Building for the Klal

After Yosef reveals his true indetity to his brothers, he sends them back to Eretz Cannan to tell Yaakov Avinu that Yosef is still alive. Upon hearing the news, Yaakov makes the immeadiate decision to go down to Mitzrayim to see Yosef. They make a stop in Be’er Sheva, where Yaakov receives a Nevuah, in which he is assured that Hashem will protect him, and his family, during their stay in Mitzrayim.

The Torah then tells us who was traveling with Yaakov—sixty-six souls other than the wives of the Shevatim—and that Yosef was awaiting them in Mitzrayim.

The next Passuk says that Yaakov sent Yehuda ahead “Lehoros Lifanav Goshna.” The literal translation of this phrase is “to show the way to Goshen,” and Rashi explains that it means that Yaakov sent Yehuda to find a place for them to live. Many Rishonim use the term “Batei Dira”, that Yehuda was sent to ensure they would have proper accommodations once they arrived.

The Medrash, which is brought by Rashi, says that Yehuda was in fact sent ahead to set up a Bais HaTalmud—a Yeshiva. There is a powerful lesson implicit in this Passuk—that one should not move someplave unless he first ensures that his Ruchnias needs are taken care of—but there is also room for some explanation.

First, it would appear from the order of the Pessukim that Yaakov only sent Yehuda after the stop they made in Be’er Shevah—if he was sent prior to that point why would the passuk wait to tell us after they were in Be’er Sheva? What happened in Be’er Sheva that made Yaakov send Yehuda to build the Yeshiva?

Second, why did he send Yehuda. We know that each of the Shevatim had certain strengths and certain Tuchnos HaNefesh that defined their actions, and which were passed onto their offspring. The Shevatim that are generally associated with excellence in Limud HaTorah are Levi and Yissachar. The Passuk in Zos Habracha says, with regard to Levi: “Yoru Mishpatecha L’Yaakov,” and indeed members of Shevet Levi were traditionally the Rabbeim in Klal Yisroel. Similarly we know that Yissachar were the Lomdei Torah, the Yoshev Ohalim, as the Passuk says: “Simach Zevulan B’Tzesecha, V’Yisachar B’ohalecha.”

This being the case, why didn’t Yaakov send either Levi or Yissachar to build the Yeshiva in Mitzrayim. IF these were the Shevatim who are most closely associated with the transmission of Torah, why weren’t they chosen to start the Yeshiva in the new location?

The fact that Yehuda was the one that Yaakov is also puzzling. We know that not only does the Malchus of Klal Yisroel come from Shevet Yehuda, but Yehuda himself had a status of Melech amongst the Shevatim, as can be seen from the fact that the brothers felt that Yosef had a Din of Mored B’Malchus before he was sold. Certainly the Melech is not usually the one that would be sent ahead to build a Yeshiva, this doesn’t seem like a “job” for a Melech. Why then would Yaakov specifically send Yehuda, the Melech?

Further, the Passuk says “V’es Yehuda Shalach Lifanav El Yosef: And he sent Yehuda before him, to Yosef.” We know that Yosef was in Mitzrayim, isn’t it obvious that Yejudah would make contact with his brother once he arrived? Why does the Passuk seem to indicate that Yaakov told Yehudah to go to Yosef as part of his mission to build the Bais Hatalmud?

The Ponivicher Rav explains that we have to look at last week’s Sedra to understand Yaakov’s choice of Yehudah.

The brothers came back from Mitzrayim without Shimon and told Yaakov that the Mishna L’Melech—Yosef—was essentially holding Shimon hostage until they returned with Binyamin. Yaakov refused to send Binyamin, pointing out that there was no telling what this dictator would do next. Why should they trust that once Binyamin was produced he would release Shimon, and who’s to say that he would not then take Binyomin as a prisoner with another set of unreasonable demands? Yaakov’s logic was incontestable, he was being asked to give up the only son he had left from Rochel with absolutely no way of knowing if he’d ever be seen again.

Yehudah stepped forward at that point and said: “Anochi Ervenu, Miyadi Tivakshenu: I will take responsibility for him, you can claim him from my hand.” Yehuda had no way of knowing how he would ensure Binyaomin’s safety; he realized that the Mishna L’Melech had the upper hand and could act at his whim. But he was willing to step forward and take responsibility for the good of the Klal. His brothers, his family, Klal Yisroel, needed the food that could only be procuded in Mitzrayim, there was no other source for provisions, and they would only be able to acquire those provisions if they produced Binyamin. The hour called for someone to take responsibility and Yehuda stepped forward.

Explains the Ponivicher Rav, that is why Yaaokov sent Yehudah to build the Yeshiva. In order to build a Mosed Hatorah, one needs to be entirely dedicated to his mission—even monomaniacal perhaps. Yaakov knew that only one of his sons had the right measure of this characteristic and therefore he sent Yehudah, and not Levi or Yissachar, to build the Bais Hatalmud.

