Devar/5768/Mikets
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And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not (Gen 42:8)
It is not difficult to understand why they did not recognize their brother. They expected him to be but a slave - if he were even alive - they certainly didn't imagine he would be the ruler of Egypt! When they last saw him, he was a youth, in torn and dirty clothes - now, he is a "successful man", in the trappings of an important minister, the second in command to the king of Egypt.
But that surprising brother gives them hints all the time: And Joseph said unto them the third day. 'This do, and live; for I fear God (Gen 42:18). Had anything like this ever been heard of, an idolatrous Egyptian acknowledging Hashem, the God of Israel? And he said: 'Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks (Gen 43:23) And further: And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians (Gen 43:32)
They saw the ruler of Egypt eating separately, because it was an honor for him. We know that if he hadn't been a Hebrew, the rest of the Egyptians would have eaten with him. They heard him bless them generically, but we know he blessed them in the name of the God of their forefathers, and he didn't mention Egyptian gods because he had never ceased worshiping God.
Even though the truth was presented before them, they did not succeed in discerning it even though they were all righteous and wise. From this we should know that there is no special importance to facts when there is no willingness to understand them. When the brothers came, they knew that Yosef was gone. It didn't occur to them that he would appear before them, and therefore they did not see him nor recognize him even though he was in front of them, and spoke in their manner (that is, the form of his words, not the words themselves).
We must be very careful - in all our endeavors, but especially with Torah study - to approach each situation, as far as possible, without prejudices. That is to say, we should always try to see the truth as it is, and not as we think it is.
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