~ Yosef was 17 when he is sold, and 30 when he interprets Pharaoh's dreams. In our portion, Vayigash, he is 39.
~ Who did Yosef become in the course of those years? What external markings of being an Israelite/Jewishness has he erased?
רַב הוּנָא אָמַר בְּשֵׁם בַּר קַפָּרָא בִּשְׁבִיל אַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים נִגְאֲלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִצְרַיִם, שֶׁלֹּא שִׁנּוּ אֶת שְׁמָם וְאֶת לְשׁוֹנָם וְלֹא אָמְרוּ לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, וְלֹא נִמְצָא בֵּינֵיהֶם אֶחָד מֵהֶן פָּרוּץ בְּעֶרְוָה. לֹא שִׁנּוּ אֶת שְׁמָן רְאוּבֵן וְשִׁמְעוֹן נָחֲתִין, רְאוּבֵן וְשִׁמְעוֹן סָלְקִין, לֹא הָיוּ קוֹרִין לִיהוּדָה רוּפָּא וְלֹא לִרְאוּבֵן לוּלְיָאנִי וְלֹא לְיוֹסֵף לֵיסְטֵיס וְלֹא לְבִנְיָמִין אֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרִי. לֹא שִׁנּוּ אֶת לְשׁוֹנָם, לְהַלָּן כְּתִיב (בראשית יד, יג): וַיָּבֹא הַפָּלִיט וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְרָהָם הָעִבְרִי, וְכָאן (שמות ה, ג): וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֱלֹהֵי הָעִבְרִים נִקְרָא עָלֵינוּ, וּכְתִיב (בראשית מה, יב): כִּי פִי הַמְדַבֵּר אֲלֵיכֶם, בְּלָשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ. וְלֹא אָמְרוּ לָשׁוֹן הָרָע, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יא, ב): דַּבֶּר נָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם, אַתָּה מוֹצֵא שֶׁהָיָה הַדָּבָר מוּפְקָד אֶצְלָן כָּל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ וְלֹא הִלְשִׁין אֶחָד עַל חֲבֵירוֹ. וְלֹא נִמְצָא אֶחָד מֵהֶם פָּרוּץ בְּעֶרְוָה, תֵּדַע לְךָ שֶׁהָיָה כֵּן אַחַת הָיְתָה וּפִרְסְמָהּ הַכָּתוּב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כד, יא): וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ שְׁלֹמִית בַּת דִּבְרִי לְמַטֵּה דָן, שְׁלֹמִית, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי דַּהֲוַת פַּטָּטָא בִּשְׁלָמָא, שְׁלָם לָךְ שְׁלָם לְכוֹן. בַּת דִּבְרִי, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק שֶׁהֵבִיאָה דֶּבֶר עַל בְּנָהּ. לְמַטֵּה דָן, גְּנַאי לְאִמּוֹ, גְּנַאי לוֹ, גְּנַאי לְמִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ, גְּנַאי לְשִׁבְטוֹ שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנּוּ.
Rabbi Huna 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 speak lashon hara, 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. And they did not spoke lashon hara, as it is written: 'speak on the ears of the people' (Shemot 11:2) - you find that for 12 months they knew [that redemption was coming] but they did not divulge it. And not a single one was immoral. Know that there was one, and Scripture publicized her name, as it is said: 'and the name of his mother was Shelomit Bat Divri of the tribe of Dan' (Vayikra 24:11). Shelomit - she was saying 'shalom' to everyone she met; Bat Divri - Rabbi Itzchak said that she brought a plague (dever) on her son. Of the tribe of Dan - a shame to his mother, a shame to himself, a shame to his family, a shame to his tribe that he came from them.
~ How does Yosef fares when tested with Rav Huna's description?
~ What is odd about Joseph's status in these verses?
מנחה חדשה, (ר' מאיר קאלוו):
ד"ה לאדון לכל מצרים: אל תאמר בלבבך: יוסף אפשר שהוא חשוב בעיני פרעה מפני חכמתו ומפני התועלת הגדול שבא לו על ידו אבל בשאר ערי מצרים לא היה חשוב כל כך מפני כי "מבית האסורים יצא למלוך". וכתוב בנמוסי מצרים, שלא ימלוך העבד, וכל שכן שישנאוהו בהיותו עברי, ואני איני רוצה לבוא אל עיר הממלכה, כדי שלא יודעו בני בחצר המלוכה ויהיה סבה להתעכב במצרים ואני איני רוצה להתעכב שם, כמו שאמרו (בראשית מ"ז ד') "לגור בארץ באנו", לכך אמר להם שיאמרו לאביו: 'שמני אלוקים לאדון לכל מצרים' ובאיזה מקום שתרצה לגור יש לאל ידי להושיבך בו. ולכן 'רדה אלי אל תעמוד', והיותר נאות לך ולבניך היא ארץ גושן.
