Rav Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (Netziv) on Right-Wing, Left-Wing and Jewish Unity, Part IV

This is the fifth installment in a translation of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin's responsum on Jewish unity. The Netziv continues to respond to an editorial which argued that observant Jews should separate from less-observant Jews, for the sake of protecting their piety. For previous parts of this series, click here.

In this part, the Netziv argues that Jews don’t even separate from members of other religions, despite specific instructions to do so and despite the evidence of millenia of Jewish suffering associated with assimilation – and so any drive like this would be unsuccessful. He then continues to contend that separation isn’t the right strategy, in any case; rather, the emphasis should be upon spreading study of Torah.

Second: HaShem desires that we should be separate from the other nations and alone, as it is written, ‘Gd will guide them to be alone.” Bilam said, “They are a nation who dwells alone, and will not be counted among the nations,” meaning that when the Jews are alone and do not mix among them, they will dwell at rest, and when they mix among the nations then they will not be considered an independent nation. It is also written, “And Israel dwelled securely, alone, the eye of Yaakov,” and the meaning of “the eye of Yaakov” is Gd’s desire, His vision, and this is that Yisrael should dwell securely with the nations, not to compete with them, to be alone, meaning to separate from the nations of the world and not to be mixed in with them.

And yet, despite these instructions, we have not separated on our own from the nations, as is seen in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 104), “It is written, ‘How did she come to dwell alone,’ and Rabbah cited R’ Yochanan, saying, “I [Gd] said, ‘And Israel dwelled securely, alone,’ and now we have come to, ‘Why does she dwell alone’ for the nations distance themselves from the Jews on their own.”…

And from the start Gd warned Avraham, “Your children will be strangers in a land that is not theirs,” and this was not only prophecy but command and warning, to make it so. This is why it is written regarding Yaakov, “And he sojourned there,” and the Sages taught, “This teaches that he did not descend there to sink in, but to sojourn there…” This does not mean that Yaakov descended with intentions not to remain there for his entire life but to remain only for some years until the famine would end. This cannot be said, for Yaakov had already heard from Gd, “I will make you a great nation there,” and so he knew that he would be there for many years, and that this would fulfill Gd’s word to Avraham, “Your children will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be made to work and they will be oppressed for four hundred years!”

Rather, “He did not descend there to sink in” means that he did not descend to become a citizen of the land, as Pharaoh wished and demonstrated in honoring Yaakov and his children. Yaakov said that he did not wish for this citizenship, but, “We have come to sojourn in the land,” to be strangers in a land that is not ours. He guarded the word of Gd to Avraham, “Your children will be strangers,” and Gd’s word stands forever.

Because of this Divine instruction, what does Gd despite all of our attempts in exile to become like, and become one with, the nations? Gd turns the heart of the nations to distance the Jews and isolate them. This is why we say in the Haggadah, after the verse, “And He said to Avraham: Know that your children will be strangers in a land that is not their own,” “This is what stood for our ancestors and for us, that not only one stood to eradicate us, but in every generation they stand against us to eradicate us, and Gd saves us from their hands.” “This” cannot refer to the promise to Avraham that we would exit with great wealth, for that was only stated regarding Egypt… Rather, “This” refers to Gd’s word, “Your children will be strangers.” This promise stood for our ancestors and for us, guaranteeing that in every generation they would stand against us to eradicate us, when the Jews do not wish to fulfill Gd’s word of being strangers in order to be a separately identified nation. We try to draw near and join with them, and therefore they stand upon us to eradicate us. But Gd saves us from their hand.

This is also why we say, “Go learn from what Lavan the Aramean tried to do.” Lest someone who considers himself wise say that the opposite is true, that if only we were completely integrated with the nations then we would not be hated by them and they would not try to destroy us – to this we reply, “Go learn from what Lavan the Aramean tried to do.” We were very close to him; all of us were his children! And yet he tried to uproot everything. “Everything” does not only refer to Yaakov, for then it would have said, “tried to kill our father.” Rather, the meaning of “everything” is all of Judaism…

And yet, despite all of this, it has been difficult for us to distance ourselves from idolaters, because it is against the natural human inclination to join with friends, whether they are good or bad. How, then, could we tell our children to separate from each other in all of the ways of our world?!

