Our parsha is a direct continuation of Parshat Mikeitz and I would like to go back to the story that started last week and connect it, in its entirety, to the fast day observed this week – Asara B’Tevet. We left off last week with the brothers of Yosef having to dreadfully face him following the discovery of the royal silver goblet in the bag of Binyamin.
The incident took place just after the Torah tells us they were sent off with their donkeys: ְ ח ו ּ ה ֵ מּ ָ ה ו ַ ח ֲ מ ֹ רֵ י ה ֶ ם ו ְ ה ָ א ֲ נ ָ שׁ ִ י ם שׁ ֻ ל. Why do we need to be told they set off with their donkeys? It is clear they didn’t plan on walking back to Yaacov in Cna’an. The answer is simple, based on a Gemara (Taanit 24a) that speaks of Rabbi Yossi of Yokrat – the world’s first Avis branch. He had a fleet of donkeys that would be rented out in self-service fashion – whoever wished to use the animal would first place fifty shekel in a pouch that hung from its neck. If they placed more or less, the donkey would not budge. I recall hearing this story for the first time as a child from Rav Ovadiah Yosef, who asked why the donkey would not move for fifty-two or fifty-five shekel. Not moving for less makes sense, as the donkey does not want its owner to lose money. But why not accept the listed fare plus a small tip? He answered, this Gemara teaches us that anyone who does not accept a tip is a chamor! I recall this story well and chuckle. More seriously though, Chazal say these donkeys would also refuse to budge if something was accidently left behind in their pack saddle – the side bags used to schlep. They had the ability to detect the loaded cargo and whether something didn’t belong. Here the donkey left even with one extra item onboard – the goblet.
Upon stopping the convoy, they were confronted by Menashe, the eldest son of Yosef, who asked how they could do such a thing as to steal their ruler’s goblet. Their answer was a simple one, often found in the debate over Jewish law. They had a kal vachomer – known in Latin as an argument a fortiori, meaning from the stronger case. The extra money found earlier in their bags was returned to Egypt, so why would they now steal directly from the ruler? Besides from being a weak argument – given that all good thieves know how to set up their victim by returning small amounts and slowly building trust until the opportunity is gained to steal the big prize – Menashe correctly pointed out that the argument holds for everyone except Shimon and Binyamin, as they were not in the first group. Thus, the bags of Shimon and Binyamin were checked and what was found was found.
Chazal say (Midrash Tanchuma), after discovering the goblet in Binyamin’s bag, the brothers began to hit him and called him גנב בר גנבתא – thief, son of a thief. At its surface level, this refers to his mother, Rachel, taking Lavan’s idols as she and family departed Charan. At a deeper level though, it is not an accusation of him and his mother stealing, as the brothers would never call their mother by that name. Rather, it was an acknowledgement that both confiscated articles were used for idolatry. Not knowing he was Yosef and that he clearly knew which brother was which, it had appeared to the brothers as though Yosef knew their names and ages – as he seated them in order of age around the table – by asking his silver goblet, an article of sorcery and idol worship. Chazal say, only Yehuda refrained from hitting his brother, and as a result, according to Kerem Chemed, he was rewarded with a narrow strip of his inherited land jutting out into Binyamin’s territory. That sliver of land encompassed the Beit Hamikdash at the spot where the Mizbeach stood.
Let’s briefly rewind a day to the meal prepared upon Binyamin’s arrival in Egypt. As they sat down to eat, the Egyptians and Bnei Yisrael were seated separately – the Egyptian custom was not to disgrace themselves by eating together with Jews – except for Yosef, who sat together with Binyamin. Being that he was an orphan without a mother, Yosef made an exception to the rule. The Midrash in Sefer HaYashar says, Yosef turned to Binyamin at this point and quietly tipped him off as to what would transpire. Not only did he reveal his identity to the younger brother, but he also informed him of the intent to plant the silver goblet. Yosef then explained why. He wanted to test his brothers and see whether they’d once again give up their brother – another son of Rachel – or whether they had overcome that negative trait which sparked Yosef’s grueling ordeal years earlier. Finally, Yosef reassured Binyamin that he had nothing to fear, and how the Egyptian officers would assure his safety – minus a few bruises from the angry brothers. The brothers passed Yosef’s test:
ֹאמֶ ר יְ הוּדָ ה מַ ה־נֹּאמַ ר לַאדֹנִ י מַ ה־נְּ דַ בֵּ ר וּמַ ה־נִּ צְ טַ דָּ ק הָ אֱ-לֹהִים מָצָא אֶת־עֲוֺן עֲבָדֶיךָ הִנֶּנּוּ עֲבָדִ ים לַאדֹנִי גַם־אֲנַחְנוּ גַם אֲשׁ ֶר־נִמְצָא הַגָבִיעַ בְּיָדוֹ׃
Yehuda said, “What shall we say to my master? What can we speak? How can we justify ourselves? G-d has found the iniquity of your servants. Let us be slaves to my master, both we, and the one in whose hand the goblet was found.”
