23 Dec VAYIGASH: NICE GUYS FINISH WELL

Yosef sent gifts to his
father upon wagons
(agalos). When Yaakov
saw the wagons, his
spirit was rejuvenated
because he was
convinced that Yosef
was still alive. Rashi
cites the Medrash that by sending wagons
(agalos), Yosef was sending a signal to Yaakov
that he remembered the last thing they studied
together before being separated. They had been
studying the laws of the decapitated calf (Eglah
Arufah). (The term eglah [calf] has the same root
as the word agalos [wagons].) The law of Eglah
Arufah is that if a person leaves a city and is
subsequently found dead, the elders of the closest
city need to bring an atonement known as the
Eglah Arufah, because it involves decapitating a
calf.
The Daas Zekeinim m’Baalei HaTosfos elaborate
upon Rashi’s comment. The Daas Zekeinim
explain that when Yaakov sent Yosef on his
mission (to look for his brothers) Yaakov
accompanied Yosef part of the way. The Daas
Zekeinim derive this from use in the narrative of
the word “Vayishlacheihu” [and he sent him]
[Bereishis 37:14]. The Daas Zekeinim say that
throughout the Torah, the word Vayishlacheihu
does not merely mean “he sent him”; rather it
means “he escorted him.”

When Yosef’s father started accompanying him,
write the Daas Zekeinim, Yosef urged him to go
back home. At that point, Yaakov told Yosef that
he wanted to teach him the Torah value of
“levayah” [escorting someone on the road],
which is learned from the law of Eglah Arufah.
(This is by virtue of the fact that the Elders of the
city need to state that they do not have blood on
their hands because they did not refuse to escort
the dead person on his journey.) The implication
of the statement of the Elders in the procedure of
Eglah Arufah is that someone who neglects to
provide escort on the road is guilty of spilling
innocent blood.
Why is levayah [escort] so important? The
Maharal explains that the escort shows the person
being escorted “you are still a part of us; you are
not alone; you are still part of a community.” As
part of the community, the person still has the
merit of the community and in this merit he
should be confident that he will be protected on
his journey. When one is “on his own,” accidents
can happen and thus the Elders of a community
who let someone go off totally on his own retain
a responsibility for what happens to him.
Yosef understood that Yaakov was teaching him
much more than just the law of levaya. Implicit in
Yaakov’s message and implicit in the mitzvah of
levaya is that one must care about his fellow Jew
and look for opportunities to give him chizuk.
This was the last message Yosef heard from his

father before their separation and this is the
message Yosef carried with himself for the next
20 years: The importance of worrying about one’s
fellow man and trying to strengthen him.
If we look back at the entire story of what
happened to Yosef in Egypt, we see a pattern in
his behavior throughout the narrative. To put it in
very mundane terms (not really appropriate for
Yosef HaTzadik), Yosef was always a ‘nice guy.’
Everything turned out for Yosef’s good because
he was a ‘nice guy’. He was thrown into the
dungeon. There he met the Wine Butler and the
Baker. We know the story. He interprets their
dreams and as a result of that he is recommended
to Pharaoh and ultimately becomes the Viceroy of
Egypt. But how does it all start? It starts with
Yosef being a ‘nice guy.’ Yosef saw them one
morning and asked them “Why are you in such a
bad mood?”
How many people sitting in a dungeon would
have that attitude? Here are two Egyptians who
probably would mistreat Yosef because he was a
“lowly Jew” and Yosef was still genuinely
concerned that they seemed to be upset. Yosef
wanted to know what was bothering them and see
if he could in any way put their minds at ease.
Because of that kindness, everything turned
around for Yosef. This was Yosef’s attitude
throughout his entire sojourn in Egypt. He was
always worrying about the other person. This
saved him.

When the brothers
finally learned the
identity of the Viceroy
of Egypt and they
were petrified of him,
what was Yosef’s
reaction? “It is not
your fault! The Master of the Universe sent me
here. You do not need to worry! I was sent here to
provide salvation from the famine.” Yosef did not
need to say that. He could have let them stew in
their guilt. Why did he need to say that? Yosef
said it because this is what he learned from his
father: Be a nice person, strengthen your fellow
man and care for him.
The Baal HaTurim interprets the pasuk “Al
Tirgazu b’Derech” [Bereishis 45:24] to mean that
Yosef told his brothers not to trespass on the way
home. He warned them not to take short cuts
through other people’s property and rely on the
fact that they were the brothers of the Viceroy of
the country who had special perks. Yosef was
constantly worried about doing the right thing
and about not hurting another person.
This is the Torah lesson Yosef learned from
Yaakov when they last saw each other. This is
what saved him. Yaakov understands this message
when he sees the ‘Agalos’. Yosef is ‘telegraphing’
the message: “Father, do you know why I survived
these past 20 years? It is because I never forgot
the lesson of ‘Eglah Arufah.’”