Parsha Summary This week’s Torah portion, Vayigash, opens as Judah pleads with Joseph (whose identity is still disguised) to free his brother Benjamin. Judah says that his father Jacob will surely die if Benjamin is not brought home and asks to be enslaved in place of Benjamin. Joseph does not accept the offer. The confrontation intensifies. Finally, Joseph clears the room of Egyptians and reveals his identity to his brothers. He tells them that he bears no grudge against them for selling him into slavery years before. "Your actions were part of a Divine plan," he assures them. "I was sold down to Egypt for a greater good: to provide our family with sustenance during this terrible hunger."   Joseph sends his brothers back to Israel, along with chariots to bring Jacob and their families down to Egypt. Before Jacob leaves Israel, G-d appears to him in a vision, and assures him that He will be with him in Egypt. G-d promises that eventually the Jewish family will return to Israel as a mighty nation. When Jacob and his family arrive in Egypt, Pharaoh asks to meet them. On Joseph’s advice, they tell him that they are shepherds who wish only to tend their flock. Pharaoh offers them the land of Goshen, a region far removed from the immorality that pervades Egyptian culture – a location they had desired.   The portion concludes by explaining how the Egyptians survived during the years of hunger. Joseph sold all the food supply he had stored over the seven abundant years and saved the money in Pharaoh’s treasuries. When the Egyptians ran out of money, they sold their properties to Joseph in return for food. He allowed them to use their previously owned fields, but they now had to pay a 20% flat tax to Pharaoh’s treasury. The “Ghetto Mentality” The ghetto was the only place for Jews to live in many European cities during most of the Middle Ages. Rabidly anti-Semitic government officials had no qualms about herding thousands of Jews into a small corner of the city, forced to live in tight conditions and secluded from the rest of town. They weren’t allowed to engage in commerce with the rest of society, and had to resort to lowly jobs to provide for their families. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch points out although this definitely wasn’t an ideal residential setting, it had its silver lining. The ghetto provided the Jews an opportunity to forge their own communal identity. Sequestered, they were able to form their unique culture and preserve it for their children and grandchildren. Despite pogroms and other persecutions, Judaism thrived, as evidenced by the huge volume of scholarly works produced during those times, many of which are used to this day. Once the ghetto walls came tumbling down during the Enlightenment, assimilation and other destructive forces of Jewish identity followed. Rabbi Hirsch bases his insight on this week’s Torah portion, where Joseph’s insists that his brothers move to Goshen and reside there. Joseph didn’t want his brothers to live in Egypt among the natives. He wanted them to live in their own enclave, where they would thrive in their own culture and maintain their own identity. In today’s global society, it’s virtually impossible or practical to erect such barriers. Technology and the practical makeup of the society we live in is such that the entire world deals with one another. This has many positives – more opportunity and greater freedom helps us all – but maintaining our Jewish identity is definitely more of a challenge. It’s easy to integrate in the melting pot of Western culture, often relegating Judaism to the back burner Mingling among the nations of the world, we are compelled to make a conscious effort to instill within ourselves a sense of Jewish pride and make it an integral part of our identity at all times. Seeing all the menorahs glowing in homes while others sported their holiday adornment over the past week provided me with ample anecdotal evidence that Jewish identity is alive and well. Every Jewish home in which a menorah is lit in the window is another family proclaiming that they’re proud of their heritage and are willing to announce it to their friends and neighbors. This Jewish pride is something we can all build upon in other facets of life, long after the Chanukah lights have flickered out. Dedication Opportunities $54 - weekly dedication¨$150 - 4 consecutive weekly¨$72 Phone: 888-374-2870 ext. 11  ¨ E-mail: mail@torahlinks.org Torah Links is a Jewish learning organization, which offers educational and social programs to Jews of all affiliations in a warm and inviting environment. Please contact us for the site nearest you! Phone (732) 367-0600, (888) 374-2870 ¨ E-mail: mail@torahlinks.org