Parshat Miketz answers

Miketz 5726

Alef.

1.א. Moshe Aryeh Mirkin (Midrash Rabba, Vol. 4, Yavneh, Tel Aviv, 1980, p. 93) writes that the association between the verse in Tehillim and the verse in Beraishit 42 is that if one reads 

שֶׁבֶר as if it were written שׂבר, then the meaning is that Yaakov saw through Divine Inspiration, that there is “hope” (as opposed food available for sale) in Egypt, i.e., Yosef, who can change the course of Jewish history.

בראשית פרק מב

(א) וַיַּרְא יַעֲקֹב כִּי יֶשׁ שֶׁבֶר בְּמִצְרָיִם וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב לְבָנָיו לָמָּה תִּתְרָאוּ:

תהלים פרק קמו

(ה) אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁקל יַעֲקֹב בְּעֶזְרוֹ שִׂבְרוֹ עַל יְקֹוָק אֱלֹקיו:

Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God.

ב. The Midrash is refocusing the meaning of the verse. As opposed to stating that Yaakov realized that there was food in Egypt, which was a short-term solution to the immediate problem of famine, the Midrash is emphasizing that Yaakov was seeing something long-term that would allow for the Divine Predictions made on the occasion of the Brit Bein HaBetarim (Beraishit 15) to begin to be fulfilled, i.e., that Yosef was in a position to provide for the family when it would go into exile in Egypt.

2.א. 

איוב פרק יב

(יד) הֵן יַהֲרוֹס וְלֹא יִבָּנֶה יִסְגֹּר עַל אִישׁ וְלֹא יִפָּתֵחַ:

Behold, He Breaketh down, and it cannot be built again; He Shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

         The plan of the “Shevatim”, i.e., the brothers, was to destroy Yosef in order to obviate the fulfillment of his dreams (Berashit 37:18-20). God thwarted their plans by setting up Yosef in a situation whereby the dreams would be able to be fulfilled when first Yosef’s brothers and then even his father, step-mother and handmaidens would come to Egypt and act deferentially towards him.

     ב. One could insist that the brothers were not “building” a plan that God “destroyed” before it could be completed, as in the case of the Tower of Bavel (Beraishit 11:7) , but rather He Saw to it that their intentions to eliminate Yosef, which they thought they had accomplished quite fully, would not be realized.

     ג. One might ask why it was specifically Yaakov and not his sons who came up with the idea to go down to Egypt to buy food. HaShem Closed off from the brothers thoughts of Egypt in order to create a greater shock when in the end Yosef reveals to them his real identity (Beraishit 45:1-13).

     ד. The following verses imply that Yaakov had resigned himself to the fact that Yosef was dead:  

בראשית פרק לז

(לג) וַיַּכִּירָהּ וַיֹּאמֶר כְּתֹנֶת בְּנִי חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ טָרֹף טֹרַף יוֹסֵף:

(לד) וַיִּקְרַע יַעֲקֹב שִׂמְלֹתָיו וַיָּשֶׂם שַׂק בְּמָתְנָיו וַיִּתְאַבֵּל עַל בְּנוֹ יָמִים רַבִּים:

(לה) וַיָּקֻמוּ כָל בָּנָיו וְכָל בְּנֹתָיו לְנַחֲמוֹ וַיְמָאֵן לְהִתְנַחֵם וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי אֵרֵד אֶל בְּנִי אָבֵל שְׁאֹלָה וַיֵּבְךְּ אֹתוֹ אָבִיו:

בראשית פרק מב

(לו) וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם אֹתִי שִׁכַּלְתֶּם יוֹסֵף אֵינֶנּוּ וְשִׁמְעוֹן אֵינֶנּוּ וְאֶת בִּנְיָמִן תִּקָּחוּ עָלַי הָיוּ כֻלָּנָה:

(לח) וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא יֵרֵד בְּנִי עִמָּכֶם כִּי אָחִיו מֵת וְהוּא לְבַדּוֹ נִשְׁאָר וּקְרָאָהוּ אָסוֹן בַּדֶּרֶךְ אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכוּ בָהּ וְהוֹרַדְתֶּם אֶת שֵׂיבָתִי בְּיָגוֹן שְׁאוֹלָה:

בראשית פרק מד

(כח) וַיֵּצֵא הָאֶחָד מֵאִתִּי וָאֹמַר אַךְ טָרֹף טֹרָף וְלֹא רְאִיתִיו עַד הֵנָּה:

בראשית פרק מה

(כו) וַיַּגִּדוּ לוֹ לֵאמֹר עוֹד יוֹסֵף חַי וְכִי הוּא מֹשֵׁל בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וַיָּפָג לִבּוֹ כִּי לֹא הֶאֱמִין לָהֶם:

(כז) וַיְדַבְּרוּ אֵלָיו אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי יוֹסֵף אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵהֶם וַיַּרְא אֶת הָעֲגָלוֹת אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח יוֹסֵף לָשֵׂאת אֹתוֹ וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם:

A way to reconcile these verses with the Midrash’s assumption that Yaakov had hope that there was something in Egypt that will help the Jewish people, is by saying that Yaakov felt that there was reason to hope in Egypt for a solution to the problem of the famine, but not necessarily that he hoped against hope that Yosef was still alive. Only in retrospect will Yaakov realize that the cause for his optimism was Yosef’s presence in Egypt, but at this point, it would have been impossible for Yaakov to have known this—unless of course HaShem would have wished to disclose this to him via prophecy, and there is no indication that this was the case.

