When Yaakov sent Yosef to check on his brothers, he said, “Please go and see the peace of your brothers, and the peace of the sheep, and bring me back word.”
What was Yaakov trying to say? It’s an unusual turn of a phrase, “See their peace,” and also, he seems to equate the importance of the sheep’s situation to that of the brothers’. Finally, Yaakov stressed that Yosef should return with a report. What is it all about?
Yaakov knew that Yosef constantly found fault in his brothers’ actions. True, it was because he wanted them to improve, but Yaakov wanted Yosef to realize that Hashem doesn’t want us to police our brethren unless absolutely necessary. He prefers that we find positive things to say about them, even if it’s something as mundane as, “They’re taking good care of the sheep.”
A Sage in the Gemara had a wife who tormented him, but he said, “It’s enough that she raises my children and keeps me from sin.” Look for the positive, because that’s the kind of person Hashem wants you to be.
