What are the connotations of "va'Yigash Elav"?
Midrash Rabah: Yehudah approached Yosef with three things in mind; war, appeasement and prayer (request). 1
Ohr ha'Chayim #1: It is known that the custom of kings is that the greats of the kingdom, their officers and advisors, sit in front of them. If a man comes for judgment or some matter from the king, he stands outside the circle and speaks there. So Yehudah had spoken - until now. Now, he approached, i.e. he entered the 'enclosure' and stood between the king and the officers, so only the king would hear. Malbim - There are two ways to appeal a verdict of guilty - via judgment, or a request for mercy. Via judgment, one appeals to the judges, and elaborates and explains proofs and merits. A request for mercy is only to the king, who can pardon, and it is concise. He confesses his guilt and requests pardon. Until now, Yehudah spoke in front of all standing there, in the way of Mishpat. Now he realized that he cannot succeed via Mishpat, only via a request for Chesed; he came to speak to Yosef privately.
Ohr ha'Chayim #2: "Ka'Mayim ha'Panim la'Panim, Ken Lev ha'Adam la'Adam" (Mishlei 27:19). Yehudah needed to show a certain closeness to Yosef, so that Yosef would reciprocate, and have mercy on him. Normally, Bnei Yaakov would not endear idolaters!
Ohr ha'Chayim #3: Now Yehudah recognized that this affliction is not from Hashem, rather, from Yosef's whim (refer to 44:16:152:1). Therefore, Yehudah's words were directed at him.
Ohr ha'Chayim #4: He came for Yosef's benefit, to offer to be a slave in place of Binyamin (44:33). He is better than Binyamin for all service!
Ohr ha'Chayim #5: Yehudah's proposal to be a slave in place of Binyamin, and the others will return, is based on Yosef's ruling that only Binyamin will be a slave. According to Yehudah's ruling ("all of us are slaves" (44:16)), his offer makes no sense.
What did Yehudah mean when he asked for permission for his words, to "say something in Yosef's ears"?
Rashi: My words should enter your ears. 1
Seforno: Having stated that he did not want any injustice to emanate from him, Yehudah was now about to point out to him the terrible injustice that would result from his decision to take Binyamin as a slave - inasmuch as it would cause the death of his elderly father.
Ohr ha'Chayim, Malbim: Only Yosef should hear, but not the officers. Refer to 44:18:1:2.
Ha'amek Davar #1: This can mean speaking nearby. "K'Mis'onenim, Ra b'Oznei Hashem" (Bamidbar 11:1) means near the Shechinah. This is why they were punished immediately!
Ha'amek Davar #2: This can mean whispering, so no one else will hear. 2 Others [in Yosef's house] said that the thief should die for stealing from the king's house. Yosef said, I am not king; I cannot punish him more than the local protocol for theft from a commoner - slavery. Yehudah's proposal, to be a slave in place of Binyamin, is unlike the protocol; only Pharaoh can do so. Therefore he said "you are like Pharaoh." However, he could be punished for saying so, like it says in Gitin; 3 and Yosef could be punished for hearing it and not protesting! Therefore he needed to whisper "you are like Pharaoh" in Yosef's ear, in the Mitzri language, without a translator. (The rest, he said via the translator.)
Ha'amek Davar: This is like "Neged Kol Yisrael b'Ozneihem..." "va'Yedaber Moshe b'Oznei Kol Kehal Yisrael" (Devarim 31:11,30). (Yehudah was softening him for the tough speech that he was about to deliver (refer to 44:18:4:1). It was his way of telling Yosef that he should listen well to what he was about to say. - EC)
Harchev Davar: This explains the Pasuk, "va'Yagel Oznam la'Musar" (Iyov 36:10). Hashem initially afflicts in a way that the pain is not so strong, but the person feels a soft pain, like one who hears a whisper in his ears. This is so he will put Musar to his heart, lest the pain increase until he will scream, and all will know. 'If one's head hurts, he should engage in Torah' (Eruvin 54a). One who has a headache cannot learn! Rather, it is a mild pain.
Gitin 56a: Aspasiyanus told R. Yochanan ben Zakai, 'you are Chayav Misah for calling me king - I am not king!'
