Parshat Vayigash5 min read

Isaac and Joseph Wept for Temples Not Yet Standing

Isaac bargained with God over Esau because Rome would burn the Temple. Joseph wept on Benjamin's neck for the two Temples not yet built.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Isaac Negotiated for a Building That Did Not Exist
  2. Joseph Wept on Both Necks at Once
  3. God Prays for the Temple's Completion
  4. Why the Rabbis Read Backward

Isaac Negotiated for a Building That Did Not Exist

Jacob walked out of the tent with the blessing and Isaac understood what he had done. The words could not be recalled. The blessing of dominance had passed. When Esau came in shaking and asked his father for a blessing of his own, Isaac said: behold, I have made him lord over you. Everything I can give has already been given. What is left for you?

The rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah did not read that exchange as a father's helpless grief. They read it as a negotiation. Rabbi Berekhya heard in Isaac's final question, "and for you then, what shall I do, my son?" a complete restructuring of the family's future. Everything Esau might receive now belonged structurally to the master. Every seventh blessing, every hour of freedom, every season of dominance Esau might claim was borrowed against the master's prior claim.

Then the rabbis asked why. Why did Isaac negotiate so hard for Esau's future in the gap between stolen blessing and weeping son? Because Isaac saw what Esau's descendants would do. The Rome that would burn the Temple was already visible to Isaac in his son's face. The blessing Isaac pressed for Esau was not paternal indulgence. It was a petition for mercy, filed in advance, for the power that would one day destroy the sanctuary Israel had not yet built.

Joseph Wept on Both Necks at Once

When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers in Egypt, he fell on Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. The Torah uses a plural. Necks, not neck. Two wept, two sets of shoulders shook.

Bereshit Rabbah reads the plural as a double vision. Joseph wept for the Temple that would stand in Benjamin's territory and would be destroyed. Benjamin wept for the Tabernacle of Shiloh that would stand in Joseph's territory and would be abandoned. Each brother's grief was for what the other's land would lose. They held each other at the moment of reunion and wept for destructions that were still centuries away, for buildings that had not been designed, for fires that had not been lit.

The rabbis are making a specific claim. The patriarchs were not ignorant of the future. They carried it. Isaac's negotiation for Esau's blessing was a petition for a people who had not yet been born. Joseph's weeping on Benjamin was grief for sanctuaries that had not yet been built. The covenantal family moved through history in advance of the events that would define it.

God Prays for the Temple's Completion

The third thread in this midrashic cluster is a passage in which God is described as praying. The rabbis base this on Psalm 5:8, "in the abundance of Your mercy I will come into Your house." They read the verse as God speaking about the Temple in terms of hope, not ownership. God wants the house built. God asks for it. God is, in this reading, in the position of a petitioner waiting for something that has been promised but has not yet happened.

The image is startling. The creator of the world waiting for Israel to build a house where the divine presence can rest. Isaac pleading for Rome. Joseph weeping for Benjamin's territory. God praying for a sanctuary. All three figures are in the same posture: holding something in hope that has not yet arrived, grieving in advance for something not yet lost.

Why the Rabbis Read Backward

The rabbis writing Bereshit Rabbah were writing after both Temples had fallen. The first destroyed by Babylon in 586 BCE. The second destroyed by Rome in 70 CE. The wound they were working with was not abstract. They traced it backward through the patriarchs because they needed to know that the people who carried the covenant had seen this coming, had prayed against it, had wept over it before it happened. The grief is not a surprise in the rabbinic telling. It is something that runs through the whole covenantal family from the beginning.

Isaac's pleading for Esau is not a theological embarrassment. It is a patriarch filing a petition for the nation that would destroy Israel's most sacred building. Joseph's weeping on Benjamin's neck is not simple fraternal emotion. It is a vision of loss absorbed into a reunion. The Temple appears in their tears before it appears in any stone.

