Tuesday, December 07, 2021

all in

 1. Yosef tells Pharoah that the significance of his dream being doubled, his seeing fat cows/skinny cows and full sheaves of grain/skimpy sheaves of grain, is that the events the dream portend will happen immediately:

 וְעַ֨ל הִשָּׁנ֧וֹת הַחֲל֛וֹם אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֖ה פַּעֲמָ֑יִם כִּֽי־נָכ֤וֹן הַדָּבָר֙ מֵעִ֣ם האלקים  וּמְמַהֵ֥ר האלקים  לַעֲשֹׂתֽוֹ

You can't help but wonder what was going through the back of Yosef's mind when he said those words.  He too had had a double dream of the stars, sun, and moon bowing to him and sheaves of grain bowing to him, and here it was 22 years later  and his dream had still not yet been fulfilled.

(Yes, I know the meforshim all draw distinctions between the double-dream of Yosef and the double-dream of Pharoah, but logic does not necessarily satisfy the emotional frustration of the dream not being realized. )

2. Netziv and Malbim interpret  וְלֹֽא־יִוָּדַ֤ע הַשָּׂבָע֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ מִפְּנֵ֛י הָרָעָ֥ב הַה֖וּא אַחֲרֵי־כֵ֑ן כִּֽי־כָבֵ֥ד ה֖וּא מְאֹֽד (41:31) not that when the famine hits the good years will be forgotten, but rather that the fat years themselves will not be fully enjoyed because the dark clouds of future famine hang over everything.  When you are anxious about the future, it blocks whatever enjoyment you might have from the present.

3. The Taz in Divrei David interprets Reuvain's statement  אֶת־שְׁנֵ֤י בָנַי֙ תָּמִ֔ית אִם־לֹ֥א אֲבִיאֶ֖נּוּ אֵלֶ֑יךָ  (which if read literally, is completely bizarre) to mean that his children will forfeit the double-nachalah that should be their due since their father was the bechor.  

Why did Yaakov accept Yehudah's argument of  אָֽנֹכִי֙ אֶֽעֶרְבֶ֔נּוּ מִיָּדִ֖י תְּבַקְשֶׁ֑נּוּ אִם־לֹ֨א הֲבִיאֹתִ֤יו אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ וְהִצַּגְתִּ֣יו לְפָנֶ֔יךָ וְחָטָ֥אתִֽי לְךָ֖ כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃, that he would forfeit his olam ha'ba if he failed to bring Binyamin home, but not Reuvain's offer?  

If, as Rashi writes, Yaakov did not want his grandchildren to suffer as that would only compound his losses, why would he accept the possibility of his own son losing olam ha'ba, thereby also compounding his losses?

I saw in the name of the Sefas Emes: Reuvain had 4 sons (46:9).  By putting only 2 of his sons on the line, Reuvain was in effect hedging his bets.  He wanted to bring Binyamin home safely, but hey, you never know.

Yehudah went all in. Either he brings Binyamin home or bust, he loses everything.

A baal bitachon is someone who has wholehearted confidence that Hashem will bring him success, and Hashem in turn midah k'neged midah delivers for such a person.  There is no such thing as a 50% baal bitachon, 75%, or even 90%.  It's all in, or there is no guarantee of the result.  

1 comment:

  1. Re #3 - bizzare - I always agreed with your statement until I saw the Bechor Shor: Giving two people as surety for Binyamin. So he had more on the line than Yaakov as incentive. (doesn't fit so well with Sfas Emes).

    Shasdaf

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