As can be seen in Yehuda’s response, they were no longer willing to jettison a brother to secure their safety. They would remain united and go down with the ship. Last week’s Parsha ends on this note, with the brothers in dialogue with Yosef, discussing what would happen next.
If they were already in discussion, and if Yehuda – who guaranteed Binyamin’s safety to their father – had already stepped up to speak on the brothers’ behalf, why does our Parsha begin the way it does? Why is there a need to call out Yehuda’s approach, or re-approach?
וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלָיו יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר בִּי אֲדֹנִי יְדַבֶּר־נָא עַבְדְּךָ דָבָר בְּאׇזְנֵי אֲדֹנִי וְאַל־יִחַר אַפְּךָ בְּעַבְדֶּךָ כִּי כָמוֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹה׃
Yehuda approached him and said, “Please my master, let your servant speak a word in my master’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.”
Of important note, the dialogue up until this point was always cordial, respectful, and highly fitting for one who speaks to royalty and power. On numerous occasions, Yosef was addressed as אֲדֹנִי – my master, and the words spoken to him reflected a cautious, if not fearful, relationship.
The Malbim says, the conversation turned at this point. Until now, it was a very technical and legal discussion, based on accusations, evidence, verdicts, and appeals. It was going nowhere, however, and Yehuda approached Yosef to change tactics:
“I no longer want to talk law with you. We did that last week. I now want to speak directly to your heart; I want to tell you something to your ear, unrelated to your official justice ministry and all its proceedings. An interpreter won’t be needed any longer; you’ll understand exactly what I am telling you; tears and emotion need no translation.”
Yehuda went on to appeal to Yosef, relaying emotional family details regarding their father’s reaction to recent family tragedies experienced. There is one short segment found in his monologue – כִּי כָמוֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹה – which is a gateway to tremendous insight, as explained vividly by Rashi based on the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 93:6):
כי כמוך כפרעה. חָשׁ וּב אַתָּה בְעֵינַי כְּמֶלֶךָ ... וְאֶת אֲדוֹנֶךָ אִם תַּקְנִיטֵנִי אֶהֱרֹג אוֹתְךָ ...
In my sight you are as important as the king. This is the literal meaning, but a Midrashic explanation is: You will ultimately be stricken with leprosy for detaining Binyamin even as your ancestor Pharaoh was stricken because he detained my ancestress Sarah one night... Another explanation is: For you shall become even as Pharaoh – if you provoke me, I will slay you and your master.
What started gently and respectfully, ended bluntly and harshly. After beginning their dialogue respectfully, with a voice of reason, Yehuda was done kowtowing to Yosef and was now threatening him! This was now war, mano a mano! While not cited by Rashi, the original Midrash includes an incredible list of threats made by Yehuda. These were threats not blurted out loud for all the officers and staff to hear, but rather whispered into the ear of Yosef.
I’d like to bring forth an idea found in sefer V’Higadeta, compiled by the grandson of Rav Sholom Schwadron. In it, he includes an essay from his grandfather on this pasuk and Yehuda’s threat, recounting an idea heard from his rebbe, Rav Elya Lopian. He asks, what changed here? Why did the discussion suddenly change from courteous and respectful to blunt and chockfull of threats? I’d like to bring you his answer, but only after we strengthen the question with a layer or two.
The Ten Royal Martyrs and Divine Decree
We’ll start with the powerful topic of Aseret Harugei Malchut – the ten royal martyrs whose poignant story is read both on Yom Kippur (אֵ לֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה) and Tisha B’Av (אַרְזֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן) – in piyyutim based on the Midrash Aseret Harugei Malchut. I’ll briefly summarize its introduction before we dive in.
After the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, the level of dejection amongst the people was somewhat low. They had lost the House of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, but their chachamim and tzaddikim were left intact. The Caeser at the time was Lupinos, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu planted in his heart that he should learn the Torat Moshe from these elders of Bnei Yisrael. He learned everything from Creation through Yosef being placed in a tomb at the end of Sefer Bereshit. He then began Sefer Shemot, plowing through Yetziat Mitzrayim and Matan Torah, and finally arriving at Parshat Mishpatim. One pasuk then threw him off:
וְגֹנֵב אִישׁ וּמְכָרוֹ וְנִמְצָא בְיָדוֹ מוֹת יוּמָת׃
And he that steals a man, and sells him, if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Lupinos stopped and reflected back on what he had just learned in Sefer Bereshit. He went back and checked, and sure enough, Yosef was sold into slavery, but his brothers lived on unscathed. Their natural death was recorded only in Sefer Shemot, with no mention of any punishment. How could that be, he wondered. He found no satisfactory answer and summoned the ten greatest scholars of Israel to get to the bottom of the matter, first filling his palace with shoes, to recall the shoes that were received as compensation for the sale of Yosef. Lupinos prepared a silver chair for each to sit on, and as they entered the palace they were confused as to what was taking place. Lupinos asked the chachamim, “What is the law if one kidnaps and steals a member of Israel?” The Midrash and piyyut of אֵ לֶּה אֶזְכְּרָה detail what occurred next:
They answered him: “The kidnapper should be put to death.” He then exclaimed “Where are your fathers, who sold their brother and dealt him to a caravan of Ishmaelites for pairs of shoes.”
