Parashat Vayigash

“Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He appeared before him, fell on his neck, and he wept on his neck excessively.” (Genesis 46:29)

Jacob was informed that his long-lost son, whom he had not seen for 22 years, was alive and well and ruling Egypt. Overjoyed he headed down to Egypt to see him. Joseph went out to greet his father, falling on his neck weeping. Jacob, however, did not fall on Joseph’s neck, nor did he kiss him. Why not?

The Midrash reveals that Jacob was reciting the Shema. Of all the times to say the Shema, he had to say it now - when he was finally re-united with his long lost son!?

Couldn't he have had better itinerary planning? And if it was the proper time of the day to say Shema, why didn't Joseph say it as well?

Emotions can be channeled in different ways. An actor who feels anxious and tense before a play can channel those feelings into high-powered energy and produce an incredible performance. The same is true for channeling our emotions to the service of G-d.

The Maharal (Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who for most of his life served as a leading Rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia) explains that when Jacob saw Joseph after a long and painful separation, he experienced an outpouring of love and joy. He felt that instead of focusing purely on the joy of seeing his son, he should channel this love towards G-d, and so he immediately recited Shema.

Character traits can also be redirected to better serve G-d. We find that both King David and Esav were born with a tendency towards bloodshed. David utilized it for the good - he killed only in accordance with the rulings of the Sanhedrin (The Assembly of Jewish Judges), thus fulfilling G-d's will. Esav, on the other hand, would kill whenever the mood moved him, and became the eternal symbol of cruelty and evil.

G-d created man with the ability to experience many emotions, and He wants us to use them to get closer to Him. The Talmud (Kiddushin 30a) states, "If a person encounters the evil inclination, he should drag him into the Beit Hamidrash (study hall)."

The Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yossef Haim of Bagdad, Iraq, 1835-1909. He was the leading Sephardi Rabbi, authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist of his time) explains, "If a sudden wave of physical desire overcomes a person, "He should bring it to the Beit Midrash" - instead of using the desire for something negative, he should hurry to utilize this energy for spiritual pursuits - the performance of a mitzvah or the study of Torah.