There is a motif in the book of Bereishit that recurs at least three times: the צוואר (tsavar), the neck.

Where do we meet it? Precisely in our Parasha, Vayigash, where it appears twice. And once before, in Vayishlach, at the meeting of Yaakov and Esav.

After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, the moment was deeply emotional. The Torah writes:

"He fell upon Binyamin his brother's neck and wept, and Binyamin wept upon his neck." Rashi notes a difference: for Binyamin it is written "tsavrei" (צווארי), and for Yosef "tsavarav" (צואריו).

For Yosef: "Vayipol al tsavrei Vinyamin achiv vayevk" — two actions: he fell (ויפול) AND he wept (ויבך).

For Binyamin: "uVinyamin bacha al tsavarav" — only one action: he wept (בכה). It does not say "he fell and wept."

Yosef thus weeps with two gestures — the two coming destructions; Binyamin with one — a single destruction.

But what is the link between the word צוואר (neck) and the Beit Hamikdash? King Shlomo reveals it in Shir HaShirim:

"Your neck is like the tower of David, built for talpiot."

The link is not merely a poetic metaphor; it is essential. Imagine the whole world as the human body, for man is a world in miniature (עולם קטן). Everything in the world exists in the body:

Rocks → bones; trees → hair; bushes → nose hairs; the sea's salt water → urine; fresh water → tears and saliva.

Look carefully and the Beit Hamikdash is not exactly at the summit of Har Habayit. It sits slightly lower, not quite at the peak.

What is the essential role of the Beit Hamikdash? To connect heaven and earth. How? Through the Temple service, when offerings are brought upon the altar:

The korban is matter — the body, the earth. The heavens belong to Hashem: "Hashamayim shamayim laHashem." And the Ketoret, the rising smoke, connects earth to heaven.

The smoke is neither entirely matter nor entirely air: it is an intermediate state that connects both worlds.

What is the role of the neck in the body? The head represents heaven (above); the body represents the earth (below); the neck is the communication linking the two.

This is exactly the role of the Beit Hamikdash. That is why weeping on the "neck" means weeping over the Temple's destruction — the one that connects heaven and earth.

We now grasp Esav's intention in trying to bite Yaakov's neck (Vayishlach): he was aiming at the Beit Hamikdash, seeking to harm its holiness. But a miracle occurred: Yaakov's neck turned hard as marble, and Esav's teeth broke.

The second neck passage in our Parasha, the meeting of Yaakov and Yosef:

Yosef falls on his father's neck and weeps at length. But where is Yaakov's reaction? After 22 years apart, he remains "like a stone" and does not react.

Our Sages answer: Yaakov was reciting the Shema at that very moment. Why precisely then? Because one of the kavannot of the Shema is to prepare oneself to give one's life for the sanctification of the Name (Mesirut Nefesh): saying "Hashem Echad," one accepts the four deaths of the Beit Din and offers all of one's life to Hashem.

This is the perfect moment: at the peak of his restored life, saying "Amuta hapa'am acharei re'oti panecha" and offering all his vitality to Hashem is the greatest Mesirut Nefesh — not giving what one no longer has, but what is most precious. Baruch Hashem le'olam, Amen ve'Amen!