The Brothers’ Mission to Egypt: Chizuk for Iron Sword by Rabbi Neil Winkler

uh here we are on the sixth day of kanuka and I figured that you've had um Le five days of kanuka to speak of kanuka and probably a week earlier if not before and I gave my class to nobody oh actually to one person last week about kanuka and I decided what a sad thing if you have eight days of kanuka and um the eth day is on Shabbat is on Friday uh and that means that no one's going to speak about Pas Mikes so I thought I would take a time to discuss Pasha M because there is so much to uh discuss and um I'm going to do so as you see uh uh with my uh my screen sharing that I'm talking about here the brothers missions uh to Egypt and uh we don't have to go through the story of Yosef and if we did it would take us approximately a year of uh of discussions to get through all of the details but I'm going to focus in on something which I hope I'll have enough time to finish although I have so much here to say uh hopefully I'll get both the most it finished and when I'm going to the to focus in is on the two missions to Egypt you know that uh the story itself is uh F fascinated generations for so long um and if there are so many questions to ask even going through the text and uh Having learned it since the time we were very small and little uh and we are listen to different approaches to it not always what the text tells us um so I like to get into the text and see what really is revealed to us about the story the questions of well did the brothers really sell y there's a separate sheer which I've given elsewhere and um why would yob send Yosef to the brothers knowing that they hated him at the time uh if Yosef was really um when you figure it out he was only six years younger than Ru that's all there were only a difference between the eldest son and yoseph who before before be of course was the youngest son um and yet they didn't recognize him when they got to Egypt and know kazal tell us that he had a beard okay does that really change the entire View and look of person it's problematic but the story becomes even more dramatic when the brothers go down to Egypt which is what we're going to be FOC focusing on um and um they go down to Egypt twice you know to purchase food for their respective families you know that the two trips the first time they go down simply to purchase food but when they get to Egypt they are recognized by Yosef and he accuses them of Espionage and they he then therefore imprisons them and and when he does finally leave uh let them go home he keeps Shimon separated from them and he puts them remain in prison so that as in effect the second trip now comes they have to return to Egypt with bamin which was one of the conditions that YF gives them and they have to prove their innocence that way now when they go to the second trip they're now accused as they were leaving of stealing the Royal goblet which of course yoseph had had place in binyamin's Satchel um Benyamin is therefore ordered to remain as a slave to yoseph in Egypt and uh that happens until at the beginning of the Pasha of bash says that wonderful moving Soliloquy of uh of yehudah and Joseph's eventual revelation of who he really is it's interesting especially to compare the two visits or the two confrontations if I say that not only do we see the parallels um uh and the common factors between the two of them but uh in a certain way when we analyze theim the verses here you can even see the event the events of the two visits as being the ACT complete opposites or the reverse is a better way of putting it of each other and that's why I turn to the first um Source I have the chart that you see there I hope you have it there and I have I compare the first mission with the second mission now look at onea in the first mission yosf accuses the brothers of spying and imprison Shimon and then there's a speech ofu to his brothers now go to the last that's one B uh in the second Mission there that's at the end there ysep accuses the brothers of the theft he plans to imprison and then there's a speech of Yehuda notice the comp first he accuses them of spying he he accuses them of theft he imprisons Shimon there he plans to imprison bamin as a speech of here is is a speech of Yehuda very interesting in 2 a when Yosef over here here is the brother's expression for of regret for his sale and he privately cries in 2B over here the third step in the second mission there yose meets B for the first time at the dinner and there he privately cries in 3A the brothers discover the return of the money and they wonder why God had done this to them in 3B the second thing the brothers return the money and and that refuse and they're told that God had done this for them and then finally in the end of the first mission Ru tries to convince yov to send M with him but fails well the first part of the second mission is Yehuda who successfully convinces yako to send bamin with him but as it goes on the brothers return okay so then you see very interesting can I say comparison or contrast but the same steps that were reversed in the first mission and the second mission so that itself is very interesting now raboni grman um of Baran and also of the gush he uh sees these two missions or he also calls them confrontations functioning on three levels and this is very crucial because I think this is one of the most powerful parts of what I want to tell you I want want to teach you when we see the story that we know so well actually on the three levels of these missions you have there's a family level the brothers are forced to to face their deeds and to repent to do chuva from the sin that they had committed specifically against the family and by doing So eventually they will you uh unite the divided family that's the family level the the second part of the function of these