[Par-lite] Parshat Vayeshev - shiur

[Menachem Leibtag]

**********************************************************
***
        THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]
		In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
	Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag
**********************************************************
***

              PARSHAT VA'YESHEV  -  Who Sold Yosef? 

    Could it be that the brothers DID NOT sell Yosef! 
    As shocking as this statement may sound to anyone
familiar with the story of Yosef & his brothers; a careful
reading of that narrative in Chumash may actually support
this possibility!
    In the following shiur, we explore this fascinating
possibility (and its consequences) while taking into
account some important geographic considerations.

INTRODUCTION
	After throwing your brother into a pit to die,
would you be able to 'sit down to eat'?  The brothers did,
so the Torah tell us (see 37:24-25)!  But when they sat
down to eat, the Torah DOES NOT inform us if they sat NEAR
the pit, listening to Yosef's screaming and pleading; OR
if they sat FAR AWAY from the pit - to enjoy some 'peace
and quiet'?
	So what difference does it make?

	Believe it or not, this tiny detail affects our
understanding of almost every aspect of the story that
ensues.  Our shiur will entertain each possibility -
showing how this 'missing detail' may be what leads
several commentators to conclude that the brothers may
never have sold Yosef after all!
	To appreciate why this 'minor detail' is so
critical, we must first review the Torah's description of
these events, making sure that we understand what everyone
is planning, so that we can reach a logical conclusion
regarding what everyone should be doing.
    Before we begin, we must also point out that the
distance between Hebron, where Yaakov is living, and
Dotan, where the brothers are grazing their sheep, is
about 100 kilometers.  Therefore, the brothers are
probably gone for at least several weeks.  Certainly, they
don't come home to Hebron to sleep at night, rather, they
have set up a temporary 'campsite' in the Dotan area.

PLAN A - THE BROTHERS  /  FIRST DEGREE MURDER
	Review 37:18-20, noting that as soon as Yosef
arrives at Dotan, the brothers conspire to kill him.
However, their plan concerning HOW to kill him is revised
several times.  
    To show how, let's begin with the brothers' original
plan to kill Yosef, as soon as they saw him [which we will
refer to PLAN A]:
"They (the brothers) saw him from afar, and before he came
close... they conspired to kill him.  And they said to one
another, behold the 'dreamer' is coming.  Now, let's kill
him and (afterward) throw his body into one of the
pits..." (37:18-20).

 	Note how the brothers originally plan to commit
first degree murder, by killing Yosef immediately and then
'bury him' in any nearby pit.  Most likely, they plan to
throw the 'body' in the pit in order to 'hide the
evidence'.  This way, when they next come home, they can
simply pretend that they never saw Yosef - for if they
brought home the dead body, their father would likely have
accused them of Yosef's murder. 
	Although Reuven opposes Yosef's murder, he assumes
that the brothers would not accept his opinion.
Therefore, instead of arguing with his brothers, he
devises a shrewd plan that will first postpone Yosef's
execution, and later enable him to secretly rescue Yosef,
and send him back home to his father.
	[See further iyun for an explanation of why
specifically Reuven wants to save Yosef.]

PLAN B - REUVEN'S PLAN  /  SECOND DEGREE MURDER
	As you read Reuven's plan, be sure to
differentiate between what Reuven SAYS (to his brothers)
and what Reuven THINKS (to himself):
"... And Reuven said... 'Do not shed blood, cast him into
a pit [in order that he die] OUT IN THE 'MIDBAR'
(wilderness), but do not touch him yourselves --'
[End of quote! Then, the narrator continues by informing
the reader of Reuven's true intentions...]
	"in order to save him [Yosef] from them and return
him to his father." (37:22). 

	Reuven's 'official' plan (that the brothers
accept) is to let Yosef die in a less violent manner, i.e.
to throw him alive into a deep pit to die, instead of
murdering him in cold blood.  However, Reuven's secretly
plans to later return to that pit and free him.
	Note how Reuven even suggests the specific 'pit'
into which to throw Yosef - "ha-bor HA-ZEH asher
ba-midbar"!  Most probably, so that he can later sneak
away to that pit and save him.
[Compare this to the brothers' original plan to throw him
into "one of the pits" (37:20) - possibly a pit closer
by.]

