ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים שבע עשרה שנה ויהי ימי יעקב שני חייו שבע שנים וארבעים ומאת שנה.
(בראשית מ”ז כ”ח)
רש”י: למה פרשה זו סתומה, לפי שכיון שנפטר יעקב אבינו נסתמו עיניהם ולבם של ישראל מצרת השעבוד שהתחילו לשעבדם
Rashi: “Why is this parsha closed? Because when Yaakov Avinu passed away the eyes and hearts of Israel became closed from the oppression of the enslavement, as they (the Egyptians) began to enslave them.”
Generally, a new parsha begins with a number of spaces separating it from the previous one. But only a single space separates Parshas Vayigash from Parshas Vayechi, giving Vayechi the appearance of being closed. This, Rashi explains, is meant to indicate that after Yaakov Avinu passed away, the eyes and hearts of Bnei Yisroel became closed. Why does the Torah choose this form of expression? We all agree that the Torah would not have spoken this way if Bnei Yisroel had been suffering from stuffed noses or clogged arteries. There must be a deeper connection between how the beginning of the parsha is written, and the closing of the “eyes and hearts” of Bnei Yisroel. To answer this question, let us first explain what Rashi means when he refers to the “eyes” and the “heart”.
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The “eyes” refer to the intellect. Just as our physical eyes perceive that which is far off, so too, the intellect is able to grasp that which is not readily apparent or understood. A person may be closed up in a small, bare, unfurnished room, yet still “see” far off; he can think about a trip to the carnival, advanced mathematics, a game of chess, even G-dliness. When the oppression in Egypt began, the “eyes”—the intellect – of Bnei Yisroel became closed. They were too occupied, too troubled, with their own suffering to be able to think beyond.
The “heart” does not refer only to emotion. A physical heart rests at the center of one’s body, and gives him life. Thus, the “heart” refers to a person’s ability to identify with something, and make it central to his life and personality. (As an aside, when people erroneously identify the “heart” exclusively with emotion, in essence they are saying that only emotion can be central to a person. And that is a mistake.) The suffering in Egypt closed the hearts of Bnei Yisroel. Their pain did not allow them to make anything else central to their beings. To a certain degree, they became numb; nothing was able to “touch” them, to resonate within them.
The “eyes” and the “heart” refer to two distinct faculties: the ability to consider that which is distant and far off, and the ability to bring something into the innermost recesses of one’s soul. Still, they join together quite beautifully in Parshas Shemos. A young Moshe leaves the royal palace and goes out to the fields to observe his brethren as they suffer in enslavement. (Shemos 2:11) Rashi there writes, “And he saw their suffering – he gave his eyes and his heart to suffer for them.” “Eyes”, as we explained, refers to the intellect. Even though Moshe lived a comfortable life as a member of the royal Egyptian family, he was able to consider something quite distant from his own position: the oppression of Bnei Yisroel. Not only that, he identified with their suffering; it became central for him. That is the “heart”.
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This closing of the eyes and the heart is expressed by the closedness with which the Torah itself is written, because when one’s eyes and heart are closed, the Torah will be closed to him as well. Learning and growth through Torah require of us both our “eyes” and our “heart”. We must be able to think of and contemplate matters that are not readily understood or seem remote. And we must identify with the things we learn and make them central to our personalities. (During times of distress, this can be particularly difficult: “The eyes and hearts of Israel became closed from the oppression of the enslavement”.) Let us make every effort to keep our “eyes and hearts” open.
Gut Shabbos.