Rather, if we wish to strengthen religion in our midst and not let it weaken in our hearts and in the hearts of our children, then we must study the earlier generations, as it is written,“I will learn from the elders.” When righteous King Chizkiyahu saw that the pillars and foundations of religion became weak in the days of Achaz, what did he do? He placed a sword in the study hall and declared, “One who will not involve himself in Torah should be stabbed with the sword!” Even though this study would be for entirely wrong motives, meaning it would not be for the sake of the mitzvah of Torah study, and certainly it would not be out of love of Gd but only to save themselves from death, still, this point strengthened religion effectively…

So we should strngthen religion by spreading Torah in study halls, and developing all possible strategies to strengthen public Torah study, and not to examine whether people are studying for proper motivations or not…

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The Hebrew text associated with this part is:

שנית הלא אפי' עם אוה"ע שרצון ד’ שנהיה נפרדים מהם ולהיות בדד כדכתיב ד’ בדד ינחנו, ובלעם אמר הן עם לבדד ישכון ובגוים לא יתחשב, וביאורו בשעה שהוא לבדד ואינו מתערב עמהם ישכון במנוחה, ובגוים, בשעה שהוא מתערב עם הגוים עו"ג לא יתחשב אינו נחשב לגוי בפ"ע, וישכון ישראל בטח בדד עין יעקב, פירושו דעין יעקב היינו תשוקתו ושימת עינו היה שישכון ישראל בטח עם אוה"ע היינו שלא יתחרו עמהם וגם להיות בדד היינו להפרד מאוה"ע בלי התערבות, וכ"ז לא הועיל לנו להפרד מן העו"ג ע"ד דאיתא (בסנהדרין דף קד) איכה ישבה בדד אמר רבה אר"י אני אמרתי וישכון ישראל בטח בדד עכשיו איכה ישבה בדד, שאוה"ע מתרחקים ממנו, ובפסחים (דף קיח) איתא מ"ד בזר עמים קרבות יחפצון מי גרם לישראל שיתפזרו כ"כ בעמים קרבות יחפצון, עבור מה שחפצים להתקרב עם העו"ג ביותר ומראש הזהיר הקב"ה את א"א כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם, ואין זה דבר נבואי לבד אלא צווי ואזהרה שיהי' כן ומשום זה כתיב ביעקב אבינו ויגר שם, ודרשו חז"ל מלמד שלא ירד להשתקע אלא לגור שם כמו שנאמר לגור בארץ באנו, ואין הפי' שלא ירד להשתקע כל ימי חייו אלא לגור איזה שנים עד כלות הרעב בארץ, דודאי אאל"כ שהרי יעקב כבר שמע מפי ד’ כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם, וידע בזה כי הרבה שנים יהיו שמה וכי זה הוא דבר ד’ לא"א כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם ועבדום וענו אותם ארבע מאות שנה אלא משמעות