עוד יוסף חי - 37:20 “ועתה לכו ונהרגהו ונשלכהו באחד הבורות ואמרנו חיה רעה אכלתהו, ונראה מה יהיו חלומותיו” – “And now, come and let us kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams.” Why did the Torah write, “רעה” that it was a “bad” animal that devoured Yosef, instead of just saying, “חיה אכלתהו” – that an animal devoured Yosef? The brothers wanted Yaakov to lose complete hope that Yosef was still alive, so that he would not send people to look for him. Had they just said, “חיה אכלתהו” – that an animal devoured Yosef, Yaakov would have said that it is impossible, for Chazal tell us that no harm comes to Shluchei Mitzvah (One who is in the process of performing a Mitzvah); and Yosef was doing the Mitzvah of Kibbud Av, of going to see how the brothers were. Therefore, they said, “חיה רעה אכלתהו” – that it was a wild beast, which for a wild beast it is common for it to devour people. There is a caveat to the rule that Shluchei Mitzvah are not harmed, and that is that if they are in a situation where being harmed is usual and common, from that type of harm they are not protected. As the Gemara in Kiddushin 39b says that if one goes on a weak rickety ladder, then even if he is performing a Mitzvah, he may be harmed, for when one goes on a ladder like that it is regular and common for him to get hurt. By saying that it was a “חיה רעה” they were telling Yaakov that Yosef would not have been saved from harm for it was a wild beast, and thus Yaakov was to give up complete hope in ever finding Yosef alive.