“If so,” he challenged, “why did nothing happen to the brothers of Yosef?” They had no answer.
You, therefore, must accept the law of G-d upon yourselves, for from the time of your fathers there has been none like yourselves. For if they were still living, I would judge them before you, but now, you must bear the guilt of the sin of your fathers.
Lupinos decreed these ten scholars would represent the ten tribes and bear their punishment of death.
They answered, “Give us time, three days until we can determine if this has been decreed from heaven. For if we are guilty then we will accept the decree of He who is all merciful.”
The chachamim asked for three days to verify if the decree was valid, and how did they perform that verification? They turned to Rabbi Yishmael, whose face, the Midrash says, resembled that of the angel Gavriel.
Rabbi Yishmael purified himself and, trembling, uttered the Name, and ascended to heaven, and asked the man who wore garments of linen. He answered him, “Accept it upon yourselves beloved, righteous ones, for I have heard from behind the separation that this will be your demise.”
Rabbi Yishmael shared the answer with his peers:
He descended and told his friends the words of G-d. The evil tyrant then commanded to kill them with force and strength. The two which were taken first were great ones in Yisrael, Rabbi Yishmael, the High Priest, and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the head of the High Court.
Rabbotai, the story is stirring and heartbreaking, and brings us to tears each time we read through it. But I have one fundamental question about it all. What does it mean that Rabbi Yishmael ascended to Heaven to ask? Why did they all turn to him for the answer? If it was indeed a decree from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, they’d die. And if it wasn’t, they wouldn’t. If deserving, they’d die. And if not deserving, somehow the storyline would take a turn and the outcome would be different. Furthermore, with the powers Rabbi Yishmael possessed, he could have turned to Lupinos and killed him with one glance. There are a number of examples in the Talmud of death and destruction resulting from nothing but the eyes of a tzaddik. No bow and arrow, no gun, no RPG, and no drone. Two eyes, a glance, and it’s over! Similar acts were carried out via words as well – with Moshe Rabbeinu killing the Egyptian through utterance of the Shem Mem-Bet being a prime example. Why not invoke these methods here and save ten great tzaddikim? We’re told Rabbi Yishmael הִזְכִּיר אֶת הַשֵּׁם בְּסִלּוּדִים – uttered the Shem. If so, once already going that far, why not take out the Caesar and his palace?
The Power of the Word "Zot" and Yosef's Test
With your permission, let’s go back to a point we brought out last week regarding the final day of Chanukah – Zot Chanukah. The Bluzhev Rebbe, in Yetziva B'Arah, says the main grievance Yosef had with his brothers’ actions, and what bothered him most, was how they lied to their father. They dipped his coat in blood and asked Yaacov Avinu:
זֹאת מָצָאנוּ הִוא אִם־לֹא׃ הַכֶּר־נָא הַכְּתֹנֶת בִּנְךָ
We found this. Please identify it. Is it your son’s coat or not?
Their usage of the word זֹאת was extremely upsetting to Yosef. Thus, when they arrived in Egypt years later to collect food, Yosef accused them of being spies and threw them into jail, all while using the same word:
בְּזֹאת תִּבָּחֵנוּ חֵי פַרְעֹה אִם־תֵּצְאוּ מִזֶּה כִּי אִם־בְּבוֹא אֲחִיכֶם הַקָּטֹן הֵנָּה׃
You shall be tested in this manner. By Pharaoh’s life, you shall not leave from here unless your youngest brother comes here.
And when he sends them off while holding Shimon back, he once again turns to the same word:
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי זֹאת עֲשׂוּ וִחְיוּ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים אֲנִי יָרֵא׃
Yosef said to them on the third day, Do this and live. I fear G-d.