שלא ירד להשתקע היינו להיות כאזרח הארץ כמו שיהי' לרצון לפרעה אשר הוקיר את יעקב וזרעו אבל יעקב אמר שאינו חפץ בזה אלא לגור בארץ באנו, להיות גרים בארץ לא לנו, והיינו משום דשמר דבר ד’ לאברהם כי גר יהיה זרעך וגו', ודבר ד’ יקום לעולם, ע"כ כל מה שאנחנו משתדלים בגלות להשתוות ולהתאחד עמהם מה עושה הקב"ה, מסב לב אוה"ע להרחיקם ולעשות אותם בדד, והיינו שאנו אומרים בהגדה אחר שאנו אומרים זה המקרא ויאמר לאברם ידוע תדע כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם וגו' והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו שלא אחד בלבד עמד עלינו לכלותנו אלא שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו והקב"ה מצילנו מידם, וא"א לפרש והיא היינו הבטחה שהיה ואחרי כן יצאו ברכוש גדול וגו' שהרי זה לא הי' אלא במצרים וא"כ אין בזה שום רמז על כל דור אלא ה"פ, והיא, היינו דבר ד’ כי גר יהיה זרעך היא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו שבכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותנו, והוא משום שאין רוצים להקים דבר ד’ כי גר יהיה זרעך כדי להיות גוי מצוין בפ"ע, ואנו משתדלים להתקרב ולהתאחד עמהם ע"כ עומדים עלינו לכלותנו אלא שהקב"ה מצילנו מידם, וע"ז אנו אומרים צא ולמד מה בקש לבן הארמי וכו' שלא יבא מתחכם ויאמר להיפך אלא אם היינו מעורבים לגמרי עם הגוים לא היינו שנואים להם ולא בקשו לכלותנו ע"ז אנו אומרים צא ולמד מלבן הארמי שהרי אנו היינו מקורבים עמו הרבה שהרי כולנו בניו, ובכ"ז בקש לעקור את הכל, משמעות הכל אינו מתפרש על יעקב לבדו דא"כ היה לנו לומר בקש להרוג את אבינו, אלא משמעות את הכל כל היהדות, וזה אנו למדים מדכתיב ארמי אובד אבי בהווה אלא הכונה שלא רק באותה שעה שפגע וחשדו בגנבה בקש להרגו אלא גם אחר שנוכח על צדקו ואין לו עליו מאומה מ"מ אילו היה בידו להרגו היה הורגו, ובאמת מבואר הכי בלשון לבן שאמר ליעקב יש לאל ידי לעשות עמכם רע ואלהי אביכם וגו' ולכאורה אינו מובן למי דבר בלשון רבים הלא עם יעקב לבדו דבר עד כה וכי אפשר שרצה להרוג גם בנותיו ובניהם, אלא שכאן דבר עם ההולכים אחר יעקב היינו שנתגיירו והלכו עם יעקב כמו שכתוב בין אחי ובין אחיך, ולכולם היה ברצונו להרוג אע"ג שאין לו עליהם מאומה אבל בקש לעקור את היהדות, ואע"ג שלא התרחקו מעולם מלבן וזרעו אלא מ"מ בקש לעקור את היהדות, וכ"ז היה בשביל שהיו קרובים ומעורבים עם לבן ולא היו כגרים בעירם, ומזה יש ללמוד דכל מה שהיינו מתקרבים עם העו"ג, יותר היו מרחקים אותנו ומבקשים לאבדנו ואחר כ"ז היה קשה עלינו להתרחק מהעו"ג משום שהוא נגד טבע בני אדם להתחבר עם רעים בין טובים בין רעים ואיך אמרנו לבנינו להיות נפרדים איש מאת רעהו בכל הליכות עולם לנו:

