Vayigash

FIVE GARMENTS OF THE FUTURE

 

We all know the genesis of the rivalry between Joseph and his brothers. Their father Jacob showed favoritism to Joseph that was dramatized by making him a special cloak, Ketonet Passim. From the tragedy that emerged from this our Sages derive the obvious lesson that one should not make any differences between children. 

 

When we read this week’s parsha that describes the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers it is surprising to read of how when Joseph sends his brothers back to Canaan to bring Jacob and gives his brothers gifts: “He gave each one of them a set of clothes, and he gave Benjamin three hundred silver pieces and five sets of clothes.”

 

It is incredible that after the entire ordeal that Joseph and his brothers lived through that was precipitated by his father singling him out for special treatment, that Joseph would do the same!

 

The Talmud raises this question and answers that the five garments were symbolic of the five garments Benjamin’s illustrious descendent Mordechai was given in the aftermath of the Purim miracle.

 

But this symbolism hardly answers the question and raises a new question. Nowhere does it say that Joseph’s brothers were aware of this symbolism and even if he told them it is still only natural to feel slighted when your brother is singled out for special treatment whatever the symbolic value it may have possessed.

 

In addition, one could ask, why would Joseph want to allude to an event that would take over 1,100 years for it to occur?

 

Joseph was well aware of the jealousy factor in not giving preferential treatment to one child over the other. But that was true only when dealing with the past and present. When dealing with the future it is an entirely different story. When Joseph saw Benjamin he sees his potential for the future; that he would be the ancestor of Mordechai who would not only survive he ordeal with Haman bur emerge as a proud and honored leader of his people. 

 

A similar situation can be found in next week’s parsha, Jacob puts his right hand on the head of Joseph’s younger son Ephraim and when Joseph protests, Jacob explains his behavior in terms of the future. Ephraim is destined to be a greater force of leadership than Menashe. He therefore needed an “enhanced” blessing exemplified by Jacob’s placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head while blessing him.

 

Similarly, Joseph was not singling out Benjamin for special treatment because of the way he valued him in the present or the past vis-א-vis his brothers. His giving him five garments was based on how Joseph sees the Benjamin of the future. Benjamin was destined to become the ancestor of Mordechai who will lead the Jews to their salvation from the hands of the wicked Haman. Joseph realized that his giving Benjamin the extra garments were intended to give him extra strength and energy to come out of the crisis of Haman with glory.

 

To better understand why Joseph felt it was important to view Benjamin in terms of the future?

 

The answer to this question lies in the very essence of this week’s parsha entitled Vayigash as well as its prophetic selection (known as the Haftorah) that discusses—the confrontation between the two brothers Judah and Joseph and the reconciliation between these two tribes in the Messianic Era, respectively

 

In this Parsha, Judah approaches Joseph and pleads with him for the return of his brother Benjamin. In the Haftorah, the prophet speaks of an era where Joseph will become unified with and subordinate to Judah. Understood superficially, in the Parsha Joseph dominates, in the Haftorah Judah dominates.

 

In last year’s E-lights we cited and elaborated on the Rebbe’s analysis of this parsha, which sheds light on the confrontation between Judah and Joseph and will help us understand Joseph’s highlighting the future role of Benjamin.

 

The Rebbe demonstrates that a deeper analysis of the parsha will show that Judah is indeed the more dominant one; his pleading and submissive tone notwithstanding. In fact, his defiant attitude ultimately caused Joseph to reveal his true identity to his brothers and the beginning of a new prosperous era for his brothers and their families. 

 

Because of Judah’s unique quality, Jacob sends him ahead of all the others to Goshen, to serve as a bulwark for the Jewish people enabling them to withstand the pressures of assimilation. Judah was not only guaranteeing their survival and prosperity in Egypt, but was also sowing the seeds of the final Redemption at which time Judah and Joseph will be fully united.

 

Employing the models of Joseph and Judah in their leadership roles we can discern two paradigms of leadership and Jewish “power” in exile: The Joseph modality and the Judah modality. And it is the superior Judah modality that is mirrored by Mordechai.

 

The Joseph model of leadership is a limited one, and is practiced within the parameters of general society. The Judah model is where the Jew stands above those parameters. And from this perch he can affect and even change society. 

 

To better appreciate the superior role of Judah we should describe three approaches and attitudes towards the understanding of our capabilities in exile:

 

The first approach recognizes the power of exile conditions and addresses our inability to escape the constraints of exile. This exile oriented Jew feels impotent in the face of exile pressures and feels the need to compromise on his or her Jewishness.  

 

The second approach, while it allows us to recognize our constraints in exile—we cannot dictate how the world should conduct itself—however it also does not allow the world around us to dictate our lives as Jews. 

 

This is the Joseph model. Joseph was in control of exile conditions, albeit within the parameters of life in Egypt and in his role as its leader. 

 

The third approach allows us to rise above the constraints of exile and exercise full control over it. This third approach will become fully manifest in the Messianic Age. Only then will we be able to achieve a full synthesis of the natural world with our Judaism. 

 

However, even now as we stand on the threshold of this age we are capable of loosening our bonds to the exile controlled world and gaining some measure of mastery over it. 

 

When Judah defiantly approached Joseph, Judah was in effect declaring to Joseph: “Even you Joseph, the leader of Egypt,  do not tell the full story of mastery over exile.”

 

A parallel can be drawn to the Judah approach from Mordechai the hero of Purim, who is referred to as a Yehudi-Jew, despite the fact that he was a descendant of Benjamin. He is given the title Yehudi because it reflects his connection to the tribe of Judah and to his unique approach to the forces of exile. 

From this week’s Torah portion we discover that Mordechai’s heroic attitude derived not only from his connection to Judah but also through his connection to Benjamin.

 

We can now better understands why Joseph gave Benjamin five garments as a way of alluding to the future victory of Mordechai over Haman. Joseph was, in effect, acknowledging that in the future there will be a more powerful model of leadership and mastery over exile than the one he represented. It was meant as a concession to Judah’s earlier declaration to him.

  

And while we will have to wait for the complete Redemption through Moshiach to fully experience this Judah/Mordechai mastery, we can enjoy some of this phenomenon even today.

 

Our generation is so close to the Redemption that we are thereby empowered to be like Judah and be in total control of our lives and even influence the world around us. 

 

The practical guidance to be derived from all of the above is to emulate Judah’s bold footsteps, and Mordechai’s unapologetic devotion to Torah. This attitude will bring to fruition the words of the prophet in the Haftorah: “My servant David (who was from the tribe of Judah) will be their prince forever.”