Chasidut su Genesi 37:7
וְ֠הִנֵּה אֲנַ֜חְנוּ מְאַלְּמִ֤ים אֲלֻמִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֛ה קָ֥מָה אֲלֻמָּתִ֖י וְגַם־נִצָּ֑בָה וְהִנֵּ֤ה תְסֻבֶּ֙ינָה֙ אֲלֻמֹּ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וַתִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖יןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִֽי׃
Parevami che noi legassimo dei covoni in mezzo la campagna, e che il mio covone si alzasse, ed anche restasse ritto; indi i vostri covoni si mettessero in circolo, e si prostrassero al mio covone.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 42,5-6. “Joseph’s brothers arrived (in Egypt) and bowed down, and prostrated themselves to him.” (The ruler in charge of grain sales) וירא יוסף את אחיו ויכירם ויתנכר אליהם, “When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them and he acted as if he was a stranger to them.” We need to understand what the Torah intended to teach us by writing that Joseph acted as a stranger to them, when this would have become apparent as soon as we read about their dialogue.
I believe the line is introduced by the Torah to teach us that the Torah considers Joseph’s conduct at this time as justified. Joseph’s dream had shown him that his brothers would at one stage prostrate themselves before him. (Genesis 37,7) His brothers had opposed the idea that he would become king, ruling over them. It is the way of the world that if someone has been vanquished in a battle or duel, that if he knows who the victor is, he will aim to take revenge sooner or later. If the vanquished person does not know who has defeated him, his embarrassment and desire for revenge will be far less, as other people presumably are also unaware of his having been the loser in a conflict. In our story, Joseph had become the victor; now that his dream had been fulfilled and his brothers had prostrated themselves before him this was all that concerned him, as he no longer felt that his brothers’ accusations that he was an egomaniac, were true. Had the brothers been able to, they would have made every effort to prevent Joseph’s dream from becoming fulfilled. They would have harboured ill will against him as soon as they had realized that his dream had come true, just as they had imagined him as hoping that it would. Therefore, Joseph contented himself with the knowledge that his dream had indeed been fulfilled, making sure that this would not have been at the expense of his brothers becoming upset about this and probably hostile towards him. He therefore acted in a manner that would convince the brothers that the person before whom they had prostrated themselves had not been their long lost brother. Seeing that the person before whom the brothers prostrated themselves was a duly appointed king, -not even one who had come to the throne by revolution- they did not mind having to prostrate themselves before a king such as he, especially as he volunteered- against payment of course- to save them from total economic ruin. Joseph on his part did all that he could to not let the brothers feel that he had bested them. When the Torah describes the sequence of this encounter with the words: “they prostrated themselves and he recognized them, etc.,” this is to hint that it now dawned on Joseph that just as he had recognized them, they might recognize him; in order to avoid their becoming embarrassed he then devised a scheme to disguise himself in every way possible so that they did not recognize him. The Torah reports this to show that his disguise worked.
It is also possible to see in the sequence of these verses an explanation why during all these years (22) Joseph had never sent a message to his father showing that he was alive and even prosperous. He knew that his dreams would become true prophetic visions and that that as a result of this his brothers would become deeply saddened and frustrated. Once his father would have been informed of his being alive and well, this would become known to the brothers even if their father did not tell them outright. Yaakov’s whole bearing would change from that of a father grieving for a lost son, and the brothers would notice this.
I believe the line is introduced by the Torah to teach us that the Torah considers Joseph’s conduct at this time as justified. Joseph’s dream had shown him that his brothers would at one stage prostrate themselves before him. (Genesis 37,7) His brothers had opposed the idea that he would become king, ruling over them. It is the way of the world that if someone has been vanquished in a battle or duel, that if he knows who the victor is, he will aim to take revenge sooner or later. If the vanquished person does not know who has defeated him, his embarrassment and desire for revenge will be far less, as other people presumably are also unaware of his having been the loser in a conflict. In our story, Joseph had become the victor; now that his dream had been fulfilled and his brothers had prostrated themselves before him this was all that concerned him, as he no longer felt that his brothers’ accusations that he was an egomaniac, were true. Had the brothers been able to, they would have made every effort to prevent Joseph’s dream from becoming fulfilled. They would have harboured ill will against him as soon as they had realized that his dream had come true, just as they had imagined him as hoping that it would. Therefore, Joseph contented himself with the knowledge that his dream had indeed been fulfilled, making sure that this would not have been at the expense of his brothers becoming upset about this and probably hostile towards him. He therefore acted in a manner that would convince the brothers that the person before whom they had prostrated themselves had not been their long lost brother. Seeing that the person before whom the brothers prostrated themselves was a duly appointed king, -not even one who had come to the throne by revolution- they did not mind having to prostrate themselves before a king such as he, especially as he volunteered- against payment of course- to save them from total economic ruin. Joseph on his part did all that he could to not let the brothers feel that he had bested them. When the Torah describes the sequence of this encounter with the words: “they prostrated themselves and he recognized them, etc.,” this is to hint that it now dawned on Joseph that just as he had recognized them, they might recognize him; in order to avoid their becoming embarrassed he then devised a scheme to disguise himself in every way possible so that they did not recognize him. The Torah reports this to show that his disguise worked.
It is also possible to see in the sequence of these verses an explanation why during all these years (22) Joseph had never sent a message to his father showing that he was alive and even prosperous. He knew that his dreams would become true prophetic visions and that that as a result of this his brothers would become deeply saddened and frustrated. Once his father would have been informed of his being alive and well, this would become known to the brothers even if their father did not tell them outright. Yaakov’s whole bearing would change from that of a father grieving for a lost son, and the brothers would notice this.
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