Devar/5770/Vayigash
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< Devar | 5770
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And Joseph said unto his brethren: 'I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?' And his brethren could not answer him; for they were affrighted at his presence (Gen 45:3)
The story comes to a head: Joseph makes himself known to his brothers -- and they are so shocked that they are unable to say anything. At first glance, Joseph's statement has two points: "I am Joseph", informing them who he really is -- and "doth my father yet live?", inquiring about his father's health.
"I am Joseph" -- on the one hand, is a rebuke: even though you sold me here, I remained alive. But it is also a gentle statement: I am your younger brother, and there is still brotherhood between us. In addition, it is a promise for the future: just as I remained true to myself -- "I am Joseph" -- and faithful to the God of our fathers, despite being exiled to this place which reeks of idolatry -- so too, our descendants who will remain here many years will come out whole.
"doth my father yet live?" -- they already said their father was alive, what purpose is served by him asking this question now? This is also a rebuke: how can I believe what you say, after you permitted our father to believe that I am dead? It is also an expression of his love and honor for his father, whom he had not seen nor heard news of in a very long time. And again, a rebuke: you caused our father such heavy emotional trauma -- even though his body is still breathing, how can he be called "alive"?
King Solomon said in his wisdom, Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter a word before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few (Ecc 5:1). And our Sages of blessed memory said: A sage's words should be few, but contain a great deal (Laws of Personality Development 2:9). If they had not said any of this, we could have learned it all from Joseph the righteous.
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