missions is there's one on the national level if I can use that term because here we see for the first time how the leadership the future leadership of the nation passes from rain who of course was turned down when he says let's send let me take beamin to Yehuda who of course was accepted as uh the leader as the one who would um bring back bamin safely and it helps us understand as we'll see in other things in these in these two trips these two missions why the Torah has sees a leadership of Yehuda over that of U and then on a theological or religious level we're going to uh try to understand the balance basic balance between the ACT actions of man and the will of God in other words uh how responsible is man for the Deeds if God intervenes with the actions remember there was a comedian years ago who used to say uh the devil made me do it don't blame me what what God God said to do it what do you want for me you know I didn't sell God wants me to sell the Jose yoseph you know that whole story of of does man really have a true free action to do what he wants if God intervenes so I want to begin with the first level and the first level is the personal story of the family specifically the repair of the brother's sin um uh through the events that they experience in their going down to Egypt by the way the topic is addressed very very expansively in pish of the abarbanel but either way um it's this process that they go through which um they eventually go H create between Y and themselves a repan I can call it uh they experience uh uh they bring them together the that tearful reunion that they have at the end of the story perhaps more CR crucially what realizations what discoveries do they make through these experiences um that make them do chuva make them realize uh oh we goofed and to accept the fact that they had made the mistake both y by the way and the brothers interestingly we can find a number of hints even subtle references in the story um and um in the journey uh to the sale of yosf as if the brothers almost were made to go back to reassess the decision that they had to sell their brother and they do so from the point of what yoseph how yoseph must have felt what experience he went through when they so him um what experience did their father yov go through when they he finds out that the that ysep was gone even the view of the is as we'll see when they were bringing Ys down to and of course their own view of what they had gone through and will go through so let me explain certainly let's start the beginning when they first come down the fact that yoseph immediately imprisons them for three days in Egypt and it says there he thr he imprisons them most doubted or Le's let's say for possibly in the very same prison that ysf was thrown into for two years or beyond that actually M was Joseph saying uh let me see let's see how you feel how I felt was it conscious or not but they now begin to experience some of the experiences that ysep went through because he had been sold down to Egypt um the um it certainly makes it very difficult for us to deny that Yosef certainly made the brothers experience a little bit of what he experienced in the 22 years he had been away from home then of course the brothers were also made to feel how yako felt because when they were suddenly discover accused of stealing the missing goblet and then uh it been told that bamin is going to be taken from them um the Torah in effect repeats how they had to think how their father must have felt when they heard when he heard that his youngest son of Rachel that's youngest son the son of Rael would not come back um or when he heard of that yosef's death and if you look in the text in fact first thing we read about yov is that is that yov a sybol that yov um tore his garments first thing that these brothers do when they find out that bamin may be thrown in jail when they when the golet was found in his Satchel it says they too tore their garments they were made to experience a little of the pain that their father had that they had caused their father then of course they were even made to feel what Yosef did when he was brought down felt at least um how what yose felt when he was sold down to Egypt through the isim to the ishite Caravan um because and this I find it absolutely fascinating we get to it the next Source you see when their sent when Yakov tells him to go back for the second time he reluctantly Al allows y that takes B with him and he says to him look give him bring the the vice Roy of Egypt some gifts and he says following as you see in the um in the second you see the second uh Source I put it both in Hebrew and English said do this at least take some of the best fruits we have whatever that remains here with you bring a gift to the man meaning to the viceo a little present a little bomb a little honey spices well whatever that is nuts and almonds okay that's but they were to bring down when they made their trip the second trip down to Egypt now go back at Joseph's um trip down to Egypt and you know what we read fascinating they saw there was a caravan of isites who were coming going down and you know what days those camels were carrying they were carrying spices and and this latinum going down to Egypt now that's interesting but it's really more than interesting it's absolutely fascinating because astoundingly not only is it the same thing that Yakov tells them to bring among the things he said those three things you have it over here and is over here not only those three things were the same but if you understand you look in the Torah you find find out that um the word is only found twice in the whole Torah where when Yosef went down to Egypt and when they bring the gift down to Egypt for Yosef and the same is true when the word lot over here not the brother there vot also found only twice in the whole Torah also