3.א. 

איוב פרק ט

)ז) הָאֹמֵר לַחֶרֶס וְלֹא יִזְרָח וּבְעַד כּוֹכָבִים יַחְתֹּם:

Who commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

All three Midrashim claim that Yaakov had an insight into the presence of the savior of the Jews during the years of famine in Egypt, i.e., Yosef, but that the brothers despite their physically entering and leaving Egypt on two separate occasions, continued to fail to realize Yosef’s presence.

ב.  The problem in Beraishit 42:1 is how can it be explained that Yaakov “saw” something about the food situation in Egypt—he could have “heard” there was food there, but short of actually travelling to Egypt, how could he see what was going on there? Consequently the Midrash defines “seeing” in the biblical text as referring to some sort of prophetic seeing.

ג.  Referencing the sun and the stars reminds one of the second of Yosef’s dreams:

בראשית פרק לז

(ט) וַיַּחֲלֹם עוֹד חֲלוֹם אַחֵר וַיְסַפֵּר אֹתוֹ לְאֶחָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה חָלַמְתִּי חֲלוֹם עוֹד וְהִנֵּה הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְהַיָּרֵחַ וְאַחַד עָשָׂר כּוֹכָבִים מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לִי:

ד.  See answer 2ד above.

Beit.

1.  RaShI brings the Midrash because since it had already stated earlier, in v. 7 that he had recognized the brothers, why is the text repeating this fact; it would have been sufficient in v. 8 to simply say that they did not recognize him. Consequently, the Midrash explains that we no longer are talking about just knowing who the people are, but rather the manner in which they related to one another, Yosef doing so positively while the brothers in the past relating to him negatively.

2.  The first time in v. 7, we are being told a fact of immediate recognition—Yosef was surprised to see his brothers bowing in front of him. The end of v. 7 however, suggests that Yosef estranged himself from them by speaking to them harshly. Despite the fact that externally it appeared as if Yosef had ignored his awareness that they were his siblings, v. 8 states again that he in fact was fully aware of the situation, despite the fact that they were not. One could even say that he deliberately spoke harshly in order to not even allow them to begin thinking that perhaps they know him from somewhere else.

3.  It would seem that this section of RaMBaN supports RaShI—if the brothers did not recognize Yosef because when they parted he did not have a beard, then why did he recognize the younger brothers who were barely older than he, if they too did not have beards and now presumably they do. RaMBaN answers that in fact if only the younger brothers had come, Yosef probably would not have recognized them; but since they came at the same time as the older siblings who already had beards at the time of Yosef’s being sold, he associated them together and recognized all of them.

4.  RaShI: a) They parted at a stage of personal development where they only knew a younger Yosef, not a more mature one.

                  b) The expression of “recognizing” connotes brotherly treatment, something that Yosef was continuing to do, but not something by which they had related to him.

      RaMBaM: a) Although they were not all at the point where they had beards at the time of Yosef’s sale, Yosef deduced from their coming at the same time along with the older ones whose bearded appearance he did remember, that they were all his brothers.

                   b) Yosef always knew that eventually they would come to Egypt for food, so he was  expecting them. They on the other hand, never expected to see Yosef in Egypt, after knowing that he had been sold as a slave by the Yishmaelim.

5.  Yosef’s plan to give them an opportunity to atone for what they had done to him all those years ago was in fact an act of Chesed, as opposed to remaining in a state of resentment and hatred towards them for what they had done to him. When he saw especially Yehuda prepared to enslave himself in order that Binyamin could be returned to Yaakov in order not to cause Yaakov additional undue grief, Yosef felt that the circle had been closed and that he no longer would harbor enmity towards his brothers.

Gimel.

1.א. RaShBaM understands the verse in II Melachim as an attempt by Amatzya to impress Yehoash with his military prowess, although the simple meaning seems to be going to war with one another, a war that Amatzya roundly loses.