אלא אם באנו לחזק את הדת בקרבנו ושלא ירף בלבנו ובלב בנינו עלינו להתבונן מדורות הראשונים כדכתיב מזקנים אתבונן, והנה בשעה שראה יחזקיהו המלך הצדיק שנתרופפו עמודי ויסודי הדת בימי אחז, מה עשה נעץ חרב בביהמ"ד ואמר כל מי שאינו עוסק בתורה ידקר בחרב, ואע"ג דא"כ יהיה הלמוד שלא לשמה ממש, היינו שלא לשם מצות ת"ת ומכש"כ שלא באהבת ה' אלא כדי שלא יהרוגו, מ"מ זה הפרט החזיק את הדת ע"צ היותר טוב ומועיל כידוע:

ויאשיהו המלך החסיד כשראה את החרבן וישראל יגלה מעל אדמתו והיה מקום לחוש שתאבד תורה ויהדות ח"ו מישראל מה עשה כתיב (בדה"י ב') ויאמר יאשיה ללוים המבינים לכל ישראל תנו את ארון הקודש בבית אשר בנה שלמה מלך ישראל אין לכם משא בכתף עתה עבדו את ה' אלהיכם ואת עמו ישראל. והנה אמרו חז"ל (במ' יומא דף נב:) תנו את ארון הקודש וגו' היינו שגנז את הארון, אבל לא נתבאר מה אומרו עתה עבדו את ה' אלהיכם ואת עמו ישראל, במה הגיע היום לעבוד באופן אחר ממה שהיה עד כה, וגם קשה להבין דברו אין לכם משא בכתף וכו' וכי עד כה היו נושאים את הארון, וכבר עמדו בזה בירושלמי שקלים ואכ"מ, אבל הענין בשביל שהיו עד כה הכהנים גדולים משוקעים בהתבודדות ואהבה ודביקות לה', וכך היו הלוים קדושי עליון, וא"כ לא היו יכולין להרביץ תורה ברבים ולהרבות תלמידים שמפריעים הדביקות כמש"כ לעיל, והיה מכונה עבודה קדושה זו בשם מרכבה לשכינה ובלשון המקרא נקרא בשם משא בכתף מקום משכן הדעת וכמו שבארנו בהע"ד לשון המקרא כי עבודת הקדש עליהם בכתף ישאו, ועתה הזהיר המלך החסיד, שאין לכם משא בכתף כלומר אין לכם להתבודד ולהיות שקועים באהבת ה' ולהיות ספונים בפ"ע אלא עתה עבדו את ה' ואת עמו ישראל יחד, היינו במה שילמדו תורה ברבים ועפ"י דבר המלך קמו אז החרש והמסגר אלף כולם עושי מלחמה ותניא בספרי פ' האזינו שהיו עושים מלחמתה של תורה ואחריהם באו אנשי כנה"ג והזהירו עוד והעמידו תלמידים הרבה ובזה נתקיימה תורה ויהדות בישראל:

כך עלינו לעשות להחזיק הדת להרבות תורה בבתי מדרשים ולעשות כל תחבולות שאפשר שיתעסקו בתורה ברבים ולא לדקדק אם חבירו לומד לשמה או שלא לשמה

The View says: Observant Jews are strange. Really?!

[This week's Haveil Havalim is here!]

I first heard about Loving Leah this past Thursday when someone asked me about the film at an adult education class I taught; she wanted to know if Jews still practice Yibbum. [The answer: Not in Ashkenazi communities; we follow Abba Shaul’s talmudic ruling and perform chalitzah instead.]

Then, courtesy of the Haveil Havalim edition linked above, I was introduced to the real meat of the controversy: Portrayal of observant, particularly Hasidic Jews, in movies. It seems that some are offended by comments from talk-show hosts and actress Susie Essman on a show called The View. The offending lines include, “Hasidic women are not good dressers,” “You see what these women look like,” and more. Video available here.

I agree with the critics – those comments are insensitive.

I further stipulate that were the word “Hasidic” removed from the sartorial criticism above, and replaced with “Black” or “Muslim” there would be a massive uproar, possibly including the torching of embassies, or at least a studio or two. The Council on American-Islamic Relations would have a field day with it; has anyone heard anything from the ADL on this one?

But קבל את האמת ממי שאמרו, I believe in we have to accept the truth from whence it comes: Within the context of American society, Torah-observant Jews are strange.

*We believe that our ancient text is accompanied by a comprehensive, yet hair-splitting, oral tradition which advises us in detail on everything from social morality to personal hygiene.

*We dress, eat, work, worship and groom ourselves in a manner which sets us apart, intentionally, from society.

*We believe in the imminent arrival of a personal Mashiach who is going to lead billions in the path of righteousness, as wel understand it.

*We see nothing wrong with the idea of animal sacrifice, including the placement of that animal’s blood on an altar as part of religious ritual.

*We believe that our customs have the force of law.

*We wrestle with the credulity of honored sources on issues like demonology and astrology.

Remember the Country Yossi song? “I do the strangest things a man could ever do, ‘cause I’m a Jew, I do that too.”

Yes, we are an עם לבדד ישכון, as Bilam said in his tongue-in-cheek blessing; we are a nation that dwells apart, apparently as desired and enforced by Gd via the Torah.

We aren’t the only social misfits out there; look at the Amish, who have learned to accept their strangeness and even turn a profit on it. But we are most uncomfortable with our unassimilation. We want the sense of purpose that comes with being different, without the stigma that comes with having that difference highlighted, rejected and denigrated.

And I’m not sure that’s a realistic expectation.

