From The Rabbi’s Study…December 19, 20, 2025/29, 30 Kislev 5786
The Torah Portion continues when Joseph is released from prison and he interprets Pharaoh’s two dreams. Joseph is rewarded by being put in charge of the land. Then famine strikes, and Jacob sends his sons, except Benjamin, to Egypt. Joseph seizes Simeon and tells the brothers that he will not go free until they return with their youngest brother. Joseph tests his brothers to see how they feel about their wrongdoing of long ago.
Judaism concepts and values are Responsibility, Admitting one’s mistakes, and the Mitzvah of doing Teshuvah.
The story of Joseph continues with Judah making himself responsible for the welfare of his youngest brother, Benjamin. The sense of responsibility for individuals in need of special care is one of the marks of maturity. The rabbinic adage that “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeah” (“all Israelites are responsible for one another”) is the sense of solidarity that should and does link the Jewish people throughout the entire world. There is a slight change one begins to see in the brothers. Benjamin is Joseph’s full brother from Rachel and Jacob; all the other brothers are half siblings from different mothers.
There are many questions that come into play. One is, how can a Hebrew slave become second to Pharaoh? Next, is Jacob going to allow (and part with) his youngest son from his union with Rachel to go down into Egypt? Another question for you is, are all the sons of Jacob going to be allowed to leave and return home? And the last question is, why did the brothers not recognize Joseph?
When Abraham and Sarah left to travel out of Ur to the Land G-d would show them, another group of people also left that region to become the Egyptians known as the Hyksos (Hebrew for Knell). That Joseph becomes a Vizier, second in command under Pharaoh, illustrates that the Hebrews and Hyksos were entwined with each other for a period of time. This narrative from Genesis gives a detailed description of Egyptian life and culture. Joseph would wear the gold collar of the grand Visier! Pharaoh gives Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah (food-man of the life). All these changes of Joseph occurred 17 years after the brothers put him into the pit and sold him into slavery. Also, Joseph learned to speak the Egyptian language and understand the culture in order to survive.
Later, a Pharaoh ruled who did not remember Joseph, which was 400 years after the death of Joseph, and not from the Hyksos.
A little spoiler alert… Benjamin will travel down to Egypt, and Joseph will continue to test his brothers. He even places them around a table according to their ages. Hmmm, the brothers notice this, yet they still did not comprehend how the Vizier might know their ages. Joseph was 30 years old and had spent 12 years in prison.
When Joseph interpreted dreams he always told people that it was from G-d. Everything that happened to Joseph was from G-d, and after Joseph’s rise into such a high position he forgot all his ill fate. “All my toil, and all my father’s house.” (Genesis 41:51)
With the sad horrific news coming from Australia of our Jewish people being killed and wounded, warnings of cancellations of New Year’s Eve celebration in France, and Antisemitism is at its highest ever WE MUST STAND STRONG TOGETHER AND LIVE A JEWISH LIFE!
May we pray for the day that the hateful rhetoric and violence against the Jewish people ends speedily.
May we pray for all the people that were killed, the wounded, and for their families.
May our Hanukkah menorahs’ LIGHT take away all this Darkness!
Shabbat Shalom v’Hag Urim (festival of lights)
Rabbi Helene Ainbinder