Why did he say "Davar," suggesting something short?
Ramban #1: He was indeed assuring Yosef that he wasn't about to deliver a long speech that would create problems, just a few short words.
Ramban #2: There was just one basic request that he wanted to make (to switch him with Binyamin), the rest were merely words of appeasement.
Malbim: I do not appeal via judgment, in which one elaborates and explains proofs and merits. I request mercy!
What did Yehudah mean when he added, "v'Al Yichar Apecha b'Avdecha"?
Rashi: This teaches that Yehudah spoke with him harshly.
Seforno: He was asking Yosef not to be angry with him for placing the blame for the current situation at his door 1 (since in fact, he respected him deeply, placing him on a par with Pharaoh).
Hadar Zekenim, citing a Midrash: Yehudah and his brothers divulged how they planned to wipe out Egypt, and divulged their great strength. Also Yosef showed his strength. He kicked a marble rock and shattered it. Yehudah realized that he is as strong as himself. He tried to draw his sword to kill Yosef, but he could not. He realized that Yosef fears Hashem, so he started to talk softly. 2
Ohr ha'Chayim: Normally, only a great person may enter within the circle of the king's officers and advisors (refer to 44:18:1:2). Do not be upset that I, a slave, do so!
Malbim: Do not think that I say that you erred in judgment.
Ha'amek Davar: It is improper to whisper in the ear of a great ruler. Refer to 44:18:2:5.
What did Yehudah mean when he concluded, "Ki Kamocha k'Far'oh"?
Rashi #1, Seforno: Refer to 44:18:4:2.
Rashi #2: He was warning Yosef that, if he retained Binyamin, he would be stricken with leprosy, just as Pharaoh was when he tried to retain Sarah.
Rashi #3: Yehudah was hinting that you (Yosef), like Pharaoh, do not keep your decrees and promises. (You merely asked to set your eyes on Binyamin; not to take him as a slave!) 1
Rashi #4: If Yosef would continue to anger him (Yehudah), he would not hesitate to kill them both!
Ramban: 'I am speaking with you in trepidation as if I was speaking with Pharaoh.'
Targum Yonasan: Until now, Yosef had claimed to be a G-d-fearing man, but now his rulings compared with those of Pharaoh.
Riva: I have no choice but to dispute with you. To whom can I complain about you? You are great like Pharaoh, i.e. king!
Hadar Zekenim, citing the Yerushalmi: Before, you said that you fear G-d. Now you say that you fear Pharaoh! Two of my brothers killed all of Shechem due to my sister, who is not one of the Shevatim. I am stronger than them. I swear, [if you do not free Binyamin,] I will draw my sword and not return it to its case until I kill all of Egypt! I will begin with you and end with Pharaoh your master!
Da'as Zekenim #1: Just like Pharaoh desired Sarah for her beauty, you desire Binyamin for a slave due to his beauty! 2
Da'as Zekenim #2: Just like you [and Pharaoh] are great in your place, we are great in our place.
Ohr ha'Chayim: We find that Keti'a bar Shalom was Chayav Misah for verbally defeating the king (Avodah Zarah 10b). I talk to you privately, lest I be liable. Do not say that only one who defeats the king is liable. You are like Pharaoh!
Ohr ha'Chayim: I talk to you privately, because "Lev Melech b'Yad Hashem" (Mishlei 21:1). If others hear, perhaps they will persuade the king to do unlike he wants, and he will do unlike Hashem put in his heart 3 !
Malbim: I request mercy. You are like the king, who can pardon!
