Yosef’s Torment of his
Brothers
And Yosef was the ruler over the Land and he provided sustenance to the people of the Land. The brothers of Yosef came and they bowed to him – their faces to the ground. (Beresheit 42:6)
An overview of the
Torah’s description of Yosef’s reintroduction to his brothers and Yosef’s
enigmatic plan
Parshat Meketz
recounts Yosef’s rescue from prison and his sudden ascent to the position of
Prime Minster of Egypt. The account of
this remarkable change in Yosef’s status is followed by a description of the
events of his reunion with his brothers.
The description of this reunion is composed of four distinct
components. First, Yaakov directs
Yosef’s brothers to travel to Egypt and purchase food to sustain their family
until the famine that has struck their region runs its course. Egypt is also experiencing the drought that
has occasioned the famine. However, as
a result of Yosef’s counsel, it amassed adequate reserves of grain prior to the
onset of the famine to sustain it and the region. The brothers follow their father’s instructions and ten of them
travel to Egypt. Binyamin, the youngest
of the brothers remains with his father Yaakov. The brothers arrive in Egypt and encounter Yosef. Yosef has taken charge of the food
distribution and sale. He recognizes
his brothers but they do not recognize him.
Yosef accuses the brothers of being spies. They respond by describing
their family and the purpose of their mission – to purchase food for their
family. Yosef rejects their response
and places the brothers in prison.
After a few days, he releases the brothers and tells them that he will
provide them with an opportunity to vindicate themselves. They will be given provisions to sustain
their family for a brief time. But one
of their company will be held in prison.
His release will be secured and further provisions will be provided only
when they return with their youngest brother and thereby, prove that they have
been truthful in their account. Yosef
then reinters Shimon and sends the brothers home. However, he instructs his assistant to not only provide the
brothers with the promised provisions, but to also surreptitiously return their
payments. The payments for their
provisions should be packed with the purchased provisions.
Second, the brothers
begin their journey home. One
immediately discovers the returned payment and the discovery causes some
alarm. The brothers are concerned that
some subterfuge is taking place. The
brothers arrive home and they recount to Yaakov their experiences and describe
the Egyptian Prime Minister’s threatening and mysterious behavior. Very soon, they realize that all of their
payments have been returned. This
discovery acerbates their alarm and increases their suspicions. At first, Yaakov refuses to allow them to
return to Egypt with Binyamin. However,
as the provisions near exhaustion and their situation becomes increasingly
desperate, Yaakov relents. He allows
the brothers to take Binyamin with them and return to Egypt.
Third, the brothers
return to Egypt. Yosef sees
Binyamin. He releases Shimon and
directs his assistant to invite the brothers to his home. The brothers are concerned that the
invitation is related to the mysteriously returned payments and is the next
step in some sinister plot to implicate them in a crime. But the assistant explains that they are not
suspected of wrong-doing and the invitation is not the expression of any hidden
motive. The brothers join Yosef. Yosef is a completely gracious host. He bestows a blessing upon Binyamin. Yosef and the brothers exchange gifts. They eat and drink together.
Fourth, Yosef
instructs his assistant to provide the brothers with all the provisions they
can transport. Again, he directs that
their payments be returned. However, he
also instructs that his goblet should be hidden among Binyamin’s
provisions. He allows the brothers to
embark upon their return journey. Then,
he sends his assistant after the brothers with instructions to accuse the
brothers of stealing his goblet. The
brothers deny any wrong-doing and submit their possessions to inspection. The goblet is found among Binyamin’s
possessions. Yosef’s assistant tells
the brothers that Binyamin will be punished by being enslaved. The brothers refuse to part with Binyamin
and accompany him back to Yosef.
Yehudah tells Yosef that the brothers will not abandon Binyamin. They will all enter to slavery with their brother. Yosef refuses to accept their offer and
tells them they should leave Binyamin and return home without him.
This very basic
summary is adequate to bring into focus one of the major problems with the
parasha. Yosef, had some plan in place
that he was carefully executing. What
was his plan and what was Yosef attempting to accomplish? Clearly, he is not attempting to merely take
vengeance upon his brothers. The
account ends with Yosef insisting that they return home. They offer to remain as slaves but Yosef
refuses their offer. If his objective
was to punish the brothers, he should not have given-up the opportunity to
condemn them to the same fate that they had planned for him – a life of
slavery. More mysterious is his
treatment of Binyamin. Binyamin was
Yosef’s brother. He was the brother
Yosef longed to see. Yet, Yosef framed
Binyamin of a crime and condemned him to slavery.
And Yosef remembered
the dreams that he dreamt about them.
He said to them: You are
spies. You have come to discover the
secrets of the Land. (Beresheit 42:9)
And Yosef gave
instructions. And they filled their
vessels with grain. And (he directed)
to return their money to each man’s sack and to give them provisions for the
trip. Thus was done for them. (Beresheit 42:25)
When Yosef’s interactions
with his brothers are considered more carefully, they are even more
enigmatic. At first, Yosef treats his
brothers very harshly. He accuses them
of spying on Egypt. However, before
allowing them to return to Canaan with provisions for their families, he
returns to them the funds they used to purchase these provisions. This was an act of unsolicited
generosity. When the brothers return,
he invites them to his home. He
exchanges gifts with the brothers, blesses Binyamin, shares a meal with the
brothers, and drinks with them. He
treats them with kindness and demonstrates friendship towards them. But immediately after this display of
friendship and kindness, he plots against Binyamin and fabricates a serious
charge of theft against his younger brother.
