Welcome to the Mussar haTorah podcast for Parshas VaYechi. Join us as we explore the weekly Parsha, uncovering valuable insights and striving to become the best versions of ourselves through Mussar teachings.
Yaakov on his deathbed asked Yosef to swear that he would not bury him in Egypt but he should take Yaakov's remains to Eretz Yisroel and be buried there.
The Ramban asks why did Yaakov insist that Yosef swear to bury him in Eretz Yisroel even when he promised to fulfill this request? We are talking about Yosef, who was Yaakov's favorite son. When Yaakov asked Yosef to find out how his brothers were doing, Yosef obeyed even though he knew it would put him into a dangerous situation. If there were to be anyone who would make sure Yaakov's last wish is listened to, it would be Yosef!
The Ramban answers that if Pharaoh would have forbade Yosef from burying his father in Eretz Yisroel, the oath Yosef took would give him an extra push to defy Pharaoh. Rav Henoch Leibowitz z'l says that from here we can see if Yosef was not made to swear he wouldn't have been able to oppose Pharaoh.
In turn, this answer of the Ramban gives us an insight into the tremendous ability of a person and the heights they are capable of reaching when they are fully understand the responsibility of a given task. We can see that all somebody needs is additional motivation, the extra push to mobilize all of their energies. This will take something which was thought to be impossible, to now be possible.
The Midrash Rabbah on Megillas Rus shows us an even more amazing concept. Not only can someone muster all of the forces at their disposal when motivated properly, they can even **increase** their potential and abilities through a greater motivation. As we will see in a week or two, if Aharon would have known the Torah felt it worthy of recording going out to greet Moshe, the Midrash says he would have gone out with tambourines and dancing.
Is the Midrash trying to say there was something lacking in what Aharon did? Did he not greet Moshe with a complete heart?
Rav Henoch says that the Midrash is not finding fault with Aharon. Its purpose is to praise him be showing he performed the act as well as was possible according to the level he was on. However, the added knowledge that his actions would be recorded in the Torah for generations to see would have given him even a greater understanding of how important this mitzvah was; giving him the added vigor to do what he wasn't able to do before.
The Ramban is bringing to light an important lesson; if we focus on the impact we have on a hospital patient when we are visiting them or on our family when we help them with their daily chores, we realize the significance of even a simple action. This clearer perception imbues us with the strength to do chesed and mitzvos we previously thought were beyond our capability.
The Midrash gives us an even greater insight into the endless bounds of our abilities. It is always possible to surpass our most thorough and best efforts. There is no limit to the amount of added awareness we can utilize to improve our efforts. There is no end to the power we can muster to climb even upward on the spiritual ladder.
As we conclude this week's exploration of Parshas VaYechi, let's internalize this powerful message: Every mitzvah, every act of kindness holds profound significance. When we truly comprehend the impact of our actions, we unlock extraordinary potential within ourselves. This week, let's challenge ourselves to approach our daily interactions with renewed awareness, knowing that our sincere efforts can continually reach new heights.
Thank you for joining us on the Mussar HaTorah Podcast. Until next week, may we all merit to grow in our avodas Hashem.
