet his father. Vayeira elav, and Yosef is seen to him. Vayipol al tzavaro, and he falls on his neck. Vayebk al tzavaro od, and they cried. So Chazal tell us, Vayebk al tzavaro, who did the crying? So Rashi says that actually Yaakov Avinu did not fall on Yosef. Yosef fell on his father and cried. Rashi says, Aval Yaakov lo nafal al tzavarei Yosef v'lo nashkoi. He didn't kiss him. Can you imagine a father? He longed for his son for so many years, and he finally has the opportunity to meet, to see. The next pasuk says clearly, Vayomer Yisrael el Yosef, amusah hapa'am. Now I could die. I could pass away. I reached the moment I saw you, the moment I've been looking, longing for, for so many years. Yet the greeting was very cold. He didn't hug, he didn't kiss him. What's, what? Who doesn't hug and kiss his son after so many years of not seeing and longing and missing a child? So Chazal say, V'amru Raboseinu, shehaya kore es Shema. He was reading the Shema. Kore es Shema. He was reading the Shema, which means Yaakov Avinu was reading the Shema. Yosef, he did fall on his father's neck, embracing his father, kissing him. What about his Kriyas Shema? Why is Yosef not reading Kriyas Shema? If it's the time to read Kriyas Shema, and that because of this Yaakov Avinu doesn't greet his son with a hug and a kiss, but Yosef doesn't have to read Kriyas Shema? He's patur from Kriyas Shema. It's a good question.

Truth is that there's a lot of talk, halachically, why Yaakov reads Kriyas Shema and Yosef is not reading Kriyas Shema. Reb Chaim Brisker says a beautiful pshat. Yaakov was told to go down to Mitzrayim, the tzivui of HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It was a mitzvah. So as long as he didn't reach Mitzrayim to see his son, as the Torah, as the mitzvah commanded him to go down to see his son, so he was osek b'mitzvah. He was being involved in a mitzvah. Ha'osek b'mitzvah is patur min hamitzvah. It's patur. Someone who's involved in a mitzvah is patur min hamitzvah. So he didn't have to read Kriyas Shema. Yosef, on the other hand, he was in Mitzrayim. So he was able to read Kriyas Shema before. He didn't have to wait to the last moment when he greets his father to read Kriyas Shema. He could have read Kriyas Shema an hour before. So therefore it's only Yaakov who now must read Kriyas Shema, while Yosef was able to do it before, and therefore it's only Yaakov who was reading Kriyas Shema. It's interesting. It says, Vayeasar Yosef merkavto, vayaal likras Yisrael aviv Goshna. So Yosef was also traveling. Yosef was also traveling. He's going towards his father. Now, when a person travels... You could still read Kriyas Shema. People who travel are not patur from Kriyas Shema. But there was a mitzvah of kibud av va'eim involved. What happened to the mitzvah of kibud av va'eim? He's going to greet his father. That's kibud av va'eim. It says, just like Yaakov Avinu did not have to read Kriyas Shema till this moment because he was osek b'mitzvah, the mitzvah of going down to Mitzrayim on the command of the Eibishter, Yosef also had a mitzvah of kibud av va'eim. Why is it that only Yaakov's mitzvah pattered him from Kriyas Shema till now, and Yosef's mitzvah does not pater him from Kriyas Shema till now? I saw the Steipler says a me'oreidike pshat. He wants to say, hagufa, the opposite you could say, that actually Yosef didn't read Kriyas Shema because what? He was osek b'mitzvah of kibud av va'eim, so he couldn't read Kriyas Shema, while Yaakov didn't have the mitzvah when he saw Yosef. There's no mitzvah for a father to see a child. So at this moment he became a chayev in Kriyas Shema. I'm going to repeat this, rabosai, because the truth is this is the pshat in halacha of the issue of the reading of Kriyas Shema of Yaakov Avinu. And then we'll soon see that there must be a deeper understanding and meaning why Yaakov Avinu was reading Kriyas Shema here and now. So again, Chazal are telling us that at this historic, emotional, amazing reunification between a father and a child, Yaakov and Yosef, after so many years, something interesting happens. It's a one-sided emotional greeting. Yosef greets his father emotionally, while Yaakov stands still, almost cold, to the whole meeting of his son. Chazal don't understand why. Why? Why is there no response from Yaakov? Why is Yosef falling on his father while Yaakov remains stoic? So Chazal say, because he was reading Kriyas Shema. You couldn't find a better time to read Kriyas Shema, Yaakov Avinu? Couldn't you? Couldn't you find a better? No. Chaveis, let's give you a scenario that you could identify with. You're waiting at the airport with a big sign, Welcome, my son, my long-lost son that I haven't seen, and he comes running through the terminal, and he reaches you and you go—

