בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
בְּרוּךֶ אַתֶה חֲוָיָה שְׁכִינּוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדַשְׁתַנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתֶיהֶ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהָתֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קֵרְבָתְנוּ לַעֲבוֹדָתָהּ וְצִוְתָנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה
Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la’asok b’divrei Torah
Nonbinary Hebrew Project:
B’rucheh ateh Khavayah Shekhinu ruach ha’olam asher kidash’tanu b’mitzvotei’he v’tziv’tanu la’asok b’divrei Torah
Feminine God Language:
Brukhah at Ya Elohateinu ruach ha’olam asher keir’vat’nu la’avodatah v’tziv’tavnu la’asok b’divrei Torah
וַֽיַּעֲל֖וּ מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב אֲבִיהֶֽם׃ וַיַּגִּ֨דוּ ל֜וֹ לֵאמֹ֗ר ע֚וֹד יוֹסֵ֣ף חַ֔י וְכִֽי־ה֥וּא מֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּכׇל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וַיָּ֣פׇג לִבּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י לֹא־הֶאֱמִ֖ין לָהֶֽם׃ וַיְדַבְּר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו אֵ֣ת כׇּל־דִּבְרֵ֤י יוֹסֵף֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם וַיַּרְא֙ אֶת־הָ֣עֲגָל֔וֹת אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח יוֹסֵ֖ף לָשֵׂ֣את אֹת֑וֹ וַתְּחִ֕י ר֖וּחַ יַעֲקֹ֥ב אֲבִיהֶֽם׃ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רַ֛ב עוֹד־יוֹסֵ֥ף בְּנִ֖י חָ֑י אֵֽלְכָ֥ה וְאֶרְאֶ֖נּוּ בְּטֶ֥רֶם אָמֽוּת׃ וַיִּסַּ֤ע יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֖א בְּאֵ֣רָה שָּׁ֑בַע וַיִּזְבַּ֣ח זְבָחִ֔ים לֵאלֹהֵ֖י אָבִ֥יו יִצְחָֽק׃ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ בְּמַרְאֹ֣ת הַלַּ֔יְלָה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֣ב ׀ יַעֲקֹ֑ב וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֥י הָאֵ֖ל אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ מֵרְדָ֣ה מִצְרַ֔יְמָה כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל אֲשִֽׂימְךָ֥ שָֽׁם׃ אָנֹכִ֗י אֵרֵ֤ד עִמְּךָ֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וְאָנֹכִ֖י אַֽעַלְךָ֣ גַם־עָלֹ֑ה וְיוֹסֵ֕ף יָשִׁ֥ית יָד֖וֹ עַל־עֵינֶֽיךָ׃ וַיָּ֥קׇם יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיִּשְׂא֨וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־יַעֲקֹ֣ב אֲבִיהֶ֗ם וְאֶת־טַפָּם֙ וְאֶת־נְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם בָּעֲגָל֕וֹת אֲשֶׁר־שָׁלַ֥ח פַּרְעֹ֖ה לָשֵׂ֥את אֹתֽוֹ׃ וַיִּקְח֣וּ אֶת־מִקְנֵיהֶ֗ם וְאֶת־רְכוּשָׁם֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר רָֽכְשׁוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ מִצְרָ֑יְמָה יַעֲקֹ֖ב וְכׇל־זַרְע֥וֹ אִתּֽוֹ׃ בָּנָ֞יו וּבְנֵ֤י בָנָיו֙ אִתּ֔וֹ בְּנֹתָ֛יו וּבְנ֥וֹת בָּנָ֖יו וְכׇל־זַרְע֑וֹ הֵבִ֥יא אִתּ֖וֹ מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃ {ס}
They went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive; yes, he is ruler over the whole land of Egypt.” His heart went numb, for he did not believe them. But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. “Enough!” said Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die.” So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac’s [house]. God called to Israel in a vision by night: “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here.” “I am God, the God of your father’s [house]. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into a great nation. I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you back; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.” So Jacob set out from Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel put their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him; and they took along their livestock and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt: he brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.