only when it's being brought down by the ishim with ysep and by yosef's Brothers to Egypt that's pretty remarkable and pretty powerful unbeknownst to yov he just sent down his sons the brothers of yoseph um to Egypt in the exact same way they sent Yosef down to Egypt with the ishma fascinating remarkable um and uh when you you think about that can you imagine the the the the shock of the brothers when they listened to their father's advice do you wonder remember they saw wait wait a minute when we sent ysep down one wonders if they even were aware of that and remember who were they sending down they were sending down the one of the two sons of Rael to Egypt and who are they taking now and sending down the other son of Rael going down to Egypt it's unbelievable the parallels are so powerful it's it's remarkable they smell the spices and the nightmare of the 22 years earlier that they had caused Maybe is brought back to them and I would imagine that they're praying that things would go well in Egypt and that this brother would be brought back H safely and not enslaved they're beginning to experience what ysep experienced what the isim experienced it's unbelievable but that's that's going through God is making sure or ysph or the story is making sure that this is not that there are experiences that they will learn and see what they did and the impact of what they did in Hort it's a eye opening actually the brothers experienced a taste of Yo's heartbreak a taste of yosef's pain even the experience of being themselves and sending down the brother of the son of Rael with the same spices that's only the trip the tip of the iceberg there's more to speak about like I said I don't know how much I can get through but I certainly want to when they stand before yose for the first time and they're accused of being spies but the the language of the accusation is quite strange and we see we see there that god um that I'm sorry there was Yosef who said you are spies you've come to see uh theat you know means AA is a nakedness to see the nakedness of the thing the expression is a strange expression almost the unique why is that why is that important well what did they do to ysph when they grabbed him look at source three they stripped yose of his coat is yoseph using the purposeful word of the nakedness of the of Egypt that you're trying to spy out in order to perhaps move them to realize yeah there was nothing nakedness in this story remember you stripped off my coat you made me naked also when you sold me to the ishim could be very interesting um they threw him in unclothed in the pit and that is how he was found and that is how he was sold and that is how he was brought down to Egypt the nakedness of Egypt the yoseph was naked when he comes into Egypt and um those are the first words he that come out of his mouth when he talks to his brothers was it conscious unconscious I don't know but it certainly begins to see that there is a pattern going on but there's the reaction of the brothers after they were released of from prison after their three-day incarceration I suppose i' call it um ysep tells them that he is Elohim on the way a God-fearing man I'm a God-fearing man very nice um and because of that he said I'm gonna send you back home um and the brothers interestingly never react they don't say gee thanks a lot who no they don't even express any relief instead when they're released from prison they say in the fourth Source they said indeed indeed we are guilty regarding our brother for we saw his distress when he pleaded to us but we did not listen this is why the stress comes upon us they don't say it when they were put into the prison no only now they pose a question um and that's strange you know said that the suggestion that of ysep brings them to the realization that uh they have to confront now their father that's what they worried about not that I he led us out of prison but o we have to come back home and tell our father once again that there his son is missing the way they did with yoseph they have to re-experience what they did to their father and they're finally realizing a what did we do to our father 22 years ago we're doing it again and that's what they said this must be a punishment we must be guilty we are being punished for what we did because we didn't listen to our brother and we let kept left him in that pit and uh depending on how you say the approach and sold him that is why they react that so they saw they're seeing now events of the victims of their sin 22 years ago their father was a victim ysf was a victim and the beginning of recognition of their sin is the beginning of repentance of their repen of process I'll say and uh even maybe uh the words that ysep uses when he says he's keeping Shimon in prison he said one the one brother will remain in prison and um isn't it interesting later on when they explained through uh actually the in during the process of the of the trips to Yo to MIT when they're talking to Yos they explained about their family they said well we have we're a family of 12 but and the one is missing so what does YF do he uses instead of saying I'm Gonna Keep here or I'm keeping in prison he says the one I'm keeping in prison using the same words they used to describe him y another thing and next thing we know that go at the second mission the second time they come back things to be going seem to be going well Yos says oh okay don't worry you can keep the money that you got come on have a meal with me and it says they send back to the to the meal remember the major meal in the certainly in the ancient world and certainly in the Egypt we know was the midday meal the Saharan meal and there it says that they same they they came and um they they ate by themselves when y was not there what does that remind us of it reminds us that when they threw yoseph into the pit