Derashah: Vayyichi 5768: Yosef and the Jewish-American Citizen

The chamber is beautifully appointed, a fittingly luxurious bedroom for the viceroy’s father… but illness burdens its sole occupant. Yaakov, knowing he is near the end of his storied life, calls for his son.
This son rarely visits, as evidenced by the fact that a special courier must inform him that Yaakov is ill… but, at last, the son enters. The viceroy of Egypt, Tzafnat Paneach to his Egyptian court, Yosef ben Rachel to his father, enters the room.
Yaakov speaks. He pleads with his son, “Please, grant me this one request: When I die, return my body to Canaan, to the cemetery of my ancestors.” What son could refuse such a plea from his father? And yet, Yaakov feels the need to twice demand an oath from Tzafnat Paneach, viceroy of Egypt: “Swear to me. Swear you will fulfill my last wish." And then the bedridden Yaakov bows in gratitude to his son.

What happened?! In a Torah filled with dysfunctional family relationships, Yaakov and Yosef were an island of love, a model for their descendants!
Yaakov gave Yosef a ktonet pasim, a special tunic, to mark Yosef’s favor!
Yaakov sent his other children to herd sheep, but sheltered Yosef at home!
Yaakov mourned Yosef’s absence every day for 22 years; contrast that with his utter non-reaction when Shimon was imprisoned in Egypt!
When Yaakov and Yosef met at last, Yaakov declared, “Now I can die, for I have seen your face!”
How did this loving father and son lose their closeness such that now they never met, such that Yaakov felt the need to bow to Yosef, such that Yaakov felt compelled to twice demand an oath of him for the most basic request?

This problem has bothered many classic commentators, who have offered a range of solutions. Based on a terse note in the Siftei Chachamim on ויפג לבו, we might add our own suggestion:
The Siftei Chachamim commentary to Rashi on last week’s parshah suggested that Yaakov didn’t believe that Yosef was alive because he couldn’t conceive of a situation in which Yosef, his loyal Jewish son, could be permitted to reign in Egypt. What kind of job is Egyptian viceroy for a nice Jewish boy?
Now, though, Yaakov sees his son indeed reigning in Egypt - and he fears that Yosef is no longer a “nice Jewish boy,” that Yosef has, in fact, been Egyptianized. Just as Yishmael and Esav had rejected the path of Avraham and Sarah to adopt Canaanite ways, Yosef has now left the fold, becoming an Egyptian citizen.

In fact, Yosef does appear to have become an Egyptian, based on the Torah’s definition of citizenship.
Mordechai Zer-Kavod suggested in an essay entitled הנכרי והגר במקרא, “The Foreigner and the Stranger in Tanach,” that the Torah recognizes four categories of citizen: Ezrach, Ger Toshav, Ger and Nochri.
An Ezrach, a full citizen, is entitled to political rights and social support, and shoulders communal obligations. A Ger Toshav has fewer rights and responsibilities. The Ger, the sojourner, possesses still fewer rights and responsibilities, and the Nochri, the stranger, has no claims upon, or responsibility toward, the community.

The first three generations of Jewish history see Jews in the three sub-citizen roles of Ger Toshav, Ger and Nochri; neither Avraham nor Yitzchak nor Yaakov become true אזרחים, true citizens, anywhere they live.
Avraham and Sarah are everybody’s best friends; they are close with Aner, Eshkol and Mamre; Avraham befriends Malki Tzedek of Shalem; Avraham and Sarah welcome outsiders into their home. Despite this extroversion, though, Avraham identified himself only as a Ger Toshav; he had the right to purchase land and to live among the Canaanites in peace, but he was not an Ezrach, he was not of them.
Yitzchak and Rivkah were less engaged in society; they interacted only with the Philistines of Grar, and that was quite a debacle. In fact, the midrash (cited in Rashi on Shmos 12:40 and elsewhere) notes that the prediction of גר יהיה זרעך, that Avraham’s descendants would be Gerim, sojourners in a land not their own, was first fulfilled with Yitzchak.
And then it gets worse - Yaakov’s family can’t seem to get along with anybody! Their contacts are with Esav, Lavan and Shechem, each one a bigger disaster than the last. Yaakov is a Yosheiv Ohalim, a tent-dweller, and that seems to be where he fares best; the world, for him, is a series of dangers. Yaakov is practically a Nochri in his own land. The disastrous foray to Egypt for food, viewed from the perspective of Yaakov’s sons, must have seemed like more of the same.

