Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
וַיְשַׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־אֶחָ֖יו וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּ
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אַֽל־תִּרְגְּז֖וּ בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃
Yosef sent his brothers (back to Canaan to get Yaakov), and they went.
He said to them: “Don’t fight on the way.”
What exactly was Yosef warning his brothers?
Rashi offers three explanations.
1) אַל תִּתְעַסְּקוּ בִּדְבַר הֲלָכָה שֶׁלֹּא תִרְגַּז עֲלֵיכֶם הַדֶּרֶךְ.
2) אַל תַּפְסִיעוּ פְסִיעָה גַסָּה וְהִכָּנְסוּ בַחַמָּה לָעִיר.
3) וּלְפִי פְשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא יֵשׁ לוֹמַר, לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ נִכְלָמִים, הָיָה דוֹאֵג, שֶׁמָּא יָרִיבוּ בַדֶּרֶךְ עַל דְּבַר מְכִירָתוֹ, לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ זֶה עִם זֶה וְלוֹמַר עַל יָדְךָ נִמְכַּר, אַתָּה סִפַּרְתָּ לָשׁוֹן הָרָע עָלָיו, וְגָרַמְתָּ לָנוּ לִשְׂנֹאתוֹ:
1) Don’t get involved in a discussion about halakhah, so that you don’t get lost along the way.
2) Don’t take really big steps. Make sure you get to a town while it’s still light out (so you don’t have to travel at night).
3) The peshat (most straightforward) meaning is that Yosef knew his brothers were ashamed, and he worried that they might fight along the way, blaming each other for selling him. They might say things to each other like: You’re the one who told lashon hara (gossip) about Yosef, and that’s what made us hate him.
- Rashi’s first suggestion is that Yosef was worried the trip would take too long. What would be the problem with that? Why would Yosef try to prevent it? If learning Halakhah might distract them so much that they forget to keep traveling, what does that tell us about what it’s like to learn Torah and get into a deep conversation about it?
- The second concern seems to be about their safety. The Gemara (Taanit 10b) suggests that taking huge steps is bad for you, and that it’s safest to travel only when it’s light out. Why might Yosef be expressing concern about his brothers’ safety? Is that surprising? How so? What does that tell us about the kind of person Yosef is?
- In the third explanation, Yosef is concerned that the brothers might blame and fight each other. Wouldn’t you think Yosef would actually want them to take the blame for their actions? Or to fight with each other in the same way they fought with him? If he didn’t want those things, what would that tell us about Yosef?
- All of these explanations share the point of view that Yosef cares about his brothers, and is not holding a grudge against them. What can we learn from Yosef here? What’s hard about really forgiving people who have hurt you? Why is it so important to do that?
-------------------
