The Brothers’ Return and Repentance: Chizuk for Iron Sword by Rabbi Nachman Winkler

I see there are some people who are not here last week and this is more or less a continuation of what we began last week I'm going to start by telling you the topic and then going into a reviewing some of what we did last week and hopefully we'll flow into the uh new things that we'll be doing this week the topic is as I called it the the missions the Joseph's brothers missions and there were two missions to Egypt you know they traveled to Egypt twice and the story is very very interesting and very nice but this is not a comic book and this is not a nice novel the purpose of the Torah is to have some the significance into what it is included here now the two trips of the brothers nice important um did he have to have both trips could not have said and the brothers of Joseph came back down to Egypt twice or something like that clearly there is a message to be made in these two in these two missions and when I started to show you last week and based upon some of the the studies of RA yman we see here in each Mission very specific things that were accomplished and all of it comes to bring the end of the story and the end of the story of course is once again the family reunited again as one you could not begin you could not begin the beginning of of is the first time that Israelites are called a nation you couldn't use that and say that until they became once again again United and no longer constantly um divided and indeed physically divided with ysf in Egypt and with the brothers and their families in um Canan and so these missions as we started to show actually uh were the were was the the the Journey of the brother s to reunite with ysep to ysep to reunite with the brothers and it also clarified a number of things um that we would ordinarily have said why and where do we get this from and it's a fascinating opening uh illumination of the events and of how things came about um I think I pointed that last week that there were three if I say three um parts of or goals of the missions uh uh one is and that that the missions and the events of what occurred during these missions and a little before and after had to do with the um um confrontations uh on three levels there's the family level the family that had to really face the Deeds what they had done and having to repent for that sin and by doing so of course hopefully then re re how can I say it it would reunite would reunite a divided family that's on a family level very personal the second level is a naal level and that is specifically the um the leadership because it's during these times these events these two missions that we clearly see how the um natural leader the eldest Ru has his leadership clearly taken over moved over to he who will become the leader and indeed his uh tribe would eventually be the leader that is of course yehudah um and it helps us Le but the events that we read here are going to help us understand why and how uh Ru lost the leadership and it was taken over by um Yuda while Yuda was preferred over Ru that was what we had done last week I was actually am we're going to start here in the middle of that middle that section and that is this choice of Yehuda over uain and what what specific actions seem to have make that made that change quite necessary the last part which we will pleas God get to get to today is going to be the theological the religious level of this whole story and specifically the whole story who did this how do we balance the actions of the individuals and what they did with the uh the will of God it's an old story uh uh and a very real one um how can we blame man for doing things that we find to be uh uh improper when actually was part of God's plan so if it was God's plan but it went from him they had to do it right how do we deal with that in this story I often begin the whole story of yosf by quoting the Rashi there and the of and there it says that it says in the beginning of the second that sends y to see the brothers from the from the valley aroundon andash but noon is in the mountain why does it say Valley ah he says because it's due to the um promise made to he who is in the valley or buried in the promise of that was given toam in the where God says be know well uh that your descendants are going to be strangers uh in a land that's not theirs and they will be enslaved in effect say do this now story of ysep and the brothers that starts inev is the beginning of the fruition of God's promise that the Israel are GNA have to end up going into MIT so that's really the thing okay all of these events were just part of God's plan to get them into Egypt so what are you blaming the brothers for why are you angry at yakob what he did why would we see that yph was wrong why it was all part of the plan this is something hopefully I'm going to address in uh this class when we finish up the enti thing but as I said before I really left you uh in the middle of the story of the clear Changing of the Guard or the changing of the leadership who at the beginning seems to be the leader right was and said no don't throw him into the pit um actually said don't kill him just throw him into a pit which they do and uh he who was the first one to tell yov uh send him send the little young youngest son bamin with me h i will guarantee his his um safety he says of course uh the famous or should I say Infamous things that he says toob and you can kill my two sons if I don't bring them back um and that clearly changes it starts with U but it doesn't end withu as we went pointed out last time Yehuda in the end seems to be the one that steps up and takes on the leadership mantle so one of the things I was shown you in the differences between ruen and Yehuda the differences which seems to clarify why uh R didn't didn't really have the leadership qualities that were necessary is