פרשת וישב תש"ה - יוסף ואחיו בדותן

And Israel said unto Joseph: ‘Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them.’ And he said to him: ‘Here am I.’

הלא אחיך רועים בשכם, the wording reflects Yaakov's surprise that Joseph’s brothers chose to tend their sheep in a dangerous location such as Shechem where they had killed the local inhabitants not so long ago. (this is what I heard from Rabbi Yoseph Karo our colleague. I enjoyed his interpretation greatly. [this was not original as it is found in Targum Yerushalmi. David Rosin, Ed.]

הנני HERE AM I — Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

And God said, "Let there be a firmament" - It is written (Psalms 104:3), "Who lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters." It is the custom of the world that a king of flesh and blood constructs a palace and makes a roof for it out of stones and wood and dirt. But the Holy One Blessed Be He made a roof for his world out of water, as it says "Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters." "And God said 'let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters'". The rabbis said regarding this in the name of Rabbi Chanina, but Rabbi Pinchas and Rabbi Jacob the son of Rabbi Avin said this in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman: "when the Holy One, blessed be He, said 'let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters', the middle liquid layer solidified, and the lower heavens were formed, and the heavens above the heavens, the upper ones [were formed]". Rab said "their works on the first day were liquid and on the second they were solid. "Let there be a firmament" [means] let the firmament solidify". Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon said "['let there be a firmament' means] let a thin plating be made for the firmament (raqi'a), just as you see it said "and they beat thin (vayeraq'u) the plates of gold (Exodus 39:3)"". Rabbi Chanina said "the fire came forth from above and dried the surface of the firmament [solidifying it]". Rabbi Yochanan came to this conclusion with this verse: "By His breath [meaning fire] the heavens are smoothed (Job 26:13)." He used to say: "Rabbi Chanina taught me well". Rabbi Yudan the son of Rabbi Shimon said "the fire went forth from above and it made the surface of the firmament gleam". R. Berakhyah, R. Yaakov bar R. Avina in the name of R. Abbah bar Kahana said: The work of creation came to teach about the giving of the Torah, and the teaching was revealed through it: "As when fire kindles the parts” (Isaiah 64:1)—its halves. When did the fire split between the upper and lower [heavens], is it not when the Torah was given!? Thus it was at the creation of the universe.Thus it was at the creation of the universe." Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya said: "as the empty space that is between the earth and the firmament, so there is an empty space between the firmament and the upper waters. So "let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters" [means] between them and in the middle of them". Rabbi Tanchuma said: "I will explain the reasoning. If it is said "and God made the firmament and divided between the waters which were above the firmament" I would say that the water is positioned on the very body of the firmament. But as it says "and between the waters which are over the firmament", see!, the upper waters are hung upon the word". Rabbi Acha said: "[it is] like the flickering of candles, and [its] fruits are the rain waters". A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir and said to him "Is it possible that the upper waters are suspended on a word?" And he replied to him "yes". And Rabbi Meir said "bring me a clepsydra (a water clock)" and the Samaritan brought a clepsydra and he placed upon it a gold plate, but the water did not stand still [under the plate]. He placed a silver plate on it, but the water did not stand still [under the plate]. But when he placed his finger on [the plate], the water stood still [and the plate did not bob]. The Samaritan said to him "you are putting your finger on it!" And Rabbi Meir responded "See how if my finger stills the water, and I am flesh and blood, how much more does the finger of the Holy One, blessed be He [control the water]. Therefore, the water is hung on a word." The Samaritan said to him "Is it possible that he himself, concerning whom it is written "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" was speaking with Moses from between the poles of the ark?" Rabbi Meir responded: "bring to me large mirrors" and he continued "look at yourself in what is brought; your reflection in large!" Meir said to him "bring me small mirrors" and he brought small mirrors. Rabbi Meir said "look at yourself in what is brought, your reflection is small!" Rabbi Meir said to him "See how if you can change yourself whenever you want, and you are flesh and blood, how much more he who spoke and the universe came into existence, blessed is He! And so when he wishes to be "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" he is and when he wishes he spoke with Moses from between the poles of the ark. Rabbi Chanina the son of Isei said: "sometimes the universe and its fullness is not strong enough for the glory of His divinity, and at other times He speaks with man from between the hairs of his head. This is written: "Then Hashem answered Job out of the whirlwind (se'arah) (Job 38:1)" [but read instead] from between the hairs (sha'arot) of his head. And still further the Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir "Is it possible that "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" from the six days of creation and has not all diminished? How strange!" And Rabbi Meir said to him: "Go in and wash yourself and weigh yourself when you have not gone in and then after you have gone in." As