it says they said they had a pizza pizza and ysep is crying crying and screaming from the pit ysep was alone and they were alone these things are not just coincidental they're reliving certain experiences maybe they get to their heads we did something wrong that's the beginning how you do chuva to realize what harm you have committed to others and then yoseph he shows favor to beamin right the son of Y he gives him five times more than he gives the others what does that remind you of just like yov showed favor to rael's other son Yosef so how are the brothers going to react to that that's of course the great question you know almost yoseph was thinking you know uh when dad liked me better than you you were pretty angry right you threw me out now I'm going to I'm going to show a favortism to my mother's other son to bamin let's see how you're GNA feel about that another test and so therefore um dramatically when he then says he plots to make bamin a slave because he of course uh had his goblet actually secretly placed in Bin's SA so when that was discovered um is it not the same uh making a slave of bamin just like the brothers made Yosef a slave look at these parallels unbelievable so what did the yoseph accomplish no I'm sorry then go up a little back yeah after all of these analyses we still puzzled by one conscious Act of Yosef which seems to be unnecessary and that's regarding the money why why are all the subus regarding the money right uh why we return the money in the first place right why refuse to get take the money back from the brothers in the second place and why give the money uh once more when they come when they're planning to go back again they give them back the money what's this whole thing with money well you know it doesn't change the story at all it would seem it's not even part of the story not even crucial but would we be perhaps stretching the point too much if we suggest that the focus upon money money money very well be a not too subtle reference to the money that the brothers received for the sale of yoseph Oh goodie let's take some money what is say says bet what is the not what's what is the value what are we gonna get out of just killing our brother if we sell him we can get some money that's the beta so he's saying oh yeah you to sell me you like the money so it keeps on doing the whole money thing with them very possibly I you know these are just suggests I have here um and um let's see what happens perhaps so we get the feeling that once again the sons return to their father without a brother but with money just as they returned 20 two years earlier without their brother but with the money interesting perhaps and so with yehuda's plea in the beginning of aash when he pleads to have to replace bamin as the slave to Y he man he manages to repair two relationships first of all that of his relationship and that of the brothers of course uh to the sons of Rael ysf and as he was the very one to suggest that y be sold um to the isim and now he offers rather than have his brother sold to Egypt that he would be the EV so the act of chuva of of Yehuda now is he's replacing the son of Rael to be the slave in Egypt as he had be the one to suggest to take the other son of Rael to be a a slave in Egypt right and then of course now he's rep repairing the relationship with his father we just did could not emotionally hurt anymore um and and if you want to look into it look in the text you see how often repeated is the word AI when Yehuda begs for help to to be the slave to Y read how many times he says a a a my father my father how am I gonna go there my father my father my father it repeats it's it's almost a not only an echo but it's in his mind in his brain my father my father my father he actually is um uses his emotional plea to yoseph and with this repair the story of the family's chuva really is completed so we've gone through at least the Chua process of repairing the family and of repairing it with the father as well the family repentance perhaps is now completed those experiences of the two missions do that so we'll touch upon the uh the national level level that is the leadership of Israel that would happen in the future and how and why it shifted from to Yehuda now whether there's enough time to complete this or not we'll see but I will tell you but at least we got the first part though and I think that was an important thing uh this shift is a little more subtle and the Very uh and it's revealed only through the whole structure of the story as we can see through the the chart there the first you know there when in the beginning Ru gives his monologue BL blaming the the brothers for their troubles you see that uh in um four in four says um he says actually better yet at the bottom of fourth that says at first um this is what they each regret he said were guilty and says okay uh I'll just keep Simon in jail and then Ru say says I told you not to not to harm child you listen to me see now his blood is being demanded now you'll notice that ruen is really getting it to them who doesn't he include himself I told you was your fault not me and um that's ru's monologue but when Yehuda gives a monologue with yoseph he says the following therefore let me stay instead of the lad as a servant let the lad return with his brethren for how can I return to my father if the lad is not with me lest I see the evil that shall Beall my father there is not blaming in anyone else you doesn't say it's their fault but I'll do it anyway he doesn't say anything like that doesn't mention anything about the brother she says it's on me it's on me who would should should have done that when one thinks about it logically who should be the one who's responsible the eldest son that is ruen who is taking the leadership though yahudah who after all guaranteed say this the safety of bamin because