Asheimim Anachnu (Parshas Mikeitz)

"Asheimim anachnu al dvar acheinu (we are guilty in the matter of our brother)... v'lo yadu ki hameilitz beinusam (and they did not realize the translator was amidst them)" .The Tiferes Shlomo notes that these were the Shivtei Kah, the holy shevatim, who undoubtedly carefully considered before acting against Yosef, who went through 22 Yom Kippurs knowing what they did to Yosef and still having no regrets, and now 22 years later, in the face of the evidence of the events of Mitzrayim, they suddenly realized they were wrong. In our own lives, how often do we convince ourselves of our righteousness, only to discover years later or never at all that we were really in error? Yet, that moment did come for the Shevatim, and at that moment, the "meilitz" was among them. In a play on words the Tiferes Shlomo explains "meilitz" not as translator, but akin to what we utter on Yom Kippur - "b'ain meilitz yosher mul maggid pesha..."; a "meilitz" is a Heavenly angel who speaks in our defense at time of judgement. It may take years to get there, but the very moment we acknowledge error, immediately the tide changes and a Heavenly voice of mercy begins to plead with Hashem for our forgiveness.