Musar for Amos 2:6

From all that I have written the significance of Yehudah, Joseph and Benjamin is quite apparent. The Temple, which was built on tribal property belonging to Benjamin, was the site on which the feet of the שכינה rested, as we know from Isaiah 60,13: "To adorn the site of My Sanctuary, to glorify the place where My feet rest." We also have Exodus 3,5 in which Moses is told at the burning bush: "Take off your sandals from your feet for the ground you are standing on is holy ground. It is also significant that the price received by the brothers for the sale of Joseph is described by the prophet Amos 2,6 as the price of a pair of sandals, whereas in 8,6 the prophet described that G–d will not forgive those who buy the needy for the price of a pair of sandals. [In all these examples the sandals symbolize the foundation, basis. Ed.]