Parashat Vayigash
„Sinking into consolations to the point of neglecting the ordering of sacred life-values, to the point of assimilation into the mire of the depths of sin while saying 'I have been saved' — this is the way of death of idolatry.”From Shemonah Kevatzim 2:286
It would have been easy for Yosef to sink — to forget the home that cast him out, the brothers who abused him, to assimilate into Egypt and enjoy its pleasures. It would also have been easy for Yehuda to give up — to abandon Binyamin too to the pit of Egypt, to return home and tell his father Yaakov that he had failed his mission. In general it is easy to sink and to give up. To throw up one's hands. To look the situation in the eye and say, "enough, we can't anymore." This week's parashah, "Vayigash," instills strength in us, now and forever — to remember that our resilience, might, and eternity are built upon these very trials, upon the moments of pain and hardship. And when good days come, they will be built strong and great, many times over what was here before.
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This study is dedicated to the safety and return of Segev Kalfon (25), who was abducted from the party in Re'im.
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.