Yosef was revealing his true identity to his brothers. The first question that he asked after he identified himself was, “Ha’ode avi chai?”, “Is my father still alive?” One wonders at the timing of this question. During the time that Yosef’s brothers appeared before him, they mentioned their elderly father several times. Why did Yosef suddenly ask a question whose answer was obvious? Each in his own way, the commentators suggest an interpretation of Yosef’s question. In his popular “Maggid” series, Rabbi Paysach Krohn relates a poignant story that offers a new meaning to the question, “Is my father…
