Parasha Miketz 5783

Hashem constantly sends us messages, through his Hashgacha pratit, his 'Divine providence.' Now, what do we need to understand his messages clearly? The saga of Joseph and his brothers gives us crucial insight to decipher the messages the Creator sends us.

After Joseph's brothers accused him of being a megalomaniac, with extravagant dreams of ruling over them, they sold him into slavery. Joseph was separated from his beloved father for 22 years and eventually rose to become viceroy of Egypt. A famine struck the land, forcing the brothers to go down to Egypt to obtain food. Seeing them, Joseph devised a plan to make them understand that they had misjudged him, and thus help them do what they wanted. teshuvah.

Joseph's brothers were great men, the future progenitors of the Jewish people; they lived with a constant awareness of God's presence in their lives. They knew that life is not simply a series of random events, but that everything that happens is orchestrated by God and contains a message.

But for some reason, no matter what events both Hashem and Joseph orchestrated, the ten brothers never understood that Joseph's dream messages were actually prophetic. It never occurred to them that they had misjudged him when they believed him to be a usurper trying to keep them out of the Bnei Israel, the 'children of Israel'.

A series of partial recognitions

Their first recognition that they had done something wrong is recorded in Parsha Vayeshev, when Yehudah was removed from power: “And it came to pass at that time that Yehudah descended from his brethren” (Bereshit 38:1). Rashi comments: “Why was this section placed here, interrupting the section dealing with Joseph? To teach us that [Judah’s] brothers brought him down in his greatness when they saw their father’s grief. They said, ‘You told us to sell him. If you had told us to return him, we would have obeyed you.’”

However, they did not recognize that selling Joseph was a mistake, but only that they were wrong to cause such pain to their father.

The second time they recognized they had been wrong was when they went to Egypt to buy food, after God brought a famine to the region. “So Joseph’s brothers, ten of them, went down to buy grain.” (ibid. 42:3). Why does the Torah refer to them as “the brothers of Joseph” and not as “the sons of Jacob”? Rashi, based on the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 91:6) explains: “They regretted selling him and decided to behave toward him in brotherhood and redeem him at whatever price they were asked.” Twenty-two years after selling Joseph, they understood Hashem’s message: they must seek him out and rescue him. The pain they had caused was too great, and now they wanted to correct their mistake.

In Egypt, they were falsely accused of being spies. The ten brothers were imprisoned for three days until Joseph decided to retain only Shimon, the brother who had thrown him into the pit, while the others returned with Yaakov. Again, they realized that Hashem was sending them a message, and they asked, “Why is this happening to us? What is the message?” The Torah says: “And each said to his brother: Surely we are guilty for our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we did not listen to him, that is why this anguish came upon us” (ibid. 42:21). Nine of the brothers said it was their fault for not having shown mercy to their brother. They understood part of the message.Reuben, the older brother, went a step further and told them they were mistaken in their judgment of Joseph. But they hadn't yet put all the pieces of the puzzle together: they didn't realize Joseph was standing before them.

After discovering the money in each of their bags, they were falsely accused again, this time of stealing. “Then their hearts were troubled, and they turned to each other in fear, saying, ‘What has God done to us?’” (ibid. 42:28). They were afraid, they realized something was happening, but they couldn’t put it all together.

Then Joseph did something that only someone intimately familiar with Yaakov's sons could have done: he seated them around the table according to their birth order. "They sat opposite him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth. The men looked at one another in amazement." (ibid. 43:33). What were the chances of them being seated in the correct order? Who else could have known this information, besides a member of Yaakov's family? How obvious could it be? But the brothers still had no idea that the viceroy before them was their brother Joseph!

And finally, Benjamin was trapped with the viceroy's cup and taken captive. The brothers mistakenly assumed he was guilty, but realized they must fight for him. Seeing the commitment to his brother, Joseph could no longer hide his identity and finally revealed himself to them: 'Ani Yosef, ha-od avi jai?'“I am Joseph, is my father still alive?”

Why didn't they understand the message?

The ten brothers were great men, continually striving to understand the profound meaning behind God's providence. Why didn't they understand what God was telling them? Why didn't they realize that the viceroy was none other than Joseph?