	Unaware of Reuven's true intentions, the brothers
agree. 
	Yosef arrives, and - in accordance with PLAN B -
the brothers immediately strip Yosef of his special cloak
and throw him alive into the pit (see 37:23-24).
Afterward, the Torah informs us, they sit down to eat (see
37:25).  

WHERE ARE THEY EATING?
 	Until this point, the plot is clear.  However, in
the story that follows, there are two important details
missing which totally affect our understanding of what
happened next.
	Detail #1 -  WHERE did they sit down to eat?
Did they sit down to eat nearby the pit, or did they just
leave Yosef in pit, and travel far away (possibly, back to
their camp in Dotan) and eat their meal elsewhere?

	Detail #2 - WHERE is REUVEN during this meal?
Is he eating with his brothers, or did he go off to
somewhere else on his own? [And if so, for what reason?]

    Even though there are no explicit  answers in the
Torah to these two questions, we will attempt to answer
them by employing some 'deductive reasoning'.

(1) Where are the brothers eating?
    Recall that the brothers are grazing their sheep in
the Dotan area [see 37:17/ today the area of Jenin,
between Shechem and Afula], which is on the northern
slopes of central mountain range of Israel.  The "midbar"
[wilderness], that Reuven is talking about, is probably
located a few kilometers to the east of Dotan, as this
"midbar" stretches along the eastern slope of the entire
central mountain range. [See map www.tanach.org/map3d.pdf
.]
    
    Considering that the brothers throw Yosef into a pit
'out in the MIDBAR', it would definitely make sense for
them to return afterward to their campsite in the Dotan
area to eat (see 37:16-17).   Besides, it would not be
very appetizing to eat lunch while listening to your
little brother screaming for his life from a pit nearby -
see 42:21 for proof that he was indeed screaming when they
threw him in. 
    And even should one conclude that it would have been
just as logical for them to have sat down to eat near the
pit;  by considering the whereabouts of Reuven (detail #2)
- we will be able to provide additional support to our
supposition that the brothers must have sat down to eat
farther away.  

2) Where is Reuven?
    Considering that Reuven's real plan is to later save
Yosef from the pit, it would only be logical from him to
either stay near the pit, or at least remain with his
brothers (wherever they may be). Certainly it would not
make sense, according to his real plan, for him to go far
away, and to leave his brothers by the pit!
    However, from the continuation of the story we know
for sure that Reuven did not stay near the pit, because he
RETURNS to the pit only AFTER Yosef is sold!  Therefore,
if Reuven left the pit area, then certainly the brothers
also must have left that area.  Hence, it would only be
logical to conclude that the brothers are indeed eating
away from the pit, and Reuven must be eating with them!  
    After all, not joining them for lunch could raise
their suspicion.  Furthermore, the Torah never tells us
that he left his brothers.

	In summary, by considering the logic of Reuven's
plan, we conclude that Reuven most likely stayed with his
brothers, as they all sit down to eat AWAY from the pit. 
[Obviously, this interpretation does not follow popular
explanation that Reuven had left his brothers, as it was
his turn to take care of his father (see first opinion in
Rashi).  In the Further Iyun section we discuss how and
why our shiur disagrees with that approach, and prefers
the approach of Rashbam and Chizkuni.]

PLAN C - YEHUDA'S PLAN / A 'QUICK BUCK'
	Now that we have supposed that Reuven and the
brothers are sitting down to eat at a distance far away
from the pit, we can continue our study of the narrative,
to see if this conclusion fits with its continuation:
"And the brothers sat down to eat, and they lifted up
their eyes and saw a caravan of Yishmaelim coming from the
Gilad carrying [spices]... to Egypt.  
    Then Yehuda said to his brothers, 'What do we gain by
killing our brother ... let us SELL him [instead] to the
Yishmaelim; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh,
and his brothers agreed" (37:25-27).
[From Yehuda's suggestion, it becomes clear that the
brothers truly planned to allow Yosef to die in the pit.
and were unaware of Reuven's intention to save him.]