But then Yosef reverses the trend of social estrangement; he fulfills every biblical criterion of Ezrach, of citizen, as an Egyptian.
An Ezrach is a permanent resident, while a Ger intends to stay temporarily, לגור שם. Yosef intends to remain in Egypt until his death, as evidenced by his request for burial in Canaan.
An Ezrach owns land; Gerim live בארץ לא להם, in a land not their own. Yosef claims land in Goshen.
And, as Zer-Kavod notes, only an Ezrach has true political power, while a Ger survives on the mercy of the law. Yosef is the law, Yosef is political power incarnate. Remember what he told his brothers? “Go tell Dad, שמני אלקים לאדון לכל מצרים, Gd has made me the master of all of Egypt.”
And so Yaakov wonders if his son, Yosef, has gone the way of Yishmael and Esav, abandoning his Jewish heritage and identifying as an Ezrach, a citizen of Egypt, instead.

But while Yaakov sees Yosef walk like an Egyptian, but Yosef yet thinks like a Jew. Yosef has acquired Egyptian citizenship without abandoning his Jewish identity.
First, Yosef never forgets that he is in exile. When naming Ephraim, he labels Egypt ארץ עניי, the land of my suffering, even though he is now the Egyptian viceroy. He asks that his bones be returned to Israel, another sign that even if he will not leave Egypt alive, this is still not home for him.
Second, every step of the way, Yosef identifies himself as an Ivri. Like Avraham before him, Yosef emphasizes that he comes from a different place and tribe. Yosef even tells Paroh that his success is Jewish, credited to only one source, the Jewish Gd; הלא לאלקים פתרונים.
Yosef is a new breed of Jew, a break from the model of his ancestors, a Jew who can not only survive among the nations, but who can even lead, using his Jewish identity as the basis for his leadership.

This should not be viewed as a quirk of Yosef; Yosef’s participation in the whole of the human community is the model prescribed by R’ Shimshon Raphael Hirsch for the MenschYisroel, the complete Jew.
In an essay entitled “Religion Allied to Progress,” Hirsch wrote of a Judaism that “extends its declared mission to the salvation of the whole of mankind.” As he put it, “The more the Jew is a Jew, the more universalist will be his views and aspirations.”
This is Yosef - Concerned with the salvation of the whole of mankind and taking a leadership role within society… as a Jew.

Yosef’s path has never been the path of every Jew. For every cosmopolitan Rambam, for every political Shemuel haNagid and Abarbanel, for every influential Rabbi Yehudah haNasi, dozens if not hundreds of Torah giants have stood back from society, considering the influence of the greater world a poison without antidote - and the world has been quite content with that separation.
Today, though, in America and beyond, the Jew is summoned to lead secular society. Socially, politically, scientifically, morally, philanthropically, the body politic turns to the Jew and asks, “What can you provide?” Congressional hearings on medical ethics routinely solicit Jewish opinion, victims of international disasters seek Israeli aid, non-profit organizations appeal to Jewish philanthropies, newspapers and television pundits ask the Jewish community for comment, Jews are accepted as professors and authors and politicians and producers and members of every level of the workforce. Every opportunity of which the ghetto-bound Jew was deprived is available to her descendant.
Given this opportunity to seek what Hirsch termed “the salvation of the whole of mankind,” and given this opportunity for Kiddush HaShem, we would ill-serve the purposes of Torah were we to back away into our Ohalim. Certainly, we must tread carefully, as Yosef did - informing the world of our Ivri status and retaining an awareness that secular society is not truly home. But we can do this; Yosef is given to us as a model.
Yosef leads as a Jew - and we can do the same.

This past December 10th, the 7th night of Chanukah, Caren and I were privileged to be invited to the Chanukah party held by the President and First Lady at the White House. The event was remarkable on many levels, but one particularly relevant point is the way we were honored as Jewish leaders in America. The food was all kosher - with two certifications, of course - a kosher menorah was lit, a maariv minyan was held, every possible halachic concern was satisfied. This was a celebration for us as Jews, because we are Jewish, because we visibly retain our identity, even as we are active members of American society.
We are the heirs of Avraham the Ger Toshav, and the heirs of Yosef the Ezrach. The models of Yitzchak and Yaakov remain very much a crucial part of Torah - we need to have people sitting and studying Torah in the Ohel - but in this land of opportunity we have been given the greatest opportunity, the chance, as Hirsch said, to work for the salvation of the whole of mankind. Like Yosef, we can shoulder this responsibility - and, with Gd’s help, like Yosef, we will succeed.


