Whenever my children spend time with their great-grandfather, who is 95 years old, they are always trying to figure out what his life must have been like as a child. When they see a horse drawn carriage, they ask: “Was Zaide alive when there were horse drawn carriages?” When they see a picture of Abraham Lincoln or a scene from the Civil War, they will ask: “Was Zaide alive during the Civil War?” When they see old black and white silent movies with Charlie Chaplin, they ask: “Was Zaide a kid when this movie took place?” Any elderly person that they see or encounter is immediately compared to their Zaide. “He has a walker like Zaide, he must be very old”.
From the book Chassidic Tales of the Holocaust, there is a story of a mother and daughter, Livia who managed to survive the war. Looking out for each other and encouraging each other day after day, they struggled through the terror of several concentration camps. After the war, a sympathetic German woman looked at Livia, the daughter, and commented, “It must have been very difficult for people your age to endure all this suffering.” “How old to you think I am?” Livia asked. “Maybe 60 or 62,” replied the German woman. “No. I’m 14,” replied Livia. Terrified upon hearing this, the woman crossed herself and fled.
In this week’s Parshah, Vayigash,Yosef reveals himself to his brothers. He urges his brother Yehudah to bring his father down to Egypt in order to reunite father and son as well as save him from the famine. Yosef arranges for his brothers and all their households to live in Goshen, thereby preserving their livelihood as shepherds. Yosef then brings his 130 year-old father to meet Pharaoh. After a very revealing exchange, Yaakov blesses Pharaoh. The Parshah concludes with all Yaakov’s sons, and their households and cattle settling down again. However instead of Canaan they settle down in Goshen, and they thrive.
While last week’s Parshah embodied the theme of appearances, this week’s parshah is all about the effect of emotions upon appearances. Specifically, we read that Yosef could no longer contain his anguish and his excitement at the possibility of seeing his father. Later towards the end of the Parshah, Pharaoh looks upon this 130 year old man and asks, “How old are you”? We see what life has done to Yaakov and his response. “Uma’at Shanah V’Raim hayu y’mei Shnei Chayai, V’lo Hisigu et Y’mei Shnei Chayai Avotai Bimei M’gureihem” Few and bad have been the day of the years of my life, and they have not reached the years of the life of my forefathers in the days of their wanderings. The RaMBaM and RaShBaM explain that Yaakov’s elderly appearance is a function the difficulties and tragedies of his life. Although he doesn’t share this with Pharaoh, Yaakov’s strange response indicates that he has never forgotten the twenty two years working for his evil uncle Lavan, and the decades fearing his brother Esav. Yaakov’s response to Pharaoh suggests that he has lived with the tsuris of his daughter’s violation by Shechem. Yaakov’s response to Pharaoh suggests that Yaakov has been living in a state of mourning since the day he was informed by his sons that Yosef had died in that pit twenty two years before. Yaakov has been through life, and these tragedies aged him. Yaakov tells Pharaoh that he is not as old as his father or grandfather. He just looks old. So much so, that when Pharaoh looked upon Yaakov, he was amazed to see such an ancient looking man.
So, what do we learn from Yaakov’s answer to Pharaoh’s question? What connection do we see between Yaakov and his great granddaughter Livia who survived the Holocaust? We see that our experiences affect us. We know that tragedies age us. Yet while Yaakov’s answer indicates that he had been through a lot, his answer suggests that of a Tzaddik. No matter how sad the situation, or tragic the experience, Yaakov possessed within him the element of a fighter. His name is Yisroel, and he is called by this name several times during the Parshah. He could accept a situation and then handle whatever came his way. His great granddaughter Livia is no different. Her terrifying experience aged her; it did not kill her. She possessed within her the spirit of Yisroel. She, too, wrestled and survived. We are an appropriately named people, Yisroel. While our personal and national experiences age us, our personal and national survival depends upon our ability to struggle with and cling to God. So it was with Yosef, Yaakov and Livia. It is this ability to make peace with our struggles and remain un-embittered that permits a person to be a Tzaddik. Yaakov and Livia both demonstrate this quiet sense of righteousness.
Peace,
Rave Yitz
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