We are going to see the times that Yosef cries in the Torah.
~ At every time, I'd like us to think what are the functions of the tears? What are they expressing?
~ How do we relate to the idea of Yosef crying? Is there something that bothers you? Why?
~ Note that Yosef cries 7 times.
(ה) וַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף כִּי מֵת אֲבִיהֶם. וּמָה רָאוּ עַתָּה שֶׁפָּחֲדוּ. אֶלָּא בְּעֵת שֶׁחָזְרוּ מִקְּבוּרַת אֲבִיהֶם רָאוּ שֶׁהָלַךְ יוֹסֵף לְבָרֵךְ עַל אוֹתוֹ הַבּוֹר שֶׁהִשְׁלִיכוּהוּ אֶחָיו בְּתוֹכוֹ, וּבֵרַךְ עָלָיו, כְּמוֹ שֶׁחַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל מָקוֹם שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה לוֹ נֵס, בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי נֵס בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ כָּךְ, אָמְרוּ, עַכְשָׁו מֵת אָבִינוּ, לוּ יִשִׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב לָנוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ אֹתוֹ. וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה וְגוֹ', כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא וְגוֹ'. חִפַּשְׂנוּ וְלֹא מָצָאנוּ שֶׁצִּוָּה יַעֲקֹב דָּבָר זֶה. אֶלָּא בּוֹא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה גָדוֹל כֹּחַ הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁכָּתַב הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּתוֹרָתוֹ עַל כֹּחַ הַשָּׁלוֹם אֵלּוּ הַדְּבָרִים.
(5) And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, etc. (Gen. 50:13). What did they see that frightened them? As they were returning from the burial of their father, they saw their brother go to the pit into which they had hurled him, in order to bless it. He blessed the pit with the benediction “Blessed be the place where He performed a miracle for me,” just as any man is required to pronounce a blessing at the place where a miracle had been performed in his behalf. When they beheld this they cried out: Now that our father is dead, Joseph will hate us and will fully requite us for all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: Thy father did command … “So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive” (Gen. 50:15–16). We have searched the entire Scripture and are unable to find any place where Jacob uttered this remark. This statement is introduced to teach us the importance of peace. The Holy One, blessed be He, wrote these words in the Torah for the sake of peace alone.
~ What kind of cry is Rabban Gamliel's? Does it surprise you?
~ In this piece, certain rabbis are crying when they read certain verses of Torah. There are a lot more.
Have you ever encountered a verse or scene in the Torah that made you want to cry? Have you ever encountered a book that made you want to cry?
~ One of the answers to the question 'how is it possible for Moshe to have written this entire Torah?' is that Moshe wrote while crying, particularly when writing about his own death.
~ What kind of cry is this? What kind of image does this bring of Moshe?
~ What kind of cry is Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair's?
~ What kind of cry is Rabbi Yochanan's?
