“I am Yosef” — A Rather Inconvenient Revelation

The Day the Viceroy Became Yosef — Insights from the Midrash

For twenty-two long years, Ya’akov Avinu sat on the ground, covered in sackcloth and ashes, inconsolably grieving the death of Yosef. And throughout all those years, no one said a word. Why not? The brothers had bound themselves by an oath not to reveal the truth to their father (Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer 38:11): אָמְרוּ נָשִׂים חֵרֶם בֵּינֵינוּ שֶׁאֵין אֶחָד מִמֶּנּוּ מַגִּיד הַדָּבָר לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ. אָמְרוּ בֵּינֵיהֶם רְאוּבֵן אֵין כָּאן בִּנְיָמִין אֵין כָּאן וְאֵין הַחֵרֶם מִתְקַיֵּם אֶלָּא בַּעֲשָׂרָה וַאֲנַחְנוּ תִּשְׁעָה אִם כֵּן הֵיאַךְ נַעֲשֶׂה. שִׁתְּפוּ הַמָּקוֹם עִמָּהֶם וְהָיוּ עֲשָׂרָה וְהֶחֱרִימוּ בֵּינֵיהֶם שֶׁלֹּא יַגִּיד שׁוּם אֶחָד מֵהֶם סוֹד זֶה לְיַעֲקֹב (They said, ‘Let us make a ban among ourselves that no one of us will tell the matter to Ya’akov Avinu.’ They said among themselves, ‘Reuven is not here. Binyamin is not here. But the ban can only come into effect with ten, and we are nine.’ How was it done? They joined the Omnipresent One with them and made ten, and put the ban into effect among themselves that none of them would tell this secret to Ya’akov).

This is a deep matter and difficult to understand; yet, this is what they did. As a result, Ya’akov suffered unimaginable anguish for the next twenty-two years while they all looked on and said nothing. The sale of Yosef or their callousness toward their father – it is difficult to assess which despicable act was worse. Perhaps this is why it is brought down in Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer 38:11: רַבִּי יַנַּאי אוֹמֵר: עָוֹן שֶׁעָשׂוּ הַשְּׁבָטִים בִּמְכִירַת יוֹסֵף לֹא נִתְכַּפֵּר לָהֶם עַד עֵת מִיתָתָם (R’ Yannai says, ‘The villainy that the tribes did in selling Yosef was not atoned for until their death).

It is written (Bereshit 44:18): וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה (And Yehudah approached him…). Of all the brothers, Yehudah alone stepped forward to confront the Viceroy, their nemesis since they set foot in Egypt. Reading through the account in the Chumash, it is very clear that Yehudah laid his life on the line and did everything he could to protect Binyamin. But reading only the Chumash is a little bit like trying to dig a cistern with bare hands. A shovel is much more effective. The wisdom of the Chazal in the Midrash is like a shovel for helping us get to the depth of an issue.

So what is the meaning of ‘And Yehudah approached him’? It is brought down in the Bereshit Rabbah 93:6: רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר הֲגָשָׁה לְמִלְחָמָה…רַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אוֹמֵר הֲגָשָׁה לְפִיּוּס…רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי הֲגָשָׁה לִתְפִלָּה (R’ Yehudah says, ‘Approaching for war’…R’ Nechemyah says, ‘Approaching for appeasement’…The Rabbis say, ‘Approaching for prayer [alternatively: supplication]’). War means that Yehudah argued strongly with the Viceroy to protect Binyamin. Appeasement means that he tried to persuade the Viceroy to let Binyamin go, even though from a ‘strict justice’ point-of-view he didn’t have a compelling case. And supplication means that he begged the Viceroy to let him go. Each of the Sages bring down a pasuk showing how וַיִּגַּשׁ can mean what they say, but in the end R’ Elazar resolves the dispute by saying that all three are true. Yehudah determined in his mind to argue forcibly for Binyamin’s freedom, but if that didn’t work, he was willing to soften his tone and try to persuade the Viceroy, and if that didn’t work, he was prepared to humble himself further and beg him to let Binyamin go free.

