Chasidut zu Bereschit 46:29
וַיֶּאְסֹ֤ר יוֹסֵף֙ מֶרְכַּבְתּ֔וֹ וַיַּ֛עַל לִקְרַֽאת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל אָבִ֖יו גֹּ֑שְׁנָה וַיֵּרָ֣א אֵלָ֗יו וַיִּפֹּל֙ עַל־צַוָּארָ֔יו וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ עַל־צַוָּארָ֖יו עֽוֹד׃
Da ließ Joseph seinen Wagen anspannen und fuhr seinem Vater entgegen, hinauf nach Gosen. Und als dieser ihn erkannte, fiel er ihm um den Hals und weinte lange an seinem Halse.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 46,29. (normal translation) “Joseph harnessed his chariot and ascended towards Israel his father;”
[The reason why the author presents an allegorical commentary first, as if it were the obvious meaning, is presumably, that if the Torah had merely wanted to tell us that Joseph traveled in the direction of his father to welcome him, these details would have been irrelevant. The same reason applies elsewhere where he chooses the allegorical or mystical approach as his first choice. Ed.] The word ויאסור, refers to Joseph “harnessing” his body in anticipation of meeting his saintly father; the word מרכבתו is an allusion to the four basic components (raw materials in terms of the creation) of which the physical universe is composed. Joseph considers the forthcoming encounter with his father as almost like making a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple. This is reflected in the Torah’s choice of his name Yisrael at this point, although his father is entering “exile.” His father had the name Yisrael added to his name as recognition that he had elevated his body through service of the Lord to come closer to his Creator. The first three letters in that name, i.e. ישר, “upright,” straightforward, are also reflected in the location where Israel would reside from now on, in גשנה, a word reflecting הגשה, bringing something close, in order to unite it with something or somebody else. In this case it reflects rapprochement to G’d in heaven. The letter ה at the end of the word גשן, meaning five, alludes to the One and only G’d Who holds the other 4 parts of the universe together, without Whom it would implode. Here on earth this world is held together by the tzaddik, in our case by the righteous Joseph.
[The reason why the author presents an allegorical commentary first, as if it were the obvious meaning, is presumably, that if the Torah had merely wanted to tell us that Joseph traveled in the direction of his father to welcome him, these details would have been irrelevant. The same reason applies elsewhere where he chooses the allegorical or mystical approach as his first choice. Ed.] The word ויאסור, refers to Joseph “harnessing” his body in anticipation of meeting his saintly father; the word מרכבתו is an allusion to the four basic components (raw materials in terms of the creation) of which the physical universe is composed. Joseph considers the forthcoming encounter with his father as almost like making a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple. This is reflected in the Torah’s choice of his name Yisrael at this point, although his father is entering “exile.” His father had the name Yisrael added to his name as recognition that he had elevated his body through service of the Lord to come closer to his Creator. The first three letters in that name, i.e. ישר, “upright,” straightforward, are also reflected in the location where Israel would reside from now on, in גשנה, a word reflecting הגשה, bringing something close, in order to unite it with something or somebody else. In this case it reflects rapprochement to G’d in heaven. The letter ה at the end of the word גשן, meaning five, alludes to the One and only G’d Who holds the other 4 parts of the universe together, without Whom it would implode. Here on earth this world is held together by the tzaddik, in our case by the righteous Joseph.
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