Rabbi Resiman - 5776 Parshas Vayeishev
In this week's Parsha we have the different tragedies that befell Yaakov Avinu. First and foremost the fact that he thought that his son Yosef had been killed as it says in 37:35 (וַיְמָאֵן לְהִתְנַחֵם) and he did not accept Tanchumin, he could not be consoled. Rashi says why could he not be consoled? (אין אדם יכול לקבל תנחומין על החי) the nature of a human being is such that a person could only be consoled if something is over and there is nothing to do about it, however, if the person is really alive he can't. Yaakov thought that he was not alive but in fact he was alive, so it is not in the nature of the Briya that a person can be Mekabeil Tanchumin, that a person can accept consolation. That is what Rashi tells us.
The Maharal asks a great Kasha. He asks that Yaakov Avinu should have realized that Yosef was still alive. Since it is the nature of a human being to only accept consolation for someone who already died, (וַיְמָאֵן לְהִתְנַחֵם) and Yaakov could not accept consolation on the death of Yosef he should have realized that Yosef was alive. A great Kasha.
The Maharal's Teretz is an incredible insight and he says that Yaakov thought and he said it is true. Normally a person is Mekabeil Tanchumin if somebody died but Yaakov thought that this was a Maaseh of the Yeitzer Hora. It is a Maaseh Yeitzer Hora and that he is not a Baal Madreiga. With all the great people in Tanach, they would practice humility and he was an Anav. He thought that the reason he is not Mekabeil Tanchumin is because of his Yeitzer Hora.
This Maharal is telling us an incredible Chiddush. We know there is a Yeitzer Hora to be jealous, there is a Yeitzer Hora to get angry, there is a Yeitzer Hora for all kinds of things. There is also a Yeitzer Hora to feel bad for yourself. There is also a Yeitzer Hora to weep and cry over things that happened that you are not happy about. It is a specific Yeitzer Hora. Nobody likes complainers. Somebody who is constantly complaining, even if he is right and he has something to complain about, does not draw himself close or make himself inviting to other human beings.
It is a very important thing to know that it is a Yeitzer Hora to constantly express your frustrations, your sadness, your disappointment. Olam Hazeh is a place of disappointments. A person needs to be optimistic, needs to be positive. In Yoreh Dai'a we find in Siman 394 one is prohibited from expressing pain, from feeling pain on someone who died more than is normal. Why is that so? If someone feels pain he feels pain. Why is this? If this person is extremely close to the person who died you feel pain.
The answer is in the words of the Maharal, Yitzro Takif Alav. It is a Yeitzer Hora to constantly feel bad for yourself. A person is into himself too much when he is constantly thinking about his own disappointments in life.
Rabbi Aharon Kotler in the Mishnas Reb Aharon Cheilek Aleph brings that there is a Gemara in Maseches Moed Kotton 27b about a woman who wouldn't be consoled on the death of a child. I am afraid to say over the incredible Gemara. She wouldn't accept consolation and Rav Pappa warned her if you don't accept consolation and you don't find yourself another child will die and then another child. That is what happened (all her children Lo Aleinu died). I don't understand, this woman wasn't doing anything wrong, she was in pain, she was in Tzar?
Rav Aharon says it is a Yeitzer Hora. A person has to be able to get a hold of himself. His Hashkofos are wrong. If his way of life is warped, then he can't deal with any disappointments. It is normal to cry over disappointments. It is normal to express sadness. But not Yoser Mi'dai. There is a point when it has to come to an end. That is also a type of Yeitzer Hora. It is an incredible message. A message to work on being an optimist and not a pessimist. A tremendous lesson in Hanhagas Ha'adam in Middos Ha'adam.
In this week's Parsha we have the different tragedies that befell Yaakov Avinu. First and foremost the fact that he thought that his son Yosef had been killed as it says in 37:35 (וַיְמָאֵן לְהִתְנַחֵם) and he did not accept Tanchumin, he could not be consoled. Rashi says why could he not be consoled? (אין אדם יכול לקבל תנחומין על החי) the nature of a human being is such that a person could only be consoled if something is over and there is nothing to do about it, however, if the person is really alive he can't. Yaakov thought that he was not alive but in fact he was alive, so it is not in the nature of the Briya that a person can be Mekabeil Tanchumin, that a person can accept consolation. That is what Rashi tells us.
The Maharal asks a great Kasha. He asks that Yaakov Avinu should have realized that Yosef was still alive. Since it is the nature of a human being to only accept consolation for someone who already died, (וַיְמָאֵן לְהִתְנַחֵם) and Yaakov could not accept consolation on the death of Yosef he should have realized that Yosef was alive. A great Kasha.
The Maharal's Teretz is an incredible insight and he says that Yaakov thought and he said it is true. Normally a person is Mekabeil Tanchumin if somebody died but Yaakov thought that this was a Maaseh of the Yeitzer Hora. It is a Maaseh Yeitzer Hora and that he is not a Baal Madreiga. With all the great people in Tanach, they would practice humility and he was an Anav. He thought that the reason he is not Mekabeil Tanchumin is because of his Yeitzer Hora.
This Maharal is telling us an incredible Chiddush. We know there is a Yeitzer Hora to be jealous, there is a Yeitzer Hora to get angry, there is a Yeitzer Hora for all kinds of things. There is also a Yeitzer Hora to feel bad for yourself. There is also a Yeitzer Hora to weep and cry over things that happened that you are not happy about. It is a specific Yeitzer Hora. Nobody likes complainers. Somebody who is constantly complaining, even if he is right and he has something to complain about, does not draw himself close or make himself inviting to other human beings.
It is a very important thing to know that it is a Yeitzer Hora to constantly express your frustrations, your sadness, your disappointment. Olam Hazeh is a place of disappointments. A person needs to be optimistic, needs to be positive. In Yoreh Dai'a we find in Siman 394 one is prohibited from expressing pain, from feeling pain on someone who died more than is normal. Why is that so? If someone feels pain he feels pain. Why is this? If this person is extremely close to the person who died you feel pain.
The answer is in the words of the Maharal, Yitzro Takif Alav. It is a Yeitzer Hora to constantly feel bad for yourself. A person is into himself too much when he is constantly thinking about his own disappointments in life.
Rabbi Aharon Kotler in the Mishnas Reb Aharon Cheilek Aleph brings that there is a Gemara in Maseches Moed Kotton 27b about a woman who wouldn't be consoled on the death of a child. I am afraid to say over the incredible Gemara. She wouldn't accept consolation and Rav Pappa warned her if you don't accept consolation and you don't find yourself another child will die and then another child. That is what happened (all her children Lo Aleinu died). I don't understand, this woman wasn't doing anything wrong, she was in pain, she was in Tzar?
Rav Aharon says it is a Yeitzer Hora. A person has to be able to get a hold of himself. His Hashkofos are wrong. If his way of life is warped, then he can't deal with any disappointments. It is normal to cry over disappointments. It is normal to express sadness. But not Yoser Mi'dai. There is a point when it has to come to an end. That is also a type of Yeitzer Hora. It is an incredible message. A message to work on being an optimist and not a pessimist. A tremendous lesson in Hanhagas Ha'adam in Middos Ha'adam.
