Mikeitz – Page 12 – Peninim on the Torah

“Indeed, we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us.” (42:21)

If we peruse the preceding parsha, which relates the story of the sale of Yosef to the Yishmaelim, we notice that there is no mention of Yosef pleading with his brothers. It is only from their vidui, confession, that we are able to derive that he pleaded with them not to sell him. Horav Yosef Konvitz, z.l., observes, that it is implicit in the brothers’ statement that this pleading must have taken place only at the moment that they decided to sell him to the Arab merchants. Why? Why did he not implore them earlier, when they were throwing him…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Mikeitz

“It happened at the end of two years to the day.” (41:1)

The Yalkut Shimoni, cited by Rashi at the end of Parashas Vayeishev, attributes Yosef’s “extra” years of incarceration to the fact that he asked the sar ha’mashkim, chamberlain of the cupbearers, to remember him to Pharaoh. He stated his request to be remembered twice, which explains the two years of incarceration. Chazal end with a pasuk in Tehillim 40:5, “Fortunate is the man who has placed his reliance upon Hashem and has not turned to the arrogant ones.” This refers to one who does not rely on Egypt to sustain him. Incredible! On the one hand, Chazal consider Yosef…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Mikeitz

“Yosef called the name of his firstborn Menashe, for G-d has made me forget all my hardship… And the name of the second he called Efraim for, G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (41:51-52)

As Yosef named his second son, he chose to emphasize that Egypt was not his home; it was “eretz anyi,” land of my suffering, even though this land had been the source of his eminence. Here, he had become known; here, he had become wealthy and powerful; here, he went from being a lowly slave to associate ruler of the country. Yet, he wanted to remember and inculcate this idea in his children: Egypt is not our home; it is eretz anyi, the land of aniyus – affliction, suffering and poverty. Horav Chizkiyahu Cohen, z.l., comments that the greatest “ani,” poor man,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Mikeitz

“So Yosef’s brothers, ten of them, went down to buy grain from Egypt.” (42:3)

Rashi questions the Torah’s usage of the term “Yosef’s brothers,” as opposed to “Yaakov’s sons.” Furthermore, why does the Torah state that ten brothers went down to Egypt? We are told in the next pasuk that Binyamin went down. Is there a reason that the Torah emphasizes the number ten? Rashi explains that by referring to them as Yosef’s brothers, the Torah seeks to emphasize that they all were remorseful over the sale of Yosef. Consequently, they went with brotherly affection to find and redeem him at all costs. Their sentiments towards him were not uniform, since some brothers…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5760, Mikeitz

“Indeed, we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us.” (42:21)

If we peruse the preceding parsha, which relates the story of the sale of Yosef to the Yishmaelim, we notice that there is no mention of Yosef pleading with his brothers. It is only from their vidui, confession, that we are able to derive that he pleaded with them not to sell him. Horav Yosef Konvitz, z.l., observes, that it is implicit in the brothers’ statement that this pleading must have taken place only at the moment that they decided to sell him to the Arab merchants. Why? Why did he not implore them earlier, when they were throwing him…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Mikeitz

It happened at the end of two years to the day; and Pharaoh was dreaming. (41:1)

Pharaoh’s dream was the beginning of Yosef’s liberation from the Egyptian jail and the precursor of his ascension to leadership. At the end of Parashas Vayeishav, the Midrash Tanchuma distinguishes between Hashem and man in regard to reward and punishment. Man strikes with a blade and heals with a bandaid. Hashem, on the other hand, transforms the source of punishment into the actual healing agent. Yosef was sold into slavery as a result of his own dreams;he was liberated as a consequence of Pharaoh’s dreams. His dreams caused his downfall; by interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams he ascended to freedom and power. …

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Mikeitz

Yosef named his firstborn Menashe, for G-d has made me forget all my hardship,…and the name of the second son he called Efraim, for G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. (41:51,52)

Horav Zeev Weinberger, Shlita, asserts that Yosef purposely gave his sons specific names. In naming Menashe, he was determined first to focus on removing the “past.” With Efraim’s name, he intended to offer gratitude for the present. We note that Yosef is the only tribe for whom two reasons are given for his name. Rachel says, “G-d has taken away my disgrace” and “May Hashem add for me another son.” Once again, the twin concepts of erasing the past and maintaning a positive attitude about the present are manifest in these two names. This implies that Yosef’s personality consists of …

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Mikeitz

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (42:8)

There is a story told about Horav Chaim Soloveitchik,zl, and the infamous Jewish apostate, Professor Daniel Chivalson, who was a Bible scholar and critic in Czarist Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. Chivalson had the position of chief censor for Hebrew books. Despite his apparent betrayal of the religion to which he was born, he continued to act favorably to his “ex” co-religionists. He was in touch with many famous rabbanim of his time. He signed his letters with the name Yosef, the name by which he was called prior to his spiritual demise. When Chivalson reached his…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Mikeitz

They said to one another, “Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us… Reuven spoke up…Did I not speak to you saying, “Do not sin against the boy.” (42:21,22)

Realizing that things were not going well for them, the brothers became introspective. They recognized that Yosef’s ill treatment of them was Divine retribution for their part in the mechiras Yosef, sale of Yosef. They did not, however, acknowledge any wrongdoing with regard to the actual sale, only in their lack of compassion towards him as he begged them to let him go. Reuven seems to be saying, “I told you so.” He had attempted to thwart their plan and save Yosef. He claims to have said, “Do not sin against the boy.” The Ramban questions this statement, maintaining that…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5759, Mikeitz

They had left the city…and Yosef said to the one in charge of his house, “Get up, chase after the men…and you are to say to them, ‘Why do you repay evil for good?'” (44:4)

Yosef’s choice of words, “Why do you repay evil for good?” is questionable. One who does evil in place of good is not “repaying.” He either did not do good, or he performed evil. The term simply does not apply when one is acting wrongly. One does not pay evil for good. Horav Yitzchak Goldwasser, Shlita, explains that when we delve into the psyche of a kafui tov, one who denies the gratitude he owes and instead acts inappropriately, we note a remarkable phenomenon of human nature. One who has benefitted from another fellow is literally in debt to him. …

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“Indeed, we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us.” (42:21)

“It happened at the end of two years to the day.” (41:1)

“Yosef called the name of his firstborn Menashe, for G-d has made me forget all my hardship… And the name of the second he called Efraim for, G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (41:51-52)

“So Yosef’s brothers, ten of them, went down to buy grain from Egypt.” (42:3)

“Indeed, we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us.” (42:21)

It happened at the end of two years to the day; and Pharaoh was dreaming. (41:1)

Yosef named his firstborn Menashe, for G-d has made me forget all my hardship,…and the name of the second son he called Efraim, for G-d has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering. (41:51,52)

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (42:8)

They said to one another, “Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us… Reuven spoke up…Did I not speak to you saying, “Do not sin against the boy.” (42:21,22)

They had left the city…and Yosef said to the one in charge of his house, “Get up, chase after the men…and you are to say to them, ‘Why do you repay evil for good?'” (44:4)

YEARS

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