<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2995" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>*************************************************************<BR>
THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]<BR> In Memory of
Rabbi Abraham Leibtag<BR> Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag<BR>*************************************************************</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PARSHAT VA'YESHEV - Who Sold Yosef?
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Could it be that the brothers
DID NOT sell Yosef! <BR> 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!<BR> In the following shiur, we explore this
fascinating possibility (and its consequences) while taking into account some
important geographic considerations.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>INTRODUCTION<BR> 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'?<BR> So what difference does it make?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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!<BR> 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.<BR> 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PLAN A - THE BROTHERS / FIRST DEGREE
MURDER<BR> 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. <BR> 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]:<BR>"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).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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.
<BR> 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.<BR> [See further iyun for an explanation of why specifically Reuven
wants to save Yosef.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PLAN B - REUVEN'S PLAN / SECOND DEGREE
MURDER<BR> As you read Reuven's plan, be sure to differentiate between what
Reuven SAYS (to his brothers) and what Reuven THINKS (to himself):<BR>"... 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 --'<BR>[End of
quote! Then, the narrator continues by informing the reader of Reuven's true
intentions...]<BR> "in order to save him [Yosef] from them and return him
to his father." (37:22). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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.<BR> 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.<BR>[Compare this to the brothers' original plan to throw
him into "one of the pits" (37:20) - possibly a pit closer by.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Unaware of Reuven's true intentions, the
brothers agree. <BR> 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). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>WHERE ARE THEY EATING?<BR> 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.<BR> Detail #1 - WHERE did they sit down to eat?<BR>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?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Detail #2 - WHERE is REUVEN during this
meal?<BR>Is he eating with his brothers, or did he go off to somewhere else on
his own? [And if so, for what reason?]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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'.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>(1) Where are the brothers
eating?<BR> 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
<A href="http://www.tanach.org/map3d.pdf">www.tanach.org/map3d.pdf</A>
.]<BR> <BR> 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.
<BR> 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. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>2) Where is Reuven?<BR>
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!<BR> 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! <BR> After all, not
joining them for lunch could raise their suspicion. Furthermore, the Torah
never tells us that he left his brothers.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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. <BR>[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.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PLAN C - YEHUDA'S PLAN / A 'QUICK
BUCK'<BR> 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:<BR>"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. <BR> 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).<BR>[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.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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'. <BR> 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:<BR>"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)<BR>[Carefully read this pasuk again, noting the difference between the
Midyanim and Yishmaelim.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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!<BR> <BR> To appreciate the logic of this
interpretation, we must provide a little geographic background, which is
essential towards understanding what transpires in these psukim.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>THE ANCIENT TRADE ROUTE<BR> 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).<BR> 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! <BR> 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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. <BR> 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. <BR> 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.<BR> <BR>SOMEBODY GOT THERE FIRST<BR> With this background, we
now return to the story in Chumash, while carefully noting the grammar of the
next pasuk:<BR>"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)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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.
<BR> 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.] <BR>[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.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DID REUVEN GET THERE 'FIRST' OR 'LAST'?<BR> 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!<BR> 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: <BR>"And Reuven RETURNED ("va-yashov Revuen
el ha'bor") to the pit, and behold, Yosef was no longer in the
pit!;<BR> Then, he tore his clothes." (see
37:29)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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!<BR> What can Reuven do? Shocked,
he immediately returns to his brothers [probably by now eating dessert] with the
terrible news:<BR>"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).
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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'!<BR>[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.]<BR> <BR>WHAT DO THE BROTHERS
THINK?<BR> 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.<BR>[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.]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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:<BR>"My son's coat
-"CHAYA RA'A ACHALATU; tarof, taraf Yosef" - - he was surely devoured by a
wild beast (37:33). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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.<BR> 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!<BR> 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. <BR> 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. <BR> Nevertheless: they talked; they planned;
they plotted - and in God's eyes - are considered guilty, even though they never
actually killed or sold Yosef.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>WHAT DOES YOSEF THINK?<BR> 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.]<BR> 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:<BR>"I am Yosef your
brother, whom you SOLD to Egypt"(45:4)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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. <BR> 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". <BR> 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.<BR> To explain why, let's consider these events from Yosef's
perspective.<BR> 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. <BR> 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. <BR> 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).<BR>[Furthermore, this
interpretation also explains why Yosef tells his cellmates (in prison) that he
was 'stolen' from the Land of Ivrim (see 40:15).]</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>WHAT DOES GOD THINK<BR> Even though the
brothers had three different plans for 'getting rid' of Yosef, God had a
different plan.<BR> 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.<BR> 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> shabbat
shalom,<BR> menachem</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>FOR FURTHER IYUN <BR>================<BR>A.
THE HAFTARA - [WHAT AMOS THOUGHT]<BR> 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:<BR>"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)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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:<BR>"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; <BR> - '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) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> 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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><BR>B. RASHI'S SHITTA<BR> 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.<BR> According to this opinion, the brothers sat down to
eat nearby the pit, and for some reason (see below) Reuven left them.
<BR> 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).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> 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).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> 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!<BR> 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.<BR> If so, what point is this Midrash making
regarding the nature of 'sin'at achim'.<BR> Rashi's second opinion, that
Reuven was 'fasting', may relate to Reuven's own plan - as discussed
below:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>C. WHAT'S IN IT FOR REUVEN!<BR> For some reason, Reuven
is interested in saving Yosef. Why does Reuven suddenly become so
dedicated to his father?<BR> 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.] </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>D. WHY THE BROTHERS HATED YOSEF<BR> 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.<BR> Examine Yosef's
dreams. Compare them to Yitzchak's original bracha to Eisav /Yaakov, and
the standard blessing of bechira.<BR> 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'?<BR> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>