מלכים ב פרק יד

(ח) אָז שָׁלַח אֲמַצְיָה מַלְאָכִים אֶל יְהוֹאָשׁ בֶּן יְהוֹאָחָז בֶּן יֵהוּא מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר לְכָה נִתְרָאֶה פָנִים:

(ט) וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל אֲמַצְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה לֵאמֹר הַחוֹחַ אֲשֶׁר בַּלְּבָנוֹן שָׁלַח אֶל הָאֶרֶז אֲשֶׁר בַּלְּבָנוֹן לֵאמֹר תְּנָה אֶת בִּתְּךָ לִבְנִי לְאִשָּׁה וַתַּעֲבֹר חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בַּלְּבָנוֹן וַתִּרְמֹס אֶת הַחוֹחַ:

(י) הַכֵּה הִכִּיתָ אֶת אֱדוֹם וּנְשָׂאֲךָ לִבֶּךָ הִכָּבֵד וְשֵׁב בְּבֵיתֶךָ וְלָמָּה תִתְגָּרֶה בְּרָעָה וְנָפַלְתָּה אַתָּה וִיהוּדָה עִמָּךְ:

(יא) וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲמַצְיָהוּ וַיַּעַל יְהוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּתְרָאוּ פָנִים הוּא וַאֲמַצְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בְּבֵית שֶׁמֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר לִיהוּדָה:

(יב) וַיִּנָּגֶף יְהוּדָה לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּנֻסוּ אִישׁ לאהלו לְאֹהָלָיו:

(יג) וְאֵת אֲמַצְיָהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בֶּן יְהוֹאָשׁ בֶּן אֲחַזְיָהוּ תָּפַשׂ יְהוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבֵית שָׁמֶשׁ ויבאו וַיָּבֹא יְרוּשָׁלִַם וַיִּפְרֹץ בְּחוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בְּשַׁעַר אֶפְרַיִם עַד שַׁעַר הַפִּנָּה אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת אַמָּה:

(יד) וְלָקַח אֶת כָּל הַזָּהָב וְהַכֶּסֶף וְאֵת כָּל הַכֵּלִים הַנִּמְצְאִים בֵּית יְקֹוָק וּבְאֹצְרוֹת בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֵת בְּנֵי הַתַּעֲרֻבוֹת וַיָּשָׁב שֹׁמְרוֹנָה:

Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying: 'Come, let us look one another in the face.' And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying: 'The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife; and there passed by the wild beasts that were in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and will thy heart lift thee up? glory therein, and remain at home; for why shouldest thou meddle with evil, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to his tent. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria

 ב.

יחזקאל פרק כט

(טו) מִן הַמַּמְלָכוֹת תִּהְיֶה שְׁפָלָה וְלֹא תִתְנַשֵּׂא עוֹד עַל הַגּוֹיִם וְהִמְעַטְתִּים לְבִלְתִּי רְדוֹת בַּגּוֹיִם:

It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms, neither shall it any more lift itself up above the nations; and I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.

2. RaShI’s approach to understanding “ערוה” does not appear to fit the context of Yosef’s accusation. The sexual innuendo of “ערוה” suggests something private that is not meant to be publicly exposed. However, just because something is secret does not mean that it has strategic value. There may be certain scandalous or personal issues that are not openly discussed, but nevertheless are devoid of strategic value. RaShBaM’s definition of “ערוה” as breaches in the country’s defenses would make more sense as a target for spies who wish to invade the land.

3.  RaShBaM in his first comment on v. 9 had made part of Yosef’s accusation the fact that the ten men stuck together wherever they went, which was apparently unusual with respect to those coming to purchase food. This drew suspicion to them. They respond that the reason why they stay together is because they come as members of single tightly-knit family and therefore while it may seem out of the ordinary, there is nothing nefarious about what they are doing.

4.א. Ostensibly it does not seem that anything new is added in v. 12. Yosef has already stated his suspicions in v. 9. Why is he so insistent on accusing them of being spies? RaShBaM answers that he wishes them to explain more about family details with respect to Binyamin and even about how they speak about the twelfth brother’s absence.

  ב. Why did the brothers offer so much information even referring to Yosef? It was only because of Yosef’s obstinacy in continuing to accuse them of being spies did they begin to disclose more information than they originally intended in order to convince him of their telling the truth.

ג . The brothers have to justify to Yaakov why they disclosed the existence of Binyamin as well as the fact that a twelfth brother is missing. It was only because Yosef pressed them so hard did they decide or perhaps simply blurted out the additional facts about their family.

  ד. The brothers did not tell the truth to Yaakov when they said in 43:7 that Yosef by means of his questioning had forced them to disclose the existence of two other brothers. In fact it was as a result of Yosef’s refusing to believe them that they shared the information. RaShBaM is explaining that Yosef’s brutality was a ploy to get them to admit publicly that there were additional sons.

  ה. There is a principle cited in the Midrash, e.g.,

אוצר המדרשים (אייזנשטיין) ל"ב מדות באגדה עמוד 268

. ר' נחמיה אומר דברי תורה עניים במקום אחד ועשירים במקומות אחרים, וכה"א היתה כאניות סוחר ממרחק תביא לחמה (משלי ל"א).

i.e., that sometimes the Tora goes to great lengths to provide every detail, while at other times, only some of the information is actually set down and one has to assume or extrapolate the rest. Consequently, just because the Tora does not explicitly state that Yosef asked such a question does not mean that it did not happen, just as in the case of the plagues, sometimes the Tora records a conversation between Moshe and Pharoah, and sometimes it does not. That does not necessarily mean that such conversations nevertheless took place, even if a record does not appear in the relevant verses.

5. Perhaps the repetition of the word “צרה”, first with respect to Yosef and then with respect to the brothers, ties together the two situations.