Yosef the Dreamer Leads the Way to Yerushalayim

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik was not raised in a home that affiliated with the Zionist movement. While his father and grandfather were great lovers of Eretz Yisrael, they viewed the Modern Zionist movement as a danger to the illustrious mesorah of yiddishkeit. The Rav himself followed in their footsteps. After moving to America, he remained a member of Agudah for a number of years.

But as the fires of the Shoah consumed European Jewry, the Rav began to reconsider his allegiances. He eventually became a member of Mizrachi and an outspoken supporter of the Modern State of Israel.

In 1962, the Rav delivered a speech in which he explained his change of heart and why his alienation from his esteemed colleagues was so painful. He focused on this week’s parsha and the conflict between Yosef and his brothers. (By no coincidence, the Rav’s name was Yosef.) The brothers of Yosef were spiritual titans who lived simply, attending to the flocks of their father. Their profession as shepherds was well established, following the traditions of their illustrious forefathers.

But Yosef sees into the future. He remembers the foreboding promise that Hashem made to Avraham, that his progeny would become slaves in a foreign land. And Yosef fears that the beautiful traditions and holiness of his brothers will not survive this cataclysmic shift if changes are not made now. He begins to dream of a different path. Instead of shepherding, Yosef dreams of agriculture and grains. He informs his brothers of the different path he has in store for them. The brother’s frustration with Yosef quickly morphs into dislike, distrust, even fear. Why change the status quo when we are successfully living in the holy paths of Avraham and Yitzchak? Their mutual misunderstanding eventually leads to the tragic sale of Yosef. 

But Yosef was ultimately right. The sale ironically facilitates his very goals of creating an environment in which his family can thrive, even after destructive famine sweeps the land. It is Yosef who becomes the Mashbir – the sustainer – of his entire family, allowing Levi and Yehudah to continue their holy endeavors in the Beis HaTalmud. 

So too, said the Rav, in modern times. Great and holy Torah scholars insisted that there need not be any change whatsoever. They rejected the dreams of Yosef, insisting that the Torah could survive and thrive without his newfangled ideas. But the Rav zt’l believed that without Yosef‘s dreams becoming a reality, Torah would not be able to thrive in the post-Shoah era. (Sure enough, the Modern State of Israel would rise to become one of the greatest supporters of Torah study to ever have existed.) 

The Rav’s rich spiritual metaphor dovetails perfectly with many comments of the Vilna Gaon alluding to the fact that the progeny of Yosef in particular will begin the geulah process through the building of Yerushalayim. The Gemara Megillah, when discussing the order of berachot recited in Shemona Esrei, notes that the blessing over Yerushalayim must precede the blessing over mashiach, for the rebuilding of Yerushalayim will precede the return of Malchut Beit David. The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 1) and Vilna Gaon in several places explain that the progeny of Yosef will be the power that facilitates the physical ingathering of the exiles and the reconstruction of Yerushalayim in the material realm. Through their efforts, the city will be built and beautified. It is only through the efforts of Yosef that the city will be able to sustain the neshama of Klal Yisrael in the hallowed halls of the Beit Medrash. 

Because of the foresight of Yosef, despite his many detractors, the holy city has been thriving. May we continue to see the fulfillment of Yosef’s dream, with the full restoration of Yerushalayim Ir HaKodesh, speedily in our days. 

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