Yosef, My Son, Is Still Alive 

The Greatest of the Great 

Rabbi Yekutiel Landa was one of the greatest tzaddikim in the founding generation of the Chassidic movement, and he is known as the “Maggid of Trobitz”. He was a true   talmid chacham (scholar),  the  rabbi of more than eighty towns, and great rabbis consulted with him. He had the merit to be connected to the Baal Shem Tov Hakadosh. After the Baal Shem Tov passed away, he became the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov’s greatest disciple – the great Maggid of Mezritch. Rabbi Yekutiel was unique in the group around him; all the famous tzaddikim of that holy group admired him.  

After the death of the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Yekutiel searched for another tzaddik to connect to and couldn’t find anyone. He was more than seventy years old when the name of Rabbeinu Hakadosh, Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, began to be known in the world. Rabbi Nachman was not even twenty years old. The elderly tzaddik disregarded his honor and his advanced age and went to greet the young Rebbe. 

The teaching that Rabbeinu Hakadosh said at that meeting left no doubt in the heart of the Maggid of Trobitz that Rabbi Nachman was the tzaddik he was searching for. And so, at the age of seventy, he submitted himself completely to Rabbeinu Hakadosh, so young at the time. He accepted Rabbi Nachman as his Rebbe and cleaved to him with all his being, praising Rabbeinu greatly, and serving him with much devotion to the end of his days! 

You’re Managing by Yourself?! 

The story of the Maggid of Trobitz is not just a story. It is a ma’aseh rav, in other words, a practical ruling of a Jewish leader that sends a message to every Jew: Even a Jew who is a great talmid chacham and a gaon, a tzaddik, and a yere Shamayim (fears Heaven) needs a rabbi who will influence him, a true tzaddik, through whom he can come closer to Hashem. How much more so does a simple Jew need such a rabbi! 

There are those who think they can “manage on their own”. They know a bit of Torah, have learned some books of mussar and chassidut, and they possess “common sense” – what more do they need? What can a tzaddik add to such a life? 

Even if you have learned much Torah and chassidut, don’t pat yourself on the back! Search for a tzaddik who can bring you to your tikkun (rectification), to your purpose in life, to the deep points that all Judaism depends upon, namely:  emuna (faith),  tefillah (prayer),  and  kedushat habrit (personal holiness). And about these – if you’re not trying to fool yourself – your heart knows the truth! 

Rabbi Nachman says that the tzaddik – and only the tzaddik – can point the person on the way that the root of his soul demands, and save him from ways that outwardly look like good and correct ways, but inwardly they are “ways of death”. And if such a great tzaddik and a gaon as the Maggid of Trobitz, who served Hashem for decades and was close to the greatest tzaddikim still searched for a Rebbe, then certainly each and every one of us should do so. 

Do Not Judge by External Factors 

We learn from here also that it doesn’t matter in the least how old this tzaddik is; it is not even a matter of how much Torah he knows. Of course, the tzaddik knows the Torah, but his knowledge of Torah is not a matter of quantity, but of quality. The tzaddik understands the pnimiyut (internal aspect) of the Torah, the pnimiyut of Hashem Yitbarach’s intentions. And therefore, only he can lead the Jewish people.  

And so, we have seen incredible tzaddikim who brought into the world great chiddushim (novel ideas) accepted by generations upon generations even though they were very young, like the Ari Hakadosh, and the Ramchal, and Rabbeinu Hakadosh, Rabbi Nachman of Breslev. Even going back many, many years, we have seen Achiya Hashiloni who was hundreds of years old and a disciple of Moshe Rabbeinu. He submitted himself to be a disciple of young David Hamelech and receive Torah traditions from him.  

The practical instruction for each and every one of us is that we should all understand that our entire teshuva and our entire tikkun depend on being close to a tzaddik yesod olam, who is a pillar of kedushah and emuna. And our entire geula – both private and general redemptions – depend on this. And we should seek and search for the tzaddik all our lives with all our might, and be willing to submit ourselves and receive the truth even from a tzaddik who is younger than us, and even if we think that we know more Torah than he does! 

