Good Mussar

Parshat ויגש is one of the most emotional Parshiot with Yosef’s revealing himself to his brothers and being reunited with his father. However, this Parsha seems to have the strongest Mussar of any Parsha, as well. The Torah tells us that the brothers were in shock when he revealed himself to them and ולא יכלו לענות, that they were unable to answer him. It may have also been a great deal of embarrassment that they felt at that moment. Our Rabbis tell us that the great Mussar to be learned here is that if brothers were unable to answer to another brother, how are we going to be able to answer to Hashem at the end of our lives? This is a very powerful reminder of our own accountability for all of our actions in this world. Everything is written in Heaven and we will need to answer for everything we have done during our lifetimes. Parshat ויגש is a kind of wake up call to all of us. Perhaps we need to work a little harder in our עבודת ה׳. The Torah says מפני שיבה תקום, which literally means to stand and show respect for an elderly person. Some explain it as לפני שיבה תקום, before you become an elderly person, תקום, wake up! A very important lesson learned from our Parsha.