um how Ru whatever he speaks speaks very much about look what you guys did look you that he takes himself out of it he doesn't get involve himself almost as if he's above them and that's why for example he says to them not when they first plan to let's throw let's kill Yosef he doesn't say we should not kill ysf we should send him into the pit he says don't you kill ysf you should send him into the pit it's all what you should do but he's not involved in this he is perhaps above this I'm the leader you should do these things and you shouldn't do these things that it goes on even more after they get troubles in the first mission when um Shimon is sent into the um prison I suppose and uh that prison which undoubtedly was where yoseph was also thrown into when he was taken he was arrested by his master potifar um and uh so when they start going home without their s their brother and here they are returning to their father without their brother uh should I say once again like they returned to tell their father that Y and N that um ysf is gone they go back and again said oh we lost lost the the kid now they're going to go back again and say um you know we had 12 them 11 now there's 11 there only 10 there's one left back they begin to say what did happen so R responds and the words that he uses and this we I I ended last week with these words almost um he said uh I I think you have it if you have the source sheet over there um in uh Source number four after the chart over here okay and um um not the first thing in the but Source but over here this in the second page you see they said um they said in at first part of four said we are guilty for having uh got to our brothers we saw his distress when he pleaded to us but we didn't listen that's why this all this problems have come upon us and R respond to that by saying listen to this ruen said didn't I tell you not to sin against the child but you wouldn't listen that's why his blood is being demanded me you're getting punished now he doesn't say yes we I he said see not my fault you guys did it notice howu takes himself out of the group he blames them oh I'm innocent and it's your fault that's not what a leader should be doing nor for example does um he say you're right we have problems this is what we should do he doesn't even give a a a possible repair as to what they should do at this point he just says not me it's you and even over here look what he says see what the the the brothers say of we are indeed guilty regarding our brother but what does Ru say he said did I tell you not to sin against the child he doesn't say against our brother does he he uses the word yed he doesn't do he keeps himself out um and uh this is this is a sad part of it while the brothers refer to Ys as a our brother ruen calls him the kid you know interestingly in reaction to those words yoseph overhears them they don't know he he actually went to an Old Pond and he Hebrew so that when they when he overhears them and he understands what they're saying one to another we read there in the Torah that he begins to cry he cries so naturally I'm sure he's crying because he sees they really regret they're beginning to be regretful of course a very essential part of the chuba process and what what are you going to do about your regret we'll see but but is it also the fact fact that he sees that his eldest Brother who should have been protecting him doesn't call him a brother and calls him a yelled could be could be the failure of Ru and that matter of the others to a completely to completely repent by offering themselves also as a prisoner R was the eldest when yoseph comes and takes Shimon out Ru doesn't say I'm the oldest I will stay in prison Ru says I'll take the stuff home to my family shim whatever of course that changes at the end of the story when it's Yehuda who says I will stay here as instead of but R never makes that when Shimon is taking never makes that that possibility which is something a leader would have done so you begin to see the differences between the leadership ofu or the lack of leadership ofu and the leadership of Yehuda that's why when we go back and see in the chart when I gave you last week how these the missions are one after the other uh when we go back to what we see I say it's one B which which is matches up with with one a one b and when yoseph um you know accuses the brothers of theft and plans to imprison bamin and then there is the speech of of yehudah right now when that happens um there was no expectation that um anyone would would would would offer themselves to replace bamin um it was after all bamin was caught with the stolen cup bamin was the guilty one uh y didn't even give the option to the brother saying one of you has to be he said I'll take all of you and he says that's not fair I'm a God fearing man I wouldn't do such a thing only the person who is guilty of its crime has to sit here so of course um they had no option there was seemingly there was no option for them say no don't punish him I'll sit instead I will be imprisoned instead because YF said it's the one who did the crime has to do the time and yet besides that despite that I'm sorry Yuda speaks up Yehuda pleads to allow himself to replace bamin in jail furthermore remember this and that first in imprisonment of Shimon after the first travel and the trip toan that was the first time it was it was a temporary thing first they were there for three days and they said look I'm going to keep shim on here when you come back I'll take him out of the prison but this imprisoning of of bamin was a lifetime thing he was going to be a prisoner and an event to ysep forever and ever and ever so not only did ruin never step up to spend uh months or whatever how long it would take to be in prison but he but and but Yehuda actually is giving up his life and his family and everybody there to say I will spend my life as a prisoner