Midrash RabbahBereshit RabbahIsaacJosephTempleProphecy
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From the tradition

Sources

5 sources

The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Bereshit Rabbah 67:5Bereshit Rabbah

Take the tale of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. The familiar version gives us the basics: Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, and steals Esau's blessing. But what happens after? What was Isaac really thinking? to a fascinating exploration of one particular verse from Genesis, as illuminated by the ancient commentary of Bereshit Rabbah 67.

The verse in question is (Genesis 27:37), where Isaac, having realized he's been tricked, says to Esau: "Behold, I have placed him a lord to you, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants, and I have supported him with grain and wine, and for you then, what shall I do, my son?"

Rabbi Berekhya raises a curious point: Isaac says, "Behold, I have placed him a lord to you." This, he argues, is actually the seventh blessing, the blessing of dominance. Why, then, does Isaac mention it to Esau first? The answer, according to Rabbi Berekhya, is that Isaac understood Jacob's blessings essentially encompassed Esau's. Think of it this way: if Jacob is the master, and Esau is the slave, everything the slave owns, including any potential blessings, belongs to the master. A pretty raw deal for Esau. But it gets even more interesting. Isaac's final phrase, "and for you, then [lekha efo]?" is ripe for interpretation. The text explores this, offering a few different readings. One interpretation suggests that lekha efo implies "your bread is baked [afuya]" – meaning Esau will always have enough to eat, but at the expense of his master. He'll be dependent on Jacob.

Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish, two prominent rabbinic figures, offer even more striking interpretations. Rabbi Yoḥanan reads lekha efo as "Let me be, as an oven is baking for you everywhere." Ouch! The implication here is that Esau will be constantly burned or consumed by Jacob's dominance. Reish Lakish, on the other hand, sees lekha efo as an acronym for "fury and wrath [af veḥema]". In other words, Esau is destined to be a vessel of anger and resentment.

But the commentary doesn't stop there. Rabbi Simlai, or Rabbi Abahu in another version, brings in a divine perspective. The Holy One, blessed be He, challenges Isaac: "Did you say to him: 'For you, then'?" Was Isaac intending to bless Esau? Isaac responds, essentially pleading, "Grant him grace [to bless him]."

But God's response is stark. Quoting (Isaiah 26:10), God says, "He is 'wicked.'" Isaac tries to defend Esau, asking, "Did he not learn righteousness? Did he not honor his parents?" But God counters with another line from (Isaiah 26:10): "In the land of the upright he will perform evil" – foreshadowing Esau's descendants' (understood as Rome) future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Finally, Isaac, seemingly defeated, asks God to grant Esau tranquility in this world, so that "he may not see the majesty of the Lord in the future." Isaac is pleading for Esau to at least have some peace in this life, even if he is excluded from the world to come.

What are we to make of this? Bereshit Rabbah uses this verse to explore profound questions about destiny, free will, and the nature of blessing. It paints a complex picture of Isaac, not just as a blind old man easily deceived, but as a figure wrestling with divine will and the consequences of his actions. The midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) suggests that even within a seemingly fixed destiny, there's room for negotiation, for pleading for mercy, and for understanding the long-term implications of our choices. It’s a reminder that even in stories we think we know, there are always deeper layers of meaning waiting to be uncovered, offering us new perspectives on ourselves and the world around us.

Full source
Bereshit Rabbah 93:12Bereshit Rabbah

He says, "Woe unto us from the Day of Judgment; woe unto us from the day of rebuke!"

It's a powerful statement, isn't it? He uses Joseph as an example. Joseph, a man of flesh and blood, rebuked his brothers, and they were overwhelmed! How much more so, Rabbi Elazar asks, will we be unable to stand before the Holy One, blessed be He, who is Judge, Litigant, and sits on the bench of judgment, judging each and every one of us? It’s a sobering thought, a real gut-check.

The passage then explores the emotional reunion between Joseph and Benjamin, a scene filled with tears and unspoken history. "He fell upon the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck" (Genesis 45:14). But the rabbis, masters of close reading, notice something peculiar. The Hebrew word for "neck" used here, tzaverei, is plural. Did Benjamin have two necks? Of course not!