Stop. Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad. Kriyas Shema. He looks on his clock. It's time for Kriyas Shema. Why couldn't you read Kriyas Shema five minutes before? Why? You couldn't figure out a different time to read Kriyas Shema? So then the meforshim try to understand that maybe it was the last minute, it was time to read Kriyas Shema, there was no choice. Or maybe it wasn't the last minute, but maybe it was the beginning of the time when the zman of chiyuv Kriyas Shema comes. We don't know if this is morning, night. We don't know. In the pasuk it's not clear if it's morning or night. But either way, the simple first-glance answer would be zman Kriyas Shema. Bnei Teirah are very makpid on this. No, zman Kriyas Shema, zman Kriyas Shema. The guy in the Magen Avraham, the guy in the Magen Avraham. Okay, we won't get into the guy in the Magen Avraham in the pasuk, okay? He had to read Kriyas Shema; it was zman Kriyas Shema, which automatically beckons to ask, what happened to Yosef? If it was zman Kriyas Shema, it doesn't explain Yaakov. If there was a must to read Kriyas Shema, and that explains that there was no interreaction by the meeting, by the reunification, so why Yosef? So the meforshim try to understand, well, wait a second. Maybe Yosef was able to read Kriyas Shema before, while Yaakov Avinu... Had a mitzvah of going down to Mitzrayim to see his son. Tzivui, Rebbi Yishim sent him down. Rebbi Yishim said, Go down. So he was oisek b'mitzvah. So therefore he wasn't mechuyiv till the last minute when he sees Yosef. Okay, now that he sees Yosef, he becomes mechuyiv in Kriyas Shema. Reb Chaim Brisker. Yeah, nu, you like it, it's a nice teretz. You don't like the teretz. Why don't you like the beautiful teretz? Halacha. You know, not strong enough for you. You know, Reb Yerucham Levovitz speaks about the simple pshat in the pasuk and the lesson that's learned from it, and that is how the avos, Yaakov Avinu, was able to overcome his emotion. The love — a mitzvah is a mitzvah. You got to do it right, and if it's Kriyas Shema, it's Kriyas Shema. And if there's a chiyuv kavanah during Kriyas Shema, he stands still and he doesn't respond because he's in the middle of reading Kriyas Shema. On the most basic pshat of the pasuk, that it's about mitzvah of Kriyas Shema, oisek b'mitzvah is patur, or oisek b'mitzvah means that while I'm doing a mitzvah, nothing else exists. Take a look how the emotion and the feeling and the want, the ratzon, doesn't overpower the chiyuv and the mitzvah, and how Yaakov Avinu keeps the chiyuv of Kriyas Shema. Interesting. So, but you call not so strong? I think it's very strong. I think it's a beautiful thing. Rabbi Yerucham says we learn a tremendous lesson from here. And of course, the mussar is, when we read Kriyas Shema, it's not about being distracted because of love of a child that we haven't seen for so many years. What's our excuse? What's our excuse? If Yaakov Avinu, if Yaakov Avinu, if Yaakov Avinu was able to overcome his feelings and his thoughts and his emotions, Kriyas Shema is Kriyas Shema. The mitzvah is the mitzvah. There's an expression, Ma na'aneh basrei? What are we going to say? There's a very interesting Gemara. There's someone who reads Kriyas Shema, and he's not careful to be mechaven, and he's not zahir not to be mafsik in the Kriyas Shema. On him the pasuk says, V'loy oisi karasa Yaakov. It's Gemara in Brachos. V'loy oisi karasa Yaakov. You can't call that—Yaakov doesn't do that. Says the Maharsha, yeah, of course.

First, that this is the pshat from this Gemara, from this story in the Torah, in the pasuk, and that is Yaakov Avinu didn't read Kriyas Shema this way. V'lo yosi karas — that's not how Yaakov read Kriyas Shema. Look how Yaakov, take an example from Yaakov Avinu. V'lo yosi karas Yaakov — this is not how Yaakov called my name and read my Kriyas Shema, Kabbalas Ol Malchus Shamayim. But again, there's a lot more in the mefarshim to explain deeper meaning and understanding in Yaakov's Kriyas Shema. Because then why did Yosef not read Kriyas Shema? Why is Yosef, yes, emotionally moved and involved in the reunification with his father, and what's with his Kriyas Shema? So the Steipler in Bichas Peretz is a nice teretz, because he was also osek b'mitzvah patur min hamitzvah of kibud av va'em. So the minute Yaakov's mitzvah ended, because now he sees Yosef, he came down to Mitzrayim, but now Yosef, in reverse, has what? Has the ptur that he's being mekayem kibud av va'em by being with his father. Mameila he was patur min hamitzvah, and therefore he did not read Kriyas Shema. Okay? Halacha. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.