The drama of parashat Vayeshev, which brings Jacob and his sons to Egypt, starts with Jacob sending Joseph to his brothers in Sh'chem. The Torah states that Jacob did so "from the valley of Hebron (Bereshit 37:14)." Rashi comments that, given that Hebron is not in a valley, the interpretation of the verse is as the Talmud states in Sotah 11: Jacob sent his son "from the deep counsel of that righteous one who is buried in Hebron, to fulfil that which was said to Abraham at the Covenant between the Parts: know that your seed will be in a strange land (Bereshit 15:13)."
What is this deep counsel upon which Jacob acted? The phrase "that righteous one" clearly refers to Abraham, but why is he not simply called by his name? And what is so righteous about entering a covenant that is guaranteed to bring misery to one's descendants?
There is another passage in the Talmud that similarly refers to Abraham as "that righteous one", also in the context of the Covenant between the Parts. In B'rachot 9 it is explained why HaShem asked Moshe to tell the people to take silver and golden vessels from the Egyptians (Shemot 11:2), the reason being that "that righteous one" should not complain that HaShem did not fulfil the promise given at the Covenant between the Parts - that Abraham's descendants would leave slavery with great possessions. Why do our sages here refer to Abraham as "that righteous one"? What is so righteous about insisting that one's descendants should be rich?
A clue is found in the very passage of the Covenant between the Parts: "And he trusted in HaShem and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Bereshit 15:6)." Abraham is called righteous in the context of the Covenant between the Parts because he entered it in faith. Purely based on the words of HaShem, Abraham's calculations were not realistic in a conventional sense.
His acceptance of the announced suffering of his descendants involved no characther flaw, but signified Abraham's ultimate trust in HaShem. The promised wealth for his descendants was indeed very important to Abraham, but the reason was opposite to mundane: if the Jews would have left Egypt without great possessions, that would have compromised the Divine promise. Conversely, the fact that the Jews did leave Egypt with great wealth, was a crucial vindication for the basic teaching of "that righteous one" - his deep counsel - that one should base one's life on the Divine promise.
When the Torah states that the sending of Joseph was from the valley of Hebron, it hints that this sending was an act of faith. The preceding verse, Bereshit 37:13, gives another hint: "He said to him: Here I am." In the simple meaning of the verse, it is Joseph who says, "Here I am," to Jacob. Rashi comments that Joseph expressed his eagerness to do what his father commanded him even though he knew that his brothers hated him. If Joseph knew this, Jacob must have known also. And hence, a different reading of Bereshit 37:13 makes great sense: Jacob said, "Here I am," to the Almighty. Aware of the risks of his action, Jacob followed the counsel of his grandfather and explicated his trust in HaShem.
After his encounter with Esau and the fight with the angel, Jacob had internalized this very deep principle of Torah: the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4), and who lives by faith is counted as righteous.
What is this deep counsel upon which Jacob acted? The phrase "that righteous one" clearly refers to Abraham, but why is he not simply called by his name? And what is so righteous about entering a covenant that is guaranteed to bring misery to one's descendants?
There is another passage in the Talmud that similarly refers to Abraham as "that righteous one", also in the context of the Covenant between the Parts. In B'rachot 9 it is explained why HaShem asked Moshe to tell the people to take silver and golden vessels from the Egyptians (Shemot 11:2), the reason being that "that righteous one" should not complain that HaShem did not fulfil the promise given at the Covenant between the Parts - that Abraham's descendants would leave slavery with great possessions. Why do our sages here refer to Abraham as "that righteous one"? What is so righteous about insisting that one's descendants should be rich?
A clue is found in the very passage of the Covenant between the Parts: "And he trusted in HaShem and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Bereshit 15:6)." Abraham is called righteous in the context of the Covenant between the Parts because he entered it in faith. Purely based on the words of HaShem, Abraham's calculations were not realistic in a conventional sense.
His acceptance of the announced suffering of his descendants involved no characther flaw, but signified Abraham's ultimate trust in HaShem. The promised wealth for his descendants was indeed very important to Abraham, but the reason was opposite to mundane: if the Jews would have left Egypt without great possessions, that would have compromised the Divine promise. Conversely, the fact that the Jews did leave Egypt with great wealth, was a crucial vindication for the basic teaching of "that righteous one" - his deep counsel - that one should base one's life on the Divine promise.
When the Torah states that the sending of Joseph was from the valley of Hebron, it hints that this sending was an act of faith. The preceding verse, Bereshit 37:13, gives another hint: "He said to him: Here I am." In the simple meaning of the verse, it is Joseph who says, "Here I am," to Jacob. Rashi comments that Joseph expressed his eagerness to do what his father commanded him even though he knew that his brothers hated him. If Joseph knew this, Jacob must have known also. And hence, a different reading of Bereshit 37:13 makes great sense: Jacob said, "Here I am," to the Almighty. Aware of the risks of his action, Jacob followed the counsel of his grandfather and explicated his trust in HaShem.
After his encounter with Esau and the fight with the angel, Jacob had internalized this very deep principle of Torah: the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4), and who lives by faith is counted as righteous.