Vayeishev – Page 3 – Peninim on the Torah

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו ... וישנאו אתו ... ויקנאו בו אחיו

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons since he was a child of his old age… so they hated him … so his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

The controversy that ensued between Yosef and his brothers was much deeper than sibling rivalry. Certainly, it was understandable that their father favored the son born to Rachel Imeinu after years of barrenness. Yosef was an exceptional young man who studied Torah with his father and had much in common with him. Under normal circumstances, they would have overlooked their father’s love for Yosef, but they felt that Yosef was a rodef, pursuer, who was bent on destroying them and assuming their spiritual position. They simply could not ignore this. Nonetheless, we wonder how the brothers questioned the daas Torah,…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5781

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו

Sruly Schnair In 5781, Vayeishev

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning. (37:1)

Chazal infer from the variation in the text describing Yaakov’s taking up residence, vayeishev, he settled, from that of his father, migurei, sojourning, which implies wandering that Yaakov sought to settle, finally to relax in one place with a roof over his head and not worry about what tomorrow would bring. No one questions that Yaakov Avinu had his fill of struggles and troubles. Would it be so terrible for him to have a little tranquility? Chazal, quoted by Rashi, say: Yaakov bikeish leisheiv b’shalvah, the Patriarch wanted to settle down in tranquility. As a result, Hashem sent the Yosef…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5780

ויהי בעת ההיא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayeishev

It was at that time that Yehudah went down from his brothers. (38:1)

Rashi explains that the juxtaposition of Yehuda’s brothers deposing him and the loss of his wife and two sons upon the story of Yosef (in fact, it is placed right in the middle of the Yosef incident) teaches us that one who commences a mitzvah (Yehudah undertook to save Yosef, but did not complete his mission), but does not complete it, will bury his wife and children. It seems like a harsh punishment. After all, at least he started the mitzvah, while others did not even bother to get involved. Yet, he is punished; they are not. What is even…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5780

וימכרו את יוסף לישמעלים בעשרים כסף ויבאו את יוסף מצרימה

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayeishev

They sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty silver pieces and they bought Yosef to Egypt. (37:28)

The Midrash (cited by Sefer Ha’Yashar) teaches that when the Arab caravan taking Yosef to Egypt passed by Rachel Imeinu’s grave, Yosef ran out to it and prayed. He fell on the tombstone and pleaded, “Mama, Mama! Look at the suffering your son is experiencing. Please, stand before Hashem and plead with Him that He allow me to return to my father (Yaakov Avinu). Do not refrain from helping me!” A young man, orphaned from his mother, was wrongfully sold into slavery. To be relegated to living in a country in which debauchery and hedonism are a way of life…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5780

אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayeishev

These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef. (37:2)

While the word toldos is usually translated as offspring, in this pasuk it means chronicles, since the only offspring of Yaakov Avinu that the pasuk mentions is Yosef. Rashi explains why the Torah applies the term toldos to Yosef more so than to any of his brothers. First, Yaakov worked for Lavan in order to get Rachel Imeinu, Yosef’s mother, as his wife. Second, Yosef’s countenance closely resembled that of Yaakov. Third, whatever happened to Yaakov (so to speak), happened to Yosef: Yaakov was hated by his brother; so, too, was Yosef (obviously for different reasons); Yaakov’s brother sought to…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5780

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו... אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף

Sruly Schnair In 5780, Vayeishev

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning… These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef. (37:1,2)

Yaakov Avinu had more than one son. Yet, when the Torah enumerates his offspring, it mentions only Yosef. Furthermore, why does the Torah first inform us that Yaakov continues to live in Canaan, the land that his father chose as his place of habitation, and then inform us about his offspring? Clearly, his family had the obligation to take ownership over the place in which he lived. It is almost as if where he chose to live is connected with his offspring. Horav Sholom Schwadron, zl, explains that in the Torah’s vernacular, offspring is a reference to one who is…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5779

ואיך אעשה הרעה הגדולה הזאת וחטאתי לאלקים

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Vayeishev

How then can I perpetrate this evil and have sinned against G-d! (39:9)

