Mikeitz – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and my entire father’s household. (41:51)

Unquestionably, Yosef’s home life was difficult. Being reviled and shunned by his brothers, regardless of its appropriateness or misguided nature, did not provide the setting for a happy home life. He had every reason to want to forget the hardships that he had endured in his father’s home. Yet, he did not remonstrate over it, because he understood that it had been Hashem’s will, as part of a larger Divine Plan. He bore his brothers no ill will and carried no grudge. As the Baal Akeidah explains, he thanked Hashem for enlightening him concerning his difficult past. Now, it all…

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ואת בנימין אחי יוסף לא שלח... כי אמר פן יקראנו אסון

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

But Binyamin, Yosef’s brother, Yaakov did not send… for he said, “Lest disaster befall him.” (42:4)

The words yikranu, spelled with an aleph, is related to kara, to call, to designate. When Yehudah repeats (to Yosef) his father’s fear concerning Binyamin’s safety, he says, Ulekachtem gam es zeh me’im panai v’karahu ason, “So you should take this one, too, from my presence, and disaster will befall him” (44:29). In this instance v’karahu is spelled with a hay, related to karah, denotes an unrelated occurrence by chance. Thus, we have two words which sound the same: with an aleph, it implies deliberation, designation, calling with a purpose; with a hay, it denotes a chance meeting, an unrelated…

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ויקח מאתם שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

He took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes. (42:24)

Yosef took Shimon as a hostage until the brothers would return with Binyamin. Rashi explains that it was Shimon who had thrown Yosef into the well, and he was the one who had contemptuously referred to Yosef as the baal ha’chalomos, “the dreamer.” Alternatively, Rashi explains that allowing Shimon and Levi to be together could have been dangerous. As the ones who slew the entire city of Shechem, he feared that their companionship could lead to a lethal conspiracy against him. In any event, Yosef felt he had reason to fear Shimon. In his inimitable manner, Horav Aryeh Leib Heyman,…

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וקל ש-די יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

And may Almighty G-d grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

Rashi explains Yaakov Avinu’s farewell to his sons: “Now that you have the money, a gift for the viceroy, and your brother Binyamin, you lack nothing but prayer – I will pray for you.” The decision was made that they were to return to Egypt. If so, they were to take along a gift for the Egyptian ruler. Second, they required funds for purchasing the grain. Third, they should return the money they had discovered in their bags. Fourth, they would take along double money, just in case the price had doubled. Fifth, take Binyamin. It would seem that now…

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וימהר יוסף כי נכמרו רחמיו אל אחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5775, Mikeitz

Then Yosef rushed because his compassion for his brother had been stirred. (43:30)

Yosef’s conversation with his brother Binyamin was an emotion-laden experience. Yosef asked Binyamin if he had a brother from the same mother as he. Binyamin responded in the affirmative, but he did not know his whereabouts. When Yosef asked Binyamin concerning his own family, the latter replied that he had ten sons – each one named in a manner commemorating the loss of his brother. When Yosef heard how far Binyamin had gone in perpetuating his memory, his emotions were stirred. Two powerful lessons can be derived from here. First, the greatest tribute one can make to the memory of…

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ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם והנה עומד על היאור

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day: Pharaoh was dreaming that behold! He was standing over the River. (41:1)

We all know the rest of the story. Seven healthy cows were swallowed up by seven meager cows. Seven healthy ears of grain sprouting on a single stalk were swallowed up by seven ears of parched, thin, weather-beaten grain. These were strange dreams which disturbed the Egyptian king. Clearly, these dreams had to have a profound meaning. Finally, Yosef interpreted the dreams, referring to two sets of seven years – years of plenty swallowed up by years of hunger, a hunger that would be so overwhelming that the years of plenty would be totally forgotten. The Torah does not write…

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ןעתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם וישיתהו על ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

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

We wonder at Yosef’s unsolicited advice. Pharaoh had asked him to interpret his dreams: no more, no less. What prompted Yosef to advise the monarch on how to implement a solution to the dream’s formidable message? Horav Eli Munk, zl, feels that Yosef believed in the portent of his dreams; thus, he felt that now – finally – the long-awaited realization of his dreams had finally arrived. This was a unique opportunity for him to seize the moment and offer some unsolicited advice. He might be presenting himself as presumptuous, but it was worth the gamble. While this might be…

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אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained. (41:40)

After Yosef successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, the king and his ministers all agreed that Yoef was an unusual individual. They offered him the position of viceroy as a token of their appreciation, and also to prove his effectiveness in executing his plan for the survival of the country. The entire episode is mind-boggling. Yosef was a slave who had been imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of impropriety with his master’s wife. Regardless of his innocence, he certainly did not have a reputation that bode well for ministerial status – let alone viceroy over the entire country. Furthermore, the Egyptian constitution…

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ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו ואת רגלו בכל ארץ מצרים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

And, without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (41:44)

Pharaoh handed exemplary powers of monarchy to Yosef. He retained for himself the power associated with the crown, meaning that he, Pharaoh, granted these powers to Yosef. What Yosef achieved was by his grace. Thus, Yosef, and by extension, the people, would never forget that the true Egyptian monarch was none other than Pharaoh. Nonetheless, this was an incredible step for Pharaoh. The Egyptians did not hold the Jews in the highest esteem. In fact, they reviled the Jews, as evidenced by the chamberlain’s description of Yosef. Yet, Pharaoh was not like that: he recognized greatness; he appreciated wisdom; he…

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על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Mikeitz

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

The brothers introspected when they saw a series of misfortunes coming upon them. They realized that these had not been isolated occurrences, but rather, a punishment of sorts. But, for what? These were righteous men who did nothing without first consulting halachah. They felt that they had adjudicated Yosef’s sale in accordance with the halachah, stating that a rodef, pursuer, who threatens one’s life must be dealt with. Yet, Hashem still found something wrong with their actions. Otherwise, they would not be in this predicament. It must be their lack of compassion in the manner in which they carried out…

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ויקרא יוסף את שם הבכור מנשה כי נשני אלקים את כל עמלי ואת כל בית אבי

Yosef called the firstborn Menashe, for “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and my entire father’s household. (41:51)

ואת בנימין אחי יוסף לא שלח... כי אמר פן יקראנו אסון

But Binyamin, Yosef’s brother, Yaakov did not send… for he said, “Lest disaster befall him.” (42:4)

ויקח מאתם שמעון ויאסר אתו לעיניהם

He took Shimon from them and imprisoned him before their eyes. (42:24)

וקל ש-די יתן לכם רחמים לפני האיש

And may Almighty G-d grant you mercy before the man. (43:14)

וימהר יוסף כי נכמרו רחמיו אל אחיו

Then Yosef rushed because his compassion for his brother had been stirred. (43:30)

ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם והנה עומד על היאור

It happened at the end of two years to the day: Pharaoh was dreaming that behold! He was standing over the River. (41:1)

ןעתה 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)

אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי

You shall be in charge of my palace and by your command shall my people be sustained. (41:40)

ובלעדך לא ירים איש את ידו ואת רגלו בכל ארץ מצרים

And, without you, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (41:44)

על כן באה אלינו הצרה הזאת

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

YEARS

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