Identity Crisis

After uttering those fateful words, “Ani Yosef Ha’Od Avi Chai”, it seems that Yosef Hatzaddik had two immediate goals: to assure his brothers that he harbored no ill will against them, and to ensure that they, and the rest of the Bais Yaakov, came down to live in Mitzrayim. In fact, before his brothers can even speak, while they were still reeling from the shock of Yosef’s revelation, he not only tells them to come to Mitzrayim, but informs them where they would live: “V’Yashavta B’Eretz Goshen”. Yosef gives his brothers no choice in the matter: they were to go back Yaakov and return to Mitzrayim, and settle in Goshen.

As the Pessukim continue, Yosef never wavers from this mission. The plan for Yaakov and his family to settle in Goshen specifically seems to have great importance, leading one to wonder why Yosef was so fixated on this very location. Interestingly, Rashi does not address this question until much later in the Parsha, when Yaakov and his sons actually arrive in Mitzrayim.

At that point Rashi explains why Goshen was favorable for the Shevatim: “Hi Eretz Mireh”, it has land for grazing. As we know, Yaakov had in his possession many flocks of sheep and cattle, and he required grazing land for them. To this end, Yosef tells his brothers that when they meet Pharaoh they should emphasize the fact that they were shepherds, so that he would send them to Goshen, where there were appropriate pastures.

The way that Yosef tells his brothers to do so, however, is interesting for a few reasons. First, he tells them that he is going to tell Pharaoh that his family has arrived, and will also tell Pharaoh about their flocks: “V’Hanashim Roei Tzon Ki Anshei Mikneh Hayu.” Then, he tells his brothers that when Pharaoh calls for them, and asks what they do, they should respond in kind, telling Pharaoh that they are indeed “Anshei Mikneh”. Why was all this necessary? In fact, Yosef tells them that they should also tell Pharaoh that this is their family business, so to speak, adding: “Gam Anachnu Gam Avoseinu.”

Why was all this necessary? If Yosef told Pharaoh that his family were all shepherds, why would Pharaoh ask them about their occupation? In addition, why did Yosef have to coach his brothers? It is often said that people should tell the truth if only because it is the easiest story to remember. The Shevatim were in fact Anshei Mikneh, why would Yosef think they would answer the question “Mah Melachtecha”, as posed by Pharaoh, in any other way? Lastly, why did Yosef instruct them to add on to the answer, telling Pharaoh about their heritage, that they come from a long line of shepherds, so to speak?

As we continue to learn the Pessukim, it seems that Yosef’s collusion with his brothers regarding their interactions with Pharaoh were not even the extent of his machinations. After Yosef tells Pharaoh that his family, and all their cattle, has arrived, he brings some of his brothers to meet Pharaoh. The Passuk tells us: “U’Miktzei Achiv Lakach Chamisha Anashim VaYatzigem Lifnei Pharaoh”. Yosef brought five of his eleven brothers to meet Paharaoh and, as he had predicted, Pharaoh asks them about their livelihood. The brothers keep to the script exactly as prescribed by Yosef, and ask Pharaoh to send them to Goshen, a suggestion to which he readily accedes.

In the above Passuk there word “U’Miktzei” seems to be extra: the Passuk could have said “U’Meachiv Lakach”, leading Chazal to explain that the term Miktzei means “Min HaPechusim Shelahem”. It seems that Yosef brought his weaker brothers to Pharaoh fearing that if he brought the stronger ones, Pharaoh would want to employ them in his armies. The very choice, then, of who he would bring to meet Paharaoh was also part of the elaborate ruse put into place by Yosef.

The overriding question on all these Pessukim is why this was all necessary in any case. Yosef was Pharaoh’s most trusted advisor, and upon his appointment Pharaoh said “Rak Hakisei Egdal Mimecha”, only the throne itself would differentiate us. Why did Yosef think he needed to fool Pharaoh into sending his family to Goshen? At no point do we ever see Pharaoh contradicting his wunderkind, Yosef Hatzaddik, why would he begin now? In fact, earlier in the Parsha, when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, Pharaoh already told him to send for his father, and that they will be given “Tuv Eretz Mitzrayim”. Clearly Pharaoh wished to give Yaakov and his family an appropriate area in which to settle. Why didn’t Yosef just advise Pharaoh to send them to Goshen? Why all the intrigue?

