How could Jacob’s sons, who are all referred to Biblically as “G-dly tribes,” consider committing such a dastardly deed as murdering their own flesh and blood, especially considering Joseph was their father’s most beloved son?
RIVALRY
This week’s parsha highlights the rivalry that existed between Joseph and his brothers. When Jacob, their father, sent Joseph to see how his brothers were doing, they conspired to kill him. Reuven, the oldest brother, pleads with them not to kill him but to “merely” throw him into an empty pit, intending to come back later and rescue him and return him to his father.
There are many difficulties with this story. Here are some:
First, how could Jacob’s sons, who are all referred to Biblically as “G-dly tribes,” consider committing such a dastardly deed as murdering their own flesh and blood, especially considering Joseph was their father’s most beloved son? Killing him would prove to be devastating to their father. Even the most cold-hearted individuals would be hard pressed to commit such a heinous crime considering the impact it would have on their father.
It is true that our Sages consider the attempt to kill Joseph and his subsequent sale to Egypt to be a serious flaw on the part of Joseph’s brothers. It is also true that the sale of Joseph as a slave to Egypt is cited as one of the reasons that the Jewish people were destined to be slaves in the land of Egypt. However, that does not explain why people of such high spiritual stature could be capable of such a heinous sin. And in light of the high regard our tradition has for them, we must conclude that their sin was at worst an error of judgment not a callous and ruthless attempt at cold-blooded murder. What was the real motive behind their plan to kill Joseph?
Second, of what benefit was it to Reuven to have Joseph thrown into a pit in light of our Sages’ statement (Talmud, Shabbos 22a) that it was filled with snakes and scorpions!
Third, when the Torah describes Reuven’s intention to save Joseph it adds, “to return him to his father.” It could have simply stated that he intended to take him out of the pit, or “save his life.” Why the emphasis on “returning him to his father?”
THE LEGACY OF ABRAHAM THREATENED
On a symbolic level, Joseph’s brothers were convinced that he was a threat to the legacy of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In their minds, Joseph was no different from their father’s brother Esau, whom Isaac had favored. In the end, Isaac realized he had misjudged Esau and no longer considered him worthy of the powerful blessings given to Jacob.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was a more astute judge of her sons’ true characters and realized that giving the blessings to Esau would have been tantamount to squandering great wealth. It would have diverted G-dly energy to the wrong place and, simultaneously, denied the positive forces the energy they needed to carry on the legacy of Abraham and Isaac. That would have been a disaster for the Jewish nation to be and disrupted G-d’s plan to make the world a worthy dwelling place for G-d through the giving of the Torah.
If Esau had received the blessings, the negative forces associated with him would have been energized, and the energy needed for Jacob to succeed would have been depleted. By blessing Jacob, Isaac paved the way for the forging of a Jewish nation that would receive the Divine Master Plan—the Torah—at Mount Sinai. If the blessings had gone to Esau instead, the ultimate result would have been catastrophic. The world’s very existence would have been imperiled: a world that cannot realize its purpose – its raison d’être – has no reason to exist. Hence the entire creation would have reverted to nothingness.
This is consonant with the statement of our Sages that the entire cosmos waited nervously for the day the Jewish people would receive the Torah, for its very existence hung in the balance. Had the legacy of the Patriarchs passed to Esau there would have been no revelation at Mount Sinai and the world would have ceased to exist.
Upon deeper reflection, we can understand that Rebecca’s deceptive acts, though appearing less than proper, actually saved the entire world. We are taught that the imperative of saving even one life overrides observance of all the other commandments. The saving of all of existence itself surely justified her deception of Isaac to get him to bless Jacob instead of Esau.
With this introduction we can begin to understand why Joseph’s brothers were so troubled by him that they were prepared to kill or sell him as a slave. In their minds, Joseph’s behavior suggested that he was not a worthy transmitter of their father’s ideals. The fact that Jacob preferred Joseph over his brothers invoked the memory of Isaac mistakenly favoring Esau. They erroneously felt extraordinary and even extra-legal measures were needed to prevent the undermining of G-d’s Master Plan for the world.
