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Parshas Mikeitz
1. "ותרעב כל ארץ מצרים ויצעק העם אל פרעה ללחם ויאמר פרעה לכל מצרים לכו אל יוסף אשר יאמר לכם תעשו" ("And all the land of Egypt was famished, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all of Egypt: Go to Yosef; whatever he says to you, you shall do").1 Rashi (after explaining the beginning of the verse, "And all the land of Egypt was famished," he quotes the end of the verse, "whatever he says to you, you shall do," and explains): "לפי שהיה יוסף אומר להם שימולו, וכשבאו אצל פרעה ואומרים כך הוא אומר לנו, אמר להם וכו'" ("Because Yosef was telling them to circumcise themselves; and when they came to Pharaoh and said, 'This is what he tells us,' he said to them…") (as will be discussed below in Section 3).
This needs to be understood: The verse states, "And the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread, and Pharaoh said… Go to Yosef," which follows from what Pharaoh had told Yosef before this: "ועל פיך ישק כל עמי" ("and by your word shall all my people be sustained").2 If so, Pharaoh's answer is understood simply, so why is any explanation needed at all?
Even if we were to say that an explanation is necessary — Rashi has made known the foundation of his commentary (and repeats it several times), that "לא באתי אלא לפשוטו של מקרא ולאגדה המיישבת דברי המקרא דבר דבור על אופניו" ("I have come only for the plain meaning of Scripture, and for such Aggadah as settles the words of Scripture, each word in its proper way").3 So from where does Rashi know, in the plain meaning of Scripture, that before this they had been with Yosef, that Yosef told them to circumcise themselves, and that afterwards they went to Pharaoh?
It is also difficult: On the contrary, from the wording of the verse (that Pharaoh told them), "whatever he will say (future tense) to you, you shall do" (and not "whatever he said" — past tense), it is implied that Yosef had not yet said anything to them on this matter.
2. Now, there are commentators4 who explain that the lengthiness of Pharaoh's words compels us to say that before the Egyptians cried out to Pharaoh, they had had dealings with Yosef: If we were to say that the Egyptians first came with their outcry to Pharaoh, and he afterwards sent them to Yosef, he should have said, "Go to Yosef," and nothing more. From the fact that he added, "whatever he says to you, you shall do," it is understood that they had already been with Yosef, and that he had told them something they did not want to do — and to this came Pharaoh's answer: "whatever he says to you, you shall do."
But it is difficult to explain this way, because:
[Besides the fact that even according to this explanation, it is not understood how Rashi knows that Yosef told them specifically to circumcise themselves.]
a) From the wording of the verse, "whatever he will say…," it is evident, as mentioned above, that Yosef had not yet told them the thing they would have to do.
b) If Rashi's proof that "Yosef was telling them…" were from the fact that Pharaoh needed to command them to do as Yosef said, even though he had already set him "על כל ארץ מצרים" ("over all the land of Egypt"),4* he would have written it in the style of an explanation of "whatever he says to you, you shall do": "From here [we learn] that Yosef was telling them…," or the like. From Rashi's wording, "Because Yosef was telling them…," it is evident that Yosef's telling them to circumcise themselves is not something learned from these words; rather, it is something already known,5 and it is brought here as a preface, according to which it will be understood that the words "whatever he says to you, you shall do" mean that "he had told them…"6
3. Further on, continuing this commentary, Rashi says: "וכשבאו אצל פרעה ואומרים כך הוא אומר לנו, אמר להם: למה לא צברתם בר, והלא הכריז לכם ששני הרעב באים? אמרו לו: אספנו הרבה והרקיבה. אמר להם: אם כן, כל אשר יאמר לכם תעשו — הרי גזר על התבואה והרקיבה, מה אם יגזור עלינו ונמות" ("And when they came to Pharaoh and said, 'This is what he tells us,' he said to them: 'Why did you not store up grain? Did he not proclaim to you that the years of famine are coming?' They said to him: 'We gathered much, and it rotted.' He said to them: 'If so, whatever he says to you, you shall do. He decreed upon the grain and it rotted;6* what if he decrees upon us and we die?'").
Here, too, it is difficult to understand:
a) As above: from where does he prove, from the meaning of the verse according to its plain sense, the entire exchange between Pharaoh and the Egyptians — for the verse says only, "And the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread"?
b) After the Egyptians said (according to Rashi's explanation), "We gathered much (grain), and it rotted," and to this Pharaoh answered them, "If so (that is, since they have nothing to eat, they have no other choice but) whatever he says to you, you shall do" — what is lacking in the understanding of the plain meaning of the verse, that he therefore adds, "He decrees… what if he decrees upon us and we die"?7
c) Rashi adds to the wording of the verse the word "all" — "all that he says."
d) "Upon us" — including himself as well. Seemingly, what does Pharaoh have to do with the decree?
e) Death — who mentioned it at all?
