Tears and Action

After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, he fell on Benyamin's neck and wept  and Benyamin fell on his neck and wept. Rashi tells us the tears were future oriented. They were tears for the destruction the Temple, built in the tribal area of Benyamin, and Shiloh, built in the area of Yosef. Why the neck? The Temple is like a neck that connects something higher, the head, to something lower. Why crying for the other? Because tears may be cathartic but what we need most is action. We must build anew, tapping into our potential. But when it comes to another person, or group, each of us can offer advice, encouragement, but ultimately the action is in the hands of the other. So we weep. 

7th Lubavitcher Rebbe on Vayigash