What was Yosef thinking? As the drama between Yosef and his brothers comes to a dramatic denouement, we have to ask: Is this how a tzaddik conducts himself?
First, he accuses his brothers of being spies; then, he makes them into thieves by putting their money back in their saddlebags after they purchase food. Finally, he places his silver goblet in Binyamin's sack and threatens to enslave his youngest brother. Is it payback time for the celebrated prisoner-turned-viceroy?
Chazal explain that Yosef was not avenging himself on his siblings. Quite the opposite! He wanted to correct the plague of disunity that had bedeviled the family since Cain and Abel, since Yitzchak and Yishmael. By setting up a scenario in which the brothers would again have to choose between abandoning or rescuing a son of Rachel, they finally absolve themselves of their sin. Yosef lives up to his lifelong credo: "It is my brothers whom I seek." (Genesis 37:16).
This is the hidden message of the wagons (agalot). Yakov finally believes that Yosef is truly alive when he sees the wagons sent to fetch him. He recalls that he and Yosef last studied the case of the Egla Arufa before Yosef's abduction (agalot hints at egla). Yakov had chosen this section to study with Yosef, because of its deep message of unity. An unidentified corpse found between cities necessitates the elders of the cities to come and declare, "Our hands did not spill this blood." Communal culpability means we must all take full responsibility for each other and share in one another's fate. Yosef's brothers failed the test when they sold him out; they do teshuva when they stand by Binyamin.
As Yosef sends his brothers back to Canaan to bring their father Yakov to him, he issues a mysterious warning: ?Al tirgazu b'derech....? - ?do not become 'agitated' on the way.? What does he mean? Rashi interprets Yosef's command as meaning the brothers should avoid any machloket or infighting upon the journey to Israel and back. No finger-pointing (?You're to blame!?; ?No, you're at fault!?); no back-biting.
In a sense, this is the beginning of the journey into Galut. Yosef - a pro at surviving Exile - is warning us to avoid the internecine fighting and bickering that seems endemic to Jewish life. If we are to survive our long, tortuous Exile among the nations, we had better stick together.
Oh brother, should we stick together!
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Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.
First, he accuses his brothers of being spies; then, he makes them into thieves by putting their money back in their saddlebags after they purchase food. Finally, he places his silver goblet in Binyamin's sack and threatens to enslave his youngest brother. Is it payback time for the celebrated prisoner-turned-viceroy?
Chazal explain that Yosef was not avenging himself on his siblings. Quite the opposite! He wanted to correct the plague of disunity that had bedeviled the family since Cain and Abel, since Yitzchak and Yishmael. By setting up a scenario in which the brothers would again have to choose between abandoning or rescuing a son of Rachel, they finally absolve themselves of their sin. Yosef lives up to his lifelong credo: "It is my brothers whom I seek." (Genesis 37:16).
This is the hidden message of the wagons (agalot). Yakov finally believes that Yosef is truly alive when he sees the wagons sent to fetch him. He recalls that he and Yosef last studied the case of the Egla Arufa before Yosef's abduction (agalot hints at egla). Yakov had chosen this section to study with Yosef, because of its deep message of unity. An unidentified corpse found between cities necessitates the elders of the cities to come and declare, "Our hands did not spill this blood." Communal culpability means we must all take full responsibility for each other and share in one another's fate. Yosef's brothers failed the test when they sold him out; they do teshuva when they stand by Binyamin.
As Yosef sends his brothers back to Canaan to bring their father Yakov to him, he issues a mysterious warning: ?Al tirgazu b'derech....? - ?do not become 'agitated' on the way.? What does he mean? Rashi interprets Yosef's command as meaning the brothers should avoid any machloket or infighting upon the journey to Israel and back. No finger-pointing (?You're to blame!?; ?No, you're at fault!?); no back-biting.
In a sense, this is the beginning of the journey into Galut. Yosef - a pro at surviving Exile - is warning us to avoid the internecine fighting and bickering that seems endemic to Jewish life. If we are to survive our long, tortuous Exile among the nations, we had better stick together.
Oh brother, should we stick together!
--------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Weiss is the director of the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra?anana.