True, this explanation as a whole (the Rashi before us) has its source in the Midrash;8 but the rule that Rashi established in his commentary is well known — that he brings a teaching of our Sages only when it is necessary in order to settle the words of the verse properly, as mentioned above.
4. We further need to understand the content and substance of Rashi's commentary (and of the Midrash):
a) What was Yosef's reason for demanding of the Egyptians that they circumcise themselves (especially against their will)9 — what benefit would come of it?10
b) On the verse11 "ואך את דמכם לנפשותיכם אדרוש" ("But your blood of your lives I will demand"), Rashi explains that "your blood" means "one who sheds his own blood." That is, according to the plain meaning, the Torah forbade shedding one's own blood (even if it will not lead to illness or death; similar to the prohibition of "דמו לא תאכלו" ("you shall not eat its blood")12 in the preceding verse, which, as Rashi states explicitly, refers to "blood from a living [creature]").
[Accordingly, a matter that many have discussed is understood simply: why our father Avraham did not circumcise himself before he was commanded — even though he fulfilled "the entire Torah before it was given"13 — because he had been commanded not to shed his blood. And it is obvious that there is no place for, and it is no enhancement, to fulfill a mitzvah that had not yet been given when one has been commanded not to do it. Whereas once he was commanded regarding circumcision, this explicit command overrides and nullifies, in this case, the prohibition of bloodshed.]14
Accordingly, it is not understood: How could Yosef tell them (the Egyptians) to circumcise themselves? This is the prohibition of bloodshed, against which they, like all descendants of Noach, are warned!15
5. The explanation of this:
On the verse16 "אתה תהיה על ביתי ועל פיך ישק כל עמי" ("You shall be over my house, and by your word shall all my people be sustained"), Rashi explains: "'ישק' — shall be fed, shall be provided for; all the needs of my people shall be done through you…" That is, Yosef was charged with providing for all the needs of the Egyptians — food, and so on. And Yosef took this upon himself, to fulfill this role — which was known and publicized to all the Egyptians — as we find in the verses that follow:17 "And Yosef went out… and passed through all the land of Egypt… And Yosef stored up grain like the sand of the sea, very much…"
Accordingly, when "all the land of Egypt was famished, and the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread," it is not at all understood why the Egyptians cried out to Pharaoh for bread — all their needs for sustenance and food are through Yosef! We must therefore say that the verse was brief regarding something obvious:18 they certainly first came to Yosef to ask for food, since he was the ruler over all the land of Egypt, and only after he did not fulfill their request did they come to cry out to Pharaoh. And why did Yosef not fulfill the request — that was his role? We must say that Yosef asked something of them (just as we find that they bought with money, etc.), which they did not agree to do, and therefore they went to cry out to Pharaoh, their king. And what was this thing that Yosef demanded of the Egyptians and they did not want to do? From the content of the passages and verses we have already learned earlier (before the words "whatever he says to you, you shall do"), it is understood that "Yosef was telling them to circumcise themselves," as follows.
6. The explanation of the matter:
When the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Avraham to circumcise (himself and) the members of his household, He said to him (in Parshas Lech Lecha19): "המול ימול יליד ביתך ומקנת כספך" ("He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with your money, must surely be circumcised"). The simple reason for this command is: one born in his house and one bought with his money are in his domain and subordinate to him, and therefore the obligation is placed upon him that each one of them "must surely be circumcised."
Accordingly — since Yosef is "the ruler over the land,"20 and was set "over all the land of Egypt,"21 and without him "no man shall lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt,"22 that is, they were placed under his rule23 and in his domain like one bought with money — reason dictates, in the plain meaning of Scripture, that he is obligated to endeavor that they be circumcised.24
This makes the precise wording of Rashi all the more appreciated: "Because Yosef was telling them to circumcise themselves"25 (not "because Yosef said," but "was telling" — continually). That is, it was not that he told them once to circumcise themselves; rather, he was constantly demanding it of them (and, understandably, all the more so when the famine began26 and they came to him as "the ruler over the land").
Moreover — according to the above, that Yosef is obligated to endeavor that they circumcise themselves, we must say that when the famine grew severe in the land of Egypt and they were compelled to turn to Yosef, Yosef was obligated not to sell [grain] for money, etc., but rather to tell them, as a condition, that they circumcise themselves.
