Midrasz do Rodzaju 45:12

It is written (Gen. 45, 22) To each of them he gave changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave … five changes of raiment. Is it possible that that which gave trouble to Joseph's father (Ib. b) proved a stumbling block to Joseph? For Rabba b. Mehasia quoted R. Chama b. Guria, who said in the name of Rab: "On account of two Selaim worth of silk which Jacob bestowed on Joseph in preference to his other sons, the brothers became jealous of him, and brought about the entrance of our ancestors into Egypt." "This was a hint that from him would descend a man who would wear five royal garments," said R. Benjamin b. Jepheth, in the name of R. Elazar. Who is he? Mordecai, concerning whom it is written (Est. 8, 15) And Mordecai went out in a royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a cloak of fine linen and purple. (Gen. 45, 14) And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's necks. How many necks had Benjamin? R. Benjamin b. Jepheth, in the name of R. Elazar, said: "He wept for the two Temples, that were destined to be in Benjamin's land and were doomed to destruction." And Benjamin wept upon his neck; i.e., he wept for the Tabernacle of Shilo, that was designated in Joseph's part of the land, and was destined to be destroyed. (Ib.) And behold, your own eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin. "This means," said R. Benjamin b. Jepheth in the name of R. Elazar, "that he (Joseph) said to them, 'Just as I have nothing in my heart against Benjamin, who took no part in my sale, so have I nothing against you, who sold me.'" (Ib.) It is my mouth the best things of Egypt? R. Benjamin b. Jepheth, in the name of R. Elazar, explained this: "What I speak with my mouth, I think in my heart." (Ib. 23) And to his father he sent after this manner with the best things of Egypt. What is the meaning of that speaketh unto you. R. Benjamin b. Jepheth, in the name of R. Elazar, said: "He sent him old wine, which strengthens the minds of old when they drink it."

Then the Holy One, blessed be He, performed a miracle by restoring their souls to them. Joseph said: “Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you (Gen. 45:12); for I am speaking to you in Hebrew.” They would not believe him until he bared his body and showed them the sign of the covenant (i.e., his circumcision). Why was all that necessary? When he (was sold into slavery and) left them, he did not possess any signs of maturity but now he stood before them like a king, with the mark of maturity upon him (his beard).