soon as the Samaritan left he weighed himself and his body weight was not at all diminished. Rabbi Meir said "now all that sweat that comes out of you, did it not come out of you?" And the Samaritan said "yes". Rabbi Meir responded "See how if you lost no fluid from your body's spring of fluids, and you are flesh and blood, how much more is it [true regarding] the spring of the Holy One, blessed be He, [that] "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" and from the six days of creation has not all diminished?" Rabbi Yochanan said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, raised up all the waters of creation and set half of them in the firmament and half in the Ocean; it is surprising! It is thus written "the river (peleg) of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" [the word "river" (peleg) must be understood as the Aramaic word] half (palg'a). The firmament is similar to a lake and above the lake is a covering. From the from the lake heat condensation flows from the covering, and the condensation [as rain] descends to the midst of the salt waters [of the sea] and the rain does not mix itself [with the salt water]. Rabbi Jonah said "do not be amazed, as it is the case that the Jordan River passes through the Sea of Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) and it does not mix itself with it; this is a miraculous thing to say! A man sifting wheat or chaff in a sieve, the grains have not descended two or three finger-breadths and they have mixed together, but these [raindrops] have traveled and traveled year after year and have not mixed themselves [with salt water]." Rabbi Yudan, son of Rabbi Shimon says "it is because he sends them down by a measured deduction, as it is said "for He draws away (yegara') the drops of water (Job 36:27)". But see how it says "and an abatement shall be made (venigra') from your assessment (Leviticus 27:18)" [showing that the financial use of this root gr' proves that God sends them down in a measured deduction]. The thickness of the earth is equal to the thickness of the firmament, as it is said "He sits above the circle (chug) of the earth (Isaiah 40:22)" [and] "He walked about the circle (chug) of the heavens (Job 22:14)". Since "circle" (chug) occurs in both verses, they are a gezeira shavah [proving the earth and firmament have the same thickness]. Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: "This is like a metal plate". Rabbi Joshua, the son of Rabbi Nehemiah, said: "They are about two or three finger-breadths". Rabbi Shimon the son of Pazzi said: "The upper waters are greater than the lower waters by about thirty xestes (pints). "Between the waters above the waters (la-mayim)" [the lamed's gematria is] thirty [thus proving his point that the waters above have thirty extra pints]. The rabbis said "they are half and half". the verse states: "and god made the heavens", this is one of the verses that ben zoma shook the world with, he made implying a physical action , this cant be for we know that the heavens were created with gods speech? which is what it says: " with the word of god the heavens were made and with the wind of his mouth all of their army's"?. why doesn't it say "it was good" on the second day of creation?r yochanan taught in the name of r yosi the son of r chalafta, because hell was created on the second day, as it says " the topheth has been ready for him since yesterday, a day that has a yesterday but not three days ago. another reason that it dose not say "it was good" on the second day, r channina says its because division was created on the second day, as it says: "and it (the heavens) should separate between the two body's of water". r tivyomi said if division that is for the sake of fixing the world does not have good all the more so division that is to mix up the world doesn't have good. r shmuel says because the creation of water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice, one for the creation of water and one for the days work. a noble woman asked r yosi, why dosen't it say "and it was good on the second day? he answered her even so it was included in the end as it says: "and god saw all that he did and it was very good" she said back to him this is analogous to six people coming to you give each one a manna and to one of them you don't give anything, then you go back and give one manna to everyone, is it not true that 5 of them have a mana and a 1/6 manna and the last one only has 1/6? he said to her like r shmuel says because the creation of water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice, one for the creation of water and one for the days work. r levi in the name of r tanchum the son of r chnelyayi said, it states in the verse:" he (god) tells the end in the beginning", from the beginning of creation god saw Moses who is called "good" and was ultimately was going to be punished from an issue regarding water and therefore did not write and it was good regarding the water. r simon in the name of r levi said it is analogous to a king who had a bad legion, the king said since this legion is no good my name shouldn't be called on it, so too god said, since these waters punished the generation of the flood, dor enosh, and haflaga it should not be written regarding them "forit was good" "and god called the ferment heavens", rav says it means fire and water mixed together. r abba the son of r chahna said in the name of rav , god took fire and water, joined them together and made the heavens. another matter, the word שמים can be read as meaning "evaluation" for the heavens evaluate the actions of people, if they merit than "the heavens will tell his righteousness" and if he doesn't merit "the heavens will reveal his sin". another matter why is it called shumiaim because people wonder about them are they water or fire?!!! r pinchas said he came and revealed it "