Potiphar’s wife did everything within her power and resources to beguile and seduce Yosef. True to his earned appellation of tzaddik, righteous man, he resisted her advances. According to Rashi, he employed ingratitude as an excuse, asserting that his master had entrusted him with the total run of the house. To sin with his wife would be the nadir of ingratitude – not to mention indecency – and a betrayal of trust. In the beginning of his Shaarei Teshuvah, Rabbeinu Yonah derives a different tactic from Yosef’s words – one that should, likewise, apply to each and every one of…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5779

ויהי בעת ההיא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Vayeishev

It was at that time that Yehudah went down from his brothers. (38:1)

The Midrash Tanchuma explains the juxtaposition of Yehudah’s marriage, upon the loss of his wife and two sons, and upon the incident of Yosef’s sale, with Yehudah being the one to inform Yaakov Avinu of Yosef’s death. Hashem said to Yehudah, “You have yet to father children; thus, you do not know what raising children and losing them means, the accompanying pain and sorrow. Yet, you were the one to inform your father that a wild animal had killed/torn his son apart. You must now experience the pain of losing a child. Therefore, you will marry and father two sons,…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5779

וישב ראובן אל הבור

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Vayeishev

Reuven returned to the pit. (37:29)

Where was Reuven (that he had to “return”)? Rabbi Eliezer (Midrash) says, “Reuven was occupied with fasting; he was dressed in sackcloth as penitence for changing the placement of his father’s bed. Hashem (in accepting Reuven’s repentance) said to him, ‘From the beginning of time, there has not been anyone who had transgressed and repented. You are the first one. As reward, your descendant will stand and declare/exhort the people to return/repent.’” This is a reference to the Navi Hoshea, a descendant of Reuven, who proclaimed, Shuvu Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha, “Return Yisrael to Hashem, your G-d.” This Midrash begs…

Home -> Vayeishev -> 5779

וילכו אחיו לרעות את צאן אביהם בשכם... וימצאו איש והנה תעה בשדה

Sruly Schnair In 5779, Vayeishev

Now, his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. (37:12)….. A man discovered him, and behold! – He was blundering in the field. (37:15)

Clearly, the entire debacle concerning Yosef and his brothers is cloaked in profound esoteric secrecy. All we can do is to derive snippets of ethical lessons which we should incorporate into our lives. Perhaps the most powerful and illuminating statement made by Chazal is the following: “The tribes/brothers were occupied with the sale of Yosef; Yosef himself was absorbed b’sako u’b’taaniso, in his sackcloth and fasting; Reuven, as well, was immersed in a state of penitence; so, too, was Yaakov Avinu; Yehudah was engaged in the process of looking for a wife. Last – and most important – was Hashem,…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> 5781 ->

וישראל אהב את יוסף מכל בניו כי בן זקנים הוא לו ... וישנאו אתו ... ויקנאו בו אחיו

Now Yisrael loved Yosef more than all of his sons since he was a child of his old age… so they hated him … so his brothers were jealous of him. (37:3,4,11)

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning. (37:1)

ויהי בעת ההיא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו

It was at that time that Yehudah went down from his brothers. (38:1)

וימכרו את יוסף לישמעלים בעשרים כסף ויבאו את יוסף מצרימה

They sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty silver pieces and they bought Yosef to Egypt. (37:28)

אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף

These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef. (37:2)

וישב יעקב בארץ מגורי אביו... אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף

Yaakov settled in the land of his father’s sojourning… These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef. (37:1,2)

ואיך אעשה הרעה הגדולה הזאת וחטאתי לאלקים

How then can I perpetrate this evil and have sinned against G-d! (39:9)

ויהי בעת ההיא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו

It was at that time that Yehudah went down from his brothers. (38:1)

וישב ראובן אל הבור

Reuven returned to the pit. (37:29)

וילכו אחיו לרעות את צאן אביהם בשכם... וימצאו איש והנה תעה בשדה

Now, his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. (37:12)….. A man discovered him, and behold! – He was blundering in the field. (37:15)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!