Yehudah started out with Plan A, straight away accusing the Viceroy of being just like Pharaoh (Bereshit 44:18). The Midrash brings down many insights on what the alleged comparison was supposed to mean (B.R. 93:6). First, Yehudah warned him that if he continued in his belligerent attitude toward them, Hashem would strike him down with tza’arat just like He struck down a previous Pharaoh for abducting Sarah. Next, he threatened to curse him by telling him that just as Rachel died because of what Ya’akov had inadvertently said (regarding the theft of the terafim from Lavan), how much more would the Viceroy die if Yehudah were to deliberately curse him. Third, he reminded the Viceroy how only two of them, Shimon and Levi, wiped out the entire city of Shechem on account of the sin in abducting Dinah. ‘If only two of us could do that, what do you think nine of us can do here in Egypt?’ Fourth, he said that if they were willing to kill so many people in Shechem for a violation that involved a man and a woman, how much more would they exact vengeance against Egypt for a violation involving a man and a man, essentially accusing the Viceroy of desiring Binyamin. Finally, the Midrash says that Yehudah threatened to draw his sword and kill first the Viceroy and then Pharaoh!

The Viceroy didn’t flinch; therefore, Yehudah backed down and initiated Plan B – appeasement. He hoped to win over the Viceroy by trying to stir up within him a sense of compassion. This explains the abrupt change in tone in 44:19: אֲדֹנִי שָׁאַל אֶת־עֲבָדָיו (My master asked his servants…). And so from 44:19-33, i.e. the bulk of Yehudah’s appeal as laid out in the Chumash, Yehudah tried to convince the Viceroy to act with compassion. The climax of his (unsuccessful) argument came when he explained to the Viceroy what would happen if their father were to learn that Binyamin was taken as a slave in Egypt (44:31): וְהָיָה כִּרְאוֹתוֹ כִּי־אֵין הַנַּעַר וָמֵת (And it would be that when he would see that the youth is not [with us], that he will die). In plain language, ‘If you go through with your plan to keep Binyamin, you will be guilty of killing his father!’

But still the Viceroy didn’t budge. Yehudah, having run out of steam, moved to Plan C and begged the Viceroy (44:33): כִּי־אֵיךְ אֶעֱלֶה אֶל־אָבִי וְהַנַּעַר אֵינֶנּוּ אִתִּי פֶּן אֶרְאֶה בָרָע אֲשֶׁר יִמְצָא אֶת־אָבִי (For how can I go up to my father and the youth is not with me, lest I see the bad that will befall my father!). Commentaries have noted that this statement doesn’t seem much different than what he had said earlier in v.31. In fact, they go so far as to say that Yehudah’s appeal in v.31 is more forceful than what he says here. Different explanations have been offered, but we think the best understanding is that Yehudah’s words in v.33 aren’t really a sound argument at all. He had already tried that – and failed. Here, he was merely screaming out in a last ditch attempt to get the Viceroy to back off. In short, this was Yehudah’s ‘prayer’ or supplication. No logic. No eloquent words. Just desperation.

Thus ended Yehudah’s attempts to free Binyamin – at least as recorded in the Chumash. He began with force and bravado, then softened his tone, and ended with a desperate, pitiful plea.

But the next verse is perplexing (45:1): וְלֹא־יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק לְכֹל הַנִּצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיִּקְרָא הוֹצִיאוּ כׇל־אִישׁ מֵעָלָי (And Yosef was not able to restrain himself in the presence of all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Clear out everyone from before me’). Why wasn’t he able to restrain himself any further? He didn’t lose this battle with Yehudah. On the contrary, he had won a decisive victory. Yet these words imply that something terrible was about to happen if he didn’t reveal his true identity.

The Midrash (B.R. 93:8) comes to the rescue and fills in the gap. Realizing that all three plans had failed, Yehudah resorted to desperate measures, something he hadn’t originally planned – Plan D – an actual war. He sent Naftali on a mission to see how many marketplaces, i.e. ‘food distribution centers’, there were through the land. Naftali returned and told Yehudah that there were twelve in all. Yehudah said to the brothers that he would destroy three of them, killing everybody in the process, and the rest of them would only have to do deal with one each. The nine brothers pushed back and told Yehudah that if they destroyed Egypt, the whole world would be destroyed in the process. How so? Since the surrounding nations came to Egypt for provisions, destruction of the food supply in Egypt would have led to catastrophic consequences for the whole world (for the famine was destined to continue another five years). The brothers debated the merits and demerits of Yehudah’s plan – speaking freely in Hebrew, assuming that Yosef did not understand them. Eventually, they came to a decision.

In the words of the Midrash: כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה יוֹסֵף שֶׁהִסְכִּימָה דַּעְתָּם לְהַחֲרִיב אֶת מִצְרַיִם אָמַר יוֹסֵף בְּלִבּוֹ מוּטָב שֶׁאֶתְוַדַּע לָהֶם וְאַל יַחֲרִיבוּ אֶת מִצְרַיִם (When Yosef saw that they had decided to destroy Egypt, Yosef said in his heart, ‘It is better that I make myself known to them so that Egypt not be destroyed). The brothers’ decision to go to war and destroy Egypt in order to save Binyamin (and in order that Yehudah wouldn’t lose out on his share in Olam ha-Ba) was what pushed Yosef to reveal his identity. Based on what he had heard, he realized that they weren’t kidding around. They were deadly serious. That’s why the pasuk says: לֹא־יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק (Yosef was not able to restrain himself).

