וַיֶּאְסֹר יוֹסֵף מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ, וַיַּעַל לִקְרַאת-יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִיו גֹּשְׁנָה; וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו, וַיִּפֹּל עַל-צַוָּארָיו, וַיֵּבְךְּ עַל-צַוָּארָיו, עוֹד.
And Joseph made ready his chariot, and [he] went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen; and he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
Bereishit 46:29 (text source: mechon-mamre.org)Yosef, out of love for his father and in anticipation of meeting up with him, wasn't willing to wait for another to prepare his chariot, instead he did so himself. (Even though it was beneath his station as second to Pharoah to do such a menial task.)
One thing I understood from the text, and I assume it's implied there, is that as he approached his father, he couldn't even wait for his horses, and so he ran ahead on his own feet. (If you notice the expression vaya'al - and he went up, could mean exactly that)
This right here is the essence of what is unique about the Jewish People.
Yosef represents every Jew in this little story. He is so filled with love for his Father in heaven, that he first hitches his chariot and eventually abandons that chariot out of an unparalleled desire to be reunited with his Father. The chariot and the horses represent the Angels and all other creations who cannot keep up with the Jewish Soul in its speedy flight.
May we all merit to bare our hearts before our Father in Heaven this new year. May we celebrate with the King of Kings as only His children can, and may we rush to welcome Him, as Yosef rushed to welcome his father.
And one final blessing, much less important than the first: May our enemies meet a similar fate to Pharoah, who also hitched his own chariot, but on a very different occasion. He hitched his own chariot in pursuit of Bnei Yisrael when he rushed to destroy us, before HaShem split the sea and swallowed up the nation of Egypt forever.
[There are so many more secrets hidden in this passuk, b"h, may we merit to reveal some of them in the future.]
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