In this week’s parshah, we have the
long-awaited, tearful reunion between Yaakov and Yosef. For Yaakov, this was
the crowning moment of his life that his beloved son was still alive and his
legacy was intact. But convincing Yaakov of this truth took some work.
One of the ways which the Shevatim used
to convince Yaakov was that Yosef sent wagons to carry Yaakov and the rest of
the family down to Egypt. “וַיַּרְא אֶת הָעֲגָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח
יוֹסֵף לָשֵׂאת אֹתוֹ וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם” “…And he (Yaakov) saw the wagons that Yosef had sent to
carry him. And the spirit of their father, Yaakov was revived.” (Bereishis
46:27). Rashi explains that these wagons held a special significance to
both Yaakov and Yosef. The last thing that they learned together before Yosef
was sold was the laws of “עגלה ערופה”, the Beheading of the Calf. If a man is found dead in between
two towns and no one recognizes where he is from, the Rabbanim in each town
must bring a calf to the riverbank and break its’ neck. The word in Hebrew for
wagon is “עגלה”, which shares the same root. Upon seeing
the wagons, Yaakov made this connection and realized that only Yosef could have
sent the wagons.
The Kli Yakar points out
that this explanation is completely the opposite of what would be considered
the simple explanation of the pasuk, which is always Rashi’s goal when
explaining the pesukim. Therefore, he gives a different explanation for why
Yosef sent the wagons. One of the main parts of the mitzvah of Hachnasas
Orchim, Inviting Guests, is escorting them out when they are ready to leave.
The Gemarah in Sotah (10a) says that when Avraham Avinu did Hachnasas Orchim,
he focused on three things: food, drink, and escorting them out. Says the Kli
Yakar, when Yaakov sent Yosef to his brothers right before he was sold, he must
have walked him out and while they were walking he would have explained the
halachos of escorting a guest to him. The connection between Rashi makes is
because the source of the mitzvah of escorting comes from “עגלה ערופה”.
In order to understand this connection, we must explain exactly what “עגלה ערופה” is.
If you find a dead body in between two
towns, we suspect that this was a traveler who was denied hospitality in one of
the towns. In order to figure out which town it was, we go and question each
town if they recognize this man. If neither town recognizes him, then the
Rabbanim in each town go to the riverbank and break a calf’s neck and declare
that they are not responsible for this man’s death. But how come they are
obligated for his death? The obligation of Hachnasas Orchim is only to invite a
person into your house and this man died on the road? We see that part of the
obligation of having a guest is to also escort them on their journey. This is
what Rashi means when he makes the connection between the wagons and “עגלה ערופה”,
the wagons were meant to escort Yaakov down to Egypt and the origin for the
obligation to escort someone comes from “עגלה ערופה”
which has the same root as the Hebrew word for wagon, “עגלה”.
The obligation to
escort someone has a very important reason behind it. In those days, the roads
were full of dangerous people, some of whom were willing to kill those whom
they robbed. When you escorted someone to the edge of the city, any potential
thieves and murderers would see that this person had someone who cared about
them, and who would potentially come looking for them if they harmed them. They
would therefore leave these people alone as they didn’t want anybody chasing
after them.
This was the final
proof for Yaakov that Yosef was the one who sent the wagons. Potentially, it
could have been that the ruler of Egypt escorted the brothers out of the
country from common sense. However, in that case there would be no need for
wagons, after all, no one would attack anyone who was escorted by the king! Therefore,
the wagons were there to make the connection to “עגלה ערופה”
which would prove that whoever escorted them out was doing so since it was a
mitzvah and not because of common sense, which meant that it must have been
Yosef since he was the only person in Egypt who would do something for a
mitzvah. After making this calculation, “וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב
אֲבִיהֶם” “…and the spirit of their father, Yaakov, lived.”
(Bereishis 46:27)
Shabbat Shalom!
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