If they had asked themselves just one question, it would have been impossible to ignore the message. That question was: Is it possible that Joseph's dreams were truly prophetic? If they had asked themselves that question, they would have had to ask themselves: 'If the dreams were prophetic, and we were destined to bow down to Joseph, could it be that the man who somehow knew the order of our births, the man before whom we bow down, as described in Joseph's dream, was, in fact, Joseph?' Suddenly, all the pieces would have fallen into place, and they would have realized how misjudged they had been about Joseph 22 years earlier. They would have understood that the viceroy had chosen to leave Shimon behind bars because he was the one who had thrown Joseph into the pit and said to Levi, “Look! The dreamer is coming!” (ibid. 37:19). It would have explained all the false accusations they had received, as well as why they were being forced to defend Benjamin.

Had they, at some point, reconsidered their original judgment about Joseph and considered the possibility that he was not really a usurper, they would have recognized him immediately.

The brothers' main mistake was their unwillingness to reevaluate their fundamental assumptions. Once they made their judgment, 22 years earlier, that verdict became sacrosanct. Their opinion became an immovable pillar of truth supporting an entire edifice of subsequent decisions. They were unprepared to dismantle that edifice, challenging the assumptions that underpinned it, which blinded them to what was clearly obvious.

Re-evaluate your assumptions

If Joseph's brothers fell into the trap of foolishness, then we surely must have our guard up to avoid being caught by shortsightedness.By human nature, we refuse to question the axioms on which our global vision is based and to listen to messages that contradict our beliefs.

There's an old joke about a town that is threatened with flooding:

As soon as the storm begins, all the inhabitants flee, except for one man. A soldier drives by in his jeep and says, "Come here, friend. A flood is coming!"

““It’s okay,” the man says. “I trust in God, He will save me.” Shaking his head, the soldier continues on his way.

A short time later, the man is standing waist-deep in water, and a heavy amphibious vehicle manned by the Coast Guard finds him. “Get on board!” they shout. “The water level is rising!”

““It’s okay,” he reassures them. “I’m fine. I trust in God. He will save me!”

The water reaches his second-floor window. There are no more trucks, only emergency boats searching for missing people. The captain of one sees him and shouts, "Get aboard!"

But the man stays put. “No, thank you,” he says. “I trust in God. He will save me.”

The water rises to his roof, forcing him to climb to the edge of his chimney. A helicopter flies overhead, dropping a rope. “Hold on to the rope and let us pull you out of here!” the pilot shouts.

““No, no,” the man says calmly. “My faith in God is absolute. He will save me.”

The helicopter continues on its course, and the water engulfs the man, drowning him. Later, the man arrives in Heaven and complains to God: “I trusted in You! Why didn’t You save me?”

““What are you talking about? I sent many messengers to save you!” Hashem replies. “I sent you a jeep, an amphibious truck, a boat, and a helicopter. What else did you want me to do?”

The man was trapped in his own ideas about what it meant to 'trust God'. He never considered the possibility that God wanted him to hold on to the rope and do his hishtadlut, his 'effort'.

When was the last time you challenged your assumptions and truly questioned the basic foundations of your life? Ask yourself: Why do I study Torah? What are my goals? Why do I study Torah according to this? derekh, to this approach? Should I consider a different approach? Why do I work professionally? Should I dedicate my life to working for Klal Israel, for the Jewish people? Should I repress my desire to advance my career and spend more time studying, teaching Torah, or with my family? How much money do I really need each year?

We'd likely discover surprising ideas if we stepped outside the box to question our assumptions. It's not easy, but with a lot of courage, an open mind, and objectivity, it's possible. But if we get stuck in our way of thinking, we can lose sight of the obvious right in front of us.

At the very least, we should pray to God to give us enough clarity to understand His messages and uncover the faulty assumptions that may be hindering our ability to hear what He is trying to tell us.

God is speaking to us. He wants us to understand his messages. Sometimes they are very obvious, but we must discover them for ourselves. In the end, the brothers didn't discover the message themselves, and Joseph had to reveal himself. God is trying to get our attention. If we remain distracted, he is forced to send us increasingly louder warnings.Let us accept Hashem's providence, reconsider our assumptions, and open our minds to see His guiding hand and internalize the message He is sending us.

(from Rabbi Noah Weinberg. Ayish L)

Dedicated to the healing of all the sick in Am Israel and throughout the world, and to the success of all those who spread the message of Emuna.