Moshav Zekenim: The laws of Egypt said that no slave would rise to authority, and Yosef rose (Compare to Gur Aryeh; refer to 44:18:5.4:1). However, Yehudah did not know that Tzafenas Pa'ne'ach had been a slave! Also, what did Pharaoh promise and not fulfill, and what did Yosef decree? We can say that he decreed that anyone who comes to buy grain will be safe, and he came against them with pretexts. Rosh - The brothers had asked, and found out that an Eved Ivri had risen to power, unlike the law, i.e. Pharaoh does not keep his decrees and promises. (If they heard that he was an Ivri, how could they understand the need for a translator?! And if they knew Egyptian protocol, they should have known that the king must know all the languages. They could see that he does not! It is much harder to find out that he was an Eved. Surely the Egyptians feared to say that Yosef was a slave and is not proper to rule! - PF). Riva - If Pharaoh does not fulfill his Shevu'ah, all the more so he does not keep his promises, i.e. mere words! (Gur Aryeh answers this way as well; refer to 44:18:5.5:1.) Bartenura - Pharaoh promised that anyone who comes to buy will be safe, and these were (Riva -Shimon was) seized as Meraglim. (Perhaps Pharaoh was unaware! - PF) Where did Yosef ask to set his eyes on Binyamin? He asked them to bring him, i.e. and Yosef will watch over him. Riva, citing Ri of Pontaiza - "Moshel Makshiv [Al Devar Sheker Kol Mesharsav Resha'im]" (Mishlei 29:12) - Since Pharaoh is a liar, surely you have the same Midah.
Even though Yosef said that Binyamin will be a slave only due to the theft, he should have preferred Yehudah in place of him (refer to 44:33:1:1). Why did he refuse? It must be that he desired Binyamin for his beauty! (PF) Compare to Gur Aryeh (refer to 44:18:5.2:1).
If Hashem wants the king to do something, and puts it in his heart, He can cause that the king not heed his advisors, e.g. Pharaoh (Shemos 10:7,10-11)! (PF)
What do we learn from the Trup (Ta'amei ha'Mikra) on this verse?
Peninim mi'Shulchan ha'Gra: The names of the first six notes are ,'Kadma v'Azla Revi'i Zarka Munach Segol.' They hint to, '[Why do I (Yehudah)], the fourth [brother], come first [to plead for Binyamin? It is because I] threw away [my share in the world to come with] the cherished [nation, if I will not return him].
Why did Yehudah say, "Bi Adoni"?
Ohr ha'Chayim #1: Interpret the word "Bi" as "pertaining to me."(a) Do not say, 'why am I the only brother who speaks, especially since Yosef knew that Reuven is the Bechor - "they sat in front of him, ha'Bechor ki'Vechoraso" (43:33)! The loss of Binyamin pertains to me more than to the others,' like he explains in the end (he is a guarantor- 44:32). (b) I stole the cup and put it in Binyamin's sack. Since Binyamin denies stealing, and I admit, it is proper that I be the slave. 1 (c) The verse hints that authority is given to Yehudah. 'Adoni' refers to Yehudah; he will be king.
Ohr ha'Chayim #2: This hints that via me, you became master (king). Yehudah suggested that they sell Yosef (37:27)!
Malbim: This indicates a request.
If so, why did they [all] initially say that the thief will die, and the rest of them will be slaves?! Perhaps initially Yehudah did not want to admit, so he did not protest against his brothers' 'ruling.' However, how could Yehudah say that he tried to frame Binyamin, for whom he is a guarantor! (PF)
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "[May I please speak] a word in my master's ears....' - [I.e.] may my words enter your ears." How else might I have understood the Pasuk?
Gur Aryeh: I might have thought that Yehudah was asking to whisper in the viceroy's ears, in the literal sense. 1 But this cannot be; for (a) it would be disrespectful; (b) Yehudah says "ears" in plural, and one cannot whisper in both ears at once! Rather, it means 'may my words be accepted.'
Rashi writes: "'May your wrath not flare [against me]' - This shows that [Yehudah] spoke to him harshly." Why does Rashi derive this here, rather than from other segments in these Pesukim?
Gur Aryeh #1: Rashi does not derive this from the following phrase, "for you are just like Pharaoh" - even though Rashi will interpret it as a harsh warning -- "You will be stricken with leprosy just like [the previous] Pharaoh, who abducted Sarah!" That is a Midrashic interpretation, not the Pasuk's literal meaning; and even then, it was a veiled hint rather than outright brazenness.
Gur Aryeh #2: Rashi also does not derive it from the following verse, "My master inquired [about our family]" (44:19) -- which Rashi interprets as an accusation, "You were scheming against us from the outset!" That phrase too can be understood simply, as coming to explain why Yaakov's soul was bound with that of Binyamin. However, this phrase, "may your wrath not flare [against me]," is unnecessary unless Yehudah was already speaking harshly. 1
Gur Aryeh: Now that this has been established, Rashi must interpret 44:19 as an example of such harsh speech.