CAUTION
Reuven, however, was more cautious. Reuven had an earlier experience that taught him to not be impulsive. In last week’s parsha the verses state that Reuven had relations with Balham, Rachel’s hand maiden and one of Jacobs’ four wives. The Oral tradition, transmitted through the Talmudic Sages and cited by Rashi, informs us that what he actually did was move Jacob’s bed from Bilha’s tent to his mother Leah’s tent. His rationale was that after the death of Rachel, Jacob should have moved his bed into Leah’s tent. She was, after all, his first wife and the woman who bore him seven children. Indignant over the slight to his mother, Reuven impulsively moved his father’s bed to her tent. This was compared by the Torah to having relations with Balham.
Reuven, therefore, concluded that Joseph should not be harmed by their own hands because he might not be as unworthy of the legacy of the Patriarchs as they imagined and did not deserve to die at their hands.
However, he did suggest that they throw Joseph into the pit even though, as noted above, it was infested with snakes and scorpions. One explanation is that Reuven intended this as a “test.” If Joseph was indeed innocent of the charges they leveled against him, the snakes and scorpions would not be a threat to him. G-d had already promised that animals would have a natural fear for those whose faces project the Divine image in which humans were created. And, indeed, that is precisely what occurred. Joseph was not harmed by the snakes and scorpions.
We can now also understand why the Torah states that Reuven wanted “to return him to his father.” Reuven was not just talking about a physical return to his father’s home. Reuven shared his brothers’ concerns over Joseph’s straying from the Patriarchs’ ideals. Reuven felt that Joseph, unlike Esau, could be salvaged. He therefore wished to “return him to his father” figuratively. That means that Reuven wanted Joseph rehabilitated so that he would return to his father’s ways.
CHANUKAH AND THROWING JOSEPH INTO THE PIT
We find the abovementioned Talmudic narrative of Reuven throwing Joseph into the pit filled with snakes and scorpions in the discussion of a law limiting the height of the Chanukah Menorah to no more than 20 cubits. Commentators are puzzled about the juxtaposition of these two themes: throwing Joseph into a pit and the placement of a Chanukah menorah higher than twenty cubits.
In light of the above analysis one can suggest the following explanation:
Reuven wanted to rehabilitate Joseph, thinking that his behavior and attitude were incompatible with Jacob’s ideals. In truth, however, it was a serious misjudgment of Joseph, whose spiritual elevation was above and beyond the level and “view” of his brothers. Joseph was certainly not a rebel and did not need rehabilitation. Indeed, he was head and shoulders above his brothers and that is why they misunderstood him.
Joseph was “guilty” of one thing. While he rightfully maintained his superiority over his brothers, it was wrong of him not to endeavor to relate to them. Joseph could have retained his superior spiritual approach and simultaneously found ways of connecting to his brothers despite their inferior status. And, when Joseph finally reached the pinnacle of his spiritual career, which coincided with his rise to power as the Viceroy of Egypt, he did indeed find ways of relating to and finding common ground with them.
The problem with placing the Chanukah Menorah above twenty cubits is that it minimizes its visibility. Lighting the Menorah represents the introduction of truly sublime levels of spiritual light, which transcend the normal levels of spirituality, into our Earthly realm. The ultimate goal is to make the transcendence “visible” and accessible to the lower levels, so that everyone is illuminated and basks in its light. Placing the lights of the Chanukah Menorah above twenty cubits parallels Joseph’s superior but remote stance that led to his brothers’ misjudging him which, in turn, resulted in his bring thrown into the pit with snakes and scorpions.
MOSHIACH TRANSCENDENCE INTERNALIZED
One of the salient features of the Messianic Age is that the most sublime Divine energies will be fully exposed. In the past, as in the days of the Holy Temples, when that happened it did not always yield positive results. It was comparable to the placement of the lights of the Chanukah menorah beyond the view of most people. The Divine light that shone in the Temple did not always enlighten the people outside. As a consequence, many of the Jews were seduced by Hellenism, which sought to assimilate the Jews into Greek culture. Too much light will blind the common folk, which can be just as injurious as giving them too little light.
In the days of Moshiach, however, that problem will be fully rectified. On the one hand, we will experience so sublime a light that it will transcend the level that was evident in the days of the Beis HaMikdash, a sample of which we experience every Chanukah. On the other hand, precisely because this will be the ultimate transcendent light, it will be eminently accessible to everyone. We will have our proverbial “Chanukah latkes and eat them too.”