In short, this treatment towards his brother vacillates between extremes
of hostility and kindness. This
behavior is even more remarkable when Yosef’s position in the government is
considered. He was Prime Minister of
Egypt. His vacillations undermined his
credibility as head of the government.
He accused the brothers of being spies and then invited these suspected
spies to his home, and showed them every kindness. He was befriending the very group of people he accused of spying
on his country!
And Yosef saw his
brothers and he recognized them. He
disguised himself and spoke harshly
to them … (Beresheit 42:7)
And he directed that they be seated before him with the firstborn in the first position and the youngest in his appropriate position. The men expressed their astonishment to one another. (Beresheit 43:33)
There is another area
in which Yosef’s behavior was inexplicably erratic. When Yosef initially encountered his brothers, he made a
deliberate decision to conceal his identity.
Throughout his interactions, he continued to conceal his true
identity. However, time and again, he
provided the brothers with hints – some quite substantial – of his true
identity. His repeated acts of kindness
mystified the brothers and certainly must have evoked their curiosity. Upon the brothers’ return to Egypt, Yosef
asked the brothers whether their father was well. This is an unusual question from a prime minister. But these are minor inconsistencies compared
to Yosef’s conduct during the brothers’ visit to his home. Yosef sat the
brothers in the order of their ages.
The brothers were astounded that the Egyptian Prime Minister accurately
anticipated their ages. He then gave each
brother gifts. But Binyamin received
five-fold the gifts received by the other brothers. Again, the brothers must have wondered at the Prime Minister’s
treatment of their youngest brother. In
short, Yosef never revealed his identity but he did repeatedly provide hints to
his true identity.
Perhaps, equally
amazing is that the brothers noted all of the behaviors but never suspected the
true identity of the Prime Minister. It
is especially remarkable that the brothers could not identify their brother
even after their return to Egypt. The
Prime Minister expressed concern over the welfare of their father, he knew
their ages, demonstrated fraternal affection and preference for Binyamin. Yet, the brothers never concluded that the
Prime Minister was Yosef!
And he said: it is inappropriate for me to do so. The man in whose hand the goblet was found, he will be my slave. You will ascend in peace to your father. (Beresheit 44:17)
Perhaps, the most
straight-forward method of unraveling Yosef’s intention is to consider what
would have occurred if his plan had unfolded as he intended. Yosef arranged for Binyamin’s implication in
the theft of his goblet. He declared
that as punishment, Binyamin would remain in Egypt as his slave and the other
brothers should return to their father.
Yehudah successfully interceded and Yosef revealed himself. But had Yehudah not succeeded, then Binyamin
would have been separated from the brothers and they would have returned to
their father. This indicates that Yosef
wished to separate his brother from the others. What was Yosef’s motive?
In order to identify
Yosef’s motives, it is important to review the relationship he had with his
brothers before they were separated. Yosef
was intensely disliked and mistrusted by his brothers. Their animosity towards him brought the
brothers to the brink of fratricide and did result in their selling Yosef into
slavery. What were the origins of these
intense feelings? This issue is addressed
in the opening section of the previous parasha. Rashbam understand this opening section as a list of the reasons
for the brothers’ animosity towards Yosef.[1] He identifies four factors.
·
Yosef preferred to spend his time with the
children of Yaakov’s secondary wives – the maidservants of Rachel and
Leyah. He avoided the children of
Leyah.
·
Yosef reported to his father that Leyah’s
children treated their brothers in a condescending manner. He compared this
with the preferential treatment he gave them.
·
The brothers observed that their father, Yaakov,
had a special love for Yosef and this evoked their jealousy.
·
Yosef shared with his brothers his dreams of
ruling over them.
Yosef may have
recognized that his own immature behavior had enraged his brothers. But he also recognized that to a great
extent the brothers were driven by intense jealousy. He was the son of Yaakov’s most beloved wife, Rachel. Yaakov demonstrated his special love for
Yosef. The feelings of the brothers
were so intense that they drove them to the extreme measure they took against
Yosef. It is likely that Yosef wondered
whether his brother Binyamin was safe or whether he too was the subject of the
brothers’ jealousy and animosity. One
can imagine the deep concern Yosef must have experienced when his brothers
appeared in Egypt – ten of his brothers; only Binyamin was absent. Yosef immediately designed a plan to
determine whether Binyamin was safe or had also been subjected to the animosity
of the brothers. He demanded the brothers
bring Binyamin to him. Binyamin’s
appearance before him, assured Yosef that the brothers had not taken the
extreme measures against Binyamin that they had applied to Yosef. But Yosef remained uncertain of Binyamin’s
safety with his brothers. As a result,
he was determined to rescue him from the potential danger of remaining with the
brothers.
