Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
וַיִּרְא֤וּ אֲחֵֽי־יוֹסֵף֙ כִּי־מֵ֣ת אֲבִיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ ל֥וּ יִשְׂטְמֵ֖נוּ יוֹסֵ֑ף וְהָשֵׁ֤ב יָשִׁיב֙ לָ֔נוּ אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר גָּמַ֖לְנוּ אֹתֽוֹ׃
When Yosef’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Yosef still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did to him!”
Out of their fear of revenge, the brothers tell Yosef that Yaakov’s dying wish was that Yosef should forgive them.
וַיְצַוּ֕וּ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֖ף לֵאמֹ֑ר אָבִ֣יךָ צִוָּ֔ה לִפְנֵ֥י מוֹת֖וֹ לֵאמֹֽר׃ כֹּֽה־תֹאמְר֣וּ לְיוֹסֵ֗ף אָ֣נָּ֡א שָׂ֣א נָ֠א פֶּ֣שַׁע אַחֶ֤יךָ וְחַטָּאתָם֙ כִּי־רָעָ֣ה גְמָל֔וּךָ וְעַתָּה֙ שָׂ֣א נָ֔א לְפֶ֥שַׁע עַבְדֵ֖י אֱלֹהֵ֣י אָבִ֑יךָ וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ יוֹסֵ֖ף בְּדַבְּרָ֥ם אֵלָֽיו׃
They instructed [messengers] to tell Yosef, “Before his death, your father left this instruction: So shall you say to Yosef, ‘Forgive the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Yosef was in tears as they spoke to him.
The fishy thing here is: the Torah never actually says that this was Yaakov’s dying wish! It’s possible that this conversation did happen, but wasn’t recorded in the Torah. However, a midrash suggests that the brothers were actually lying here.
רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר
גָּדוֹל הַשָּׁלוֹם שֶׁאַף הַשְּׁבָטִים דִּבְּרוּ דְבָרִים בְּדוּיִם בִּשְׁבִיל לְהַטִּיל שָׁלוֹם בֵּין יוֹסֵף לַשְּׁבָטִים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר וגו', וְהֵיכָן צִוָּה? לֹא מָצִינוּ שֶׁצִּוָּה.
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Peace is so great that even the tribes (=Yaakov’s 12 sons) spoke false words in order to bring peace between Yosef and the tribes. As it is written, “They instructed [messengers] to tell Yosef [that Yaakov commanded Yosef to forgive them].” And where did Yaakov command this? We do not find that he commanded it.
- If the brothers were lying, was it the right thing to do? Why or why not?
- What else could the brothers have said or done if they had wanted to avoid lying?
- What are some possible negative consequences of not telling the truth?
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