to yose was a tremendous tremendous sacrifice that Yehuda makes and that Ru even much less of a sacrifice refuses to do um and um that's Y and when he starts his plea in the beginning of this pasas this week he starts The Plea he doesn't say you know me me me he does it as a representative of all the brothers h he admits a collective guilt and says it's not just it's not just bamin we're all guilty and he says that um at the very end of the Pasha of Nikes before his before his great Soliloquy begins inash he says uh is number four here this is what he says um I was here once a time I I apologize I have some on my notes I have it here in the paper and I didn't but anyway he says he says to um what can I say you you've caught how can we say anything how can we justify ourselves God has found behold we will be sered slaves to the master we as well as he who has taken the goblin y again yehudah can succeedes himself and the brothers as one unit we are all responsible for each other that's what he says and it's only yph says no no no no I can't do that so there's your difference there's a clear difference between the two approaches that ofu and that of Yehuda and now you see whyu is loses that leadership the second dramatic difference can be found also in how they deal with yakob their father um and their respective attempts to try and convince to allow them to come back to Egypt the second time in order to again bring enough uh enough um food and Necessities back to their family in Canan so the first when they first tell the story yob responds and says no my little boy is not going to leave he not going to go down now many of us have in mind this PO youngster you know maybe he's you know a teenager he was over 30 years old I just want you to know that he's probably 32 33 but he's still seen as my son he's still my my tatala I had a wonderful experience I was the youngest son of my family I was 20 years old and my mother used to in into years the baby it was a wonderful experience when she said oh my baby is coming over here's my baby and this big Gump comes walking in and the my mother's friends looking this is a baby you know but the baby is always a baby the youngest one and that's exactly how bamin is but understand B is approximately at most six years seven years younger than Yos Ys we know was 39 uh at this point so he's 32 not a baby but he still called the Y still called B so here is yov and when he first hears what happen to them in that first trip to MIT and how this nasty Viceroy had imprisoned Shimon and would not allow them to not release them unless they come back with bamin he says t n he said no way am I going to take away because already I when I sent one my son away y say he never came back now I sent another away and the other one's going to come back if this one's missing it's gonna kill me can't do that so he says no right away that's what it is that's so so says Tata no he said um and here we go Source five he said his father what you can kill my two sons if I don't bring him back you give him to me I will then bring him back I will bring him back that's what he argues with his father and not surprisingly the alov wasn't too impressed there are many reasons for that not first of all the AR was a lousy one but also because remember this is the first this is before they ran out of food and all that yakob sees is that I'm gonna have to send bamin now after after shimon's gone and I already lost Y no thank you so so that's understandable why he's going to refuse it at the time but even just the way he was asked you know yeah you can kill your two grandsons if if you know I don't bring your son back oh yeah that's that's a great argument you know it's a foolish thing now as I'll mention afterwards we can't be too he didn't mean it he was just trying to be he it was a little overly stated but still it was a foolish thing to say um the but the the language that he uses um is another reason why his father probably not try him every time kill my sons if I don't return him give him to me I will return him me me me me me that's what he says what does Yehuda say look at Yehuda says yehudah in the next Source here it's under the um by a so Yehuda says to his father you see this over here in number eight in the English translation send the L with me and we will go so that we may live both we and you and our little ones I will be guarantee for him you can demand his return for me if I do not return to him I will bear the blame forever he sto not with i i he says we we're one we're one family it's us we're together in this I will take the responsibility but it's all one we're all one that's what it is and um these differences we find even in the beginning of the story these differences we actually see when um yoseph 23 years earlier is thrown into the pit right um we know that Ru had good ideas intentions he wanted to save y right so he tells his um Brothers no no no no no don't kill them just throw them into a pit why didn't he tell them don't kill them I'm don't throw no pit I will save him I'm going to take him out of something he doesn't say anything that way he doesn't share the plan with them I'll do it it's me don't worry about it I'll take care of it um but when Yehuda has his plan of selling Yosef he doesn't say I'm gonna sell Yosef what he says is um we see right over here he said in this Source he says know who he doesn't say I have a plan I'm not going to tell them in secret I'm going to save him haha he goes discusses it with the brothers he said let us not kill our brother let us sell him to the ishm and not lay our our hand on him uh for he is our brother all in the plural form we're we're all in this we're all one family that Yehuda that is Yehuda and there is the the real the real leadership that you see yeah R don't you throw them into the don't you throw them into the pit don't you harm him not us but Judah says