	If indeed Reuven is still sitting with his
brothers, then this new plan (to sell Yosef) puts him in
quite a predicament; for if the brothers would sell Yosef,
his own plan to rescue him would be ruined.   Hence, the
most logical step for Reuven to take would be to either
sneak away to the 'pit' - to get there before his brothers
sell him, or possibly to 'volunteer' to fetch Yosef from
the pit, in order to free him - and then explain to his
brothers that Yosef had 'ran away'. 
	Reuven does return to the pit in 37:29, but before
the Torah informs us of what happens when Reuven returns,
we are told first of something else that took place in the
meantime:
"And a group of Midyanite TRADERS passed by, and THEY
pulled, and they lifted Yosef out of the pit, and THEY
sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty pieces of silver,
and brought Yosef to Egypt."  (see 37:28)
[Carefully read this pasuk again, noting the difference
between the Midyanim and Yishmaelim.]

	The startling fact about this pasuk is that the
brothers are never mentioned!  If our assumption above was
correct, it turns out that when the brothers (sitting far
away from the pit) were discussing the possibility of
selling Yosef to the Yishmaelim - it just so happened that
the Midyanim got there first!
	
	To appreciate the logic of this interpretation, we
must provide a little geographic background, which is
essential towards understanding what transpires in these
psukim.

THE ANCIENT TRADE ROUTE
	Recall that Yosef met his brothers while they were
grazing their sheep in the hilly area of Dotan (see
37:17), north of Shechem.  Recall as well that during
their meal, the brothers 'lifted up their eyes' and
noticed a caravan of YISHMAELIM traveling down from the
GILAD (today, the northern mountain range in Jordan), on
its way down to Egypt (see 37:25).
	Now, when we read this story in Chumash, most
everyone assumes that this convoy will soon pass nearby
the spot where the brothers are eating.  However, when we
consider the geography involved, it is more probable to
arrive at a very different conclusion! 
	This CARAVAN of Yishmaelim (camels et al.) most
likely should be traveling along the ancient trade route
(better known as the Via Maris), which crosses through
Emek Yizrael (the Jezreel Valley) on its way toward the
Mediterranean coast.  Therefore, this convoy, now sighted
by the brothers as it descends from the Gilad Mountains in
Transjordan, must first pass through the Bet She'an
valley, continuing on towards Afula and Megiddo in Emek
Yizrael, on its way towards the coast.  Certainly, it
would NOT pass the hilly area of Dotan, for it would make
no sense for the caravan to climb the Gilboa mountain
range to cross through the Dotan area to reach the coast.
Let's explain why.

	Dotan, today the area of Jenin (about 20
kilometers north of Shechem) lies about 10 kilometers
SOUTH of this main highway (the Via Maris) as it crosses
Emek Yizrael.  In altitude, Dotan sits about 300-400
meters above Emek Yizrael.  Hence, from the hills of the
Dotan/Gilboa area (where the brothers are eating lunch),
one can enjoy of both the Gilad and parts of the Jezreel
Valley, and could certainly identify a large caravan
traveling in the Jezreel Valley below.  
	This explains why the brothers are able to see a
Yishmaelite caravan (convoy) as it was descending from the
Gilad towards Bet She'an on its way to  Emek Yizrael.
However, even though they could see it, it was still far
enough away to allow the brothers ample time to meet it,
when it would pass by some ten kilometers to the north.  
    Therefore, in order to sell Yosef to that caravan, the
brothers would have to first fetch Yosef from the pit, and
then carry him on a short trip till they meet the caravan
in Emek Yizrael.  They have ample time to 'finish their
meal', go fetch Yosef from the pit in the 'midbar' (a
kilometer or so away), and then meet the convoy to sell
Yosef.
 
SOMEBODY GOT THERE FIRST
	With this background, we now return to the story
in Chumash, while carefully noting the grammar of the next
pasuk:
"And a group of Midyanite TRADERS passed by, and THEY
pulled, and they lifted Yosef out of the pit, and THEY
sold Yosef to the Yishmaelim for twenty pieces of silver,
and brought Yosef to Egypt."  (37:28)

	Based on the wording of this pasuk, it's quite
clear that the Midyanim and the Yishmaelim are two
DIFFERENT groups of people!  To support this, note how the
Torah describes the Midyanim as local 'traders'
("socharim"), while the Yishmaelim are described as
international 'movers' ("orchat Yishmaelim - a transport
caravan).  Hence, a simple reading of this pasuk implies
that a group of Midyanite traders happened to pass by the
pit (they most probably heard Yosef screaming), and pulled
him out.  As these Midyanim are 'traders', they were
probably on their way to sell their wares (now including
Yosef) to the Yishmaelite caravan. 
	If this explanation is correct, then the MIDYANIM
themselves pulled Yosef out of the pit and sold him.
[After all, the brothers are never mentioned in this
pasuk.] 
[This interpretation also explains why the Torah needs to
tell us about both MIDYANIM and YISHMAELIM, for
understanding that these are two DIFFERENT groups is a
critical factor in the story, and not just an incidental
detail.]

