Spiritual Consolation or Psychological Repression?
Spiritual Consolation or Psychological Repression?

There is no better parsha (Torah reading) than ours to demonstrate and appreciate the Ramban’s profoundly sensitive, psychological and humanistic reading of the Torah.

Who (הוא)is “He”?!

“Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He appeared to him; he fell on his neck and he wept on his neck more” (46:28).

The verse is ambiguous and abstruse:

Who presents himself to whom and who falls/weeps on whose neck?!

According to Rashi, “it was Joseph who wept greatly and continuously. Ya’akov (Jacob), however, did not fall upon Joseph’s neck not did he kiss him. Our Rabbis say: The reason for this was because Ya’akov was busy reciting the Shema.”

Ramban demurs with Rashi’s reading of the verse, and arrives at an opposite conclusion: “The most sound explanation in my eyes is that Ya’akov’s eyes had already partially dimmed from old age, or, alternatively, that Joseph came riding in Pharaoh’s royal chariot with the headdress over his face (in the manner of the kings of Egypt) so that his father did not recognize him… Therefore, the Torah mentions that when Ya’akov looked closely at Joseph and suddenly recognized him, his father fell on Joseph’s neck and wept over him “more,” meaning: just as he had constantly wept over him so many years until that day, when he did not see Joseph…”

“And it is common knowledge whose tears are more ready to flow at a moment such as this – those of the aged father who finds his long-lost son after a long period of despair and mourning, or those of the youthful, ruling son?!” According to the Ramban, it had to have been Joseph’s aged father who was moved to tears!

This same profound humanistic, sensitive and emotional approach of the Ramban can be seen in other parts of Genesis, Sefer Bereshit, too. For example, in explaining the reason for the great perplexity with which Isaac trembled (27:33), upon learning from Esau that Ya’akov had tricked him into blessing him, Ramban writes poignantly: “it was because he realized that his son, Esau, who was so beloved to Isaac, had now lost his special blessing forever.”

And when seeing that Leah, her sister, has given birth to 4 healthy children while she has none, Rachel dramatically declares: “Give me children, for otherwise I am dead!” (30:2). Ya’akov’s insensitive retort – “Am I instead of God Who has withheld from you fruit of the womb?!” – is criticized by Ramban, who cites the Midrash, stating: “The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Is this the right way to respond to women in distress? By your life, I swear that your sons (borne by your other wives) will one day stand at the mercy of her son (Joseph).” Ya’akov should have prayed to God to grant Rachel children, argues Ramban, or at the very least empathized with Rachel in her plight!

Mere Disbelief or Heart Attack?!

We see a further Rashi-Ramban dichotomy earlier in our parsha, when the brothers tell their father that “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt; but Ya’akov’s heart momentarily ceased, for he could not believe them” (45:26). Rashi explains that Ya’akov’s heart passed away and ceased to believe, i.e. his heart took no notice of their words and turned away to other things. By contrast, Ramban gives a more psychological interpretation: the verse means that Ya’akov’s heart “actually ceased beating and his breathing stopped, as if he were dead!”

“This is a well-known phenomenon that occurs when joy comes suddenly upon a person. The medical books  mention that old or frail people in particular cannot tolerate such sudden joy and that many of them faint when happiness comes to them unexpectedly and suddenly…”

Unwitting Slip of  Tongue or Repressed  Subconscious?

In last week’s parsha, Ya’akov eventually consents to the brothers taking Benjamin down to Egypt: “and may G-d Almighty grant you compassion before the man that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin” (43:14). Now, the “other brother” to whom Ya’akov referred was ostensibly Simon, but, if so, why did Ya’akov not mention Simon by name, as he did  Benjamin?  Rashi cites a midrashic interpretation, according to which Ya’akov experienced an unwitting slip of tongue (a “flickering of the Divine Spirit”), meaningful only in retrospect. Ramban builds off Rashi’s mystical explanation, yet argues that the Midrash is sound as an interpretation of the plain meaning of the verse, an intentional ambiguity, designed to implicitly include Joseph in his prayers!

“For Ya’akov made it his intention, at the time of his prayer for the release of his sons, to pray without mentioning anyone by name, so that it could apply to the other one (Joseph) as well, thinking: perhaps he is still alive.”

Yaakov, according to the Ramban, still harbored the hope that Joseph was alive. There is a solid, psychological reason to explain why he can find no solace: true, he was shown Joseph's blood-covered coat, but Ya’akov never saw the body. The spark of hope never faded. Maybe, Yaakov thought, just maybe Joseph somehow managed to survive…

Rashi & Ramban Compared

Rashi and Ramban focus on different aspects of Ya’akov’s personality. Rashi (37:35) cites the Midrash that Ya’akov reasoned he would “go down into the grave unto my son mourning”, because “this omen has been given to me by G-d: if none of my sons die during my lifetime I may be assured that I shall not see Gehinnom.” In this light, we can understand Ya’akov’s reaction on seeing Joseph 22 years  later – he recites the Shema in gratitude to Hashem, and can “now die” (46:30), which Rashi explains, again based on the Midrash, that “since you are alive I will die only once (in this world) and not also in the World to Come.”

Ramban’s focus is far more ‘down to earth’. The hope that Joseph was still alive lingered at the back of his mind (Freudian slip of the tongue – your “other” brother) - and he was unable to rest until he found out the truth, despite constant attempts to put his thoughts and hopes to the back of his mind. This explains why even after tearing his clothes in mourning he is unable to be comforted. On  learning Joseph is, in fact, alive he has a vicious reaction, a heart attack – it is well known that constant blocking takes its toll on ‘repressors’, which can result in general high blood pressure/pulse rate and the risk of heart disease. And on finally meeting his beloved son, Ya’akov cries – the climax of all his bottled-up hope and repressed energies.

In memory of my beloved Aunt Michle bat Isaac, yahrzeit 30 Kislev

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