In parsha VaYeshev Yaakov avinu places his son Yosef in charge of his brothers. It is a good choice because he is the sage and the tsadik of the family. The selection is favorable before heaven and haKadosh Baruch Hu gives Yosef a dream which reveals that not only is he to be in charge of the brothers, but the entire family as well.
Everybody understands the message of the dreams but even so it does not sit well with them. In the spirit of the dream Yaakov, in order to educate his children, instructs Yosef to report to him the shortcomings of his brothers. When he does so, the brothers accuse Yosef of being an informer and demand that he be killed. Reuven, the oldest, does not fully agree, nevertheless he deems the punishment for an informer of “moridin v’lo maalin” (מורידין ולא מעלין - throw him in a well and don't let him out) as acceptable. Unlike a well he is thrown into a pit that has no water but it does have snakes and scorpions. Upon reflection Judah is more lenient and recommends life imprisonment in the form of slavery in Egypt. Therefore they sell Yosef to the Arabs.
It turns out though to be a country club jail. Instead of having to wear dirty underwear for a week and a half, he is given nice clothes. Instead of being forced to sleep on a concrete bed, he is given a private room. He is not forced to wear handcuffs, rather he can go where he wants, but Pharaoh keeps his army close by to make sure Yosef does not escape.
Things go badly for Judah. Two of his sons die because they are rashaim. His daughter in law tricks him for one night into fathering her twins. After that Judah has no wife and never remarries.
Egyptian justice is very bad. Yosef is punished based on obvious perjured testimony, when in fact his behavior was exemplary. With him in jail is a dedicated, professional wine steward, who had the bad luck that a fly fell into Pharaoh's cup. Also imprisoned is Pharaoh's baker. He was not a good worker and baked a pebble into Pharaoh's bread. Therefore Pharaoh for entertainment has him hung at his birthday party.
In the end the brothers are put under Yosef’s thumb and he terrorises them with things they fear worse than death. After that they accept the authority of Yosef and agree to learn from him.
The point of the story is sometimes people hate wisdom and righteousness so much that they are ready to kill the teacher. However haKadosh Baruch Hu will not let them do it. Rather, He will take care of the teacher, punish the students for their chutzpah, and force them to go to class.
לע"נ הסבא אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל נלב"ע כז טבת תשכו
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com
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