... (ישעיה כב, ד): עַל כֵּן אָמַרְתִּי שְׁעוּ מִנִּי אֲמָרֵר בַּבֶּכִי, אָמַר רֵישׁ לָקִישׁ בִּשְׁלשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת בִּקְּשׁוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת לוֹמַר שִׁירָה לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְלֹא הִנִּיחָן, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: בְּדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל, וּבַיָּם, וּבְחֻרְבַּן בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ. בְּדוֹר הַמַּבּוּל מַה כְּתִיב (בראשית ו, ג): וַיֹּאמֶר ה' לֹא יָדוֹן רוּחִי בָּאָדָם לְעֹלָם. בַּיָּם כְּתִיב (שמות יד, כ): וְלֹא קָרַב זֶה אֶל זֶה כָּל הַלָּיְלָה. וּבְחֻרְבַּן בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ כְּתִיב (ישעיה כב, ד): עַל כֵּן אָמַרְתִּי שְׁעוּ מִנִּי אֲמָרֵר בַּבֶּכִי אַל תָּאִיצוּ לְנַחֲמֵנִי. אַל תֹּאסִפוּ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא אַל תָּאִיצוּ, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, נִחוּמִין אֵלּוּ שֶׁאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים לְפָנַי, נִאוּצִין הֵן לִי, לָמָּה (ישעיה כב, ה): כִּי יוֹם מְהוּמָה וּמְבוּסָה וּמְבוּכָה לַה' אֱלֹקִים צְבָאוֹת. ... דָּבָר אַחֵר, וַיִּקְרָא ה' אֱלֹקִים צְבָאוֹת בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לִבְכִי וּלְמִסְפֵּד וגו', בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַחֲרִיב אֶת בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אָמַר, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁאֲנִי בְּתוֹכוֹ אֵין אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם נוֹגְעִין בּוֹ, אֶלָּא אֶכְבּשׁ אֶת עֵינַי מִמֶּנּוּ, וֶאֱשָׁבַע שֶׁלֹא אֱזָקֵק לוֹ עַד עֵת קֵץ, וְיָבוֹאוּ הָאוֹיְבִים וְיַחְרִיבוּ אוֹתוֹ, מִיָּד נִשְׁבַּע הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּימִינוֹ וְהֶחֱזִירָהּ אֲחוֹרָיו, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב (איכה ב, ג): הֵשִׁיב אָחוֹר יְמִינוֹ מִפְּנֵי אוֹיֵב, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה נִכְנְסוּ אוֹיְבִים לַהֵיכָל וּשְׂרָפוּהוּ, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁנִּשְׂרַף אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שׁוּב אֵין לִי מוֹשַׁב בָּאָרֶץ, אֲסַלֵּק שְׁכִינָתִי מִמֶּנָּה וְאֶעֱלֶה לִמְכוֹנִי הָרִאשׁוֹן, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (הושע ה, טו): אֵלֵךְ אָשׁוּבָה אֶל מְקוֹמִי עַד אֲשֶׁר יֶאְשְׁמוּ וּבִקְּשׁוּ פָנָי. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בּוֹכֶה וְאוֹמֵר אוֹי לִי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי, הִשְׁרֵיתִי שְׁכִינָתִי לְמַטָּה בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְעַכְשָׁו שֶׁחָטְאוּ חָזַרְתִּי לִמְקוֹמִי הָרִאשׁוֹן, חַס וְשָׁלוֹם שֶׁהָיִיתִי שְׂחוֹק לַגּוֹיִם וְלַעַג לַבְּרִיּוֹת, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה בָּא מטטרו"ן וְנָפַל עַל פָּנָיו וְאָמַר לְפָנָיו, רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אֲנִי אֶבְכֶּה וְאַתָּה לֹא תִבְכֶּה, אָמַר לוֹ אִם אֵין אַתָּה מַנִּיחַ לִי לִבְכּוֹת עַכְשָׁו, אֶכָּנֵס לְמָקוֹם שֶׁאֵין לְךָ רְשׁוּת לִכָּנֵס וְאֶבְכֶּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ירמיה יג, יז): וְאִם לֹא תִשְׁמָעוּהָ בְּמִסְתָּרִים תִּבְכֶּה נַפְשִׁי מִפְּנֵי גֵוָה וגו'. אָמַר לָהֶן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת בּוֹאוּ וְנֵלֵךְ אֲנִי וְאַתֶּם וְנִרְאֶה בְּבֵיתִי מֶה עָשׂוּ אוֹיְבִים בּוֹ, מִיָּד הָלַךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת וְיִרְמְיָה לְפָנָיו, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אָמַר בְּוַדַּאי זֶהוּ בֵּיתִי וְזֶהוּ מְנוּחָתִי שֶׁבָּאוּ אוֹיְבִים וְעָשׂוּ בוֹ כִּרְצוֹנָם. בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה הָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בּוֹכֶה וְאוֹמֵר אוֹי לִי עַל בֵּיתִי, בָּנַי הֵיכָן אַתֶּם, כֹּהֲנַי הֵיכָן אַתָּם, אוֹהֲבַי הֵיכָן אַתֶּם, מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לָכֶם, הִתְרֵיתִי בָּכֶם וְלֹא חֲזַרְתֶּם בִּתְשׁוּבָה. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִרְמְיָה, אֲנִי דוֹמֶה הַיּוֹם לְאָדָם שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ בֵּן יְחִידִי וְעָשָׂה לוֹ חֻפָּה וּמֵת בְּתוֹךְ חֻפָּתוֹ, וְאֵין לְךָ כְּאֵב לֹא עָלַי וְלֹא עַל בְּנִי, לֵךְ וּקְרָא לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב וּמשֶׁה מִקִּבְרֵיהֶם, שֶׁהֵם יוֹדְעִים לִבְכּוֹת. אָמַר לְפָנָיו רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ הֵיכָן משֶׁה קָבוּר, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֵךְ עֲמֹד עַל שְׂפַת הַיַּרְדֵּן וְהָרֵם קוֹלְךָ וּקְרָא בֶּן עַמְרָם בֶּן עַמְרָם עֲמֹד וּרְאֵה צֹאנְךָ שֶׁבְּלָעוּם אוֹיְבִים. מִיָּד הָלַךְ יִרְמְיָה לִמְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה וְאָמַר לַאֲבוֹת הָעוֹלָם, עִמְדוּ שֶׁהִגִּיעַ זְמַן שֶׁאַתֶּם מִתְבַּקְּשִׁין לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אָמְרוּ לוֹ לָמָּה, אָמַר לָהֶם אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיָה מִתְיָרֵא שֶׁלֹא יֹאמְרוּ בְּיָמֶיךָ הָיְתָה לְבָנֵינוּ זֹאת. הִנִּיחָן יִרְמְיָה וְעָמַד עַל שְׂפַת הַיַּרְדֵּן וְקָרָא בֶּן עַמְרָם בֶּן עַמְרָם עֲמֹד הִגִּיעַ זְמַן שֶׁאַתָּה מְבֻקָּשׁ לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. אָמַר לוֹ מָה הַיּוֹם מִיּוֹמַיִם שֶׁאֲנִי מְבֻקָּשׁ לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אָמַר לוֹ יִרְמְיָה אֵינִי יוֹדֵעַ. הִנִּיחוֹ משֶׁה וְהָלַךְ אֵצֶל מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, שֶׁהָיָה מַכִּיר אוֹתָן מִשְּׁעַת מַתַּן תּוֹרָה, אָמַר לָהֶם מְשָׁרְתֵי עֶלְיוֹנִים כְּלוּם אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִים מִפְּנֵי מָה אֲנִי מִתְבַּקֵּשׁ לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אָמְרוּ לוֹ בֶּן עַמְרָם אִי אַתָּה יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ חָרֵב וְיִשְׂרָאֵל גָּלוּ, וְהָיָה צוֹעֵק וּבוֹכֶה עַד שֶׁהִגִּיעַ לַאֲבוֹת הָעוֹלָם, מִיָּד אַף הֵם קָרְעוּ בִגְדֵיהֶם וְהִנִּיחוּ יְדֵיהֶם עַל רָאשֵׁיהֶם וְהָיוּ צוֹעֲקִים וּבוֹכִין עַד שַׁעֲרֵי בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה אוֹתָם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִיָּד וַיִּקְרָא ה' אֱלֹקִים צְבָאוֹת בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לִבְכִי וּלְמִסְפֵּד וּלְקָרְחָה וְלַחֲגֹר שָׂק, וְאִלְמָלֵא מִקְרָא שֶׁכָּתוּב אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְאָמְרוֹ, וְהָיוּ בוֹכִין וְהוֹלְכִין מִשַּׁעַר זֶה לְשַׁעַר זֶה, כְּאָדָם שֶׁמֵּתוֹ מוּטָל לְפָנָיו, וְהָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא סוֹפֵד וְאוֹמֵר אוֹי לוֹ לַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁבְּקַטְנוּתוֹ הִצְלִיחַ וּבְזִקְנוּתוֹ לֹא הִצְלִיחַ. ...
