"I will sustain you there, for there are still five years of famine remaining, lest you, your household, and all that you possess fall into poverty." (Bereshit 45:11)
One might ask: what good news is this that Yosef announces to his father, telling him that he will sustain and maintain him? Did our Sages not say in the Talmud (Beitzah 32b): "He who depends on the table of his fellow, the world turns dark for him"?
It can be answered that this principle is not applicable here, for since these were years of famine, the world was dark for everyone. Moreover, it is a mitzvah to participate in the collective suffering, as our Sages said (Taanit 11a). This is the meaning of what Yosef said to him: "'I will sustain you there, for there are still five years of famine.' During those five years, the world is plunged into darkness for everyone, and therefore there is no issue with me maintaining you during that period."
Zera Shimshon, Parashat Vayigash, Art. 5
