What did Yosef want to emphasize with the additional and seemingly redundant phrase, “You have done evil in so doing”? Horav Shlomo Harkavi Z”l. cites the Chovas Halevovos, who distinguishes between two obligatory approaches to serving Hashem. One orientation is simply that the Torah implores it. It is Hashem’s command that one performs mitzvos and avoids transgression. Hashem also demands of us that every action we do, every undertaking in which we involve ourselves, be consistent with “sechel ha’yashar,” common sense. One who acts in an irrational manner is truly reprehensible. When one is involved in a criminal act, such…