we will do this and we will do that and perhaps the difference between uh the two approaches is somewhat understandable okay was the he was the boss he expected them to listen to him you should do this and you should do that [Music] um but when you speak he speaks as a leader he doesn't do so as part of that you know you that comes from a different different angle he has natural leadership abilities but he has no reason to think he should be the one to listen to um he never assumes power the way ruing does and the elu and therefore he sees himself as part of the group and that's why he speaks in a plural form you know um so there you go the movement from away from and towards yudah now I want to do the last level and the aspect of the story The theological thing and and that is understanding the balance between the actions of man and the plan of God um for beyond their journey to chuva to repentance um the question of who will hold the Reigns of of leadership those of questions there's also a complicated even sensitive theological question um that were all these were all of these events a natural outcome of the decisions made by human beings the actions of the respective you know the players in the house in this whole play uh or or they divinely decreed and if so how can be blamed you know with the Flip Wilson who used to go 40 years ago saying uh the devil that made me do it you know it wasn't me can't blame me God told you do it not me um so there are two basic approaches to addressing the question and they one could see them almost exactly the opposite of each other although in the end they come together um uh you can see it as simply that the uh the deeds and the decisions and the difficulties were all part of God's plan the divine plan and even the most minute occurrence was planned and implemented by God that's one approach right the brothers on the other hand really go through a reverse process that is they wonder why God had brought them to such a difficult situation and as is ultimately they started thinking that it's all God's to blame they ultimately realize that they they have to realize that they can't blame God for indeed that they realized that it was they themselves who B it upon themselves um and these two approaches although um almost the opposite of each other it's God it's man um they actually Co cois they become one Coes and they become one and indeed that's how the story should be understood God made decree but it is a man who must act um beginning with yoseph he begins his journey with dreams right he thinks he'll be lording over his brothers you know because he after world is the eldest of the favorite wife um uh his father has shown him preference Heim and you'll notice that Joseph was never tending the Sheep was he the brothers were doing the tending they were doing the work he was at home with Papa wasn't he so it wasn't just a fact that he had a a fact that he had a really nice coat but because of the fact that he wasn't expected to do the work and the labor as the brothers were so he has his wonderful feeling of he's very special and therefore has these dreams um and dreams that the um you know that the she are bound down to him um and although the second dream seems to be a repetition of the first and even his father understood it that's little different yob never responds to the first he he about the first Dream it does respond or at least keeps in mind that this second dream um but that dream of right all of the hosts of Heaven is bowing down to Y can you understand this differently oh yeah he says oh yeah the 12 son and nothing but you know anywhere do we know anywhere that the hosts of Heaven bow down to someone certainly we we do don't we we dominate every day we see it when uh in the it says that God you made and the and all of the Heavenly hosts and then you bring life listen to this it is the heavenly host who bow down to you so who gets bowed down to Only God who else has ever said that he's bowed down to Y he sees a that's scary thing but in the end even though God dreams that they're all going to bow down to him and we're a little uncomfortable with that he thinks that he is going to shape his Destiny says y I'm gonna do it I see it in the dreams I'm going to be great in the end what does he tell his brothers this week's para he says don't worry you had nothing to do with this it is God who has done this he has gone through it he learned that it was not he and his birth nor his mother nor his talents nor his dreams but rather what brought him to this position is God so he thought it was him himself now it's God the brothers thought it was God's fault and by the end of the of their travels of this whole story they realize can't blame God it was us it's interesting how this double double approach actually get flip-flopped from each of them but actually they're both correct both correct um and um there are some crucial things here also understand the entire Journey to the realization of what the real truth is uh both of yose's realization and the brothers you have to look at some fascinating minute things that saturate the text in the Torah there's one word two words one specific word in the story as it send ysep and this is the word shal sh to send it begins from the very beginning of the Saga when yob tells y go and I will send you to them and he sent him from and then the brothers say don't send your hand against my brother Ru says don't harm you say and uh then in the they sent they sent the cloak of yoseph to their fathers that's also a little fact toy that many people don't realize they never sent the C they never brought the they sent it to somebody else that's why the text says that they came to [Music] says love is this your son's cloak the if the brothers had come there themselves they would know what the cloak is they wouldn't have asked is it yph nor would they turn to it as your