Before answering this question, let us look at how Rashi addresses another point in the Passuk. While the Torah tells us that Yosef brought five of his brothers to Pharaoh, it does not mention which five. Rashi having explained that these were the five weakest Shevatim—in the physical sense—brings a Medrash Rabba which identifies them. In Zos Habracha, in the Brachos that Moshe Rabbeinu gave to Klal Yisroel, there are six Shevatim whose names are mentioned in the Brachos themselves, called “Osam SheHuchpalu Shemosam” those whose names were “doubled”. Those are: Yehuda, Gad, Nafatali, Dan, Zevulan and Asher. These, the Medrash says, were the strongest Shevatim, and it was the other five (not including Yosef himself) that were brought before Pharaoh.

Rashi then brings a Gemarah in Bava Kamma that answers the same question in the opposite manner: other than Yehuda, the Shevatim whose names were mentioned in their respective Brachos were the weaker ones, and it was those five—Gad, Nafatali, Dan, Zevulan and Asher—whom Yosef produced for Pharaoh.

The Machlokes between the Medrash and the Gemarah begs explanation. Everyone agrees that Yosef brought the weaker Shevatim, but what is the Machlokes regarding their identity? Even more interesting, however, is the way that Rashi refers to these conflicting sources. After quoting the Medrash he writes: “Zehu Lasho Beraishis Rabba SheHu SheHi Agadas Eretz Yisroel Aval B’Talmud Bavlis Shelanu Matzinu…” and then goes on to quote the Gemarah. Why here, of all places, does Rashi refer to the Medrash as coming from Eretz Yisroel and the Gemarah from Bavel?

If we think about it there are two basic questions that can be asked on both these Mamarei Chazal. First, what do the Birchas Moshe have to do with this scene? Why are the two tied together such that we can identify which Shevatim went to Paharoh based on the way Moshe Rabbeinu structured their Brachos? Also, how does the use of their names identify one Shevet or another as either weaker or stronger? What is the relationship?

The Maharal, in Chidushei Agados to the Gemarah in Bava Kama, explains that one doubles something to be Mechazek it. This means that Moshe was, in some way, being Mechazek those Shevatim whose names he “doubled”. We must understand what this means both according to the Medrash and the Gemarah: why was Moshe being “Mechazek” those specific Shevatim, and why did he do so using their name?

Perhaps we can answer the second question by better understanding what is meant by the word “Shemos”.

The Medrash in Vayikra Rabba tells us that Bnei Yisroel were ultimately taken out of Mitzrayim in the Zechus of three things that they did not change, the first one being “Shelo Shinu Es Shemam.” R’ Shlomo Kuger, in Chachmas Hatorah, points out that this cannot mean that they did not change the actual names they used, because this was demonstrably untrue: Chazal tell us that at that time each person named his son based on Ruach Hakodesh, and the names related to the specific circumstances at the time of the brith. Thus, few if any children had the same name. what then is meant by “Shelo Shinu Es Shemam”?

R’ Shlomo explains that Shem refers not to their personal names, their given name, but to their family name—that of their Shevet. A person was not only known by his own name, but was called a Ruveini or a Zevulani. In Mitzrayim, continues R’ Shlomo, the Yidden maintained the identity of their specific Shevet, and it was in this Zechus that they merited the Geulah.

With this understanding of the term “Shem”, we can understand the Gemarah. Moshe wished to be Mechazek the identities of certain of the Shevatim, he “doubled” their names in order to reinforce their nature, their unique qualities. Why did he chose those specific Shevatim, and again, how is this related to Yosef and his conduct as his family arrived in Mitzrayim.

Perhaps these Pessukim are better understood if we assume that Yosef’s actions were meant for his brothers more than for Pharaoh. As noted, Yosef could easily have informed Pharaoh of his intentions without any schemes—maybe, however, he wished to pass a message on to his brothers.

