In this post our member Rabbi Paul Bloom considers the fragile emotional state of Yaakov's family after his decease, and describes its route to reconciliation and the prospect for redemption.
The Final Moral Vision of Sefer Bereishit
The closing chapter of Sefer Bereishit brings us to a moment
charged with fear, memory, and moral reckoning. Yaakov Avinu has died. He has
been mourned, escorted with great honor from Egypt to Chevron, and buried in
Ma’arat HaMachpelah. The family returns to Egypt—but the emotional equilibrium
has shifted irrevocably.
Yosef is no longer simply a brother. He is the all-powerful viceroy
of the mightiest empire on earth. The brothers, stripped of the protective
presence of their father, are suddenly terrified. As long as Yaakov lived, they
believed that Yosef’s resentment—if it still existed—was held in check. Now,
they fear, the reckoning may come.
The Torah describes their anxiety (at Bereishit 50:15):
וַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי-יוֹסֵף, כִּי-מֵת אֲבִיהֶם, וַיֹּאמְרוּ,
לוּ יִשְׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף; וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב, לָנוּ, אֵת כָּל-הָרָעָה, אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ
אֹתוֹ
When Yosef’s brothers saw that their father had died, they said:
‘Perhaps Yosef will bear hatred toward us and repay us for all the evil we
inflicted upon him.
Fear gives birth to a message. They send word to Yosef (Bereishit
50:16–17):
וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל-יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה, לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר
כֹּה-תֹאמְרוּ
לְיוֹסֵף, אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם כִּי-רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ
Your father commanded before his death, saying: ‘So shall you say
to Yosef—please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for
they caused you great harm.
A “White Lie” — or a Deeper Truth?
Chazal, followed by Rashi, make a striking assertion. Yaakov never
said this. Based on the Gemara (Yevamot 65b), "A person is permitted to deviate from the
truth for the sake of peace". According to this approach, the brothers altered the truth—not for
personal gain, but to avert danger and preserve harmony. Yosef himself would have known immediately
that this message could not be literally true. He had never told his father
what happened. The brothers had never told him either.
The Ramban emphasizes that Yaakov went to his grave without ever
knowing of the sale of Yosef. One of the clearest proofs appears in Yaakov’s
final blessings. He rebukes Shimon and Levi for the massacre of Shechem (Bereishit
49:5), yet he never mentions the attempted destruction of Yosef. Had
Yaakov known, silence would have been impossible. Clearly, he never knew. But I
would like to suggest a deeper reading—one in which the brothers’ message was
not a lie at all.
“Gather Together” — Yaakov’s True Final Command
Before Yaakov begins blessing his sons individually, he summons
them with charged language (Bereishit 49:1):
הֵאָסְפוּ וְאַגִּידָה לָכֶם, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יִקְרָא
אֶתְכֶם, בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים
Gather yourselves, and I will tell you what will befall you at the
end of days.
Chazal explain that Yaakov sought to reveal the ultimate
future—the trajectory of redemption—but this knowledge was withheld. The future
is not meant to be predicted; it is meant to be created. Absolute foreknowledge
would paralyze human freedom.
Yet something essential was revealed. Yaakov continues (Bereishit
49:2):
הִקָּבְצוּ
וְשִׁמְעוּ, בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב; וְשִׁמְעוּ, אֶל-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲבִיכֶם
Come together and listen, sons of Yaakov;
listen to Israel, your father.
The repeated call to gather—using two distinct Hebrew verbs—conveys
a foundational truth: the future of Am Yisrael depends on unity. This, I
suggest, is what the brothers meant when they said, *“Your father commanded
us.”* Not that he uttered those precise words, but that he left them with an
unmistakable mandate: Redemption requires unity. Unity requires forgiveness.
Yosef’s Answer: Forgiveness as the Engine of History
Yosef’s response confirms this reading (Bereishit 50:19–20):
וַיֹּאמֶר
אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף, אַל-תִּירָאוּ: כִּי הֲתַחַת אֱלֹהִים, אָנִי
וְאַתֶּם,
חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה; אֱלֹהִים, חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה
Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended evil against
me—but God transformed it into good. Intentions still matter.
The brothers must answer to God for their moral failure. But history, Yosef
teaches, is shaped by Divine purpose. Forgiveness is not denial of pain—it is
commitment to the future.
Unity Without Uniformity
Yet a final question remains. If unity is so central, why does
Yaakov emphasize difference? Why bless each son individually? Why assign each
tribe a unique destiny? The Torah’s answer emerges later in the desert. The
tribes encamp separately, each with its own banner, surrounding a single center
(Bamidbar 2:2):
אִישׁ עַל-דִּגְלוֹ בְאֹתֹת לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם,
יַחֲנוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: מִנֶּגֶד, סָבִיב לְאֹהֶל-מוֹעֵד יַחֲנוּ
Each person by his banner, with the signs
of his father’s house, shall the children of Israel encamp—facing and
surrounding the Tent of Meeting.
Unity does not require sameness. Diversity flourishes when oriented
toward a shared spiritual center.
Twelve Windows, One Heaven
The Zohar teaches that ideally a synagogue should contain twelve
windows—corresponding to the twelve tribes. Each shevet’s prayers ascend
through a different spiritual channel. Different nuschaot, different paths—but
one destination. What unites us is not uniform practice, but shared faith.
The Closing Message of Bereishit
When the brothers say to Yosef (Bereishit 50:17):
אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם
כִּי-רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ
Please forgive the transgression of the
servants of your father’s God,
they reveal the deepest source of Jewish unity. Even when
brotherhood alone is strained, we are bound by something deeper: we are
servants of the God of Yaakov.
Bereishit closes not merely with reconciliation, but with a
blueprint for redemption: A people of distinct voices, united by faith,
sustained by forgiveness, and committed to a shared destiny.
That is the strength of Israel. And that is the path to geulah.
