How to Make Your Voice Heard: D’var Torah for Parshat Vayigash
How can one enable one’s words to be heard far and wide and well into the future?
The answer is given to us in Parshat Vayigash.
The time comes for Yosef to reveal his true identity to his brothers who have travelled to Egypt. They were together by themselves in a room. And Yosef declares, “Ani Yosef” — I am Yosef.
His brothers were stunned into silence.
Two words explained to them the drama of 22 years.
And immediately the Torah tells us how the voice of Yosef was heard in the palace of Pharaoh and throughout Egypt. And indeed, Yosef’s voice continues to be heard by us to this very day.
So, what was the power in his words?
A hint is given through the fact that the voice of Yosef is not spelled in the Torah ‘Kuf, Vav, Lamed’, but rather ‘Kuf’, ‘Lamed’. It is missing the ‘Vav’, indicating that he was actually speaking in soft tones and in a measured way.
From Yosef therefore, we learn that unlike the impression that some people in authority, like parents, teachers, or employers, might give – that in order to get your point across you have to shout – quite the contrary!
To get your point across, you need to speak with sincerity. The Talmud tells us, ‘Dvarim hayotzim min halev nichnasim el halev.’ Words which come from the heart enter into the heart.
So, if you want your message to reach as many people as possible, far and wide and also well into the future, the most important thing is not how loudly you say them, but rather you need to guarantee that they come from the heart.
Shabbat Shalom.
