Vayechi | The True Face of Yosef

 

I. An Old Confrontation and a New Directive

The reader of Parashat Vayechi may at first receive the impression that all the upheavals of the book of Bereishit are now behind us. The once-divided family is now reunited, and Yaakov enjoys many years of serenity, surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

However, in the very last verses of the book, this tranquil and happy picture is suddenly torn to shreds:

And when Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said: Perhaps Yosef will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did to him. (Bereishit 50:15)

It turns out that the tension born many years ago, due to Yaakov's showing preference to Yosef over his brothers, did not go away but reappeared after Yaakov's death.[1] The brothers, who fear terrible revenge, inform Yosef[2] of an unknown testament that Yaakov left behind, in which he asks Yosef to forgive his brothers for their evil:[3]

And they sent a message to Yosef, saying: Your father commanded before he died, saying: So shall you say to Yosef: Forgive, I pray you now, the transgression of your brothers, and their sin, for that they did to you evil. And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. And Yosef wept when they spoke to him. (50: 16-17) 

This directive, which had not previously been mentioned even by way of a hint,[4] aroused the suspicion of many of the commentators and academic scholars, who saw in it a desperate attempt by the brothers to save themselves from Yosef's expected revenge.[5] In this way, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel expounded:

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: Great is peace, for God wrote things in the Torah that were not [true], only for the sake of peace… For when Yaakov died: "Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead," what did they do? They went to Bilha, and said to her: Go in to Yosef, and say to him: "Your father commanded before his death, saying." But Yaakov never commanded anything of all these things. Rather they said it on their own. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: See how much ink has been spilled, and how many pens have been broken, and how many hides have been tanned, and how many children have been lashed, to learn something in the Torah that never was! See how great is the power of peace! (Tanchuma [Buber] Tzav 10)[6]

Scripture attributes this attempt to the death of Yaakov, but what is the connection between Yaakov's death and Yosef's expected revenge?

II. Is Yosef Following in the Footsteps of Esav?

The wording used to describe the brothers' fear of Yosef's revenge, "…it may be that Yosef will hate us (yistemeinu)…" (50:15), brings to mind the description of Esav's earlier aspirations for revenge against their father Yaakov:

And Esav hated (vayistom) Yaakov because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. And Esav said in his heart: “Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I slay my brother Yaakov." (Bereishit 27:41) 

The use of the rare verb sin-tet-mem, which is common to both these verses,[7] calls our attention to the similarity between the circumstances of the two stories and opens a window to understanding how the brothers see Yosef. Just as Esav hated Yaakov for stealing his blessings, so Yosef is liable to hate them for having sold him into slavery. Just as Esav sought revenge against Yaakov, so Yosef is liable to seek revenge against them. And just as Esav was prepared to push off his revenge, saying: "Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand," so Yosef is liable to push off his revenge until after the "mourning for his father" (50:10).[8]

All of a sudden, it seems that the peace of recent years was not entirely real. The brothers were ready to believe that Yosef's kind words, as well as his demonstrated concern for the well-being of their families, were not a sign of generosity but of continued hypocrisy (and it is possible that in response, they too were hypocritical in their peaceful behavior toward Yosef). It turns out that in their opinion, Yosef neither forgot nor forgave.

When the brothers see Yosef's emotional response to their words, they offer to accept upon themselves a terrible punishment: "And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said: Behold, we are your bondmen" (50:18). If they see becoming Yosef's slaves as a rescue, one can only imagine how terrible the revenge must have been that they believed Yosef was preparing for them all those years as he waited for his father to die.

III. Why Did the Brothers Suspect Yosef?

It is clear now what caused the terror of the brothers to erupt specifically after the death of Yaakov. But still, what led the brothers to doubt Yosef's forgiveness in the first place? To answer this question, we must try to understand how the brothers interpreted Yosef’s actions in the last few parashot.

