Kommentar zu Bereschit 50:21

וידבר אל לבם means HE SPOKE words that found ready entrance INTO THEIR HEART: Before you came down hither people spread rumours about me that I was born a slave; through you it became public that I am a free-man by birth. If I were to kill you what would people say? “He saw a party of fine young men and he prided himself on his relationship with them, saying “These are my brothers”, but afterwards he killed them. Have you ever heard of a man killing his brothers?!” (Genesis Rabbah 100:9) Another interpretation is: He said to them, “Ten lights could not extinguish one light; how, then, can one light extinguish ten lights?” (Megillah 16b).

וינחם אותם וידבר אל לבם, “he comforted them and spoke to their heart.” Rashi has this to say about these words of comfort: Joseph demonstrated to the brothers how his own status had been made more secure by their very existence. As long a they had not come to Egypt he had been suspected of being a slave who by a quirk of fate had risen to power. Ever since the arrival of his brothers such an accusation could not be sustained. If he were to revenge himself on them now these same people would conclude that they had not really been his brothers at all but had been hired by him to play that part in order to legitimise himself as a free man. After all, who would believe that he killed his actual brothers!? Moreover, from a logical point of view, if the ten of them had been unable to extinguish his light, how could he single-handedly hope to extinguish their collective lights?

Ten lights cannot extinguish one light... [You might ask: Why did Yoseif compare them to lights? The answer is:] Because the twelve tribes correspond to the twelve stars which illuminate the whole world. Therefore he mentioned to them “ten lights.” I.e., he was saying that despite their plan to kill him, he was saved from them because each tribe is like a constellation in the heavens which cannot be destroyed. And surely he alone is unable to destroy them. But it cannot simply mean that [since ten could not kill him, surely] he cannot kill ten. This would be no proof because Yoseif was a king and could order a thousand people to kill them. (Gur Aryeh)

אנכי אכלכל אתכם ist nicht wohl so zu fassen, als ob Josef seiner Brüder Hauptbesorgnis zunächst auf die materielle Unterstützung bezogen hätte. Eine solche Voraussetzung ist ja auch durch das וינחם אותם וידבר על לכם beseitigt. Vielmehr: Noch einmal, fürchtet nicht, dass mit des Vaters Tod eine Änderung in meiner Gesinnung vorgegangen sei. Vielmehr werdet ihr täglich den Beweis in Händen haben, dass ich der Alte bin und bleibe. — נחם ,וינחם אותם ja Trost und Reue, beides eine völlige Sinnesänderung in der bisherigen Ansicht über etwas. Man hat bisher etwas für Recht gehalten, sich vielleicht gar damit gebrüstet, sieht nun plötzlich, dass es Unrecht sei und man sich dessen zu schämen habe: Reue. So würde auch wahrer Trost nur ein solcher sein, der den von einem schmerzlichen Leid Betroffenen zu der Überzeugung bringt, dass auch dies zum Heile gereiche, nicht wie der "babylonische Trost" spricht: "was kann man dazu tun, man muss sich in das Unabänderliche fügen" (B. K. 38a.), sondern das Bewusstsein belebt: würde man die Verhältnisse so durch- und überschauen, wie Gott sie durchschaut und überschaut, so würde man es nicht ändern, selbst wenn man es vermöchte. So sucht auch Josef sie hier erst zu einer ganz entgegengesetzten Ansicht über die Vergangenheit zu bringen: "Gott hat euch zum Werkzeug meines und so vieler Menschen Glückes gebraucht" etc. und dann: וידבר על לבם nicht nur: אל לבם, sondern: על לבם, so, dass seine Worte und Gründe Macht über ihre Gefühle bekamen. נחמה וידבר על לבם. :wendet sich nicht ans Herz, sondern an den Verstand, und dann (Vgl. 25, 29).

וידבר אל לבם, “he addressed their hearts trying to put them at ease.” According to Rashi, he used logic to convince them of his sincerity, by saying that if ten lamps had not been able to extinguish one lamp, how could he a single (lamp) individual, hope to extinguish ten lamps? He referred to the smoke emanating from the fire in each lamp.