DID REUVEN GET THERE 'FIRST' OR 'LAST'?
	So where were the brothers during all of this?
Most probably, still eating!  Recall our explanation
above: the brothers had thrown Yosef into a pit out in the
'midbar' and returned to their grazing area to eat.  They
are far enough away that they do not see or hear what
transpired between Yosef and the Midyanim!
	And WHERE was Reuven?  Again, as we explained
above, he must have been eating WITH his brothers.
However, as soon as he heard Yehuda's new plan (and the
brothers' agreement) to sell Yosef, he would have to get
back to the pit (before his brothers) to save Yosef - and
that's exactly what he does!  [But it's too late.]  Note
how this explanation fits perfectly into the next pasuk: 
"And Reuven RETURNED ("va-yashov Revuen el ha'bor") to the
pit, and behold, Yosef was no longer in the pit!;
		Then, he tore his clothes."    (see 37:29)

	Reuven is not the LAST brother to find out that
Yosef was sold (as commonly assumed).  Rather, he is the
FIRST brother to recognize that Yosef is missing!
	What can Reuven do?  Shocked, he immediately
returns to his brothers [probably by now eating dessert]
with the terrible news:
"And he RETURNED ['va-yashov'] to his brothers and said,
'The boy is gone!  And for myself, what am I going to do?"
(37:30). 

	Note the word 'va-yashov' [and Reuven RETURNED] in
both 37:29 and 37:30.  This verb proves that the brothers
could not have been eating near the pit, for if so, Reuven
would not need to 'RETURN' to them.  However, based on our
explanation above, 'va-yashov' in both psukim makes
perfect sense.  Since Reuven and his brothers are eating
away from the pit, Reuven must first RETURN to the pit,
then he must RETURN back to his brothers to tell them the
news - hence TWICE the verb 'va-yashov'!
[This also explains why the brothers don't answer Reuven
by informing him that they sold him.  Instead, the
brothers seem to be no less in shock than Reuven himself.]
	
WHAT DO THE BROTHERS THINK?
	At this point in the story the brothers must be
totally baffled, for they have no idea what happened to
Yosef.   If he escaped from the pit, then he probably
would have ran back home and in a short time, the brothers
would hear about it.  But he doesn't return home, and
hence they most probably assume that he was eaten by an
animal.  Note that in all of their conversations with
Yosef in Egypt, the consistently claim "ha'echad eineno"
[one (brother) is missing]; yet they never say that he was
sold.
[See 42:13 and 42:32.  See also 43:7, noting how the
brothers we definitely asked these questions during
interrogation - hence it would have been difficult for
them to lie about what happened to their other brother,
nor would they have any reason to lie about his fate, or
time to corroborate the same story beforehand.]

    Once the brothers realize that Yosef is gone, they
also don't want their father to think that he may lost,
nor would they want their father to accuse them of killing
him - so they plot once again.  They cleverly decide to
trick their father into thinking that Yosef had been
killed by a wild animal on his way to visit them, by
dipping Yosef's coat in blood and sending it ahead to
their father (see 37:31-32).  Their plan works, as when
Yaakov sees the coat he laments:
"My son's  coat -"CHAYA RA'A ACHALATU; tarof, taraf Yosef"
-  - he was surely devoured by a wild beast  (37:33). 

	By doing so, they cause their father to take
personal blame for Yosef's death; after all, it was
Yaakov's idea to send Yosef on the 'dangerous journey'
from Hebron to Shchem.
	Ironically, the end result of this final plan
echoes the brothers' original plan (see 37:20 "ve-amarnu -
chaya ra'a achalatu" & compare with 37:33).  Yaakov
reaches the conclusion that the brothers wanted, but they
themselves have no idea what happened!
	Even more ironic is how the brothers final plan
'to sell Yosef' came true, even though they never sold
him; and how (they thought that) their original plan - for
Yosef to die - came true, even though they never killed
him. 
	In retrospect, one could even suggest that the
brothers may have never been able to 'gather the courage'
to either kill or sell Yosef.  Despite their various plans
and intense hatred of Yosef, just as they had quickly
retracted from their first two plans to kill Yosef (see
37:22 & 26), they most probably would have retracted from
their plan to sell him as well.  
    Nevertheless: they talked; they planned; they plotted
- and in God's eyes - are considered guilty, even though
they never actually killed or sold Yosef.

