Parashat
Vayiggash
Torah:
Genesis 44:18 - 47:27
Haftarah:
Ezekiel 37:15-28
9
Tevet 5777 / 6-7 January 2017
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DISHONOR
BEFORE DEATH?
"And Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he called out, 'Remove everyone from before me!' So no one remained with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers." Genesis 45:1
Rashi - He was unable to bear that Egyptians should stand by him and hear the humiliation of his brothers when he revealed himself.
A modern commentator, Z. Ron wonders how Rashi could possibly know what Joseph was thinking. Since he was the viceroy, maybe he did not want to embarrass himself before the Egyptians when he began crying. I might add that perhaps he would not want the Egyptians to know that this disheveled band of starving shepherds was his kin. The answer, according to Z. Ron, is in the next verse - "And he wept loudly, and Egypt heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard." Thus, he says, Rashi is right - Joseph chose to embarrass himself rather than his brothers.
Jewish tradition teaches that publicly embarrassing another person is a form of murder. That's why we have the phrase "character assassination". Words, like arrows, cannot be recalled once they go forth. Joseph chose to suffer whatever dishonor there might have been in displaying weakness, rather than have his brothers suffer the "death" of public humiliation.
"And Joseph could not restrain himself before all who stood by him, and he called out, 'Remove everyone from before me!' So no one remained with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers." Genesis 45:1
Rashi - He was unable to bear that Egyptians should stand by him and hear the humiliation of his brothers when he revealed himself.
A modern commentator, Z. Ron wonders how Rashi could possibly know what Joseph was thinking. Since he was the viceroy, maybe he did not want to embarrass himself before the Egyptians when he began crying. I might add that perhaps he would not want the Egyptians to know that this disheveled band of starving shepherds was his kin. The answer, according to Z. Ron, is in the next verse - "And he wept loudly, and Egypt heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard." Thus, he says, Rashi is right - Joseph chose to embarrass himself rather than his brothers.
Jewish tradition teaches that publicly embarrassing another person is a form of murder. That's why we have the phrase "character assassination". Words, like arrows, cannot be recalled once they go forth. Joseph chose to suffer whatever dishonor there might have been in displaying weakness, rather than have his brothers suffer the "death" of public humiliation.
As
it turns out, there was no embarrassment for Joseph at all. That Joseph's
brothers had come "... was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes
of his servants." (45:16) Sparing others from humiliation, and
risking it for oneself, reaps respect, not dishonor. We gain respect by
respecting the dignity of others.
Shabbat
Shalom!
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Congregation
Beth Meier
Studio
City, CA
Visit
me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT
Yevamot 87b
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Candle lighting: 4:40 pm
Friday – Shabbat
Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday – Shabbat
Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows. Our guest Torah
reader and darshan will be Rabbi Gary Charlestein – Barukh haba!
Sunday – NO Religious School or Adult
Hebrew class – both resume
1/15. Movie, Pizza and Ice Cream Bar
Night – 7:00 pm. We’ll be showing “Defiance ”, the true story of the
Bielski brothers during WW II.
Tuesday – Lunch
and Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday,
13 January – Family Shabbat Evening Service – 7:30 pm. A song-filled,
guitar-accompanied service with Cantor Kerry Katz. Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday,
14 January – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday,
15 January – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew – 10:00 am.
The congregation extends condolences to Dena Kosche on the passing
of her father, Richard Guerry. May his memory be a blessing.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel
Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Sarah bat Devorah, Zehavah
B’rakhah bat Leah, Susan Arbetman, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky, Jerry Daniels,
Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht (Shmuel Natan ben Gittel),
Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry Forman, Beth Goldstein, Myra
Goodman, Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Bonnie Kleiger, Philip
Kovac, Tonya Kronzek, Toni Linder, Roy Miller, Deborah Schugar Strauss (Devorah
bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and Naomi Zimmermann
(Naomi bat Yorma).
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this
list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.
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