A Thought On Parshas VaYigash
A Thought on Parshas VaYigash
"...lo atem shilachtem osi haena ki ha'Elokim..."
"...it was not you who sent me here, it was the Lord..." (45:8)
Yosef reunites with his brothers, who have expressed remorse for having caused him years of isolation from his family. They are afraid that he will retaliate in some way. He assures and consoles them that his being exiled to Egypt was part of the Divine plan. "You were not the ones who sent me here - it was actually HaShem who did this!"
The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim II:48) understands this verse as a lesson in Torah theology. We are probably aware of the age-old paradox of our having choice and free will to choose in a universe where all things and events were programmed and determined since before the beginning of time. This is a difficult tenet of faith and reason, yet the Rambam sees it described in the words of Yosef.
"All events and all that happens or will happen - even when it is the result of a person's decision or choice - are acts of G-d." The Rambam does not develop this for us, in keeping with his premise that this reality is a cosmic polemic which the faithful heart and the logical mind will struggle over always. What is important for us here is that Yosef helped frame the premise by assuring his brothers that whereas they had a role in the events by way of their choices, the events were nonetheless preordained and meant to be.
* * * * *
The Rosh sheds a little more light on the matter. Chazal see a linkage between the ksones passim - the special cloak given Yosef - and his brothers subsequent enmity which led to their scheme which resulted in Yosef's exile, and ultimately to the exile of the entire family and nation.
The Rosh queries: long before the saga of Yosef and his brothers, HaShem had decreed to Avraham Avinu (15:13) that we would descend to exile in Egypt. The events which "befell" us were preordained! They were part of the script and fabric of history well before there was history! How can we now attribute anything to the deeds of the brothers? The exile had to happen!
The Rosh explains that the decree of "ki ger yiyeh zarecha" might have been manifest in a very different way. It is possible for people to wander and to be uprooted and for that to be a form of ger status (see how this word is used in such a context regarding Avraham (21:34), Yitzchak (26:3), Yakov (Tehillim 105:23) and elsewhere). Perhaps our fate could have been an "exile" of unfettered wandering, without the abject oppression and slavery.
The decree was, however, directed into a more arduous ordeal as a function of human choice. The decisions which we make can guide the manner in which the future unfolds. The Rosh suggests that there is a more autonomous role which we take in effecting our lot in life. While the Al-mighty is all-knowing, it is still our own task to take responsibility for our actions. When we struggle with the events which befall us, it is also our responsibility to look back upon the choices which we have made which shed light on our experience of consequence.
There is no karma. There is grama. Good Shabbos. D Fox
"...lo atem shilachtem osi haena ki ha'Elokim..."
"...it was not you who sent me here, it was the Lord..." (45:8)
Yosef reunites with his brothers, who have expressed remorse for having caused him years of isolation from his family. They are afraid that he will retaliate in some way. He assures and consoles them that his being exiled to Egypt was part of the Divine plan. "You were not the ones who sent me here - it was actually HaShem who did this!"
The Rambam (Moreh HaNevuchim II:48) understands this verse as a lesson in Torah theology. We are probably aware of the age-old paradox of our having choice and free will to choose in a universe where all things and events were programmed and determined since before the beginning of time. This is a difficult tenet of faith and reason, yet the Rambam sees it described in the words of Yosef.
"All events and all that happens or will happen - even when it is the result of a person's decision or choice - are acts of G-d." The Rambam does not develop this for us, in keeping with his premise that this reality is a cosmic polemic which the faithful heart and the logical mind will struggle over always. What is important for us here is that Yosef helped frame the premise by assuring his brothers that whereas they had a role in the events by way of their choices, the events were nonetheless preordained and meant to be.
* * * * *
The Rosh sheds a little more light on the matter. Chazal see a linkage between the ksones passim - the special cloak given Yosef - and his brothers subsequent enmity which led to their scheme which resulted in Yosef's exile, and ultimately to the exile of the entire family and nation.
The Rosh queries: long before the saga of Yosef and his brothers, HaShem had decreed to Avraham Avinu (15:13) that we would descend to exile in Egypt. The events which "befell" us were preordained! They were part of the script and fabric of history well before there was history! How can we now attribute anything to the deeds of the brothers? The exile had to happen!
The Rosh explains that the decree of "ki ger yiyeh zarecha" might have been manifest in a very different way. It is possible for people to wander and to be uprooted and for that to be a form of ger status (see how this word is used in such a context regarding Avraham (21:34), Yitzchak (26:3), Yakov (Tehillim 105:23) and elsewhere). Perhaps our fate could have been an "exile" of unfettered wandering, without the abject oppression and slavery.
The decree was, however, directed into a more arduous ordeal as a function of human choice. The decisions which we make can guide the manner in which the future unfolds. The Rosh suggests that there is a more autonomous role which we take in effecting our lot in life. While the Al-mighty is all-knowing, it is still our own task to take responsibility for our actions. When we struggle with the events which befall us, it is also our responsibility to look back upon the choices which we have made which shed light on our experience of consequence.
There is no karma. There is grama. Good Shabbos. D Fox
posted by Rabbi Dr. Fox at 10:02 PM
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