[Avodah] Miketz - A FEW PESHATIM

[SBA]

From: "Richard Wolberg" < >
The wine steward remembers Yosef and approaches Par'o with his story. "With
us there was this Jewish kid [na'ar]..." Par'o orders Yosef's removal from
prison and Yosef is prepared to meet Par'o.

Rashi points out (actually curses) that wicked people, even when they are
acknowledging good that was done on their behalf, will belittle those to
whom they owe a debt of gratitude. The Wine Steward refers to Yosef as a
NA'AR (connotation of a fool), 
===

I saw a nice pshat explaining how the Sar Hamashkim dared to call Yosef a
'shotah' to Paroy. After all he was recommending him to help with the dreams
and it was a milsa deavide legeluyeh? Paroy would have immediately realized
that Yosef was far, far from being a shotah??

(The SR explains simply that in the eyes of reshaim, all Yerei Hashem/
Shomrei Mitzvos are 'shotim' - something that Paroy fully agreed with -
until he met and heard Yosef.) 

But an even stronger pshat, IMHO, I saw in a Torah journal - that prisoners
whilst in jail have plenty of time to shmooz. Thus after the Sar Hamashkim
and Sar Ha'ofim told Yosef the reasons for their incarceration, they asked
him what he was doing there?

Yosef replied that refusing the attempts of the beautiful Mrs Potifar to
seduce him got him into the slammer. 

"What a shoteh!!!" they thought. And Paroy - the leader of the ervas haaretz
- when hearing this would not have disagreed...

[Talking of shoteh, did anyone else notice another such reference this week?
See Rashi 42:38, dh Lo Yered Beni imochem: "Lo kibel devorov shel Reuven,
omar: bechor shoteh hu zeh - hu omer lehemis bonov, vechi bonov hem velo
bonay?"]


==

Regarding a discussion we had some time ago about tzadikim and their animals
not being nichshal...a nice pshat that the old Nitra rav (Rav Shmuel Dovid
zt'l) brings in his sefer Ne'os Deshe beshem his father Rav Yosef Moshe
Ungar zt'l Pisztian Rav - in parshas Chayei Sarah.

He asks why Eliezer - after accepting a drink from Rivka, allowed her to
bring water for the camels? After all, the siman that he had made for
himself had been fulfilled as soon as Rivka had made the offer, so why
'bamootche' a young girl so much? And even if the camels were thirsty -
which is debatable seeing that had had kefitzas haaretz - he could have
drawn the water himself?

He answers with a vort on this week's parsha from the Vilna Gaon on 'Haboker
Or veha'anoshim shilchu hema vechamoreihem".

 Why - asks the Gra - is it necessary for the pasuk to tell us about the
chamorim?

He answers that we know 'behemton shel tzadikim ein HKBH mevi takolo al
yodon' (and see Taanis 24 that the donkey of Reb Yosi wouldn't bring home
anything that didn't belong to his owner).

Yosef's kavono in the whole Binyomin affair wasn't stam to upset and hurt
his brothers - but rather to ensure that by making them suffer they have a
kapara for their sin of selling him and thus they will not be punished min
hashomayim.

But how can a basar vedam judge if they had already suffered enough for
their aveireh or if they still required some more pain?

So Yosef made himself a siman that if his brother's chamorim would carry off
the stolen govia - that means that they are not yet 'tzadikim' and still
require additional suffering. 

And that is the reason for veha'anshim shilchu "hema vechamoreihem" - the
chamorim being the main test...

Using this, the Neos Deshe explains that Eliezer knew that the gemalim of
Avrohom Avinu would not drink from Rivka if she were not worthy enough to
enter AA's home. Thus the camels were indeed a major test of Rivka's
suitability (as indeed Eliezer emphasized when repeating the story to
Besuel, "vegam hagemalim hishkasa".. VPCC

---

Rashi 42:15 dh Chey paroy: "...keshehoyo nishba lasheker hoyo nishba
bechayei Paroy..."

How often was Yosef hatzadik 'nishba lasheker'??


SBA