Additional thoughts:
1. The affection seems to go from Yosef to Yaakov as well - from the moment Yosef meets his brothers in Egypt, he can’t stop asking them how his father Yaakov is doing. And when Yosef reveals his identity and then speaks of Yaakov, he refers to his father four times - and he doesn’t say אבינו, our father, but rather, all four times he says אבי, my father.

2. In terms of Yaakov's suspicions: Although Yaakov gives Yosef a double portion in Israel, he eliminates Yosef’s name; the double portion will instead be given to Yosef’s sons, Ephraim and Menasheh!

3. On this reading of the Yaakov/Yosef suspicion, see also Avraham Ahuviah in http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/kitveyet/betmikra/mealilot.htm

4. A side note: Yaakov demands an oath from Yosef. Yaakov’s first speaking part in the Torah, his purchase of the bechorah, ends with him demanding the same thing, saying השבעה לי כיום.

5. Note that there were also Jews who fulfilled this Yosef "citizen" role in the days of the Gemara; cf the discussion of Jews who travel among the aristocracy wearing the קומי haircut, such as Sotah 49b.

Derashah: Vayyigash 5768: My trip to the White House Chanukah Party

Trip to the White House
The White House Chanukah celebration was fantastic.
Among other highlights:
Caren and I toured the White House “Shell Room,” a remarkable tribute to the First Lady’s interest in the National Parks, featuring four large cones coated with seashells, seashell wreaths and a seashell display table;
We took not one, but two photographs with the President, because he blinked on the first one;
We heard the Marine Band play “I had a little dreidel” and saw Malcolm Hoenlein and Senator Lieberman, among other celebrities.
The highlight, for me, was the moment when we entered the room where the president was, and I looked up and saw him, standing just a few feet from us. I’m a native New Yorker, I lived in Manhattan and went to school there for more than a decade, I think I don’t lose my breath easily - but I have to admit that I just gasped when I saw him.
And there was another highlight - I have to admit, I came away with pockets full of napkins bearing the Presidential Seal.

Seudaso shel Achashverosh?
But all through the preparation for our trip, and all through our train ride to Washington, and all through the party itself, I was dogged by one concern, the message of a brief passage of Gemara (Megilah 12a):
Rabban Shimon bar Yochai was asked by his students, regarding Purim, “Why did the Jews of that generation deserve destruction?” Even though tragedy is not always a result of sin, the first response of a Jew is to ask whether he deserves whatever trouble he is experiencing, and so the students wanted to know if some sin was the cause of our vulnerability to Haman.
In reply, Rabban Shimon bar Yochai pointed to the beginning of Megilat Esther, and Achashverosh’s party. He said that the Jews were punished for attending Achashverosh’s feast. Even though the Jews attended out of fear of looking unpatriotic if they didn’t go, they should not have attended.
So I rode down to Washington wondering whether this was the equivalent of attending Achashverosh’s celebration. I was certainly surrendering certain mitzvah opportunities in order to go - I davened Minchah and Maariv privately instead of with a minyan (there was a maariv minyan in the White House, but I didn’t know that until later). I lit Menorah very late at night. I spent significant money on train tickets, money that might have gone for tzedakah. Was I doing all of this just to go to an Achashverosh party?
I especially wondered about this as I looked around the rooms at the celebration and saw Satmar and Lubavitcher Chassidim, and a few black-hatted gentlemen who were from various Yeshivos. What were we doing there, in a White House dominated by evergreen trees and tinsel?
But upon further reflection I saw two key differences between our event and Achashverosh’s meal.