Yosef wanted to give them an opportunity to fix the word זֹאת, and to correct the act of lying and deceit taken with their father. When the brothers arrived back and told their father what took place – again referencing בְּזֹאת אֵדַע – Yaacov Avinu later responded in kind:
אִם־כֵּן אֵפוֹא זֹאת עֲשׂוּ קְחוּ מִזִּמְרַת הָאָרֶץ בִּכְלֵיכֶם וְהוֹרִידוּ לָאִישׁ מִנְחָה
If so, here, this is what you must do: Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and take an offering to the man
The brothers followed their father’s orders and travelled back to Yosef, gifts in hand. Fast forward to the very end of last week’s Parsha, and the famous cliffhanger ends with Yosef’s final words once again bringing זֹאת into focus. To Yehuda’s offer of everyone staying back and all being enslaved to Yosef, he responds:
וַיֹּאמֶר חָלִילָה לִי מֵעֲשׂוֹת זֹאת הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא הַגָּבִיעַ בְּיָדוֹ הוּא יִהְיֶה לִי עָבֶד וְאַתֶּם עֲלוּ לְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־אֲבִיכֶם׃
And he said, Far be it from me that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman; and as for you, go up in peace to your father.
Pay close attention here. When Rabbi Yishmael asks [the angel Gavriel] what was taking place and the nature of the Caesar’s decree, the verdict he received lines up:
He answered him, “Accept it upon yourselves beloved, righteous ones, for I have heard from behind the separation that this will be your demise.”
They were guilty of the same זֹאת – of turning to their father in deceit and lying to him about their actions and his son’s fate! That is the claim now being held against the ten chachamim, and the reason Lupidos decreed they be killed.
The Martyrdom of Rabbi Chananya ben Tradyon
One of the ten martyrs was named Rabbi Chananya ben Tradyon and his brutal murder is described:
He commanded them to bring out Rabbi Chananya ben Tradyon from his house of study, and on a pyre of green brushwood they burnt his body. Layers of wet wool were placed on his chest to prolong the agony; and when they were removed, he was consumed immediately together with the Torah Scroll he held.
According to the Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh, his Neshama was concealed in the city of Shechem, and when Dina was freed from the city, his Neshama was taken out as well. He was a trusted supervisor of tzedakah collection, as the Gemara (Avodah Zara 17b) tells us:
Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: A person should not donate his money to the charity purse unless a Torah scholar like Rabbi Ḥanina ben Tradyon is appointed as supervisor over it...
The Sages taught: When Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma fell ill, Rabbi Ḥanina ben Tradyon went to visit him. Rabbi Yosei said to him: Ḥanina my brother, do you not know that this nation has been given reign by a decree from Heaven? The proof is that Rome has destroyed G-d’s Temple, and burned His Sanctuary, and killed His pious ones, and destroyed His best ones, and it still exists. Evidently, all of this is by Divine decree. And yet I heard about you that you sit and engage in Torah study, and convene assemblies in public, and have a Torah scroll placed in your lap, thereby demonstrating complete disregard for the decrees issued by the Romans.
Rabbi Ḥanina ben Tradyon said to him: Heaven will have mercy and protect me. Rabbi Yosei said to him: I am saying reasonable matters to you, and you say: Heaven will have mercy? I wonder if the Romans will not burn both you and your Torah scroll by fire. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Tradyon said: My teacher, what will become of me? Am I destined for life in the World-to-Come?
Rabbi Yosei said to him: Did any special incident occur to you which might serve as an indication? Rabbi Ḥanina said to him: I confused my coins that I needed for the festivities of Purim with coins of charity, and I distributed them all to the poor at my own expense. Rabbi Yosei said to him: If that is so, may my portion be of your portion, and may my lot be of your lot.
Rabbi Chananya – or R’ Chanina according to the Gemara’s spelling – thought himself guilty of mixing up the money he was overseeing and accidently using his Purim money for charity distributions. What would the ordinary person do in such a case? They’d reach into the second envelope, pull out the same amount, and replenish what was mistakenly withdrawn from the first envelope. Easy solution. But Rabbi Chananya was not like that. He concluded that Hakadosh Baruch Hu wished for both lots to end up being tzedakah.
Following the death of Rabbi Yosei ben Kisma, people returned from the funeral and saw Rabbi Chananya sitting outside, publicly learning Torah in violation of the decree. He was sentenced to die, and his death would be gruesome:
They brought him to be sentenced, and wrapped him in the Torah scroll, and encircled him with bundles of branches, and they set fire to it. And they brought tufts of wool and soaked them in water, and placed them on his heart, so that his soul should not leave his body quickly, but he would die slowly and painfully. His daughter said to him: Father, must I see you like this? Rabbi Ḥanina ben Tradyon said to her: If I alone were being burned, it would be difficult for me, but now that I am burning along with a Torah scroll, He who will seek retribution for the insult accorded to the Torah scroll will also seek retribution for the insult accorded to me.
His students wished for the suffering to end and urged him to open his mouth and allow the flames to consume him quicker, but he opposed the idea:
It is preferable that He who gave me my soul should take it away, and one should not harm oneself to speed his death.
