HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
In this week’s Parsha, Vayigash, we find for the first time since the end of Vayishlach, that HaShem speaks to Yaakov and that Yaakov speaks to HaShem. It is striking that once Yaakov returns to the Land of his fathers, to the home of his father and establishes the monument which he promised, HaShem goes into hiding and does not reappear until Yaakov leaves the Land on his way to Egypt.
It strikes even deeper when considering that of the three fathers, Yaakov is the chosen one. It is Yaakov’s image that is etched into the Throne of HaShem. And yet he is the one from whom HaShem seems to hide.
I would like to share an insight I received from Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky. He explained the difference between the Chumash and the Ksuvim as follows. The Chumash is the very Word of HaShem. When HaShem gave us His Torah all of existence was silent. When the Source of existence revealed Himself how can any creature express itself. The overt revelation quieted everything. There is no human ex-pression in Chumash. K’suvim, on the other hand, is specifically the expression of man that was written with ruach haKodesh. To appreciate this notion we can use the parallel of the fellow who digs a cistern designed to hold 100 gallons. After digging it and filling it he discovers that he is able to draw hundreds of gallons of water from it! How can this be? Apparently, he must have hit a deep underground source of water. Although his efforts should have yielded only 100 gallons, evidently there was an additional gift to his efforts that transcend his input.
When Dovid Hamelech wrote Tehillim, it was his own expression which should have reflected his human limitations. Ha-Shem, however, gifted those human expressions with a spirit of kedusha and messages from HaShem spring from his words.
Although there is a greater level of sanctity ascribed to the Chumash, nevertheless, there is a deeper connection to man that is found in K’suvim. In K’suvim HaShem speaks through the self expression of man. Man is not silent; rather, he is the carrier of HaShem’s message.
Perhaps it is specifically Yaakov, the chosen of the fathers, who is the one whose personal life with all his personal expression is manifest with the spirit of HaShem. Only after HaShem fulfills His promise to Yaakov to return him to his father’s home and only after Yaakov fulfills his promise to establish a monument to HaShem, does HaShem go into hiding. HaShem enters the very life of Yaakov and the life of Yosef and Yehuda. He used their lives and their expressions as the place where He hides.
There was once a friend of Fidel Castro who pointed out to him that America is truly a free country. ‘Why, they even sell books on communism in the open market in America.’ Castro responded ‘You clearly do not understand. America is such a dictator-ship and is so controlling that they are not afraid to sell books on communism. They watch and observe every person.
As difficult as the stories of Yosef and the brothers may be, every detail of their journey was filled with HaShem’s plan and direction. Their personal decisions and subsequent events were the manifestation of HaShem’s influence and guidance in this world. HaShem’s rule of His world is even greater than Castro’s imagination.
As we will fast this Tuesday in commemoration of the siege of Jerusalem, we must remember that HaShem never left us – He merely went into hiding. The very difficulties that appear to hide Him are actually His expressions of His love and guidance.
Have wonderful a Shabbos and an easy fast.
Paysach Diskind