Achashverosh’s party marked our downfall; the White House party marked our ascendancy
First, the two parties sent opposite messages about the future of the Jewish people.
The Gemara explains why Achashverosh held his big party: It was to celebrate the exile of the Jews from Israel.
A little bit of history - our neviim predicted that after the destruction of the first Beis haMikdash by the Babylonians, we were to be exiled for 70 years, and then return to Israel. There were at least three different ways to count the seventy years, and based on Achashverosh’s count, the seventy years were now up, and we had not returned to Israel. To him, this was a sign that we were exiled for good, and Gd had abandoned us - and so he made a party, and so the Jews attended a party marking their own downfall.
To me, that’s one difference between Achashverosh’s feast and the White House Chanukah celebration: Achashverosh was marking the demise of the Jews, the White House was marking the strength of the Jews.
For all of our concern about Jewish assimilation, intermarriage, and loss of identity;
For all of our concern about rising Arab power and declining Jewish influence, and Condoleezza Rice’s newfound Palestinian heritage;
Here we were in the center of power of the nation that is still the world’s only superpower, celebrating Chanukah.
As I said in The Allentown Morning Call this past Thursday, America is a remarkable country and its democracy an incredible system, the way it honors minorities. Even if this honor is a political nod intended to earn votes, it shows that in the American system, everyone matters. We matter - and we have a future.

The White House party marked our identity
Second, the two parties sent opposite messages about the importance of Jewish identity.
Achashverosh’s party marked the downfall of the Jews and of separate Jewish identity, and by participating, the Jews themselves signaled that they had bought into his message.
In contrast, the White House celebration marked the vitality of Jewish identity, and of Torah, for America’s Jews.
The fact that this was a kosher dinner, the fact that the president extended the bulk of his invitations to the Torah-observant community, shows that we matter specifically as Jews, and as standard-bearers for Torah. We were there because we are Jewish, we are popular because we retain our Jewish identity.
It’s really only logical that our identity should matter, and that we should be there as Jews and Torah-observers, specifically. If I were to adopt the label of a political movement, if I were to identify as an Environmentalist or a Progressive or a Free-Marketer or a Globalist, and I didn’t have the name “Jew” in my title and I didn’t include Judaism in my mission statement, then why would I belong at a Chanukah party?
This was a true Kiddush HaShem, a sanctification of Gd’s Name. Our influence as Jews, and our recognition as Jews, has come because we have retained our identity.

Us
These two messages - about the future of the Jewish community and about the importance of Jewish identity - apply far beyond the White House Chanukah celebration and our representation in the corridors of power. This message is for our daily lives.
Our day-to-day existence in this benevolent and wealthy land has the potential to go either way, to be a White House Kiddush HaShem or to be Seudaso shel Achashverosh. Earning a living at work, going to a park or restaurant, taking part in a community initiative, we can choose to bury our Judaism as was done at Achashverosh’s party, or to highlight it in the way that we did at the White House.
If I take off my yarmulka to attend a sporting event, if I hide my Judaism at work, if I deny to the world that I am part of this Jewish nation, then my life in America is attendance at Achashverosh’s seudah - I am enjoying the pleasures of this land, and paying a price by surrendering my Jewish identity.
But if I wear my yarmulka proudly, if I let people know I am Jewish, if I unabashedly support Israel and promote the ideals of my Judaism, then I create Kiddush HaShem, and I earn the right to celebrate Chanukah in the corridors of power.

Closer: The Menorah in the Beis haMikdash
The Gemara asks why Gd told us to light a Menorah in the Beis haMikdash each night, year-round. After all, Gd is the provider of all light - Gd doesn’t need our illumination! To which the Gemara replies that the Menorah’s light teaches us a major lesson: שהשכינה שורה בישראל, that the Shechinah is manifest among us. The light of the Menorah signals that we, as a nation, matter, that there is significance to being a Jew, to living as a Jew.
This light was on display in the White House this past Monday evening, the 7th night of Chanukah; may it be equally displayed in our actions every day and night of our lives.


Further thoughts:
1. Tragedy is not always a result of sin - see the gemara at the end of Chullin, as well as Moed Katan 28a.
2. Achashverosh's party was also kosher. Serving Kosher food can be a temptation for assimilation - See, you can still be Jewish even if you become like us - or it can be a display of respect.
3. Does attendance at this party override minyan, or lighting Menorah on time? Why?
4. Why does the Menorah's light, in particular, show that the Shechinah is among us? Is it to replicate the pillar of fire in the Midbar?