Spiritual and
Ethical Issues For the next number of weeks, Dr. Tamari's column will focus on an important and sadly neglected area of Torah Life. We hope that Dr. Tamari's words will not only be of academic value, but will also impact on a "Tachlis level" to help improve our behavior as individual Jews and as Klal Yisrael. Yosef and his Brothers [4] "The actions of the brothers regarding Yosef's dreams were not based on cruelty, needless hatred and sibling rivalry. Rather in fact, they were the acts of tzadikim whose names were to be engraved on the Choshen Mishpat that the Kohen HaGadol wore during his Avoda. The sentence that they propounded on Yosef was based on the halachic principle of, "when one wishes to kill you, then forestall him". They sat in judgment as a court and found him guilty as a rodef, who may be killed in order to save another innocent person; the first person who has the opportunity to do so, is so obligated" (Soforno). Other commentators have explained their actions as flowing from seeing Yosef as a rebel against the authority of Yehuda, the destined king, or from their evaluation that he saw himself as a fourth patriarch who would father the 12 Tribes of Israel, or that he simply was planning to disturb the unity of the family. "They thought that Yosef had come to oversee their actions and then again slander them to their father and thus disqualify them" (Ramban). The brothers declared a herem against anyone who would reveal their actions to Yaakov even though they were only nine instead of the minyan required halachically. So convinced were the brothers of the justice of their opposition to Yosef's dreams that they then associated G-d with the herem; this proves that their actions were pure and holy. Therefore, while they expressed remorse over the pain and suffering that they had caused Yaakov and Yosef (B'reishit 42:21), they never regretted their actions. Originally, they considered killing him by inciting sheep dogs against him (Bereishit Rabba 84), since according to Sanhedrin (76b) that is not considered direct murder and would be the appropriate punishment for Yosef's slander (Pesachim 118a), or by shooting arrows since tale-bearing is compared to shooting arrows against somebody (Tur). In either case they would not have to shed blood with their own hands; in this they showed that they had no desire to avenge themselves on him but primarily to wean him from a wrong path. After all, somebody who seeks revenge wants to see and enjoy his revenge through directly causing the other person injury (Yalkut Yehda). According to the Zohar, the idea of killing him was proposed by Shimon and Levi whose anger was the sort that could cause death. Both tribes were dispersed after the conquest of Eretz Yisrael, as foretold in Yaakov's blessing of his sons. Levi's dispersion was in the service of G-d, however, Shimon was dispersed geoolitically, as evidenced by that tribe's virtual absorption into Yehuda whose territory adjoined theirs (Abarbanel) . It is significant that while Moshe's blessing of the tribes, included Levi, there is no mention of Shimon in V'Zot HaBracha. That is because Levi did T'shuva when the rest of Israel sinned with the Golden Calf, whereas Shimon's behavior with the daughters of Moav showed that they did not repent. "That pit was empty of water; that is empty of Torah knowledge" (B'reishit Raba 84:15). In every generation there is one who is the authoritative source of that knowledge. Now when they cast off Yosef who was that source of Divine Wisdom [ben zekunim) they lacked the Torah knowledge that would show them the correct way of conducting themselves in the new reality of their exile" (Tif'eret Tzion). Finally the brothers agreed to Yehuda's idea of selling Yosef; that would rid them of him without actual bloodshed. Actually, both the ideas of Reuven and Yehuda, while constituting human justice would leave the final decision in the hands of Heaven. Death either through the dangers posed by the pit or by those of slavery would show that Hashem agreed with them, however, his miraculous salvation would be a vindication of Yosef. Still the brothers sinned and the piyut of the 10 Martyrs, read on Tisha B'Av and Yom Kipur is one example of how the sale of Yosef was visited on Israel. The Roman emperor used his knowledge of Torah to claim that the martyrdom was a fulfillment of the verse: "If one should kidnap a person and sell him he is to be put to death" (D'varim21:16). "The 20 pieces of silver that the brothers took for the sale of Yosef were equal to five shekalim, and we bring those to a Kohen as pidyon haben to atone for that sin of our fathers" (R' Bachya). Each of the brothers took two pieces that were equivalent to the half shekel of atonement brought by each Jew annually to the Bet Hamikdash. [The Parshat Vayeira Homepage]
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