“A locked garden is my sister, my bride; a locked fountainhead, a sealed spring. Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates, with delicious fruit, henna with nard” (Song of Songs 4:12–13).
“A locked garden is my sister, my bride” – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: [This is analogous] to a king who had two daughters, one older and one younger, and he did not devote attention to arranging their marriages. The king left them for many years and went overseas. The girls arose and asserted themselves and married themselves to men. Each of them would take her husband’s seal and his signet. Years later, the king returned from overseas and he heard the voices of the people slandering his daughters and saying that the king’s daughters had engaged in licentiousness. What did he do? He issued a proclamation and said: The entire people shall go out to the assembly hall. He came and sat in the vestibule. He said to them: ‘My daughters, is this what you have done; have you tainted yourselves?’ Immediately, each of them produced her husband’s seal and his signet. He called his son-in-law and said to him: ‘To whom are you a bridegroom?’ He said to him: ‘I am your first son-in-law, [married] to your older daughter.’ He said to him: ‘What is this?’ He said to him: ‘This is my seal and this is my signet,’ and likewise [occurred with] the second [son-in-law].
At that moment, the king said: My daughters are sheltered from immorality and you slander and demean them? By your lives, I will administer justice against you. So it is with the nations, because they would taunt Israel and say: “Egypt enslaved the children of Israel [with harshness]” (Exodus 1:13); if they compelled them to perform labor, all the more so [they must have dominated] their bodies and their wives. At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He said: My sister, My bride, a locked garden. What is a locked garden? The Holy One blessed be He said: My garden is locked and it is being condemned?¹³³This is a metaphor meaning: The women of Israel have not had relations with anyone other than their husbands, and yet they are being maligned? Rabbi Pinḥas said: At that moment the Holy One blessed be He called the angel appointed over pregnancy and said: Go and shape [the children] with all the features of their fathers. Who did the fathers themselves resemble? The paterfamilias of the families. That is what is written regarding Reuben: “The families of the Reubenites [haReuveni]” (Numbers 26:7). Rabbi Hoshaya said: Reuben, Reubenite [haReuveni], Simeon, Simeonite [haShimoni].¹³⁴See Numbers 26:14. The members of the tribes are referred to in this way in order to imply that they looked like Reuben and Simeon. This was proof that they were actually the descendants of their fathers. Rabbi Marinos ben Rabbi Hoshaya said: Like you say: Baronite, Savronite, Sivoyite.¹³⁵These were names common at the time of the writing of the midrash. Just as Baronite means a member of the Baron family, the same is true of Reubenite. Alternatively, Rabbi Marinos is disputing Rabbi Hoshaya’s point and saying that just as members of any family can be referred to in this manner, the term Reubenite does not mean anything special (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Idi: Heh at the beginning of the word and yod at the end; God [yod-heh] attests for them that they were indeed the sons of their fathers.
Rabbi Pinḥas said: “A locked garden” – these are the virgins. “A locked fountainhead” – these are the non-virgins.¹³⁶Although there is an opening – gal means door in Aramaic – it remains locked before men other than her husband. “A sealed spring” – these are the males.¹³⁷They did not engage in illicit sexual activity. It was taught in the name of Rabbi Natan: “A locked garden, a locked fountainhead” – why was it [written] twice? Rather, it connotes two acts of intercourse for the woman; one in the typical manner and one in the atypical manner.¹³⁸Vaginal intercourse and anal intercourse.
Rabbi Huna said in the name of bar Kappara: By virtue of four matters, Israel was redeemed from Egypt: That they did not change their name, they did not change their language, they did not speak slander, and not one of them was steeped in licentiousness. They did not change their name: Reuben and Simeon descended [to Egypt]; Reuben and Simeon ascended. They did not call Reuben Rufus, they did not call Simeon Luleyani, Joseph, Listis, or Benjamin, Alexandra.
They did not change their language. There, it is written: “The survivor came and told Abram the Hebrew” (Genesis 14:13), and here it is written: “The God of the Hebrews has called upon us” (Exodus 5:3), and it is written: “That it is my mouth speaking to you” (Genesis 45:12), in the sacred tongue.
They did not speak slander, as it is stated: “Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask each man from his neighbor” (Exodus 11:2). You find that this matter had been entrusted to them for twelve months, and not one of them was found to have informed on his counterpart.¹³⁹The Israelites knew twelve months before the Exodus that they would ask to borrow goods from the Egyptians and that they would then leave Egypt never to return. Nonetheless, none of them told the Egyptians about this plan.
Not one of them was steeped in licentiousness, as it is stated: “The son of an Israelite woman, [whose father was an Egyptian.…] the son of the Israelite woman blasphemed” (Leviticus 24:10–11), to apprise in praise of Israel that not one of them was found except for this one, and the verse publicized her.¹⁴⁰The verse specifies that this woman had conceived from an Egyptian man in order to emphasize that she was the exception; no other Israelite women had intercourse with Egyptian men.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Sarah descended to Egypt¹⁴¹See Genesis 12:10–20. and sheltered herself from licentiousness, and all the [Israelite] women were sheltered by her merit. Joseph descended to Egypt and sheltered himself from licentiousness, and all the males were sheltered by his merit.
Rabbi Pinḥas in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya: The sheltering from licentiousness was itself sufficient that by its merit Israel would have been redeemed from Egypt. What is the reason? “A locked garden is my sister, my bride.” What is written thereafter? “Your branches [shelaḥayikh]¹⁴²They merited to be sent [lehishalaḥ] from Egypt. are an orchard of pomegranates.”
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: [This is analogous] to one to whom an inheritance fell at the site of a garbage dump. The heir was indolent and he sold it at a minimal price. The purchaser went and industriously excavated there and found a treasure. He built a large palace. The purchaser began walking in the marketplace with servants following him [all due] to the treasure that he had purchased there. The seller saw and was sorrowful, saying: Woe is me over what I lost. So too, when Israel was in Egypt, they were enslaved in mortar and bricks and they were contemptible in the eyes of the Egyptians. When they saw their flags encamped at the sea in the array of a royal army, the Egyptians became sorrowful, saying: Woe are we, what did we send from our land? This is as it is stated: “It was [vayhi] when Pharaoh sent (Exodus 13:17).¹⁴³Pharaoh shouted woe [vay] is me.
Rabbi Yonatan said: [This is analogous] to one who had a field capable of producing a kor, and he went and sold it at a minimal price. The purchaser went and excavated springs and planted gardens and orchards there. The seller saw and was sorrowful, saying: Woe is me over what I lost. So too, when Israel was in Egypt, they were enslaved in mortar and bricks and they were contemptible in the eyes of the Egyptians. When they saw their flags encamped at the sea in the array of a royal army, the Egyptians became sorrowful, saying: Woe are we, what did we send from our land? This is as it is stated: “It was [vayhi] when Pharaoh sent” (Exodus 13:17).
Rabbi Yosei said: [This is analogous] to one who had chopped-down cedars, and he sold it at a minimal price. The purchaser went and crafted from them trunks, closets, chests, and wagons. The seller saw and was sorrowful, saying: Woe is me over what I lost. So too, when Israel was in Egypt, they were enslaved in mortar and bricks and they were contemptible in the eyes of the Egyptians. When they saw their flags encamped at the sea in the array of a royal army, the Egyptians became sorrowful, saying: Woe are we, what did we send from our land? This is as it is stated: “It was [vayhi] when Pharaoh sent” (Exodus 13:17).