It is interesting to note that the Ponivicher Rav himself was renowned for exhibiting this exact Middah. He arrived on the shores of Eretz Yisroel in 1940 when there was almost no structured Torah community to speak of, and he built the Ponivicher Yeshiva and was instrumental in the establishment of many others. He accomplished all of this with no way of knowing how it would all be possible, with only the conviction that it must be. He was an embodiment of “Anochi Ervenu.”

On one level, this thought of the Ponivicher Rav can be understood on a practical level—the establishment of a Mosod HaTorah is fraught with obstacles and can only really be accomplished if one is so committed that he will not be swayed by the difficulty that he is bound to encounter. Ithink, however, that this Yesod—and the reasoning behind Yaakov’s dispatch of Yehudah—goes a little further.

Yaakov was not worried about the practical aspect of building the Bais Hatalmud: after all, Yosef was the Mishna L’Melech and would certainly ensure that the physical needs of his family and its Bais Hatalmud were taken care of. Rather, Yaakov to ensure that the Bais Hatalmud was established with the correct Kavanos and Kochos.

When Yaakov went down to Mitzrayim, he understood that he wasn’t going there temporarily, he knew that this was the beginning of the Galus Mitzrayim and that his descendants would be living in Mitzrayim for many years to come. Yaakov therefore understood that the journey he was embarking on had ramifications well beyond his personal life. Every step was therefore taken with the intent of ensuring the success of his children in Galus and beyond.

The Medrash tells us that Yaakov stopped in Be’er Sheva in order to gather Atzei Shitim, which had been planted in Be’er Shva by Avraham Avinu, and which would eventually be used in the construction of the Mishkan. This Medrash obviously requires some explanation: Yaakov had not seen his beloved son for twenty-two years and was no undertaking an arduous journey with the express purpose of seeing Yosef “Bterem Amus.” Why then did he stop to cut down wood for the Mishkan, which would not be built for more than two hundred years?

He did this because he understood the power that these Atzei Shitim would then have.

The Medrash tells us that the Kerashim of the Mishkan that was built by Moshe in the Midbar were everlasting—although they eventually fell out of use, they did not rot or disintegrate. Rather they were hidden fully intact. R’ Shalom Schwadron explains that this was because the Atzei Shitim from which the Kerashim were made were gathered by Yaakov on his way to Mitzrayim. Yaakov knew that his children would need Atzei Shitim for the Mishkan, and they would be difficult to obtain in the Midbar, so he stopped in Be’er Sheva, where he knew he could find Atzei Shitim, to make sure that the future needs of Klal Yisroel were met.

This Achrayus for the needs of Klal Yisroel—this Hisbatlus to the needs of the Klal—imbued those very Shitim with a power to be everlasting. Yaakov wanted to see hYosef—he couldn’t wait to lay eyes on his long lost son—but he took the time to address the needs of the Klal in Be’er Sheva first.

It was with this lesson that Yehuda was sent to establish the Beis Hatalmud.

The Yeshiva that Yehuda was setting up was not just for the purposes of Yaakov and his sons when they arrived. This was the establishment of Torah in Eretz Mitzrayim—which was to be the home of Klal Yisroel for hundreds of years. This Mosod needed to be set up with that same sense of selflessness that Yaakov exhibited in Beer Sheva, and he knew that Yehudah had this Koach. He saw it when Yehuda said “Anochi Ervenu” and he had seen it before.

When Yehuda was faced with the evidence produced by Tamar he had the fortitude to say “Tzadka Hi Mimeni.” He had every opportunity to cover his tracks, but he ignored his own self interests in favor of the truth. We know that Moshiach—the ultimate Nitzchiyus of Klal Yisroel—comes from as a result of his utterance of “Tzadka Hi Mimeni” because when something is done in a selfless manner it is everlasting.

Yaakov knew that he had the opportunity to establish a Bais HaTalmud in Mitzrayim which would affect Dorei Doros, and he knew that it had to be set up by someone who could approach the task with total Hisbatlus to the needs of the Klal, thereby imbuing the Bais Hatalmud with Nitzchiyus that would last throughout the Galus. He therefore sent Yehuda, who was capable of “Anochi Ervenu.”

Perhaps this is why the Passuk specifies “Shalach Lifanav El Yosef.” Yosef, having survived his time in Mitzrayim with his Yidishkeit intact, was clearly someone who was able to be selfless, to look beyond his own interests for something larger than himself. These Kochos could be well placed in building the Bais Hatalmud that would stand through the Galus Mitzrayim.

In our own lives, we all take Achrayus for others—whether they be family, friends, our communities or Klal Yisroel at large. As we do so we must strive to reach the pinnacle of such commitment: an ability to stand up and say “Anochi Ervenu, Miyadi Tivakshenu.” We must be ready to commit ourselves beyond the call of duty, sometimes without a concrete plan for success. We must be secure in the knowledge that we will encounter difficulties along the way, and be prepared to forgo our own interests for those of Klal Yisroel. With these truths in hand, we can be firm in the knowledge that with Siyata Dishmaya we will succeed in building our own private Batei Talmud as well as those for the Klal.