וְאֶת־יְהוּדָ֞ה שָׁלַ֤ח לְפָנָיו֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף לְהוֹרֹ֥ת לְפָנָ֖יו גֹּ֑שְׁנָה וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ אַ֥רְצָה גֹּֽשֶׁן׃ וַיֶּאְסֹ֤ר יוֹסֵף֙ מֶרְכַּבְתּ֔וֹ וַיַּ֛עַל לִקְרַֽאת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אָבִ֖יו גֹּ֑שְׁנָה וַיֵּרָ֣א אֵלָ֗יו וַיִּפֹּל֙ עַל־צַוָּארָ֔יו וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ עַל־צַוָּארָ֖יו עֽוֹד׃ וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אֶל־יוֹסֵ֖ף אָמ֣וּתָה הַפָּ֑עַם אַחֲרֵי֙ רְאוֹתִ֣י אֶת־פָּנֶ֔יךָ כִּ֥י עוֹדְךָ֖ חָֽי׃
He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to point the way before him to Goshen. So when they came to the region of Goshen, Joseph ordered his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel; he presented himself to him and, embracing him around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, having seen for myself that you are still alive.”
ויפג לבו. נֶחֱלַף לִבּוֹ וְהָלַךְ מִלְּהַאֲמִין, לֹא הָיָה לִבּוֹ פוֹנֶה אֶל הַדְּבָרִים, לְשׁוֹן מְפִיגִין טַעֲמָן בִּלְשׁוֹן מִשְׁנָה וּכְמוֹ מֵאֵין הֲפֻגוֹת (איכה ג'), וְרֵיחוֹ לֹא נָמָר (ירמיהו מ"ח), מְתַּרְגְּמִינַן וְרֵיחֵיהּ לָא פָג:
ויפג לבו AND JACOB’S HEART CONTINUED COLD — his heart passed away (נחלף) and ceased to believe — his heart took no notice of their words. The word ויפג has the same meaning as (Beitzah 14a) “all spices let their taste pass away (מפיגין)” (i.e. lose their taste) in Mishnaic Hebrew. Similar is (Lamentations 3:49) “without (הפגות) intermission”. The words (Jeremiah 48:11) “and his scent is not changed (נמר)” is rendered in the Targum by “and his scent has not את כל דברי יוסף.
ויפג לבו. נתעלף וחסרה קצת דפיקת לבו ורוחו ממה שהיה קודם כמנהג בעלוף מדאגת לבו בהזכירם את יוסף: כי לא האמין להם. לפיכך ותחי רוח יעקב ולא אבדה רוחו אחר כך כשהאמין כמו שיקרה בעת השמחה הפתאומית הממית בצאת הרוח החיוני אל החוץ כי אמנם נכנסה לפנים בעת הדאגה הקודמת כשלא האמין: וידברו אליו את כל דברי יוסף. שאמר ועוד חמש שנים אשר אין חריש וקציר כדי לערב בדבר הבשורה איזהו דאגה: ותחי רוח יעקב. נרפא מן העלוף הקודם בהדרגת השמחה עם הדאגה:
ויפג לבות, he passed out. His heart stopped beating briefly, something common when people have a fainting spell. This occurred at the moment Joseph’s name was mentioned by the brothers. כי לא האמין להם. so that he had no chance to believe them. Therefore, ותחי רוח יעקב, once his spirit revived he never fainted again so that he was able to believe them. It had been the sudden joy that had been the cause of his fainting. Spirit has a habit of contracting when one suffers worry, etc., whereas it expands when one experiences joy, sometimes even beyond the boundaries of one’s body so that the body faints. They told him all the words. They informed him that there would be another five years of famine in order that he would not faint from excessive joy. ותחי רוח יעקב, he recovered from his fainting spell now that the joy had been tempered by a worrisome element.
