"And he fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck." (Genesis 45:14). Rashi interprets this verse in the language of the midrash, telling us that Yosef's weeping indicates that he wept for the two Temples which were to be in Benjamin's territory, and which would ultimately lay in ruins. Benjamin in turn wept for Shiloh's Tabernacle that would be in Yosef's territory, and which would ultimately lay in ruins as well.
The Bible, which describes the past, and the midrash which was compiled after the destruction, hold together, as if by tongs, the images of the past. But the midrash expands the Bible and creates a new phenomenon - weeping for the future.
The people of Israel know how to cry over the past: from the Book of Lamentations, the lamentations of Tisha B’Av, which mourns the destruction of the First Temple, to mourning for the destruction of the Second Temple, to contemporary poetry and song which refer to the Holocaust, to crying over pogroms from the modern era. Talented pens are already composing laments over the Simchat Torah massacre. And many more will be written in the near future.
But crying about the future is a completely different matter. It is a cry for the unknown. What's the point of it? Is crying about the future a self-fulfilling prophecy? Perhaps. Could it be that when we cry over what hasn't happened yet we are actually bringing the realization of our fears closer with our own hands? But maybe we can understand crying about the future in a different way. Perhaps the cry is a warning, perhaps the cry is a legitimate expression of what could have happened but did not.
When we cry for what hasn't happened yet - if we sink into the weeping - we can’t prevent bad things from happening. But if our tears free the place in our souls which can build a better future - then maybe we can do what Yosef and Benjamin failed to do. Perhaps our weeping can actually prevent the destruction!
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Rabbi Binyamin Minich is the Rabbi of 'Daniel' congregation in Jaffa.
The Bible, which describes the past, and the midrash which was compiled after the destruction, hold together, as if by tongs, the images of the past. But the midrash expands the Bible and creates a new phenomenon - weeping for the future.
The people of Israel know how to cry over the past: from the Book of Lamentations, the lamentations of Tisha B’Av, which mourns the destruction of the First Temple, to mourning for the destruction of the Second Temple, to contemporary poetry and song which refer to the Holocaust, to crying over pogroms from the modern era. Talented pens are already composing laments over the Simchat Torah massacre. And many more will be written in the near future.
But crying about the future is a completely different matter. It is a cry for the unknown. What's the point of it? Is crying about the future a self-fulfilling prophecy? Perhaps. Could it be that when we cry over what hasn't happened yet we are actually bringing the realization of our fears closer with our own hands? But maybe we can understand crying about the future in a different way. Perhaps the cry is a warning, perhaps the cry is a legitimate expression of what could have happened but did not.
When we cry for what hasn't happened yet - if we sink into the weeping - we can’t prevent bad things from happening. But if our tears free the place in our souls which can build a better future - then maybe we can do what Yosef and Benjamin failed to do. Perhaps our weeping can actually prevent the destruction!
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Rabbi Binyamin Minich is the Rabbi of 'Daniel' congregation in Jaffa.