What would your reaction be after reuniting with your siblings after twenty-two years? Yosef had been sold as a seventeen-year-old and had not seen his brothers nor his father ever since. Finally, after twenty-two years in Egypt, Yosef sees ten of his brothers again. He stands face to face as they bow to him, the viceroy of Egypt. This is the moment where he stares into the eyes of the brothers who felt intense hatred toward him. Yosef chooses to not reveal himself and instead keep his true identity hidden. Why would Yosef conceal this instead of just letting his brothers know that it was him?
Ramban believes that the dreams Yosef had twenty-two years earlier were not just dreams—they were prophecies. Yosef had to make sure that these dreams/prophecies were going to actually happen. In order for the dreams to become a reality, he had to arrange for Binyamin to come to Egypt. Once Binyamin would come to Egypt, all eleven brothers would bow to Yosef, like his dreams. At this point, only ten brothers bowed and Yosef would have to be sure that the prophecies would take place. We can connect to this nowadays in 5785 and especially on Chanukah. Yosef demonstrated extreme self-control and did whatever he could to ensure that Hashem’s message would actualize. All of us can think about involving Yosef’s middah of self-control in our day-to-day lives and trusting in Hashem.
Good Shabbos!
By: Simcha Rosenberg (10th)
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