The brothers are more familiar with the arrogant boy Yosef had been in his youth than with the man he had become. They do not know about the many pits into which Yosef was cast and the amazing growth process he underwent in the depths of slavery. When Yosef's brothers meet him again, he appears before them as an arrogant and suspicious Egyptian, seeking their evil and making false accusations against them. It is true that this plan taught Yosef how deep was the process of repentance that his brothers underwent, but at the same time, it made the brothers believe that Yosef himself had not changed at all.

The brothers do not know what Yosef wanted to achieve with his complex and threatening plan, but it is clear to them what stopped him from completing it. This was Yehuda's moving speech at the beginning of Parashat Vayigash:

The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die… and if you take this one also from me, and harm befall him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his soul is bound up with the lad's soul; it will come to pass, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die; and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave… For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I look upon the evil that shall come on my father. (44:22-34) 

Yehuda repeated in his speech over and over again the argument that the actions of the "Egyptian" viceroy are killing their father. Yosef, who had not fully appreciated how much his actions were endangering his beloved father, was no longer capable of continuing his charade:

Then Yosef could not refrain himself… And he wept aloud… And Yosef said to his brothers: I am Yosef; does my father yet live? (45:1-3)

The brothers concluded that it was not feelings of brotherhood that caused Yosef to put aside the libel of espionage, the libel involving the goblet, and any other libel that he may have prepared for them. It seems to the brothers that it was only concern for his father's life that stopped Yosef from carrying out his planned cruel revenge: "And his brothers could not answer him; for they were affrighted at his presence" (45:3).

Yosef's words of consolation at that point did not help to dispel their suspicion, precisely because they contained no resentment:

And he said: I am Yosef your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. (45:4-5)

Not only does Yosef not take revenge against them, and not only does he not even want to take revenge against them, but he is troubled by the thought that the story of the sale would make them sad and angry. This is incredible sensitivity! But the brothers do not believe him. They cannot believe that the arrogant boy who still lives in their memory has risen to such heights of love and understanding! For them, Yosef is still putting on an act, only he has replaced the disguise of a viceroy with the disguise of a loving brother:

And he fell upon his brother Binyamin's neck, and wept; and Binyamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers, and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. (45:14-15)

The symmetry between Yosef and Binyamin, who weep upon each other's necks, emphasizes the gap between Yosef's excited actions toward the rest of his brothers and their cold reaction toward him. It is possible that with these very actions, the suspicion was first sown that Yosef was following in the footsteps of their uncle, Esav. Falling upon another person's neck with weeping and kisses is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, other than in Esav's encounter with Yaakov: "And Esav ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept" (33:4).[9]

The punishment that the brothers are prepared to accept upon themselves in our story: "And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said: Behold, we are your bondmen" (50:18), returns the relationship between Yosef and his brothers to the very place that it had been at the end of the libel of the goblet, a moment before Yehuda’s emotional speech at the beginning of Parashat Vayigash:

And Yehuda and his brothers came to Yosef's house… and they fell before him on the ground. And Yehuda said: What shall we say to my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found. (44:14-16) 

IV. The Brothers Do Not Believe They Deserve Forgiveness Without Punishment

The brothers’ return to their past offer to be slaves teaches us not only what the brothers think about Yosef, but also what they think about themselves. As we saw in our earlier studies, Yehuda's statement: "God has found out the iniquity of your servants," as well as the acceptance of the punishment: "We are my lord's bondmen" (44:16), indicate the deep regret that is shaping the lives of those who wanted to sell their brother into slavery. The guilt that haunts the brothers causes them to seek God's punishing hand in the troubles that befall them.

A hint that the story of the fabricated directive indicates not only a desire to evade revenge, but also a covert desire to be punished at last, can be found in the word with which the brothers begin their remarks: "Perhaps [lu] Yosef will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did to him" (50:15).