Now let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We will say an evil beast devoured him and we will see what will become of his dreams. (Beresheit 37:20)
This provides an
overall outline of Yosef’s plan. But
many questions remain unanswered. In
order to more fully understand Yosef’s behavior, it is necessary to return to
the initial moments of their encounter in Egypt. The Torah relates that when Yosef saw his brothers, he
immediately recognized them but they did not recognize him. Rashi explains that in the years that had
passed since their separation, Yosef’s appearance had changed more that the
appearances of his brothers. They were
mature and already had beards at their separation. Yosef was younger and did not have beard at that time. The Prime Minister that stood before the
brothers was a mature man with a full beard.
This difference in Yosef’s appearance concealed his identity from the
brothers.[2] Nachmanides adds that Yosef was prepared to
encounter his brothers. He expected
them to eventually come to Egypt for provisions. But the brothers had sold Yosef into slavery. They expected that if he were still alive,
he was a lowly slave.[3] Nachmanides is describing a common
phenomenon. An example will help
explain his point.
A few months ago, a
person approached me in synagogue and greeted me. I did not recognize the individual and responded without giving
any indication of recognition. The
person was surprised I did not recognize him and introduced himself. I embarrassedly apologized for my failure to
recognize him. But there was a reason I
did not recognize my acquaintance. I
had not seen him in many years. When I
last saw him he was living on the east-coast.
I had absolutely no reason to expect to see him in Seattle. However, he knows that I live in
Seattle. He knows which synagogues I
attend and expected to see me at services.
So, he recognized me immediately.
But when he greeted me, I saw him outside of his “normal context”. If I had entered his place of business or
his home – his “normal context”, I would have immediately recognized him and
greeted him. But when he approached me
in synagogue, I had no reason to expect him in this context. So, I failed to recognize him.
Nachmanides is
suggesting that the brothers did not recognize Yosef because he was outside of
his “context.” They expected their
brother to be a slave. Had they
encountered him in the streets performing the work of a servant, they may have
easily recognized him – even with a beard.
But when they encountered the Prime Minister of Egypt, they could not
recognize Yosef. It was the wrong
“context.”
This explains the
failure of the brothers to immediately recognize their brother. But this does not account for their failure
to recognize him after Yosef’s repeated hints.
Some other factor must be operating.
What is this factor? Again, the
answer may lie in the previous parasha.
Yosef is sent by his
father to check on his brothers’ welfare.
As Yosef approaches, the brothers remark that the dreamer is approaching
– a reference to Yosef’s dream of supremacy and leadership over his brothers. They declare that they will kill him, throw
his body in a pit and “we will see what becomes of his dreams.” These comments and their mocking tone
indicate that the brothers – at some level – feared that the dreams might
express their true futures. They felt
threatened by this vision of the future.
Their action taken against Yosef was designed to serve as a denial of
this vision. Through killing Yosef – a
plan that was eventually altered and Yosef was sold into slavery – the brothers
were proving to themselves that Yosef’s dreams were just infantile
fantasies.
This denial was very
important to the brothers. They were
not prepared to reconsider it. When the
brothers stood before the Prime Minister of Egypt, when they bowed before him,
they could not even consider the possibility that their denial had been an
error. They were deeply invested in
clinging to the belief that Yosef was a lowly slave. Consequently, they did not recognize Yosef even after repeated
hints. Their minds were unprepared to
consider the possibility that the dreams were true and that their denial of
their veracity had been a foolish attempt to supplant destiny.
This explains that
brothers’ failure to recognize Yosef.
But Yosef’s bizarre behavior remains enigmatic – his vacillations and
his hints. If Yosef’s behaviors were
indeed guided by design, then the implication is that he was intentionally
providing the brothers with hints as to his identity. What was his motive?
It seems that Yosef
understood his brothers well. He
realized that they did not recognize him because of their deep-seated
prejudices against him. They were not
prepared to reconsider their denial of his dreams or the accuracy of their
appraisal of him. His repeated hints
were designed to test the depth of the brothers’ denial. Yosef discovered that despite his repeated
hints to his true identity, his brothers never grasped that Yosef was standing
before them as Prime Minister. This
revealed to Yosef the degree of the brothers’ emotional investment in their
early conclusions regarding Yosef and his dreams. Of course, this raises an additional question. Why was Yosef so concerned with this issue? Why did he feel compelled to determine the
degree to which the brothers’ feelings blinded them to the evidence he provided
of his true identity?
The answer may lie in
Yosef’s overriding objective. Yosef’s
primary aim was to assure Binyamin’s safety.
By the end of the parasha, Yosef has concluded that Binyamin will not be
safe with his brothers and can only be protected from them by his separation
from them. What led Yosef to this
conclusion? Yosef, observed that his
shrewd, wise, insightful brothers were incapable of piecing together his
repeated hints into a pattern that would reveal his identity. This indicated to Yosef that his brothers’
thinking was influenced by intense unconscious feelings of jealousy and
fear. Yosef was concerned that these
feelings that were originally directed towards him might be redirected towards
Binyamin. His discovery that his
brothers were blinded by and apparently ignorant of these feelings, suggested
to Yosef that they could not be entrusted with Binyamin’s safety.