A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parashah, Parashat Vayigash. Parashat Vayigash, it tells a story that Yosef revealed himself, identified himself to his brothers, and he told them they should go back to Eretz Yisrael and bring back their father Yaakov with the whole family, etc., etc. But one of the things that it says happened before they left, ויפל על צוארי בנימן אחיו ויבך, that Yosef fell on the necks of Binyamin and cried, ובנימן בכה על צואריו, בנימין cried on the neck of Yosef. So what was this crying all about? That's number one. But number two, what does it mean he cried on the necks of Binyamin? A person has one neck, so what does it mean the necks of Binyamin? And Rashi answers that we know, it doesn't say it in details, but we know that the neck represents the בית המקדש, because the בית המקדש was built similar to the neck. Just like the neck is the highest part of the body, but not the mamash the highest, it's under the head, so too the בית המקדש was on top, built very high, but not the highest. Whatever it is, there are reasons why the neck represents the בית המקדש. So Yosef saw that there will be two בתי מקדש in the share of Binyamin, and they will both be destroyed. That's why he cried on the necks, meaning on, he cried because he saw the future destruction of the בית המקדש, of both of them. So he cried on the necks of Binyamin. Binyamin saw that in the share of Yosef in the future there will be, similar to the בית המקדש, which is the Mishkan in Shiloh, and that'll be destroyed, he cried for that.

But the Rebbe asks, we have a rule, אדם קרוב אצל עצמו, a person is closest to himself. A person, things that happened to him, he cries, he cares about more. So each one should have cried on the חורבן of the בית המקדש that's in his share. So Yosef should have cried first and foremost about the בית המקדש, the משכן שילה that's going to be in his share and will be destroyed, and Binyamin would cry on the two and on the two בתי מקדש that are going to be in his share and it'll be destroyed. Why did Yosef cry for the בית המקדש, בתי מקדש, the two בתי מקדש that will be in the share of Binyamin, and Binyamin cried on the חורבן בית המקדש that's going to be in the share of Yosef, the חורבן of משכן שילה?

And the Rebbe explains there's ברוחניות ענינים. We know that the בית המקדש represents עבודת השם. The בית המקדש represents the service of Hashem that the Yid has, because in the בית המקדש, they did all kinds of עבודות, all kinds of service and that is something that represents the עבודת השם בכללות. Now, therefore each one cried on someone else, on the other one's בית המקדש that is going to be destroyed. Because let's understand, what's the reason a person cries? A person cries if something bothers him very much. And he sees that there's nothing he can do about it. As long as he sees that he could do something about it, he's still involved in trying to help it. But when it comes to a point and he sees there is nothing that he could do, then he cries. Same thing in ruchniyus. When you see there is a ענינים lacking in עבודת השם, you should do whatever you can. If chas veshalom it can't, you can't do anything, then you cry. But when it comes to yourself, there's always something you could do. Because there's no such thing you can't do, the Eibershter helps the Yid to do עבודת השם, and there's nothing that you can't do. It's always something you could do. When it comes to the lack of עבודת השם, which is symbolized by the חורבן בית המקדש, the destruction of the בית המקדש by somebody else, then there's a point that you could cry. You try to do whatever you can, but there's nothing more you could do because it depends now on the second person. So could be a point when there is nothing you could do and it's a חורבן בית המקדש that there's nothing you could do. And therefore, you would cry for that. But when it comes to your own things, your own things, there's never a time to give up. There's always something you could do. And that's why there's no reason to cry. That's what the pasuk means here, the way Rashi explains, that Yosef fell on the necks of Binyamin, he cried because of the חורבן בית המקדש that he'll see in Binyamin's place, because on his own חורבן בית המקדש he can't cry. Don't cry! Do something about it, you're able to do! But on the others, it sometimes comes to a point there's nothing you could do. And therefore you would cry. So Yosef cried on the churban of the בתי מקדש of Binyamin, means on their lack of עבודת השם, the destruction of the בית המקדש, which is the lack of עבודת השם that might be, that will be in the share of somebody else, of Binyamin. Binyamin cried on the churban of Mishkan Shiloh in Yosef, but each one didn't cry on his own, because in yourself, there's always something you could do, the Eibershter never allows you to make it in a point that you can't help it, so you could always help it, so you don't cry, that means you don't fall into ye'ush, in giving up, and mimela you cry, so you only cry, possible to cry on somebody else's churban. This is a lesson in עבודת השם to a person that when it comes to yourself, there is never a time to give up. You could always work and work, and the Eibershter will help you. But when it comes to somebody else, there could be chas veshalom a time that you worked and you tried the hardest, and you give up because there's nothing you could do, because it depends on him and it's not in your hands anymore. That's the ruchniyusdike meaning of this Rashi, why Yosef cried on the churban of the two בתי מקדש of Binyamin, and Binyamin cried on the חורבן משכן שילה that's in the share of Yosef.