Minchah Chadashah (R. Meir Calvo):
S.v. Lord of all Egypt: Do not say in your heart, "It is possible that Joseph is important in the eyes of Pharaoh because of his wisdom and because of the great usefulness that came to him from [Joseph]; but in the other cities of Egypt, he is not so important, since 'he came out of the prison to be king' – and it is written in the mores of Egypt that a slave cannot be king. And they would hate him all the more so, in his being a Hebrew. But I do not not want to go to the capital city" – such that he would be known to the king's courtiers, and it become a cause for being delayed there – "and I do not want to be delayed there," as they said (Genesis 47:4), "We have come to sojourn here." Hence [Joseph] said to them that they should say to their father, "'God has made me lord of all Egypt.' I have the power in my hand to place you in whatever place you want to live. And so, 'come down to me and do not be still.' And the most fit place for you and your sons is the Land of Goshen."
~ How does R. Meir Calvo (or Calw, unknown place of birth and death, probably 15th century) explain the question of "go to Yosef"?
We define inside information ... as "information assymetry." One party to a transaction possesses information, while a second party to the same transaction does not. Under this definition, possessing information is not unethical. Rather, it is merely a descriptive term which carries no ethical implications. It is morally neutral. (Moses L. Pava - Joseph and the Use of Inside Information; Torah U-Madda Journal 4 (1993), p. 135)
~ Using this definition, what moments in Yosef's life are marked with inside information to his advantage?
(13) Now there was no bread in all the world, for the famine was very severe; both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. (14) Joseph gathered in all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, as payment for the rations that were being procured, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace. (15) And when the money gave out in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, lest we die before your very eyes; for the money is nothing!” (16) And Joseph said, “Bring your livestock, and I will sell to you against your livestock, if the money is gone.” (17) So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, for the stocks of sheep and cattle, and the asses; thus he provided them with bread that year in exchange for all their livestock. (18) And when that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from my lord that, with all the money and animal stocks consigned to my lord, nothing is left at my lord’s disposal save our persons and our farmland. (19) Let us not perish before your eyes, both we and our land. Take us and our land in exchange for bread, and we with our land will be serfs to Pharaoh; provide the seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become a waste.” (20) So Joseph gained possession of all the farm land of Egypt for Pharaoh, every Egyptian having sold his field because the famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to Pharaoh. (21) And he removed the population town by town, from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. (22) Only the land of the priests he did not take over, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh had made to them; therefore they did not sell their land. (23) Then Joseph said to the people, “Whereas I have this day acquired you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land. (24) And when harvest comes, you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be yours as seed for the fields and as food for you and those in your households, and as nourishment for your children.” (25) And they said, “You have saved our lives! We are grateful to my lord, and we shall be serfs to Pharaoh.”
~ What is the progression of the famine?
~ How does the Torah give voice to the Egyptians' suffering?
~ What is the ultimate end for the regular Egyptian?
~ What eventually goes to Pharaoh? What does not?
~ Is it clear to the people that this will last only 7 years? Was it known to them that 7 years of plenty would be followed by 7 of famine?
~ What other possibilities could Yosef had proposed?
~ Compare this plan with Shemitah laws.
~ What seems to be the original plan? What is the original goal?
~ What is the origin of the first plan?
~ How does the plan put in practice deviate from the original?
~ What is the change in the political reality of Pharaoh because of the plan?
~ According to the Ramban (12th century, Spain), is the plan part of the interpretation of the dream?
~ Was Yosef wrong in trying to get a job Pharaoh's court using inside information?
It is possible that the expression, all this, alludes also to that which the chief of the butlers told Pharaoh. A similar case is the verse, And he [Jacob] related to Laban all these things, meaning the blessings bestowed upon him by Isaac mentioned before. Pharaoh thus said: “Since G-d has imbued you with this great wisdom, thus enabling you to interpret all secret and hidden dreams, and not a word of yours has failed, there is none so understanding and wise in all matters as you are, and you are therefore fit to assume authority and rulership and to be second to me.”
~ What are the limits of power to Pharaoh, according to the Ramban?
~ Does the dream and the plan come from God, according to Rashi (France, 11th century)?
~ Why, according to the Sforno (Italy, 16th century), Pharaoh has dreamt this?
~ Chikuni (France, 13th century) and others understand that the encounter between Yosef and Pharaoh to include technical advice, based on the interpretation of the obscure term "chamesh" in the verse.
~ How does Yosef pay in his own lifetime for his plan? How do Jews pay, just one or two generations later, and why?