Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
…וַיֹּאמֶר לְיוֹסֵף הִנֵּה אָבִיךָ חֹלֶה וַיִּקַּח אֶת שְׁנֵי בָנָיו עִמּוֹ אֶת מְנַשֶּׁה וְאֶת אֶפְרָיִם׃
…Yosef was told, “Your father is ill.”
So he took his two sons, Menasheh and Efrayim.
It's surprising that Yosef didn’t already know his father was sick!
הֲרֵי כָּל שִׁבְחוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף שֶׁהָיָה מַפְלִיג עַל כְּבוֹד אָבִיו, וְלֹא נִכְנָס אֶצְלוֹ בְּכָל שָׁעָה?! שֶׁאִלּוּלֵי שֶׁבָּאוּ אֲחֵרִים וְאָמְרוּ לוֹ: אַבָּא חוֹלֶה, לֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ?
אֶלָּא לְהוֹדִיעֲךָ צִדְקוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא רָצָה לְהִתְיַחֵד עִם אָבִיו, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר לוֹ: הָאֵיךְ עָשׂוּ בְּךָ אַחֶיךָ? – וּמְקַלְּלָם... לְפִיכָךְ לֹא הָיָה הוֹלֵךְ אֵצֶל אָבִיו כָּל שָׁעָה.
Yosef’s greatest quality was respecting his father, so didn’t he visit Yaakov regularly? If other people hadn’t told Yosef that his father was sick, would he not have known?
We learn from this about how righteous Yosef was. He didn’t ever want to be alone with Yaakov, because he worried that Yaakov would ask for details about what the brothers had done. Then Yosef would have had to tell him, and Yaakov would curse the brothers… so Yosef didn’t visit Yaakov regularly.
If someone hurts you, you should tell a parent or another trusted adult right away. Talking about what happened can make you feel better, and the adults in your life can help keep you safe.
Yosef’s situation was different, though, because he was grown up now, and he was the most powerful person in Mitzrayim after Pharaoh. So now he had to ask himself: Is it still worth telling Yaakov what really happened, if that might ruin his relationship with his brothers or if they might get cursed?
- You might think that Yosef would have been ok with his brothers getting cursed! What can we learn from Yosef about when and how to forgive?
- Why might Yosef have sacrificed having a closer relationship with his father, so that his brothers could continue having a relationship with Yaakov, too?
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