Parsha Minute – Vayigash

In this weeks parsha we learn that Yosef sent the “Agalos, calves,” to  Yakov after which  the pasuk  says that Yakov was calmed as he know realized that Yosef was still  in  his original  state of ruchniyus.  The reason for this was because the calves that were sent were to  remind Yakov of the last sugya they  were learnig which  was the parsha of egla arufa,  this was the symbol in  sending the calves. However the Das Zekinim  says that the word agalos is translated not as calves but rather as wagons and that they  were learning the parsha of the chanukas hamishkan  in which  the pasuk  says that the nesim  brought the wagons.  However one can  ask  what is the significance of them  learning the parsha of the chanukas hanesim  that parsha seemingly  is unrelated to  the tora the avos learnt and kept. 

One can  possibly  suggest that their learning about the chanukas hamizbeach  wasn’t  just to  learn  about the story of the future, rather it was to  give Yosef a message and lesson that even  in galus one can  reach  the highest levels of hashras hashechina just like the nesim  when they  dedicated the mishkan. Yakov knew that Yosef was destined to  a life of galus,  and wanted to  teach  him that even  in galus if we want to  connect ourselves to  the shechina we can,  and truly reach  the madreiga of the nesim  at the time of chanukas hamishkan. 

Reb  Chaim  Volozhin  writes that now that we don’t have a Beis hamikdosh,  the only  way we can  achieve that level n is through  limud hatora,  may  we all  be zoche in  our lives,  even  within  a long and difficult galus to  hashras hashechina.