Vayeishev 37:34 · EXTRA

EXTRA · Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 37:34 · not a Torah Temimah citation on this passuk

The Complete Passuk

וַיִּקְרַ֤ע יַעֲקֹב֙ שִׂמְלֹתָ֔יו וַיָּ֥שֶׂם שַׂ֖ק בְּמׇתְנָ֑יו וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥ל עַל־בְּנ֖וֹ יָמִ֥ים רַבִּֽים׃

Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and observed mourning for his son many days.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Classical source (EXTRA side-ring): Bereshis Rabbah 84:19.

Sefaria — Bereshis Rabbah 84:19

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וַיִּקְרַע יַעֲקֹב שִׂמְלֹתָיו — אָמַר רַבִּי פִּינְחָס: חָזַרְנוּ עַל כָּל הַמִּקְרָא וְלֹא מָצָאנוּ שֶׁיָּרַד יַעֲקֹב מִן הַמִּטָּה עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ הַמְבַשְּׂרִים.

English: “And Yaakov tore his garments” — R’ Pinchas said: we surveyed all of Scripture and did not find that Yaakov rose from the bed until the bringers of good news came.

In context: The mourning is so deep that the midrash pictures him confined until Yosef’s survival is announced.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bereshis Rabbah) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Duration of grief is extended across the Yosef arc.

What Is Learned

Yaakov’s tearing of garments begins a mourning that the midrash does not lift until the later good news of Yosef.