VaYigash - Lessons of the Famine

At the end of Parshas VaYigash the Chumash details the effects of the famine on the Egyptians. At first the Egyptians and the Canaanites buy food from Yosef. However, they eventually run out of money. At that point they say to Yosef why should we die because we have no money (Bereshis 47:15)? The Ramban adds to the question saying, so what if the grain remains in your hands and there is no buyer. Yosef then tells him that he will accept מקניכם as their payment. מקניכם is typically understood as "your livestock" however the word also includes the idea of any possession. So to speak they can pay with whatever is in their nest (קן). The following year the Egyptians say "we can not deny that the money, possessions, and livestock are exhausted" (Bereshis 47:18) and ask Yosef to buy their land and themselves as slaves to Pharaoh.

When he is in absolute control, Yosef moves the Egyptians from their ancestral plots. When farming in their new locations Yosef requires that they give one fifth of their harvest to Pharaoh. However, the priests are exempt from these decrees. The fields of their fathers remain with them. They are exempt from taxes and they receive an allotment from Pharaoh. The Egyptians whole heartedly accept these decrees and express gratitude to Yosef because he saved their lives during the famine.

The HaEmek Davar explains that the whole point of these episodes were to be lessons that the Supernal Providence was teaching to Israel in the land of Egypt. As great a tsadik and wise man as Yosef is, his highest virtue is he was a medium for Hashem. The first lesson is that money and possessions are not life. Even if a person loses everything his life still has value. In addition no matter how much stock and inventory a person owns it is useless if there is nobody to buy it. On top of this a person must know it and verbally acknowledge it.

Other lessons are that no matter how long we have been in a specific place we are still sojourners in this world. In addition our true mission in this world is to be servants of the Most High. Part of this obligation is to use a portion of our resources for religious purposes. This would include education particularly about values, religious celebrations and observances, charity to the poor and the religious establishment. Priests should be exempt from these taxes because they are devoting their entire life to the faith and their income comes from the sacrifices that others bring to come close to G-d. The message for Yosef is that he is to be separate and elite and Hashem's special lot among the Jewish people.

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In parshas VaYigash we learn the lessons of the famine in Egypt. Among them are our money and possessions are not our life and we must acknowledge this publicly from time to time. Our stay in this world is temporary and during our sojourn here we should be servants of the truth. In addition some of our resources should be dedicated towards religion and charitable purposes.

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