The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Vayigash

The Rebbe says:

1. Towards the end of this week’s Parshah the Torah tells us about Ya’akov Avinu (our father) traveling down to Egypt to see his son Yoseph.

Before Ya’akov Avinu went down to Egypt he sent his son Yehuda ahead of him. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) tells us- in the name of the Medrash- that the reason Ya’akov Avinu sent his son Yehuda ahead of him was so that Yehuda could set up a Yeshiva (a study-hall to learn Torah in) there first. Ya’akov Avinu did not want to go to a land that did not have a Yeshiva ready. (See Rashi to Verse 28, Chapter 46).

2. The fact that Ya’akov Avinu did not want to go down to Egypt unless there was a Yeshiva there for him is especially noteworthy because Hashem had told Ya’akov Avinu that He would go down to Egypt with him (Chapter 46, Verse 4). So even though Hashem had told Ya’akov Avinu that He would be with him in Egypt, Ya’akov Avinu still wanted to set up a Yeshiva there before he even got there.

It was so important for Ya’akov Avinu to set up a Yeshiva that would be ready for him when he got to Egypt (to learn Torah in) because Torah is the backbone and existence of the Jewish people.

3. The Talmud tells us that the Yeshiva which Ya’akov Avinu established in Egypt lasted the whole time that the Jews were in Egypt. Not a day went by in Egypt without the Jews learning Torah. (See Tractate Yoma, Page 28, Side 2).

4. The Rebbe now tells us that our fathers learnt Torah in Egypt even though the exile in Egypt was the hardest exile of all the exiles. The Rebbe gives us 4 reasons why the exile in Egypt was the hardest exile (even harder then the exile we are in today):

First reason: The exile in Egypt was before the giving of the Torah, therefore the learning of Torah that our fathers did in Egypt was only with their own strength. And since they learnt Torah with their own strength they could only reach a level that their own strength could take them to. However after the giving of the Torah Jews can learn Torah with the strength of Hashem and therefore their reach is infinite.

Second reason: The exile in Egypt was the first exile that Jews ever experienced, therefore it was the hardest. As we see clearly, the first time a misfortune happens to someone (heaven forbid) it is almost unbearable but if it reoccurs (heaven forbid) it is much easier to handle.

Third reason: All the Jews were in the same place of torture, in Egypt. Therefore one Jew could not help out another Jew (when you have 2 people in jail one cannot help out the other one).However in the later exiles the Jews were spread out all over the world so that a Jew in one place could help out a Jew in another place (see Tractate Pesachim, Page 87, Side 2).

Fourth reason: The land of Egypt was closed off so that even one slave could not run away. The Jews were 600,000 people (not including women and children); they seemingly had no hope of getting out. (See Rashi in Chumash Shemos, Chapter 18, Verse 9).

Never the less our fathers made sure to learn Torah every single day!

5. The Rebbe now says that since every story in the Torah (is not there for history’s sake, really it) has a lesson that can be learnt from it, we must take our lesson. The Rebbe says there is a lesson for students in Yeshivas and for supporters of Yeshivas:

The lesson for students in Yeshivas: There are those students who say that it is very hard for them to learn the way they are supposed to because they first have to be secure financially. They say that they cannot learn with peace-of-mind because their mind pressures them with thoughts of how they are going to support the children which Hashem will one day give them. Of course first they must reach the age when they have to think about finding a match, then they must deal with finding a match, then with Hashem’s help they actually find their match, then they will have a L’Chaim (engagement party), then they will get married and only after all this will Hashem give them children in a good time, never-the-less these students are worrying now!

There are even some students who also worry about what they are going to leave their children after 120 years (after they pass on)!

Because of their financial worries they are leaving Yeshiva now to try and start earning money or they stay in Yeshiva but their minds are busy with thoughts of making money.

The lesson for these Yeshiva students from this week’s Parshah is that even in Egypt which was the worst exile of all time (because of 4 above mentioned reasons) they learnt Torah every day! The exile in Egypt was so bad that they couldn’t even fathom that they would be redeemed, as we see they didn’t believe Moshe Rabbeinu when he came and told them that he was going to take them out of exile (see Chumash Shemos, Chapter 6, Verse 9). Never-the-less they learnt Torah every day and did not make any calculations about “what’s going to be”!

The lesson for supporters of Yeshivas: There are those people that say they cannot give money to Yeshivas because they are tight right now. They say that they are tight in their wallets and tight in their heads (they are not relaxed). They first want to relax and be satiated and wait for their wallets to fill up more and then they will give money to Yeshivas.

The lesson for these people from this week’s Parshah is that even in Egypt where they didn’t even have their own straw and the oppressors were standing over them and whipping them, still they made sure there was a Yeshiva to go to. Straw they didn’t have but a Yeshiva they had!

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos Chelek Aleph. This Parasha article was sent to CrownHeights.info as part of a weekly mailer from the author.