Rav Kook on Parashat Miketz: Yosef and Yehuda

The strife among Yaakov's sons centered on two conflicting viewpoints vis a vis the sanctity of the Jewish people. Yehuda felt that we need to act according to the current reality and that, given the present situation, the Jewish people need to maintain a separate existence from other nations in order to safeguard their unique heritage. Yosef, on the other hand, believed that we should focus on the final goal. We need to take into account the hidden potential of the future era, when “nations will walk by your light” (Yishayahu 60:3). Thus, according to Yosef, even nowadays we are responsible for the spiritual elevation of all peoples.

So which outlook is correct — Yehuda's pragmatic nationalism or Yosef's visionary universalism?

The Present versus the Future
The dispute between Yehuda and Yosef is in fact a reflection of a fundamental split in the world. The rift between the present reality and the future potential is rooted in the very foundations of the universe. On the second day of Creation, God formed the rakia, the firmament separating the waters below from the waters above (Ber. 1:7; see Chagigah 15a). This separation signifies a rupture between the present (as represented by the ‘lower waters’ of this world) and the future (the ‘higher waters’ of the heavens). The inability to reveal the future potential in the present is a fundamental defect of our world; unlike the other days of Creation, the Torah does not describe the second day, when this breach occurred, as being ‘good.’

Yosef and the Letter "Heiy"
According to the Midrash (Sotah 36b), the angel Gavriel taught Yosef seventy languages. Gavriel also added the Hebrew letter heiy from God’s Name to Yosef's name, calling him ‘Yehosef’ (Ps. 81:6). What is the significance of this extra letter?

The Chachamim wrote that God created this world with the letter heiy, and the World to Come with the letter yud (Bereisheet Rabbah 12:9). In Yosef's view, each nation is measured according to its future spiritual potential, according to how it will fit in the final plan of kiddush ha-Shem and revelation of His rule in the world. The particular role of each nation is indicated by its unique language. Without the letter heiy, however, Yosef could not properly grasp the language of each nation, i.e., he could not ascertain the nature of their role in the future world. With the addition of the letter heiy to his name — the letter used to create this world — Yosef gained the ability to understand the universe as it exists now. Yosef was then able to comprehend the languages of all peoples and assess their spiritual potential.

Yosef was able to discern the world’s potential for kiddush ha-Shem with the help of a single letter. He used the hey, a letter which is closed from three sides, as this future potential is currently almost completely hidden. Yehuda, on the other hand, looked at the world’s spiritual state as it is revealed now.

“Yosef, who sanctified God’s Name in private, merited one letter of God’s Name. Yehuda, who sanctified God’s Name in public, merited that his entire name was called after God’s Name” (Sotah 36b).

Two Types of Tzaddikim
According to the Zohar, Binyamin complemented his brother Yosef. ‘Rachel gave birth to two tzaddikim, Yosef and Binyamin. Yosef was a “higher tzaddik", while his brother Benjamin was a “lower tzaddik” (Vayeitzei 153b). What are these two types of tzaddikim ?

The “higher tzaddik” is a conduit for the shefa, drawing it down from above, while the “lower tzaddik” passes the shefa to the physical world below. Binyamin's role, as the “lower tzaddik,” was to imbue our world with holiness. His whole life, Binyamin was concerned that the Beit HaMikdash should be built in the portion of Eretz Yisrael that his tribe would inherit. Why was that so vital to Binyamin?

The Beit HaMikdash is “a house of prayer for all peoples,” allowing all to share in its holiness. ‘Had the nations known how important the Temple was for them, they would have surrounded it with forts in order to guard over it’ (Tanhuma Bamidbar 3). The Beit HaMikdash has a fundamental role in Yosef's universal outlook.

The Monarchy and the Beit HaMikdash
The dialectic between Yehuda and Yosef finds expression in two institutions: the monarchy and the Beit HaMikdash. The monarchy, whose role was to protect the national sanctity of the Jewish people, was established in Yehuda's inheritance, in Hebron and Yerushalayim. The Beit HaMikdash, whose role was to elevate all of humanity, was built on Binyamin's land. Yet the Beit HaMikdash was partially located on a strip of land that extends from Yehuda's portion into Binyamin's portion. This strip represents the synthesis of Yehuda and Yosef, the integration of the national and universal viewpoints.

Mikeitz, the name of the Torah reading, means “at the end.” The Midrash Tanchuma explains that God established an end for all things. Just as Yosef's imprisonment ended in Mikeitz, so too, the conflict between Yehuda and Yosef will be resolved after a constructive period of development and change. The fundamental dissonance in the world will be repaired, and the rift between the present and the potential, between the lower and higher waters of creation, will be healed.

(Sapphire from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Shemuot HaRe’iyah 10, Miketz 5690 (1929) by Rav Chanan Morrison)