... "That is why I say, 'Let me be, I will weep bitterly, [press not to comfort me for the ruin of my poor people.'" (Isaiah 22:4)] Said Resh Lakish: There were three moments when the angels wanted to say a song in front of the Holy One of Blessing and He did not permit them, namely: in the generation of the flood, and at the Sea [of Reeds] and at the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash (Temple). At the generation of the flood, as it is written "Ad-nai said, 'My breath shall not abide in man forever'" (Genesis 6:3); at the Sea, as it is written "the one could not come near the other all through the night" (Exodus 14:20); and at the destruction of the Temple as it is written "that is why I say, 'Let me be, I will weep bitterly, press not to comfort Me" (Isaiah 22:4). It is not written "do not continue" but "do not press" [this tells that] the Holy One of Blessing said to the angels of service: 'all these consolations that you are saying in front of Me press Me. Why? " For my Lord E-lohim of Hosts had a day of tumult and din and confusion" (Isaiah 22:5) ... Another interpretation of "My Lord E-lohim of Hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting, etc (Isaiah 22:12) - at the moment that the Holy One of Blessing decided to destroy the Beit Hamikdash He said: while I am still in it, the peoples of the world cannot touch it, rather, I will turn My eyes away from it and swear that I won't see it until the end of times, and the enemies came and destroyed it. Immediately the Holy One of Blessing swore by His right hand and hid it on His back, as it is written "He has hidden His right hand in the presence of the foe" (Lamentations 2:3). At that very moment the enemies entered in the Temple and burned it and once it was burned the Holy One of Blessing said: again, there is no dwelling for Me on the earth/land, I will separate my Shechinah (Presence) from it and I will go to my original residence, as it is written: 'And I will return to My abode until they realize their guilt and search for My face' (Hosea 5:15). At that very moment the Holy One of Blessing was crying and saying "Oy/woe to Me, what did I do? I caused My Shechinah to stay below because of Israel, and now that they sinned I returned to My original residence, 'chas veshalom' I should become a joke to the peoples and a motif of laughter among humans! At that very moment came Metatron and fell on his face and said in front of Him: Master of the Universe! I should cry, but You should not cry! He said: if you don't let Me cry now, I will enter into the place where you have no permission to enter, and there I will cry - as it is written "for if you will not give heed, My inmost self will weep in the Hidden Places, because of your arrogance etc" (Jeremiah 13:17). The Holy One of Blessing said to the angels of service: let's all, you and I, go see what the enemy did to My house. Immediately the angels of service, the Holy One of Blessing and Jeremiah [arrived] in front of it. When the Holy One of Blessing saw the Beit Hamikdash, He said: obviously this is My house and the place of My rest, the enemies came and did as they pleased. At that very moment the Holy One of Blessing cried and said: 'Oy!/woe to Me on account of My house! My children, where are you? My kohanim, where are you? My beloved ones, where are you? What can I do for you, I warned you and you did not do teshuvah! The Holy One of Blessing said to Jeremiah: 'I am like a person who had an only son, and made a chupah for him, and he died under his chupah, and you have no empathy for Me or my son, go call Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya'akov and Moshe because they know how to cry. [Jeremiah] said to Him: 'Master of the Universe, I don't know where Moshe is buried' The Holy One of Blessing said: 'Go to the River Jordan and yell: Son of Amram! Son of Amram! Stand up and see your flock swallowed up by the enemies!' Immediately Jeremiah went to the Cave of Machpela and told the Ancestors of the World: "Raise up because the time of you being wanted by the Holy One of Blessing has arrived!' They asked him 'Why?' and he answered 'I don't know' - that was because he was afraid they would say "it was under your days that this happened to our children!" Jeremiah set them, and then went to the banks of the River Jordan and called 'Son of Amram! Son of Amram! Raise up because the time of you being wanted by the Holy One of Blessing has arrived!' He said: 'Why is this day any different than any other day, that I am wanted by the Holy One of Blessing?' Jeremiah said: 'I don't know.' He set him. Moshe went to the angels of service, whom he knew from the times of the giving of the Torah, and asked: 'High ones of the service, do you know why am I being wanted by the Holy One of Blessing?' They said to him: 'Son of Amram, don't you know that the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed and [the people of] Israel is exiled?' He began screaming and crying until he got to the Ancestors of the World, and immediately they too tore their clothes, and put their hands on their heads, and began screaming and crying until they got to the gates of the Beit HaMikdash, and as soon as the Holy One of Blessing saw them, immediately "Lord E-lohim of Hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting, and to let hair go untrimmed and to use of sackcloth". And weren't for the text to be explicitly written, one could not say it, but they were crying and walking from gate to gate, as a person whose dead relative is in front of their eyes, and the Holy One of Blessing was speaking like one speaks a eulogy, saying: "Oy to the king who was able in his early days, but was not able in his old age!"