So what did Yosef do? He put himself in a very precarious position (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayigash 5:8): אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן, לְסַכָּנָה גְדוֹלָה יָרַד יוֹסֵף שֶׁאִם הֲרָגוּהוּ אֶחָיו אֵין בְּרִיָּה בָּעוֹלָם מַכִּירוֹ. וְלָמָּה אָמַר הוֹצִיאוּ כָל אִישׁ מֵעָלָי. אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר יוֹסֵף בְּלִבּוֹ, מוּטָב שֶׁאֵהָרֵג וְלֹא אֲבַיֵּשׁ אֶת אַחַי בִּפְנֵי הַמִּצְרִים (R’ Shmuel bar Nachman said, ‘Yosef placed himself in grave danger, for if the brothers killed him, not a single person in the world would have known. Therefore, why did he say, ‘Clear out everyone from before me’? Rather, this is what Yosef said in his heart, ‘It is better that I be killed than I embarrass my brothers in the presence of the Egyptians). Here we see the mark of a true tzaddik, a willingness to be moser nefesh.

After all the bodyguards and attendants left the room, Yosef told his brothers that contrary to what they had said to him earlier, i.e. that one of their brothers was dead, he knew it was a lie for he himself had purchased this very same ‘Yosef ben Ya’akov’ from the slave markets in Egypt (M. T., Vayigash 5:8). He then began calling out, ‘Yosef ben Ya’akov, come to me! Yosef ben Ya’akov, come to me! Come and speak to your brothers who sold you into slavery.’ Needless to say, the brothers were shocked and looked around to see what was going to happen. But nothing happened. No ‘Yosef’ entered the room. Eventually, Yosef told them, ‘Why are you looking around. I am Yosef, your brother.’ Or, in the words of the pasuk (45:3): אֲנִי יוֹסֵף הַעוֹד אָבִי חָי (I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?). Yosef didn’t just reveal himself, he delivered a stinging rebuke about the anguish that they had caused his father for the past twenty-two years. To paraphrase his words: ‘You tell me that Abba is alive, but is that really true? You call that ‘being alive’? You have not given my father life, but rather a living hell!’

In response to the shock and rebuke, the Midrash says פָּרְחָה נִשְׁמָתָן (their souls flew off). Some take this to mean that they fainted while others take it to mean that they literally died, Hashem resurrecting them shortly afterward. Either way, after an initial period of shock and disbelief, Yosef finally convinced them that the Viceroy was indeed Yosef their brother. The masks, the lies, the suppressed guilt – all of it was removed in a split second. Or was it?

We now come to the most shocking part of the whole tale. Did the brothers do heartfelt teshuvah, begging Hashem and Yosef to forgive them for what they had done? Let’s see what the Midrash says (M. T., Vayigash 5:8: כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִכִּירוּהוּ בִּקְשׁוּ לְהָרְגוֹ (When they recognized him they wanted to kill him). That doesn’t sound like remorse, for the ‘him’ in that statement is not the Viceroy. It’s Yosef. They wanted to kill Yosef, their brother – once and for all – the Final Solution to the Yosef Problem. If they had anything to do about it, their father would never learn the truth about Yosef. As far as they were concerned, their father could continue sitting on the ground covered in sackcloth and ashes until the day of his death.

Thankfully, Hashem prevented them from carrying out their plans. The Midrash Tanchuma says that He sent a malach to scatter them throughout the room. Yehudah screamed so loudly that all the walls in Egypt collapsed. Apparently, a well-timed earthquake seems to have interrupted their plans. Only then did Yosef begin his words of consolation, telling them that it was all according to Hashem’s will. What amazing greatness!

What’s the point of all this? We think it illustrates just how easily even the greatest among us can sink into depravity and cruelty, chas v’shalom, when we feel the need to protect the lies that we’ve constructed around ourselves. Whether we are aware of it or not, the lies that we hide behind not only hurt ourselves but, perhaps more importantly, those around us as well. And the damage done to others can be greater than the damage done to ourselves. Let’s think about it – and pray about it – and then ask ourselves, ‘What can I do to help fix the damage that I may have caused?’