yov wouldn't accept uh U's plead to let him go said you can kill my sons if I not bring him back C this get a cup kill my sons okay take him I'll kill the kids it's okay what is he say of course he was saying I'm so sure I'll bring him back you says nothing good as such he said I'll take him I guarantee it that's all he says that's what it says in in in before that's what number five says and ruin said to his father you can slay my two sons if I don't bring him back and on the other hand what do Yuda say look at that in five Yuda says the man warned us you'll not see me unless you bring your brother so you send brother say we will go down and buy a few but if you not we will not go for said so Yuda said to his father send the lad with me and we will go so that we may live both we and you and our little ones I will be a guarantee for him you can demand his return for me if I do not return to you him to you I will bear the blame forever that's how he says it you understand now why yov listen to him and not that's exactly the whole point um remember after all uh it becomes clear now whyu is pred aside and and Yehuda becomes now the leading uh hero here in the story um the um going back for example um when yo y decides to imprison one of the the the brothers and he says I I Fear God he says in other words as a God-fearing ruler and knows that the imprisonment is unfair and instead of imprisoning all of them I'll imprison one and we know he takes Shimon as a temporary um a prisoner but carefully see how that is not the whole story ysep says and then you have it over here so I have it here later on um yeah I think I have it back here I'm sorry a little bit here look four I have a look at if you are truthful let one of your brethren remain in prison while you go and bring poor into your fear families and then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words be proven true and you will not die and they did so that's what yoseph says Joseph uh does not say he's gonna take Shimon away he doesn't specify any brother what is he waiting for why doesn't he say he just says I want one of them I'm taking one of the brothers why doesn't he say who he's going to take what do you think what is is Joseph expecting who should then now volunteer to be a hostage excuse the expression nowadays why he expects rain to stand up and say I'm the eldest I will be the hostage and Ru does not you see it isn't clear it isn't obvious but think about this wouldn't that have been the logical thing to happen it doesn't another reason we're saying that U is not the leader here uin does not take on the mantle of leadership as he should he once again fails in that leadership test and what who eventually does it's interesting when you go through this when we go through the whole thing we find out that it says they speak to each other um they speak to each other and they say um it says there um yeah this is when they they they they they speak to each other uh before they decide who's who's going to be taken um and they they say the following uh we are guilty so on and so forth um and they show remorse and they're beginning to show the impact of what they had done uh until again that's whenu instead of coming up and saying okay I will be the hostage instead that's when he says well I told you you shouldn't have done it your fault well I should stay hostage but you're the on who did it I told you not to do that which of course isn't true he just told them not to kill them he just told he told throw he told them throw them in the pit But there again you see the failure of Ru to be the true leader he doesn't offer himself to be the hostage uh he doesn't offer any solution he just blames them yeah the people said we are guilty the brothers say we are guilty we are we heard the C we didn't listen and Ruben said yeah you did it all you did it all you see the story when it's when the pronouns are are are uh are really underlined underscored when they're put in bold we we we he said yeah you you you not me not me I told you not to do it don't look at me you want me to go hostage I I'm the only innocent one around here no leadership and [Music] um interestingly and put this I think it's nice the brothers always refer refer to Ys before they knew ysf is y they call a our brother when when calls it he says one of is he calls them not brother he calls him the the yelled almost removing himself from the family you know the kid the kid not me and um in reaction to words that's when ysep begins to cry ysep begins to cry because he hears the regret of the brothers and probably because he was expecting Ru to speak up and he never did he cry for that and that is what happens and there's more to this if I tell you I'm halfway through I am but it's a perfect place for me to end because it's 11:15 and I'm told there's a the Torah says you know of course know there's a BAL toif not a lot of give too much so I I'll keep here if I have an opportunity to continue and I hope I'll will have the opportunity I will continue from where we are because it's really in the middle of the story man you know this is pretty remarkable but looking at the text and looking at oh well I see I know the story I even had a color book about a coloring book and I used it when I was in and gone but I never saw it this way and that's what this is so important to take the text and start seeing it in a way that we'd never saw it before so much comes out of the real story and that we see the depth of the story and the Brilliance and the Brilliance of the Torah text was he's trying to tell us something and say hey don't make it into coloring book think and listen and read those words and see how much deeper this whole story is so this is the two missions or really um experiences to bring the brothers to do Chua and eventually we'll see y also maybe next time thank you very much