ויפג לבו ויפג לבו שנתבטל לבו ופסקה נשימתו כי פסקה תנועת הלב והיה כמת וזה הענין ידוע בבוא השמחה פתאום והוזכר בספרי הרפואות כי לא יסבלו זה הזקנים וחלושי הכח שיתעלפו רבים מהם בבוא להם שמחה בפתע פתאום כי יהיה הלב נרחב ונפתח פתאום והחום התולדי יוצא ומתפזר בחיצוני הגוף ויאפס הלב בהתקררו והנה נפל הזקן כמת ואמר כי לא האמין להם להגיד שעמד זמן גדול מן היום והוא שוכב דומם בעבור שלא האמין להם כי הידוע בעלוף הזה שיצעקו לו וירגילו אותו בשמחה ההיא עד שתקבע בו בנחת רוח וזה טעם וידברו אליו את כל דברי יוסף אשר דבר אליהם וירא את העגלות כי היו צועקים באזניו דברי יוסף ומביאים לפניו העגלות אז שבה רוחו אליו וחזרה נשימתו וחיה וזהו ותחי רוח יעקב אביהם ואונקלוס תרגם ושרת רוח נבואה בעבור שהדבר אמת הוסיף זה ודרש כן במלת רוח שלא אמר "ויחי יעקב אביהם" ועשאו מענין רוח ה' אלהים עלי (ישעיהו סא א) ועתה ה' אלהים שלחני ורוחו (שם מח טז) איש אשר רוח בו (במדבר כז יח):
‘VAYAPHAG’ HIS HEART. his heart was suspended and his breathing ceased, for the movement of the heart ceased and he was as dead. This condition is known when joy suddenly comes upon one, and it is mentioned in the books of medicines that old or feeble persons cannot withstand the shock, for many of them faint when joy comes to them very suddenly. The heart widens and opens suddenly, and its natural heat goes out and scatters throughout the outer parts of the body, and the heart thus ceases to function because of its coolness. Thus the patriarch fell as dead. Scripture says, for he believed them not, in order to relate that he remained in that condition a great part of the day, and he lay so without movement because he did not believe them.
Concerning such fainting it is known that people shout to the fainting person and accustom him to that joyful event gradually until he accepts it with a tranquil spirit. And this is the meaning of the verse, And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them, and when he saw the wagons [which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived], for they shouted into his ears the words of Joseph and brought the wagons before him. Then did his spirit return to him, and his breathing began and he was revived. It is this which Scripture says, And the spirit of Jacob their father revived. Now Onkelos translated: “The Divine Presence, [which had departed from him when he was in mourning], again rested upon him.” Onkelos added this because the thing is true, and he expounded this interpretation from the word ruach (spirit), since Scripture does not say, “and Jacob their father revived,” [but rather, and the spirit of Jacob their father revived]. He thus explained the verse here as being analogous to these verses: The spirit of the Eternal G-d is upon me; And now the Eternal G-d hath sent me and His spirit; A man in whom is spirit.
אל תירא מרדה מצרימה אין אומרים אל תירא אלא למי שהוא מתיירא לפי שהיה יעקב מתיירא ואומר עכשיו שאני יורד למצרים קרבו הימים שנאמר לזקני גזירת שעבוד ועינוי על זרעי בארץ לא להם אמר לו הקב״ה אל תירא מרדה מצרימה אם לאביך הזהרתי באתי לך להבטיחך אם קרבו ימי שעבוד ועינוי גם קרבה הברכה שברכתי את זקנך ואעשך לגוי גדול. היינו כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם.
אל תירא מרדה מצרימה, “do not fear descending to Egypt;” no one in the Bible had ever been told by G-d not to be afraid, unless he had already been afraid. Yaakov’s reasoning for being fearful was his knowledge that being strangers in a foreign land and being slaves which had been decreed already in the lifetime of his grandfather Avraham would most likely commence now that he was moving to Egypt. G-d answered him that although He had warned his father and grandfather of this, He appeared to him in order to give him reassurance. He hinted that although he was correct in assuming that the warning would soon be fulfilled, but by the same token, the promise made to all the three patriarchs that they would develop into a great nation, came closer to its fulfillment.
From "Long-Lost Family, Long-Lost Nation, Long-Lost Redemption," by Rabbi Marianne Novak, at https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/280064?lang=en
In the next chapter, curiously, we do not see Yaakov going immediately to see his long lost son. Yaakov first makes a stop in Be’ersheva where his father Yitzchak and his grandfather Avraham offered sacrifices to God. Here God says, ‘Yaakov, Yaakov, and he said, ‘Here I am.’ (Genesis 46:2) God then goes on to restate the covenant he made with Yitzchak and Avraham by telling Yaakov that He is the God of his forefathers. As He initially described in the The Covenant Between the Pieces, Brit bein HaBitarim to Avraham, God now tells Yaakov that he and his family will be going down to Egypt for an extended period of time. God reassures Yaakov and tells him not to fear his time in Egypt. God will make Yaakov a great nation there and eventually will redeem him and his family from Egypt. With this encounter over, Yaakov resumes his journey but not without the narrative first giving us a detailed genealogy of all his family now coming to live in Egypt.