To Truly Live 

In this week’s parasha [Vayigash], there is a very emotional meeting between the  most shaleim (perfect, complete) of the avot — Yaakov Avinu, and his beloved son, Yosef  Hatzaddik, whom he had not seen  in  twenty-two years. The Torah tells us that at the moment of their meeting, Yaakov said to Yosef: “Now I can die, I have seen your face! You are still alive!”¹ 

What is the meaning of “Now I can die”? And what does “You are still alive” mean? After all, he knew that his son was alive and that is why he went down to Egypt, as an earlier verse says: “It is enough; Yosef my son is still alive. I must go and see him before I die.”² 

The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh says about “my son is still alive” that Yaakov Avinu indeed had heard that Yosef hadn’t died, but he didn’t know what his spiritual condition was. Tzaddikim are considered to be alive when they are dead, and resha’im (evil ones) are considered to be dead even when they are technically alive. If Yosef had not maintained his kedushah (holiness), then from Yaakov Avinu’s viewpoint he was no longer alive! 

But when Yaakov saw Yosef’s face, he saw that Yosef had remained a tzaddik, and not just an ordinary tzaddik, but a tzaddik chai almin – the tzaddik of the generation and a foundation of the world.³ All this after such difficult nisyonot (trials) and in such a tameh (impure) place, and yet he was on such a high level of kedushat habrit and emuna and tefillah. Only then could Yaakov say truly that “Yosef is still alive.” 

The Secret of the Geula 

Rabbi Natan has an amazing explanation: Yaakov Avinu, Yisrael, hints to all Jewish souls who see Yosef’s face and see that he is this generation’s tzaddik. Thanks to the connection with the generation’s tzaddik, all Jews merit eternal life, and that is why Yaakov said, “Now I can die”.⁴ Rashi explains that Yaakov is saying here that now that he sees Yosef’s face, he knows he [Yaakov] will merit the Olam Haba, because one can merit eternal life and complete tikkun only by being close to the generation’s tzaddik.  

And that is the aspect of Yosef’s dream: The sun and the moon and all the Tribes who are the great tzaddikim and leaders of Yisrael and the roots of their souls bow down to him, in other words,  submit to his authority and leadership. He is the generation’s tzaddik and their entire tikkun depends upon him; and their geula depends on him, and therefore Yosef rose to a level above the other tribes and became one of the Seven Shepherds.⁵ 

This is the most hidden point in Judaism. If Yosef’s brothers would have understood that message back then, there would have been a complete redemption. We have already mentioned in previous years that the brothers never did recognize Yosef’s high level. They should have become attached to him and learned from him how to  maintain  their  kedushah and emuna while facing such trials. But we did not merit that, and that is the root of all exile.  

Our role is to rectify this and to search for the tzaddik who can bring us to the true tikkun, to kedushah, and to emuna, thus purifying the Jewish people and the entire world.  

The Teacher of All the Students 

On the 17th of Tevet, we will note the yom hillula (day of passing) of Moreinu, Rabbi Natan. Rabbi Natan was an unusual prodigy in Torah and chassidut, a gaon, holy even in his youth. His father-in-law, who was a  huge  talmid  chacham  and kodesh  kodashim  chose him to be his son-in-law. Rabbi Natan saw his father-in-law’s holy ways and became close to the greatest of the Rebbes, who welcomed him and wanted him to be their disciple.  

And yet, he didn’t stop seeking a tzaddik until he found Rabbeinu, who was only ten years older than he. But Rabbi Natan, who did not fool himself, understood that Rabbeinu was the only one who could help him as well as all Jewish souls of all generations.  

And so, Rabbi Natan not only tossed away his own intellect and his broad and deep daat, but he actually put his entire life on line and gave his entire self – heart and soul, efforts and wealth, in order to receive and uphold and maintain the Torah of Rabbeinu, passing it on to all generations. 

For us, Rabbi Natan is the teacher and guide how to be true disciples. He teaches us how to search and find a tzaddik and come close to him, all the while nullifying ourselves completely in the light of the tzaddikim until we will merit a complete tikkun. 

Editor’s Notes 

¹ Bereishit (Genesis) 46:30 

² Bereishit 45:28 

³ Proverbs 10:25 

⁴ Likutey Halakhot (Laws of Shiluach HaKein, Teaching 4) 

⁵ Micah 5:5 ( Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David)