Parashat Vayechi – The Big Picture

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

There are many times in life when we, as Human beings, cannot understand why bad or good things happen to us. We sometimes wonder what Hashem has planned. We are at times sad, confused, or even angry because of the way things turn out. Philosophers and theologians have for centuries discussed and researched the idea of divine intervention. In Judaism as well, there are disputes amongst our greatest sages about the degree to which Hashem intervenes in our world. There is no doubt that Hashem has the power and capacity to build, destroy or change anything in this world. That perspective is an essential part of Jewish belief. In fact, the Rambam lists it as one of his 13 principles of faith. The Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Lutzato) and others hold that Hashem has personal providence over every living thing. If a leaf falls off a tree, Hashem decided it should. The Rambam has a different approach. His opinion is that there is more providence over those who keep Hashem‘s Torah and Mitzvot, as opposed to the wicked. In addition, certain things in our world may happen by chance and Hashem decides not to intervene in every situation. He established the laws of nature and let them run their course. We must understand that no matter how much divine intervention there is, at times we are not able to see the big picture, although Hashem always has the best in mind for us. In order to see this we need to have belief and patience. In this article, we will explore the idea of personal providence and how this important principle can affect our lives.

In this week’s Parsha we learn about the end of the life of Yaakov Avinu. He blessed each one of his sons and then passed on to the next world. Pharaoh, out of respect for Yaakov and Yosef, organized a funeral worthy of a king. Afterwards his body was brought back to Eretz Yisrael and was buried there. When Yosef returned, his brothers were terrified that Yosef would now want to have his revenge after having been so terribly mistreated. His brothers thought that Yosef would never harm them while their father was still alive, but now that he had passed away, Yosef had his opportunity. As soon as Yosef arrived from Eretz Yisrael, they knelt before him and offered themselves as servants in the hope that he would have mercy on them. Yosef was surprised and responded to his brothers in a very unique manner (Breishit 50, 18-20):

וַיֵּלְכוּ֙ גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ לְפָנָ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ הִנֶּ֥נּֽוּ לְךָ֖ לַעֲבָדִֽים:  וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֛ם יוֹסֵ֖ף אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ כִּ֛י הֲתַ֥חַת אֱלֹהִ֖ים אָֽנִי: וְאַתֶּ֕ם חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עָלַ֖י רָעָ֑ה אֱלֹהִים֙ חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ לְטֹבָ֔ה לְמַ֗עַן עֲשֹׂ֛ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה לְהַחֲיֹ֥ת עַם־רָֽב

His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.” But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God? Besides, although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.

Yosef tells his brothers that the whole episode between himself and his brothers was part of the big plan to save Yosef‘s family and bring about the creation of the nation of Am Yisrael in Egypt. Yosef claims that he would never harm his brothers because he understood the big picture. The Malbim explains that Yosef realized that Hashem wanted the first Jewish family to survive the famine, and this elaborate episode was meant to save everyone. Yosef‘s message is that Hashem always intervenes in the larger scale of things. The Malbim says it might be true that divine intervention is limited with regards to the individual, but to bring all of Yosef‘s family out of Eretz Yisrael and to Egypt had to be planned by Hashem from the beginning.

Rav Tzvi Yehuda Hakohen Kook was famous for saying that although the degree of personal providence might be in dispute amongst Jewish scholars, there is always divine providence as it relates to the nation of Israel as a whole. What happens to the nation as a whole is always divine intervention. The survival of the Jewish people is proof of this. Jews are less than one percent of the world’s population, yet we survived oppression and attempted extermination by the most powerful empires on earth. They no longer exist, but Jews are still thriving.

The return of our nation, to its homeland, Eretz Yisrael, after two thousand years of exile, as well as the rebirth of a language not spoken for centuries and the blossoming of the desert land into flowers and abundant crops are sufficient proof of Hashem‘s plan for Am Yisrael. We, as Jews, should always take notice of the bigger picture, the path that Am Yisrael is on and not just look at our private lives. It’s no secret that every news agency is obsessively covering Israel and its war on terror. The United States and Europe have more important things to take care of, however the discussions about our future as a nation in its land has become an integral part of their foreign affairs. Many lessons can be learned from just looking at Am Yisrael‘s obstacles in the 21st century: unity, perseverance, thanksgiving, pride in our religion and its history. The first lesson should be awareness; awareness that there is a master plan. We should never forget that someone is always pulling the strings up above. Let us all focus on this and always look at the big picture.