Why does our story take this literal and figurative detour? Where is the dramatic father and son reunion we have been so desperately wanting since Yosef’s brothers threw him into the pit? It is no coincidence that Yaakov’s encounter with God foreshadows, almost word for word, Moshe’s encounter at the burning bush where God says, ‘Moshe, Moshe, and he said, ‘Here I am.’ (Exodus 3:4). God mentions nothing about Yosef but rather reaffirms the covenant He made with Yaakov’s forefathers, highlighting God bringing Yaakov and his family to Egypt. The narrative’s focus is clearly on the future story of the Jews enslavement in and eventual redemption from Egypt. And perhaps, that is precisely the point. This really isn’t a story about a long, lost family after all. The entire Yosef narrative, therefore, is the true starting point of the essential narrative of the Jewish people, the Exodus from Egypt.
In the next chapter, curiously, we do not see Yaakov going immediately to see his long lost son. Yaakov first makes a stop in Be’ersheva where his father Yitzchak and his grandfather Avraham offered sacrifices to God. Here God says, ‘Yaakov, Yaakov, and he said, ‘Here I am.’ (Genesis 46:2) God then goes on to restate the covenant he made with Yitzchak and Avraham by telling Yaakov that He is the God of his forefathers. As He initially described in the The Covenant Between the Pieces, Brit bein HaBitarim to Avraham, God now tells Yaakov that he and his family will be going down to Egypt for an extended period of time. God reassures Yaakov and tells him not to fear his time in Egypt. God will make Yaakov a great nation there and eventually will redeem him and his family from Egypt. With this encounter over, Yaakov resumes his journey but not without the narrative first giving us a detailed genealogy of all his family now coming to live in Egypt.
Why does our story take this literal and figurative detour? Where is the dramatic father and son reunion we have been so desperately wanting since Yosef’s brothers threw him into the pit? It is no coincidence that Yaakov’s encounter with God foreshadows, almost word for word, Moshe’s encounter at the burning bush where God says, ‘Moshe, Moshe, and he said, ‘Here I am.’ (Exodus 3:4). God mentions nothing about Yosef but rather reaffirms the covenant He made with Yaakov’s forefathers, highlighting God bringing Yaakov and his family to Egypt. The narrative’s focus is clearly on the future story of the Jews enslavement in and eventual redemption from Egypt. And perhaps, that is precisely the point. This really isn’t a story about a long, lost family after all. The entire Yosef narrative, therefore, is the true starting point of the essential narrative of the Jewish people, the Exodus from Egypt.
אכן כוונת הכתוב הוא לצד מה שקדם מההודעה להאבות כי נגזרה גזירת הגלות עליהם דכתיב (בראשית טו) כי גר יהי' זרעך וגו' ומן הסתם יגיד אברהם לבניו, וכן הוא מפורש בדבריהם ז"ל (ב"ר פ' פ"ב) אשר על כן כשראה יעקב שבר במצרים כי שם יסבלו בניו הגלות לזה כשירד ירא לנפשו כי יתחיל הגלות ממנו, גם ירא היה שמא יקבר שם בארץ טמאה, אשר על כן נגלה אליו ה' ואמר לו אנכי אלהי אביך נתכוון באמירה זו כי כשם שאביך לא טעם טעם שעבוד ועינוי כמו כן אתה אל תירא הגם שאתה יורד מצרימה, ולצד שיחשוב יעקב לחזור ולעלות ממצרים כשימצא שעת הכושר והוא אחר עבור שנת רעב והבטחתו יתברך שאומר לו אל תירא היא על זמן מועט שיהיה שם, לזה גמר אומר כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם פירוש רוצה אני לשום אותך שם לצורך גוי גדול.
Clearly, the Torah refers to the prediction/decree at the covenant between the pieces when G'd told Abraham (Genesis 15,13) that exile had already been decreed. No doubt Abraham had informed his son and grandson of this decree. When Jacob saw that food was for sale in Egypt, he immediately associated this with the fact that his descendants would endure exile there. He was afraid that this exile would commence the moment he arrived in Egypt.. He was also worried that he would be buried there, in a land which was totally impure. G'd therefore appeared to him in a dream describing Himself as the G'd of his father; He meant that just as the exile had not commenced during Isaac's life and Isaac had not experienced persecution, so it would not commence during Jacob's lifetime either. Concerning Jacob's intention to return to the land of Canaan as soon as the famine was over, G'd told Jacob that he would develop into a great nation in Egypt; in other words, G'd had a good reason why Jacob would not return to the land of Canaan soon. G'd alluded to this by saying כי לגוי גדול אשימך שם, i.e. in order for this to be accomplished you have to stay there for some considerable time.
