מקץ-Jewish Unity

This week’s Parsha, מקץ, speaks of the rise of יוסף to go from prison slave to the viceroy of Egypt. He is confronted by his brothers and devises a scheme to see if the brothers have remorse for their terrible crime of selling him.

Rabbi Soloveitchik makes an interesting observation about the entire saga. He says that Egypt was the first of many exiles that the Jewish people would be confronted with. And every exile either ended in expulsion, assimilation, or annihilation. All of these exiles could have been avoided if there would not have been divisiveness among Jewish brothers.

In short, all of our problems come from our inability to get along among ourselves. If we would have אחדות, unity, nobody from the outside could ever harm us. This is a very sobering statement that should motivate us to find love and brotherhood among all Jews. It is not an easy task but one that is essential for the well being of our people. שבת חנוכה שלום