Mikeitz – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

When the Baal HaTanya, zl, was taken to prison in St. Petersburg, he asked one of his Chassidim to take a kvittel, written petition asking for a blessing, to his mechutan (father of child’s spouse) and close friend, Horav Levi Yitzchak Berdichever, zl. The Berditchever asked the messenger for Rav Shneur Zalman’s mother’s name. The chasid did not know. Rav Levi Yitzchak took out a Chumash and made a goral, lot, a means of turning pages in such a manner that the last page will have a pasuk which reveals the answer to one’s question. Obviously, only a Torah scholar…

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על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

Yosef challenged his brothers, declaring that they were spies. They, of course, denied his allegations. As proof to their insistence that they were all brothers, Yosef demanded that they leave one brother in Egypt as “security,” while the rest would return home and come back with Benyamin. The brothers now realized that all was not well. Something was wrong. Hashem was sending them a message. The word eileinu, which is translated “upon us,” really means “to us.” The pasuk should rather have been written with the word aleinu, which means upon/on us. In his Lekutei MoHaran, Horav Nachman Breslover, zl,…

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וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5777, Mikeitz

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

The Midrash Tanchuma questions why Yaakov Avinu blessed his sons using the Name Keil Shakkai. They explain that our Patriarch endured much adversity in his life. While yet in the womb, he fought with his twin brother, Eisav. It was not easy growing up with such a brother, having to look over his shoulder constantly to see if Eisav was planning a terror attack against him. Finally, when the opportunity materialized, Yaakov escaped home, only to land in the home of his corrupt uncle, Lavan. After twenty years of swindling and deceit, Yaakov once again escaped. Three days later,…

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וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר להם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Mikeitz

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger towards them. (42:7)

Yosef apparently wanted to conceal his identity from his brothers. He wanted them to think that he was the Egyptian viceroy, a pagan, not a Jew, and certainly not their long-lost brother, Yosef. Why? A practical, insightful explanation for Yosef’s behavior is rendered by Horav Moshe Yaakov Ribicov, zl, the holy man known as the Der Shuster, HaSandlor, the Shoemaker. Let me first digress from the subject and introduce the reading audience to this holy man. The Sandlor lived in Tel Aviv, and the Chazon Ish considered him to be rosh ha’lamed vov tzaddikim, the head/leader of the thirty-six righteous…

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הלא אמרתי אליכם לאמר אל תחטאו בילד ולא שמעתם וגם דמו הנה נדרש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Mikeitz

Did I not speak to you saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ but you would not listen! And his blood as well– behold – is being avenged. (42:22)

Reuven cast the blame for Yosef’s debacle on his brothers, claiming, “I told you so.” Veritably, they did not shed Yosef’s blood, but, since he had been held in captivity all these years, anything could have happened. If something actually had happened to Yosef, the brothers needed to be aware they were responsible. The Yalkut Chamishai quotes the Gerrer Rebbe, zl, the Bais Yisrael, who employs this pasuk as a remez, allusion, that the one who sins with regard to a child is guilty of a grave sin. A child is unable to protect himself, and, thus, he is susceptible…

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ויצא לבם ויחרדו איש אל אחיו לאמר מה זאת עשה אלקים לנו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Mikeitz

Their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that G-d has done to us?” (42:28)

Any intelligent, observant Jew knows that life is neither lived randomly, nor lived in a vacuum. Life is filled with meaning and purpose, much like a roadway with signs warning the driver to slow down for a construction site, a children’s crossing, traffic jam, bad weather. The intelligent driver takes heed and makes the necessary changes in accordance with the messages that he sees. The driver who ignores the messages and is too preoccupied to take notice – or cannot read the language – will either luckily avoid an accident or fail to negotiate a problem area properly and hurt…

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ויחפש בגדול החל ובקטן כלה וימצא הגביע באמתחת בנימין

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5776, Mikeitz

He searched; he began with the oldest and ended with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Binyamin’s sack. (44:12)

Stealing represents a character defect – if the thief is an adult. The mere fact that a person is not affected by the pain he inflicts upon another person is in and of itself an indication of a flawed, even perverted, personality. When the thief is a young child, it is usually an indication of a lack of ethical values which were not inculcated in him by a responsible mentor. We will soon discern exactly who the responsible mentor is. While I often include a story only for the purpose of buttressing the lesson which the dvar Torah teaches, in…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And it was at the end of two years. (41:1)

Yosef was only supposed to be in prison for ten years, because he had spoken lashon hora, slander, against his ten brothers. Why did he stay for two more years? Chazal explain that his reliance on the sar ha’mashkin, chamberlain, bespoke a failing in his level of bitachon, trust in Hashem. An individual of Yosef’s spiritual level knows better than to rely on people. It is all up to Hashem – or nothing. Only the Almighty has the power to save. Indeed, whatever a man catalyzes requires Hashem’s complete assistance. In his sefer Yado Bakol, Horav Eliyahu m’Izmir, raises a…

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ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

Yosef was asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream – not to add his personal opinion concerning its implementation. Yet, when he rendered the interpretation, he rendered free, unrequested advice. Why did he do this? Horav Gamliel Rabinowitz, Shlita, explains that, actually, the advice was part of the dream’s interpretation. He quotes a vignette which he heard from his father concerning the Chofetz Chaim, zl. A man came to the venerable sage, complaining bitterly that, at one point in his life, parnassah, earning a livelihood, had been no problem for him. He did well, and he had money to spare. Now, regrettably,…

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ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And without you, no man may lift up his hand. (41:44)

Thirty years of servitude is a harsh sentence for a young man in the prime of his life. Yosef knew it was not going to be easy, and he was prepared to live with the consequences of his sale to the Yishmaelim. When it was decreed by Heaven that it was time for Yosef to be released, it came all of a sudden. Yosef had no warning that he was leaving. He never despaired of being released one day. The last thing on his radar was being released, and – almost overnight – the slave becoming the Egyptian Viceroy. This…

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וירא יעקב כי יש שבר במצרים

Yaakov perceived that there were provisions in Egypt. (42:1)

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

This is why this anguish has come upon us. (42:21)

וקל שקי יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

And many Keil Shakkai grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר להם

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, but he acted like a stranger towards them. (42:7)

הלא אמרתי אליכם לאמר אל תחטאו בילד ולא שמעתם וגם דמו הנה נדרש

Did I not speak to you saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ but you would not listen! And his blood as well– behold – is being avenged. (42:22)

ויצא לבם ויחרדו איש אל אחיו לאמר מה זאת עשה אלקים לנו

Their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that G-d has done to us?” (42:28)

ויחפש בגדול החל ובקטן כלה וימצא הגביע באמתחת בנימין

He searched; he began with the oldest and ended with the youngest; and the goblet was found in Binyamin’s sack. (44:12)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים

And it was at the end of two years. (41:1)

ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Now let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. (41:33)

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו

And without you, no man may lift up his hand. (41:44)

YEARS

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