ויבך על צואריו עוד. לְשׁוֹן הַרְבּוֹת בְּכִיָּה, וְכֵן כִּי לֹא עַל אִישׁ יָשִׂים עוֹד (איוב ל"ד), לְשׁוֹן רִבּוּי הוּא – אֵינוֹ שָׂם עָלָיו עֲלִילוֹת נוֹסָפוֹת עַל חֲטָאָיו; אַף כָּאן הִרְבָּה וְהוֹסִיף בִּבְכִי יוֹתֵר עַל הָרָגִיל; אֲבָל יַעֲקֹב לֹא נָפַל עַל צַוְּארֵי יוֹסֵף וְלֹא נְשָׁקוֹ, וְאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁהָיָה קוֹרֵא אֶת שְׁמַע:
ויבך על צואריו עוד AND WEPT ON HIS NECK A GOOD WHILE — The phrase ויבך עוד signifies weeping copiously. So, too, עוד has the same meaning in (Job 34:23) “For He doth not place upon a man עוד” — which means something more than is proper: God does not place on him accusations additional to his sins (the sins he has really committed) Here, also, he wept greatly and continuously — more than is usual. Jacob, however, did not fall upon Joseph’s neck nor did he kiss him. Our Rabbis say: the reason was that he was reciting the Shema (renewing his allegiance to God immediately on settling in a new land).
From "On Crying and Catharsis" by Rabbi Dr. Erin Leib Smokler at https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/422407.1?lang=en&with=all&lang2=en
Perhaps Yaacov's dry eyes ought not be viewed as emblems of stoic sublimation, but rather as indicators of emotional exhaustion. Perhaps Yaacov did not cry not because he wouldn't, but because he couldn't; because he had been crying for so long already. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (on Bereishit 46:29) lyrically suggests just that:
רש"ר הירש על התורה, בראשית מ״ו:כ״ט
יוסף בכה, יעקב לא בכה עוד. יעקב כבר כילה לבכות, יוסף בכה עוד בשעה שיעקב דיבר איתו. בקווים קטנים אלה משתקפת האמת העובדתית. יעקב חי עד כה חיים חדגוניים. הוא בכה את יוסף. האבל שלט בכל חייו הנפשיים. אך בחיי יוסף רבו התמורות והחליפות ולא היתה לו שהות לפנות את ליבו לצער הפרידה. ההווה בכל עת מילא את ליבו. רק עתה בשעה שנפל על צוארי אביו הוא חש את כל צער הפרידה וחי עוד פעם את עשרים השנים שכבר עברו.
Rav Hirsch on Torah, Genesis 46:29
Yosef cried; Yaacov no longer cried. Yaacov already finished crying, but Yosef just began when he spoke with his father. . . Yaacov had lived until this point a life of constancy: He cried for Yosef. His grief ruled his entire emotional/spiritual being. Yosef's life, on the other hand, abounded with change and flux, and he never had the time to turn his heart to the pain of his separation [from his father]. He was always preoccupied with the present. Only now, at the moment when he fell on his father's neck did he feel all the agony of that separation, and he re-lived all of those 22 years past.
What a poignant counter-narrative is presented here. Yaacov did not cry because had spent his entire life crying. There were simply no more tears left to shed, having spent so many years weeping over his unbearable loss. The shocking reunion with his son was for him the blessed culmination of a treacherous emotional process that had run him dry. (The Shema was not a denial of emotion but an expression of gratitude.) For Yosef, though, whose life of luxury in Egypt distracted him from his own traumatic break from his family, the reunion marked just the beginning. It was the rupture that he needed to awaken fully to his emotional recovery. The tears flowed because they had been stymied until now.