Rashi writes: "'For you are just like unto Pharaoh' - ... In its Midrashic interpretation, 'You will be stricken with leprosy over [having taken Binyamin]!'" Why does Rashi go to the Midrash?
Gur Aryeh: According to the simple explanation, it would have sufficed to say, 'for you are just like a king,' i.e. in general. Why does he specify Pharaoh? The Midrash explains that this was a veiled reference to the fate of a prior Pharaoh.
Rashi writes: "... You will be stricken with leprosy over [having taken Binyamin]!" Why would Tzara'as be his fitting punishment?
Gur Aryeh #1: The bothers suspected the viceroy of taking Binyamin for the purpose of illicit relations; 1 therefore he, like that Pharaoh, was liable to be stricken with Ra'asan, a condition that would prevent him from doing so. 2
Gur Aryeh #2: One who slanders another falsely is punished with Tzara'as. 3 Just like Pharaoh had caused slander against Sarah's reputation; the viceroy was falsely accusing Binyamin of having stolen his cup.
Gur Aryeh #3: One who 'steals what is not his' is punished with Tzara'as (Vayikra Rabah 17:3). 4 Pharaoh had abducted a married woman, and the viceroy now wanted to seize Binyamin unjustly; so too, Tzara'as, a foreign element, would grab hold of his body.
See Rashi to 12:7; refer to 12:17:2.1 and 12:17:2.2:1.
Gur Aryeh: The Gemara teaches that "Metzora" is a contraction of the words 'Motzi Shem Ra' (Arachin 15b).
Gur Aryeh: The source for this is Uziyahu ha'Melech, who attempted to serve as a Kohen, and was immediately punished with Tzara'as (Divrei Hayamim II 26:16-21).
Rashi writes: "'For you are just like Pharaoh' - ... Just as Pharaoh decrees and does not fulfill [it], he promises and does not uphold [it] -- so too do you!" Why does Rashi add this third explanation?
Gur Aryeh: In Rashi's previous interpretation, Yehudah was saying that Yosef's punishment would be the same as Pharaoh's (i.e. Tzara'as). In this phrase "Ki Kamocha k'Pharaoh," however, the verse seems to imply a similarity to Pharaoh in importance, or in terms of conduct.
Rashi writes: "Just as Pharaoh decrees and does not fulfill [it] ... so too do you!" When had Pharaoh violated his decrees?
Gur Aryeh: Pharaoh had decreed that a slave may not become a ruler, nor wear officials' clothing (Rashi to 41:12); 1 but he nevertheless appointed you (i.e. Yosef) as viceroy!
Rashi writes: "Just as Pharaoh... promises and does not uphold, so too do you!" When had Pharaoh made a personal commitment that he failed to keep?
Gur Aryeh: We do not find this explicitly; but if he did not fulfill his official decrees (refer to 44:18:5.4:1), certainly he did not fulfill his personal commitments!
Rashi writes: "'For you are just like unto Pharaoh' - ... If you upset me, I will kill both you, and your master!" Why does Rashi add this fourth explanation
Gur Aryeh: In Rashi's previous interpretation, Yehudah accused the viceroy of acting falsely, as Pharaoh had before him; but then the verse should say 'Ki Atah k'Pharaoh.' "Ki Kamocha k'Pharaoh" implies that both are equal; 'you are like Pharaoh, and Pharaoh is like you - for I shall kill you both simultaneously!'
Rashi writes: " ... If you upset me, I will kill both you, and your master!" In the simple meaning, Yehudah was begging that the viceroy not be angry at him, because "Ki Kamocha k'Pharaoh." How then can we explain these Midrashim cited by Rashi, in which Yehudah provokes and threatens him?!
Gur Aryeh: The simple meaning of the verse follows Rashi's first explanation, 'Do not be angry at me, for you are as important as a king in my eyes.' Yehudah mentions Pharaoh by name; this hints to the interpretations in the Midrash (i.e. Pharaoh's Tzara'as, or that Yehudah would kill them both now), which was harsh speech.