And he said to him: ‘Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me back word.’ So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

מעמק חברון FROM THE VALE OF HEBRON — But was not Hebron situated on a hill, as it is said (Numbers 13:22) “And they went up into the South and they came unto Hebron” why then does it state that Jacob sent him from the עמק, (the vale, the deep part) of Hebron? But the meaning is that Jacob sent him in consequence of the necessity of bringing into operation the profound (עמוקה) thought of the righteous man who was buried in Hebron (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22) — in order that there might be fulfilled that which was spoken to Abraham when the Covenant was made ‘between the parts” (cf. 15:13), “thy seed shall be a stranger etc.”

ממדבר קדמות [AND I SENT MESSENGERS] FROM THE WILDERNESS OF KEDEMOTH — Although the Omnipresent had not commanded me to proclaim peace unto Sihon I learnt to do so from what happened in the wilderness of Sinai, i.e. from an incident that relates to the Torah which pre-existed (קדמה) the world. For when the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to give it (the Torah) to Israel, he took it round to Esau and Ishmael. It was manifest before Him that they would not accept it, but yet He opened unto them with peace. Similarly I first approached Sihon with words of peace. — Another explanation of ממדבר קדמות: Moses said to God, "I learnt this from what Thou didst say in the wilderness — from Thee Who wast in existence before (קדמת) the world. Thou couldst have sent one flash of lightning to bum up the Egyptians, but Thou didst send me from the wilderness to Pharaoh, to say gently, (Exodus 5:1) "Let my people go” (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 764:27).

וימצאהו איש AND A MAN FOUND HIM — This was the angel Gabriel (Genesis Rabbah 84:14) as it is said, (Daniel 10:21) and the man (והאיש) Gabriel” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

And the man said: ‘They are departed hence; for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.’ And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

ויתנכלו AND THEY CONSPIRED — The Hithpael form denotes that they became filled with plots and craft. אֹתוֹ is here the same as אִתּוֹ which means “with him” — meaning אליו: they became filled with plots and craft directed towards him (אליו).

ויתפרקו AND [ALL THE PEOPLE] BRAKE OFF — פרק is a term denoting “unloading a burden”. Being a transitive verb one would expect ויפרקו instead of the reflexive form ויפרקו but when they took them (the pendants) off their ears they themselves became unloaded from their pendants and therefore ויתפרקו “they unloaded themselves”, is the appropriate word to use; décharger in old French, English discharge. את נזמי is the same as מנזמי, (they unloaded themselves from their pendants), (את having the same meaning as מן), similar to (Exodus 9:29) “As soon as I am gone out את העיר”, which means מן העיר, from the city.

והתנחלתם אתם לבניכם means, you may hold them as your possession, לבניכם אחריכם, for the benefit of your children after you. It would not, however, be correct to give the word והתנחלתם the meaning: “leave them as an inheritance to your children”, for if this were intended it should have written: והנחלתם אותם לבניכם (the Hiphil), but והתנחלתם (which is the Hithpael form) is equivalent to והתחזקתם “you may hold them as your possession”.

ויתנכלו אותו להמיתו, the root נכל always means to plan to do something evil. One example of the use of this word in this sense is found in Numbers 25,18 אשר נכלו אתכם, “who plotted against you.” The brothers had entertained the thought of causing Joseph’s death while they saw him from a distance. They did not think that he had come to make peace with them but that he was spying on them to either cause them to commit a sin which would bring their father’s curses on them or which would cause G’d to punish them. As a result of this, Joseph imagined he alone would survive as blessed of all of Yaakov’s sons. The expression ויתנכל in the reflexive conjugation described what a person fantasizes about in his mind, what imaginary scenarios he entertains in his head. You find the expression in Samuel I 28,9 אתה מתנקש בנפשי, “(the witch of Endor speaking to King Sha-ul who had disguised himself) “you are trying to trap me into forfeiting my life, trying to get me killed! The word להמיתו in our verse refers to Joseph causing the death of his brothers. [While it is true that the word is separated from the word אותו preceding it by the tone sign tipcha which refers to what came before, in the opinion of this Editor it should then have read להמיתם to cause their death,” instead of “to cause his death.” Ed.] We find the expression used in a similar sense in Deuteronomy 4,14 לעשותכם אותם, “so that you will fulfill them.” [the author describes the function of the transitive conjugation of the root נכל and עשה respectively, not any similarity of the subject matter under discussion in the two verses mentioned. Ed.] If we understand the thoughts described in our verse in this vein, we can solve the riddle of how the stones on the breastplate of the High Priest could have been inscribed with the names of all these brothers, if instead of being as righteous as such models ought to have been in order to serve as inspiration for us, they had indeed harboured such murderous thoughts without justification. Even if the brothers’ intention to sell Joseph had been based on mere hatred, how could such brothers qualify as inspiration for the Jewish people of the breastplate of the High Priest? We must therefore endeavour to understand the collective feelings of the brothers as being that they actually felt themselves threatened by Joseph’s aspirations and they were convinced that when one feels threatened one is entitled or even obliged to take measures to neutralise the source of the danger. This is even a halachic principle clearly spelled out in Sanhedrin 72. If we needed any proof for the truth of the brothers’ feelings, it is best provided by their conversation among themselves while in jail (42,21) when they felt that G’d had repaid them for their misdeeds. They did not regret selling Joseph, nor even having planned to kill him; the only thing they regretted and considered themselves guilty of was that they had not responded to Joseph’s pleas for mercy. In other words, even over 20 years after the event they were still convinced that Joseph had posed the sort of threat to their existence which entitled them to take extreme defensive action against him.

ויתנכלו אותו, they were full of devious and nefarious thoughts. The word occurs in this sense in Maleachi 1,24: וארור נוכל, “cursed the person who plots deviously.”