Perhaps Yaacov's dry eyes ought not be viewed as emblems of stoic sublimation, but rather as indicators of emotional exhaustion. Perhaps Yaacov did not cry not because he wouldn't, but because he couldn't; because he had been crying for so long already. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (on Bereishit 46:29) lyrically suggests just that:
רש"ר הירש על התורה, בראשית מ״ו:כ״ט
יוסף בכה, יעקב לא בכה עוד. יעקב כבר כילה לבכות, יוסף בכה עוד בשעה שיעקב דיבר איתו. בקווים קטנים אלה משתקפת האמת העובדתית. יעקב חי עד כה חיים חדגוניים. הוא בכה את יוסף. האבל שלט בכל חייו הנפשיים. אך בחיי יוסף רבו התמורות והחליפות ולא היתה לו שהות לפנות את ליבו לצער הפרידה. ההווה בכל עת מילא את ליבו. רק עתה בשעה שנפל על צוארי אביו הוא חש את כל צער הפרידה וחי עוד פעם את עשרים השנים שכבר עברו.
Rav Hirsch on Torah, Genesis 46:29
Yosef cried; Yaacov no longer cried. Yaacov already finished crying, but Yosef just began when he spoke with his father. . . Yaacov had lived until this point a life of constancy: He cried for Yosef. His grief ruled his entire emotional/spiritual being. Yosef's life, on the other hand, abounded with change and flux, and he never had the time to turn his heart to the pain of his separation [from his father]. He was always preoccupied with the present. Only now, at the moment when he fell on his father's neck did he feel all the agony of that separation, and he re-lived all of those 22 years past.
What a poignant counter-narrative is presented here. Yaacov did not cry because had spent his entire life crying. There were simply no more tears left to shed, having spent so many years weeping over his unbearable loss. The shocking reunion with his son was for him the blessed culmination of a treacherous emotional process that had run him dry. (The Shema was not a denial of emotion but an expression of gratitude.) For Yosef, though, whose life of luxury in Egypt distracted him from his own traumatic break from his family, the reunion marked just the beginning. It was the rupture that he needed to awaken fully to his emotional recovery. The tears flowed because they had been stymied until now.
אכן כוונת דברי יעקב הם כי הגם שנתבשר כי עודנו חי זה הועיל לדעת שישנו במציאות אבל עדיין לבו דוי עליו לצד היותו בין האומות שפל עבד מושלים אם עודנו בצדקותו ולא כהתה עינו ולא נם ליחו, או לצד היותו מובדל ממנו ונתון תוך הקליפות ובפרט טומאת מצרים, ומה גם לצד מה שעברו מרוח הקודש שאמר (ל"ז) טרוף טורף יוסף חיה רעה אכלתהו, (ב"ר פ' פ"ד) ודבר ידוע הוא כי הצדיקים יותר יחפצו בהעדר הבן בהיותו בן מביש ומה גם יעקב הצדיק, אשר על כן לא היתה שמחתו שלימה מספק זה עד וירא אליו והכיר בו בפניו כי הכרת הפנים תענה באיש, וכמו כן מצינו לצדיקים שלמים וכן רבים שהכירו ברושם הפנים מעשה אדם ומכל שכן יעקב אבינו שיכיר, לזה כשהכיר בו אמר אליו אמותה הפעם פירוש הפעם הזאת בראייתך ולא מקודם כשנתבשרתי, והטעם אחרי ראותי פניך והכרתי בהם שעודך חי פי' צדיק כמקודם ולא נשתנה דיוקנך מכמות שהיה אלא עודך חי כי הצדיקים קרויים חיים (ברכות יח.) ונכון:
Actually Jacob had now reassured himself about something that the brothers could not have told him at the time. He had been satisfied that Joseph was alive, well and powerful; he had not yet been certain that in view of all the experiences Joseph had undergone both as a slave and subsequently as a powerful ruler, that he had been able to preserve his righteousness. Jacob himself had experienced a loss of the presence of Holy Spirit at the time he had mistakenly exclaimed that Joseph had been devoured by a wild beast. He naturally was afraid that Joseph too had been cut off from such Holy Spirit seeing he had lived in close contact with people who represented the קליפה, the personification of impurity. It is a well known fact that the righteous prefer the disappearance of a son to such a son embarassing them by abandoning his spiritual heritage. It was only when he set eyes on Joseph that he realised that Joseph had not changed. We have numerous examples in the Bible of righteous people being able to tell by merely looking at the faces of people that such people were upright and righteous. This is why Jacob was able to say אחרי ראותי את פניך, "after having seen your face." Jacob was now able to accept death without regret whenever it would occur. Berachot 18 mentions that the righteous are called חיים, alive, during their lifetime. Jacob expressed this thought when he called Joseph as "still alive" after having set eyes on him.