For twenty two years, Yosef had survived in Galus, far from his father’s home, and now he welcomed his brothers to his world, so to speak. As they arrived in Mitzrayim, they were fulfilling that which was told to Avraham Avinu many years before: “Ger Yihiyeh Zarachem B’Eretz Lo Lahem.” Using all he had learned during his years in Mitzrayim, Yosef wished to show his brothers how they were to survive.

First, he insisted that they move to Goshen, which the Medrash Hagadol says, was far removed from the rest Mitzrayim. Yaakov and his sons were to settle in a land which would allow them to live separate from the natives, removed from the influences of the locals. This was perhaps why Yosef put so much emphasis on the Shevatim being shephards from a long line of shepherds, “Gam Anachnu Gam Avoseinu”. Rabbeinu Bachya explains that it was not by chance that the Avos Hakedoshim, and many other leaders of Klal Yisroel, made their living with cattle: it was an occupation that allowed them to be separate from the rest of the population. The lonely existence of a shepherd was welcome by those who understood the value of being apart from others, the opportunities that solitude affords.

Yosef’s message to his brothers was clear: if we hope to survive here, we must remove ourselves from Mitzrayim to the greatest extent possible. We will live separately, and we will cling the to the heritage or our Avos Hakedoshim, who practiced the art of removing themselves from any possible influence. We will be the consummate Roei Tzon in the Drech of “Gam Anachnu Gam Avoseinu.”

It was for this reason that Yosef brought the weakest of his brothers to Pharaoh. One may have argued that he bring the strongest—why not produce Shimon and Levi who wiped out a whole city in a day, or Yehudah, the Ari Shebicahburah. Would not a display of their physical prowess impress upon Pharaoh that he should leave them alone? Yosef showed them that this was not the case—in Galus, one does not try to assert himself and his strengths, one tries to keep the lowest profile possible. Yes, there may have been a benefit to showing that there were those among them that could defend themselves, but there was also a risk: perhaps Pharaoh would press them into his service. The risk of assimilation, however small, was too great to bear. Therefore, Yosef took the weakest Shevatim with him, ensuring the possibility of a complete break from Pharaoh and his subjects.

At the end of his lifetime Moshe Rabbeinu gave Brachos to each of the Shevatim as they stood ready to enter Eretz Yisroel, in a sense closing the book that began when their forefathers joined Yosef in Mitzrayim. There were some Shevatim whose “Shemos”, identities, he wished to be Mechazek, and perhaps Chazal understood which ones based on their perspectives.

The Talmud Bavli is a product of Galus—it was compiled by those who lived outside the borders of Eretz Yisroel, among non-Jews. The Amoraim of Bavel understood that in order to survive in Galus one does not assert their prowess, but seeks to maintain their identity by separating from those around them. Moshe was therefore Mechazek those Shevatim whose Avodah seemed to be coming to an end: once in Eretz Yisroel, the weaker Shevatim would be subject to the stronger ones, and may have been concerned about their future. However, Moshe knew that it was because of these Shevatim, and those who emulated their ways, that we survived Galus and he therefore urged the next generation them to maintain their identities as members of these Shevatim, by “doubling” their names, so that these vital Midos would survive.

The Medrash, which Rashi refers to as “Agadas Eretz Yisroel”, has a different perspective. The Tanaaim of Eretz Yisroel saw the value of the stronger Shevatim, those that would lead the charge in establishing the Kedushas HaAretz. It was this sacred mission, entrusted to these Shevatim specifically, that Moshe sought to be Mechazek by doubling their names, thus bolstering the importance of their identity.

As we trudge our way through Galus, with our eyes to the ultimate Geulah, we too face the challenges that Yosef foresaw. We navigate a world in which we cannot always isolate ourselves in a physical Goshen, and so we are forced to find ways erect our own protections from outside influences. If we keep in mind the lessons that Yosef taught his brothers, always seeking to travel along the road of “Gam Anachnu Gam Avoseinu”, we will yet be Zoche to a Kiyum of the promise made to Avraham Avinu so long ago: “V’Dor Revii Yashuvu Hena”