A vort from the Rebbe in this week's parshah, Parshas Vayeishev. In the beginning of Parshas Vayeishev we learn that Yosef had two dreams which showed that he's going to become great, and the pasuk finishes off and says ויקנאו בו אחיו, his brothers were jealous of him, ואביו שמר את הדבר, but his father waited for the thing, or watched it. And Rashi explains it means היה ממתין ומצפה מתי יבוא, he was waiting and hoping, when will this come. So the question that's obvious is, true Yaakov loved יוסף, בן זקונים הוא לו, as Rashi says he was born to his older age, etcetera, etcetera. So we understand why Yaakov was waiting to see his son Yosef grow into something special, go great. But why did he wait for it that Yosef should even control, be the king over the other children, and waiting for the fact, the time when the brothers will bow down to him? Why would he wait for that? To wait for Yosef himself to become great, we understand he loved him, so he was waiting for that. But this includes also the fact that he should control his brothers. Why is that so good? Why was Yaakov waiting for that?

So the Rebbe explains like this: Yaakov knew that eventually he and his children will have to go down to Mitzrayim, because Hashem said by the ברית בין הבתרים, it's called the גזירה ברית בין הבתרים, כי גר יהיה זרעך בארץ לא להם, your children will be strangers in a land that's not theirs. But we know that this gezeirah, this decree could happen in two ways: it could have happened in a nice way, and could have happened through hardships. The Chazal say in גמרא, ראוי היה יעקב אבינו לירד למצרים בשלשלאות של ברזל, it was possible for Yaakov to come down to Mitzrayim with chains of metal, metal chains. So it could have been two different ways. So Yaakov waited for it, hoping that the gezeirah will come the way it's explained in the dream of Yosef, that Yosef will be the ruler over Mitzrayim. And if Yosef is the ruler over Mitzrayim, so obviously when the Yidden will come, Yaakov and his children will come to Mitzrayim, they'll come derech kavod, in an honorable way, and when they'll be in Mitzrayim there'll be a lot of years when they will be free, they will be menuchah v'shalvah, which means they will be calm and would not have any problems. So when he waited for this whole dream to come true, he so he waited, hoped, he knew that will go down to Mitzrayim, but if it comes in a way that Yosef is the שליט, is the ruler over Mitzrayim, it's going to be much more bederech kavod. And that's what he waited for. And that includes also waiting that Yosef should be the שליט, the ruler over his brothers.

Why? Says in Chasidus, the difference between Yosef and his brothers: his brothers were all shepherds. The reason they were shepherds, it says, because to be a shepherd, it takes it doesn't take away from a person's avodat Hashem. If a person is not a shepherd and is does in things that have to do with the world, then automatically it distracts him from constantly thinking about Hashem. But if you're a shepherd, then this doesn't distract you, and you're able to serve Hashem properly. That's the avodah of the Shevatim. The avodah of Yosef was different. Yosef was a king, he was involved in all the kinds of things that have to do with Mitzrayim, ruling the country, etcetera, etcetera, and nevertheless he served Hashem every moment of his life. That's the maalah of Yosef. And that's the pshat, Yaakov Avinu waited for the dream to come true, which means knowing that the Yidden will go to Mitzrayim, he was waiting that it should come by Yosef being the ruler over Mitzrayim. As we said before, this means that the Yidden will come down to Mitzrayim in a very bekavodike way, and they'll have kavod and menuchah in Mitzrayim. But this includes also that hoping that Yosef will control his brothers, which means that he will be mashpia, he will influence even his brothers, that not only will they have menuchah in Mitzrayim, but also Yosef will control the avodah of his brothers. That the main avodah will become the avodah of Yosef, the avodah of being involved in velt, in the world, and nevertheless serving Hashem. And that's what Yaakov was waiting for al pi Chasidus. He was waiting for knowing that the galus is going to happen because גר יהיה זרעך, השם said that gezeirah by the Brit Bein HaBetarim to Avraham Avinu yet. So he knew this is going to happen, so he was waiting for it to happen, but he was waiting for it to happen in a nice way, when Yosef is the king of Mitzrayim, the שליט, the ruler of Mitzrayim, that makes it much easier. Also he was waiting that the avodah of Yosef will take precedent over the avodah of his of his brothers, that means that the avodah of being involved in the world and still it shouldn't distract you from a רוחניותדיקע עבודת השם, that should be the main avodah, and mimela the Yidden will be in a higher madregah. And that's what Rashi means that he waited for it, and waited for not only that, he was waited even for Yosef to be the שליט, the ruler over Mitzrayim, that means that he was hoping that the main avodah will be the avodah of Yosef, rather than the avodah of the שבטים.