This is a famous petichta [proem] to the midrashic collection "Eicha Rabbah" or "Lamentations Rabbah". What is translated above is just a piece, the petichta is much longer.
As far as I know the only petichtot are to this collection of midrashim. There are 36 of those proems, and it makes up a fourth of the book. The structure is almost always the same: "Rabbi So-and-So opened/patach" his discourse on the destruction of the Temple with a verse from a prophet or writings, through midrashic connections illustrates questions regarding the destruction and theodicy (why people suffer) and closing with the first verse from Lamentations [Eicha/How]. Petichta 24 is the only one not to close with a verse from Lamentations, but from Jeremiah 31:17 "there is hope for you, says Ad-nai, and your children will return to their borders".
~ Is it surprising to you to have the image of God crying?
~ What do the rabbis teach with the tears of God in this passage?
Rebbe Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, interview on 2005:
Q: Christians talk about a personal relationship with God, so when you say that it sounds very Christian.
A: This is so funny, because it looks to me the other way. Jesus is so thoroughly Jewish, and he talks about God as Abba: “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.” The Judaism has been filtered out for Christians, so they don’t know anymore what his origin is. And the worst thing yet is with Islam. They don’t understand what they owe to Judaism when they speak about the relationship to Allah. We need to just make this very clear. When you speak about the Ba’al Shem Tov and Hasidism and so on, it becomes very, very clear that there was a personal relationship. Just four generations ago for many people here, their mothers would put on a kerchief and say the prayer over the candles and then pray for every member of their family at that time and pour out their heart. People came for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Even Rudolph Otto describes “the idea of the holy.” He says he came to a synagogue, and he discovered it when people were praying, because when you say “Baruch atah adonai,” you’re addressing God.
I remember when I was a child, my dad had just finished his prayer, and I peeked underneath his tallit, which he had over his head, and I saw he had been crying. So I said, “Papa” — I was speaking German at that time — “why do you cry?” He said to me, “Because I talked with God.” So I said, “Does it hurt when you talk with God?” And he said, “No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s very good. I only cried because it was so long since I last talked to him.” You get the sense that the personal was very, very real in everything that we did. It was only from the 1920s, I would say, to the late ’60s, ’70s that even in most synagogues God was absent.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2005/09/30/september-30-2005-rabbi-zalman-schachter-shalomi-extended-interview/9753/
Ted Lendon:
But if you look at it in Greek terms it is admired, and it should be admired ... what I guess I would say to you is something that we don’t notice, which is that since 1600, maybe 1500, the west has been extraordinarily self controlled place. That is, we do not, men do not cry in public. In fact, the accepted, shall we say, volume of or the accepted range of emotion that men are allowed to display in public is limited.
And if you go back before that, to the middle ages, you see kings crying and all sorts of things that we would consider quite off color these days. Of course there have been periods of greater emotional openness, the 1960s, of less emotional openness, all this doesn’t much matter. In practice, since 1600 we have been a society that has defined manliness in large part in terms of self control, to such a degree that we no longer notice. [Art of Manliness Podcast, #299 - What the Ancient Greeks Thought About Manliness]