The brothers' choosing to open their remarks with the word "lu" is puzzling, as we see from the commentary of Rashi:

"Perhaps he will hate us" – This word has many meanings. There are examples of "lu" used to denote a petition, having the meaning of "Would that," as for instance: "Would that [lu] it might be according to your word" (Bereishit 30:34)… There is an example of "lu" used in the sense of "perhaps": "Perhaps he will hate us," but there is no other similar example in Scripture. (Rashi, 50:15)[10]

The narrative context forces Rashi to explain the word "lu" in the sense of "perhaps," despite the fact that nowhere else in Scripture does the word "lu" bear that meaning.[11] But is it really so clear from the context that the brothers wish to avoid punishment? The continuation of their words makes it very clear that they do not consider themselves innocent people or victims of Yosef's arbitrariness. On the contrary! The false directive was not intended to cleanse the brothers from sin, for they define their actions towards Yosef as a "transgression," "sin," and "evil." They wronged Yosef, and if Yosef responds in kind, that would not be a sin[12] but rather recompense that they rightfully deserve.[13]

In view of this, it may be suggested that the word "lu" is used here in an ambiguous manner.[14] Overtly, it points to the brothers' fear that "perhaps Yosef hates us" – a reasonable interpretation in terms of the context, but linguistically exceptional. Covertly, it reflects the brothers' hope to finally receive their due punishment – "would that Yosef should hate us" – a less reasonable interpretation in terms of the context, but one that accords with the ordinary usage of the word "lu."

The brothers, who have never been punished for their sin, cannot believe that they are worthy of forgiveness, and thus they cannot believe that Yosef really forgave them.

V. Yosef’s Response to the Directive

How is Yosef supposed to react when he finds out that the brothers he has been supporting for so many years believe he is a monster in disguise? Shouldn't that provoke old hatreds?

And Yosef wept when they spoke to him… And Yosef said to them: Fear not; for am I in the place of God? And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save a great people alive. Now therefore fear you not; I will sustain you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. (50:17-21) 

 

As we saw above, the brothers believed that the goodwill between them and Yosef was based exclusively on the cry: "Does my father yet live?" (45:3). In the eyes of the brothers, Yaakov’s death heralds the death of that goodwill, and they seek to return their relationship with Yosef to the libel involving the goblet, with the alienation and punishment inherent in it. Yosef, in contrast, seeks to convince his brothers that despite the fact that Yaakov is no longer alive, the scene to which they should go back is precisely the scene in which Yosef revealed his identity, with the brotherhood that was supposed to be born in that moment.[15] 

Just as Yosef wept when he revealed his identity to the brothers when his father was still alive: "And he wept aloud" (45:2), so did he weep when he reaffirmed his fraternity with his brothers: "And Yosef wept when they spoke to him" (50:17). The religious interpretation that Yosef gave to the evil deeds that his brothers had performed against him: "And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here; for God did send me before you to preserve life" (45:5), he once again confirms: "And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" (50:20).[16]

If Yosef believed in the days of the famine that his job was to save: "to give you a remnant on the earth, and to save you alive for a great deliverance" (45:7), now he sees his task as ensuring his brothers’ prosperity even in the absence of famine: "to save a great people alive" (50:20). If in the days of the famine, Yosef undertook to feed Yaakov and his household: "And there will I sustain you; for there are yet five years of famine…" (45:11), now Yosef undertakes to continue supporting his brothers and their descendants after the famine and Yaakov's death: "I will sustain you, and your little ones" (50:21).

And most amazing of all, Yosef (the injured party!) takes upon himself the duty of addressing the brothers' sense of hurt. As he said to them then: "And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves" (45:5), and added out of concern: "See that you fall not out by the way" (45:24), so he acts now as well: "And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them" (50:21).[17]

The brothers believed that with the death of Yaakov, the true face of Yosef would be revealed. In that, they were right! And how beautiful is the true face of Yosef, and how long is the road that the boy Yosef traveled until he became Yosef the Tzaddik.

(Translated by David Strauss)