WHAT DOES YOSEF THINK?
	So far, our explanation has followed
interpretation suggested by Rashbam and Chizkuni.  [I
recommend that you read their commentaries and note how
they reach the same conclusion regarding who sold Yosef,
even though they don't explain the events in the manner
that we did.]
	Even though this interpretation seems to explain
the psukim in Parshat Va'yeshev quite well, there is a
pasuk in Parshat Vayigash that seems to 'ruin' this entire
approach.  When Yosef finally reveals himself to his
brothers, he states explicitly:
"I am Yosef your brother, whom you SOLD to Egypt"(45:4)

	Based on this statement, it's quite clear that
Yosef himself thinks that his brothers SOLD him!  But if
our above interpretation is correct, Yosef should have
thought that the Midyanim had sold him, and not his
brothers!  In fact, this pasuk is most probably the
primary basis for the more popular interpretation
(advanced by Rashi and Radak - see Further Iyun section)
that the brothers indeed did sell Yosef. 
	The Chizkuni, bothered by this pasuk, explains
that Yosef knows that the Midyanites sold him, but since
the brothers threw him in the pit, it was the brothers
"who CAUSED me to be sold to Egypt".  
	Alternately, one could explain, based on the above
shiur that Yosef truly did think that his brothers had
sold him, even though the brothers themselves had no idea
concerning what really happened.
	To explain why, let's consider these events from
Yosef's perspective.
	Yosef was not aware of any of the brothers'
conversations.  All that he knew was that, as soon as he
arrived, his brothers took off his coat and threw him into
the pit.  A short time later, some Midyanim passed by,
took him out of the pit, and sold him to the Yishmaelim
who, later, sold him to the Egyptians.  Yosef, trying to
piece together what had happened, probably assumed that
his brothers had set it all up beforehand.  In other
words, he thought that the brothers told the Midyanim that
they had thrown Yosef in a certain pit, and that they
should take him from there to sell to the Yishmaelim. 
	If so, then Yosef was totally unaware that it was
only 'by chance' that the Midyanim were passing by, nor
did he think that the brothers originally wanted him to
die in the pit.  Rather, he thought all along that his
brothers had sold him, even though they had no idea what
had happened. 
    In next week's shiur, we will see how this
understanding can help us understand Yosef's behavior
during his many years in Egypt. It will also explain why
the brothers assume that Yosef is either missing (see
42:13) or dead (see 42:22 -"hineh gam damo nidrash"), even
though Yosef thinks that his brothers sold him (see 45:4).
[Furthermore, this interpretation also explains why Yosef
tells his cellmates (in prison) that he was 'stolen' from
the Land of Ivrim (see 40:15).]

WHAT DOES GOD THINK
	Even though the brothers had three different plans
for 'getting rid' of Yosef, God had a different plan.
	The Hand of Providence led the brothers to believe
that THEIR 'dream' [to rid themselves of Yosef] had come
true.  In reality, it was their plotting that eventually
led to the fulfillment of Yosef's dreams to come true.
	Finally, as will be seen in the story that
follows, this was all part of God's long-term plan for the
people of Israel to become a nation in the Land of Egypt,
as the forecasts of "brit bein ha'btarim" slowly begin to
unfold, in a manner that Avraham Avinu would have never
dreamt.

						shabbat
shalom,
						menachem

FOR FURTHER IYUN 
================
A.  THE HAFTARA - [WHAT AMOS THOUGHT]
    According to the Haftara for Parshat Vayeshev, from
Amos chapters 1 & 2, it would seem that the navi thinks
that the brothers sold Yosef, as it states:
"Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel,
yea, for four, I will not reverse it: - 'al michram
b'kesef tzadik...' - because they sell the righteous
[one?] for money, and the needy for a pair of shoes..."
(see Amos 2:5-6)