(Numb. 25:1:) “While Israel was staying at Shittim, [the people began to go whoring].” Let our master instruct us: By virtue of how many things was Israel redeemed from Egypt?⁸⁵Numb. R. 20:22. Thus have our masters taught: Israel was redeemed from Egypt by virtue of four things: (1) that they did not change their names, (2) that they did not change their language, (3) that they did not disclose their secrets,⁸⁶Gk. and Lat.: mysteria. and (4) that they were not unbridled in unchastity.⁸⁷Lev. R. 32:5; Cant. R. 4:12:1; PRK 11:6; M. Pss. 114:4; also Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Pisha 5; Exod. R. 1:28. They did not change their names. Thus Reuben and Simeon went down (to Egypt), and Reuben and Simeon (with no name change) came up (from Egypt). They did not change their language, as stated (in Gen. 45:12), “that it is my mouth (i.e., my language) which is speaking unto you.” Thus they were talking in the sacred tongue. They did not reveal their secrets, as stated (in Exod. 3:22), “But each woman shall borrow [objects of silver, objects of gold, and clothing] from her neighbor [and from the woman who sojourns in her house].” Now the command was entrusted to them for twelve months, but they never revealed it to the Egyptians. And they were not unbridled in unchastity, as stated (in Cant. 4:12), “A locked garden is my sister my bride,” these are the males; “a locked fountain, a sealed spring,” these are the virgins (the females). You yourself know that it is so, since there was [but] one exception and Scripture aired her case (in Lev. 24:10), “Now there went out the son of an Israelite woman….”⁸⁸If he were not a bastard, his father’s name would have been given. Now in all those forty years that they were in the desert, they never committed the sin of unchastity, until they came to Shittim. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 25:1), “While Israel was staying at Shittim, [the people began to go whoring].” At Shittim, because they had committed folly (shetut),⁸⁹The word can also mean “idolatry.” as stated (in Prov. 6:32), “One who commits adultery with a woman has no sense.”

That they did not change their name. Thus Reuben and Simeon went down (to Egypt), and Reuben and Simeon (with no name change) came up (from Egypt).
And they did not change their language, as stated (in Gen. 45:12): THAT IT IS MY MOUTH (i.e., MY LANGUAGE) WHICH IS SPEAKING UNTO YOU. Thus they were talking in the sacred tongue.
That they did not reveal their secrets, when Moses said to them (in Exod. 3:22): BUT EACH WOMAN SHALL BORROW <OBJECTS OF SILVER, OBJECTS OF GOLD, AND CLOTHING> FROM HER NEIGHBOR <AND FROM THE WOMAN WHO SOJOURNS IN HER HOUSE>. Now the command was entrusted to them for twelve months, but they never revealed it to the Egyptians.
And they were not unbridled in unchastity, as stated (in Cant. 4:12): A LOCKED GARDEN IS MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, A LOCKED FOUNTAIN,¹⁰⁷Gal. The word can also mean “door” and the midrash may well have this meaning in mind. A SEALED SPRING. (ibid.:) A LOCKED GARDEN. These are the males. A LOCKED FOUNTAIN, A SEALED SPRING. These are the females. You yourself know that it is so, since there was <but> one exception and Scripture aired her case (in Lev. 24:10–11): NOW THERE WENT OUT THE SON OF AN ISRAELITE WOMAN, <WHOSE FATHER WAS AN EGYPTIAN > […. AND THE NAME OF HIS MOTHER WAS SHELOMITH BAT DIBRI OF THE TRIBE OF DAN.]¹⁰⁸If he were not a bastard, his father’s name would have been given. Now in all those forty years that they were in the desert, they never committed the sin of unchastity, until they came to Shittim. It is therefore stated (in Numb. 25:1): WHILE ISRAEL WAS STAYING AT SHITTIM, <THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO GO WHORING>. AT SHITTIM, because they had committed folly (shetut),¹⁰⁹The word can also mean “idolatry.” as stated (in Prov. 6:32): ONE WHO COMMITS ADULTERY WITH A WOMAN HAS NO SENSE.

Rabbi Hun stated in the name of Bar Kappara: Israel were redeemed from Egypt on account of four things; because they did not change their names, they did not change their language, they did not go tale-bearing, and none of them was found to have been immoral. 'They did not change their name', having gone down as Reuben and Simeon, and having come up as Reuben and Simeon. They did not call Reuben 'Rufus' nor Judah 'Leon', nor Joseph 'Lestes', nor Benjamin 'Alexander'. 'They did not change their language', as may be inferred from the fact that it is written elsewhere, 'And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew' (Genesis 14:13), while here it is written, 'The God of the Hebrews has met with us' (Exodus 15:3), and it is written 'It is my mouth that speaks unto you' (Genesis 45:12), which means that he spoke in Hebrew.