“And Yisrael loved Yosef most of all his sons, for he was a child of his old age... And his brothers saw that it was he that their father loved most of all his brothers, and they hated him, and they were unable to speak peacefully with him.” (Bereishis 37:3-4)
There are several difficulties to raise about this passage, including: 1) Why is Yosef’s father first called Yaakov and then Yisrael? 2) What does it mean that Yosef was beloved because “he was a child of [Yaakov’s] old age” if Binyamin was even younger than Yosef? Finally, of course, what relevance do these stories of ancient history bear for us today?
I propose to explain the significance of this narrative, in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner, with the following idea, the beginning of which I heard in the name of my mentor, the Besht (Ba’al Shem Tov). The twelve tribes of the Jewish People represent twelve approaches to mitzvah observance:
1) The name Reuven, ראובן, as the Gemara explains, is derived from חמי בן לבין בני בין מה ראו, see the difference between my son and the son of my father-in-law, i.e., Mitzvos performed for the sake of their being noticed by others. 2) The name Shimon, שמעון, is derived from שם, reputation, i.e., Mitzvos performed to gain a good reputation. 3) Levi, לוי , from the term לויה , escort, i.e., Mitzvos performed to get into the right company. 4) Yehudah, יהודה , from the term הודאה , Thanksgiving, to elicit gratitude from others. (These first four are attributed to the Besht.) 5) Yissochar, יששכר, from the term שכר, reward, i.e., to receive the “wealth and honor” promised to those who engage in Torah study.
6) Zevulun, זבלון, from אישי יזבלני , my husband will dwell with me, i.e., to gain the partnership of the scholarly elites. 7) Yosef, יוסף, got his name from the term הוספה , addition, i.e., the hope that one Mitzvah will lead to another, or to compensate Heaven for the pleasure derived from the previous mitzvah. 8) Binyamin, בנימין, from ימין , the right, alluding to the longevity promised for Torah. 9) Dan, דן, from דין, judgement, i.e., the fulfilment of the Mitzvos to avoid punishment in This World or the Next. 10) Naftali, נפתלי , from the term ופתלתל עקש, twistedness, i.e., mitzvos done for one-upmanship, to highlight the crookedness of others, while regarding oneself לי נפת, sweetness unto me. 11) Gad, גד, from the inverse of the letters – דג, fish, of whom the larger swallow the smaller, i.e., Mitzvos for the sake of dominating others. 12) Asher, אשר, from the term בנות אישרוני , the maidens will praise me, i.e., to gain the favor of one’s audience, so that they will provide him with material benefits. Of these twelve motivations, which are the most superior? Yosef and Binyamin.
Of the two, Yosef is the superior, as he is not motivated by anything other than the desire to fulfill Hashem’s will. (As the Olelos Ephrayim put it, one ought not stray from a pure motivation for a Mitzvah, neither to the right – the בימינה ימים ארך, nor to the left – the עשר בשמאלה . Now let us return to our passage. וישראל, the Jewish People as a collective, appreciates the model of “Yosef,” the one who performs his service for pure reasons, more than that of other scholars who are motivated by personal gains, לו הוא זקנים בן כי , as Onkelos renders it חכים בר, for the sake of Heaven.