son they would say is this yosef's anyway um that to so this this sent this idea the whole episode of the sale of yoseph was was almost surrounded with the Shala with the sending the sending the sending um I would go through the whole story we don't the time here but I'll show you how often that that ter that verb is used especially when the brother brothers are sent to Egypt and sent to do this and sent that I'm not going to go through I made the point already but there's another crucial place where the significance of a word is also made apparent when yoseph reveals himself to his brothers he says the following he said hi there I'm your brother and you look at the over here um where is it it should be in six here it is you see it's the third page six y said I am your brother you so here right and therefore he says do not be saddened nor be upset that you sold me hear for because God has sent me here right so he starts when it comes to his brothers he refers to that you sold me here when he speaks about God he says God sent me here and he goes because you have two years of famine and there five more years to come and God had sent me here um you know for reason and then he goes therefore now suddenly he y who has been always saying that you sold me when it came to the brothers and when it came to the brothers at the end he says he now changes to the realization you didn't sell me here you sent me here because that's what God wanted there is a change the change of the idea that oh this was done by God this this was done by a man man made Deeds now he understands really that it was really sent and was sent by God he realizes that the brothers too fulfill the mission though they thought they were they were doing and it was their deeds he realizes that it was God it was and not he was sent here by God and not sold here by his brothers really and that movement that simple simple verse the changes y from s to sent tells the whole story it completes a 22e journey of yose's realization of the truth and acceptance of the truth to see from interpret interpreting dreams as being a personal thing that he was going to a something and to seeing them know as a Divine Pro program that God had decided for him from thinking that the future was driven by human actions to an understanding that it is being pulled by gods plan and by the way that also is true from the word p which we also see used over and over again um in this it says um when he first came to Egypt y was uh was uh taken as the servant to and it says they made him in charge of an officer almost over the servants and from the time if kid that again they appointed him that way he was appointed then when he comes into the prison that the the Jailer made y also in charge of this and then when he tells parro about what to do about the famine he should appoint officers who would take care and gather all of the the excess food over the years of plenty and again the same word then the ol of the food then will be taken the corn and put in in storage the peardon here put aside so that's a crucial uh and um if it's used by so often the Torah you always see it's there must be something here um and uh there is something here this is a crucial thing also part of this story um the Torah uses this this C these crucial words because in the end of the whole story the end of of there's a promise that yoseph says on his deathbed to his brothers is elim God is going to remember you the same root form that is used here as shall remember and shall also act not me but Elohim God is going to be all human actions and decisions and dreams are no more than a fulfillment of God's of the God's Divine will and by the way the brothers go through the same thing I'll try to finish up very quickly because I know my time is just about up that in the beginning the brothers believe as I told showed you before that it's God why did God do this to me oh uh what did Hashem do to us um they express the belief that God is punishing them them and that is good but it's a little troubling uh why did the brothers blame God if the event these events were directly because of them they did these things the words the brothers actually use are words of VD they're really confessing their sins but why did they even bring up God all of these occurrences are direct results of their actions of yob and of yose and the brothers themselves and yet again on the way back after their initial V visit visit to Egypt right when they discover the money back in their sacks again they say what did God do to us me what did God do what did y do to them they didn't do anything what did God do to them um and a third time when they go back back to the money with the money the second time they return they return so the whoever it is who was in charge of yosef's house his attendant said to them don't worry that you had the the um money after all um God gave them to you this two is not true it was yose who did that also so we may be puzzled but you understand what's happening here um it's not God God God being blamed it is the beginning of the realization that though we did this God is is punishing up is doing something for us and in the end that's why Yehuda says when they find the Goblet in Satchel he says elim God has uncovered our sin so while the brothers themselves do nothing to change the scenario they realize that God had and it was yehuda's speech and that that that also was accompanied by his actions of offering to become the slave instead of byin that makes everything change everything comes back to once and that is how the reunion happens the recognition of sin and ysf to the recognition that it was by God but that they were guilty also is what brought the family together but allows us to finally start sa schoke okay I finished my 45 minutes um thank you so much for joining I hope you enjoyed and um we'll see if we have anything next week I don't know