	However, a closer study of Sefer Amos shows that
the navi is not talking about Yosef and his brothers,
rather - he is complaining about the people of Israel at
that time.  In other words, Israel is not being punished
for the sins of their forefathers, rather they are being
punished for their own sins.  To prove this, simply note
this very same theme in Amos chapter 8:
"Hear this, you that would swallow the needy, and destroy
the poor of the land, Saying: 'When will the new moon be
gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may
set forth corn? making the ephah [a dry measure]  small,
and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances of
deceit; 
 - 'lknot b'kessef dalim, v'evyon b'aavur naalaim"
(compare with 2:6) - so that we may buy the poor for
money, and the needy for a pair of shoes... "  (see Amos
8:4-6) 

	The navi may intentionally employ a phrase that
may 'echo' how the brothers treated Yosef, maybe to
emphasize how Am Yisrael was supposed to learn from the
stories of Chumash how 'not' to act - but surely, his
primary complaint is about the behavior of his own
generation.


B. RASHI'S SHITTA
	To explain Rashi's 'shitta' (opinion) that the
brothers sold Yosef, we must return to the two questions
raised earlier in the shiur: i.e. where are the brothers
eating, and where Reuven is - and change our conclusions.
	According to this opinion, the brothers sat down
to eat nearby the pit, and for some reason (see below)
Reuven left them.  
	Then, there are two ways to explain what happened
next.  Either when the Midyanim came by, the brothers
employed their services as 'middlemen' to sell Yosef to
the Yishmaelim (see Rashbam's second explanation), OR
possibly, the term Yishmaelim is synonymous with the term
Midyanim (see Radak).

	To explain why Reuven had left his brothers, Rashi
offers two reasons- either he went 'home' to take care of
his father, or he had taken a short walk to do some
'soul-searching' (see Rashi & Radak).

	Re: Rashi's quote of the Midrash that it was
Reuven's turn to go home to take care of his father, it
would be difficult to consider this pshat, for it's over
100 kilometers from Hebron to Dotan, and hence it would be
totally against Reuven's own plan to save Yosef, from him
to leave his brothers at a time like this!
    One could suggest that this Midrash is not coming to
explain pshat about what 'happened', but rather gives us
insight regarding how 'frum' the brothers were, and the
fact that they cared about the mitzvah of  'kibud av', but
their hatred of Yosef was much greater than their love for
their father.
	If so, what point is this Midrash making regarding
the nature of 'sin'at achim'.
	Rashi's second opinion, that Reuven was 'fasting',
may relate to Reuven's own plan - as discussed below:

C. WHAT'S IN IT FOR REUVEN!
    For some reason, Reuven is interested in saving Yosef.
Why does Reuven suddenly become so dedicated to his
father?
	One could suggest that Yaakov was quite angry with
Reuven since the incident with Bilha (see 35:22), after
which he was most likely cursed by his father (see 49:4),
and hence lost his 'bechora'.  Reuven may have hoped that
by saving Yosef from the brothers, he would 'prove
himself' once again worthy to his father.  This would
explain his reaction when he tells his brothers that Yosef
is missing - "va-ani ana ani ba".  This was his big chance
to redeem himself.  Now, it only looks worse for him.
After all, should Yaakov find out what happened, bottom
line, it was Reuven's idea to throw him in the pit!  For
Reuven, this could have been 'strike three'!  [Just a
thought.] 

D. WHY THE BROTHERS HATED YOSEF
    One could suggest that the brothers' hatred of Yosef
may have been more than just 'petty sibling jealousy'.
Considering that they all realized that they were a chosen
family, with great goals for their future, and also
realizing that in previous generations, certain children
were chosen, and others 'rejected' - they may have felt
that it was their spiritual 'responsibility' to 'expel'
Yosef from this 'chosen family', considering his behavior.
    Examine Yosef's dreams.  Compare them to Yitzchak's
original bracha to Eisav /Yaakov, and the standard
blessing of bechira.
    How would this confirm the brothers' fear? Do the
brothers have reason to believe that Yaakov is making a
mistake by favoring Yosef?  Do they have a precedent for
'intervening'?
    



-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: vayesh1.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 58636 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mail.atlchai.org/pipermail/par-lite/attachments/20091209/34b67c35/attachment-0001.pdf