From the week of December 30

This is one of the famous Torah portions that will be read during Chanukah. Our saga begins with the dreams of Pharoah, which are in stark contrast to Joseph’s dreams in the previous sedrah. One of the high points in this Joseph and his brothers story occurs when the ten men travel to Egypt to buy grain for their starving families back in Canaan. They bow to Joseph, who is now the prime minister, “with their faces to the ground.”  Joseph knows their identity but makes certain to hide his own identity. The Torah reassures us: “Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.” (42:6-8)  We are told in the midrash that procuring food for their families was not the only reason that the brothers traveled to Egypt, hoping to buy grain. According to the midrash, they searched the market place and other avenues, hoping to find their lost brother. Why was it that the brothers could not recognize Joseph?

In the Talmud we read that they couldn’t understand that Joseph would have a beard, and his countenance would be so different. Perhaps they were not ready to accept their brother as a real brother, and admit their terrible failures. Elie Wiesel wrote an essay about this and spoke of Joseph’s story as “man’s capacity for transformation.”

So it took great courage for Joseph to reveal himself, and it took profound remorse and acceptance of guilt for the brothers to acknowledge what they had done to their Joseph.

Join us for a wonderful Torah study this Shabbat morning.