Instead, Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat offers a profound interpretation. He suggests that Joseph, through Ruach (spirit) HaKodesh (רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ), the Divine Spirit, saw into the future. He saw that two Temples were destined to be built in Benjamin’s portion of the land, and, tragically, that they were destined to be destroyed. And Benjamin, in turn, wept because he saw that the Tabernacle in Shilo, which would reside in Joseph's territory, was also destined for destruction. Their tears weren't just for their past; they were for the future sorrows of their people.

Isn’t it amazing how much meaning can be packed into just a few words?

The passage concludes with a powerful image. "He raised his voice in weeping" (Genesis 45:2). Just as Joseph could only placate his brothers through weeping, the text suggests, so too will the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem Israel only through weeping. The verse from Jeremiah (31:9) is brought as proof: "They will come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them."

What does this all mean? Perhaps it’s a reminder that even in times of great joy and reconciliation, there can be an undercurrent of sadness, a recognition of past hurts and future challenges. Maybe it's a call to empathy, to understanding that tears can be a powerful force for healing and redemption. And perhaps, most importantly, it's a reminder that even the most righteous among us will face the Divine Judge with a sense of awe and humility.

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Bereshit Rabbah 56:10Bereshit Rabbah

"And Abraham called the name of that place 'The LORD will see'" (Genesis 22:14). Rabbi Yochanan said: Abraham said before Him: Master of the worlds, when You said to me, "Take now your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:2), I had what to reply: yesterday You said to me, "For through Isaac shall your seed be called" (Genesis 21:12), and now You say, "Take now your son" and so forth. But, God forbid, I did not do so; rather I suppressed my mercy in order to do Your will. So may it be Your will, O LORD our God, that when the children of Isaac come to transgressions and evil deeds, You will remember on their behalf that binding, and be filled with mercy upon them.

Rabbi Berekhyah in the name of Rabbi Chelbo said: Before Shalem existed, the Holy One, blessed be He, made for Himself a tabernacle and would pray within it, as it is said: "In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion" (Psalms 76:3). And what would He say? May it be My will that I see the building of My house.

Another interpretation: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the Temple destroyed and built, destroyed and built, as it is said: "The name of that place 'The LORD will see'" (Genesis 22:14) - here it is built. "As it is said this day: In the mount of the LORD" (Genesis 22:14) - here it is destroyed, as it is said: "For the mount Zion, which is desolate" (Lamentations 5:18). "The LORD will be seen" (Genesis 22:14) - built and perfected in the time to come, in the manner of what is said: "For the LORD has built up Zion, He has appeared in His glory" (Psalms 102:17).

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Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 27:37Midrash Aggadah

"Behold, I have made him a lord over you" (Genesis 27:37), a king I have made him over you. The servant, and the property of the servant, belong to the master. "And for you, then, what shall I do, my son?", that your children shall be sowing and planting gardens, and Israel shall be occupied with the Torah and eat them.

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Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 115:21Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

"Your brother came in deceit" (Genesis 27:35) means: with the wisdom of his Torah. "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" from the leftovers. (Genesis 27:37) "And Isaac answered and said to Esau: Behold, I have made him lord over you." This was the seventh blessing; why does Isaac say it first? He said to him: I have set him as king over you, and his blessings are his own, for a slave and whatever he possesses belong to his master. "And what then shall I do for you, my son? Yet for you there is bread already baked." Rabbi Yochanan said: leave me, for his sustenance is baked for him everywhere. Resh Lakish said: leave me, for anger and wrath are handed over to him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: is this how you were speaking, "and what then"? He said to Him (Isaiah 26:10), "Let the wicked be shown favor." He answered him: he is wicked. He said, "he has not learned righteousness": he did not honor his parents. He said, "in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly": he is destined to stretch out his hand against the Temple. He said: if so, then lavish good upon him in this world, "and let him not see the majesty of the LORD" in the world to come. (Genesis 27:39) "Behold, of the fat places of the earth shall be your dwelling": this is Italy. "And of the dew of heaven above": this is Beit Guvrin.

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