7. Now, when "the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread" — he being the king, while Yosef is only the viceroy — and Pharaoh told them, "Go to Yosef; whatever he says to you, you shall do," meaning that he (Pharaoh) does not interfere in this and will not command Yosef to give them food (even if they do not circumcise themselves), it is understood that he needed to give a reason and rationale for this.
This reason Rashi explains: "He decreed upon the grain and it rotted." That is: if the fact that they have no "bread" (and they cry out to him — to Pharaoh — for bread) were due to a natural cause, then there would be room for him to command Yosef to give them bread.
But since the reason they have no bread is (not natural, but) due to Yosef's decree,27 then:
There will be no benefit if he commands Yosef to give them grain, for even when Yosef gives them grain (by Pharaoh's command), he will decree that this grain, too, should rot.28
But this reason is not at all sufficient, since for the time being (until it rots) it would certainly help; and afterwards, too, perhaps he will not decree, etc.; and even if he decrees — they have lost nothing. Therefore we must say that there is in this (in his commanding so as to compel Yosef) a fear of harm and loss relative to their situation at the time of their outcry for bread — which is death over the course of time through famine. And there is no greater harm than this except immediate death. And this is what Rashi adds to Pharaoh's words (that he has no control over Yosef to command him to do something against his will; on the contrary, the very opposite: since Yosef has the power to decree… and) "what if he decrees and we die."
But there is still room to respond: Since Yosef is a tzaddik (which is why his decrees are fulfilled), there is no fear that he would decree death upon the people, for they are not compelling him or commanding him. Therefore we must say that Pharaoh said "upon us" — he being the one who compels, and they being the ones who caused it.
And this matter — that Pharaoh told them that Yosef has the power to decree upon them that they die — is also alluded to in the wording of the verse, "whatever he says to you, you shall do":
"Whatever he will say to you (future tense), you shall do" implies that his intent is (not only regarding what he had already told them — circumcision — but) that even if he will tell them, in the future, something he has not [yet] said,29 they must do it.
And it is not understood: Why did Pharaoh fear that Yosef would command them something in addition to what he had already commanded them — to circumcise themselves?
Therefore Rashi explains that in the wording, "whatever he will say to you (in the future), you shall do," is alluded the reason why they are compelled to do as Yosef told them, and why he (Pharaoh) is unable to command Yosef to give them grain (against his will): because he might say in the future (also) what he has not said until now; and therefore, also regarding punishment, "what if he decrees (in the future) upon us and we die."
8. This commentary of Rashi also contains matters of the "יינה של תורה" ("wine of the Torah"):30
It is explained in several places31 concerning the difference between Yosef and the tribes, that Yosef, being a "chariot" of [the world of] Atzilus, did not regard the matters of this world as an entity that occupies any place, and they did not disturb him at all. Therefore he could be the king of Egypt — a place that is the ultimate in lowliness, descent and distraction of this world — and nevertheless be in the ultimate state of elevation and attachment to G‑dliness. Whereas the tribes, being on the level of a "chariot" of Beriah, needed to be secluded from the world. Therefore they chose to be shepherds, so that the matters of this world would not distract them from the service of G‑d, etc.
From the Rashi before us we learn even more than this: not only did the matters of this world not distract him from his attachment to and service of his Creator, but he also acted upon and influenced the world outside himself. Moreover, he compelled the people of Egypt, which is "the nakedness of the land," to circumcise themselves, and thereby to subdue32 their nature (they being "steeped in lewdness"33) — to the point that even Pharaoh himself, the king of Egypt, commanded them to listen to Yosef and circumcise themselves.
From this comes the lesson for each and every one:
The Jewish people are called by the name Yosef, as it is written,34 "נוהג כצאן יוסף" ("Who leads Yosef like a flock"). Therefore each person has the power to act upon himself wherever he may be (even when the people of the place are in a great spiritual descent and very far from Yiddishkeit, etc.). Hence, not only should he not be impressed by the materialism of the place, nor become discouraged, etc., and he must strengthen himself to be complete in Torah and mitzvos; he also has the power to influence the world outside himself — all the Jews who are found there — to the point that, through conduct in the appropriate manner, he will also be "a light unto the nations," etc., so that non-Jews, too, will fulfill their seven mitzvos,35 until the entire world is rectified and refined. We will then merit the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu36 and the fulfillment of the prophecy, "כי אז אהפוך אל עמים שפה ברורה לקרא כולם בשם ה' ולעבדו שכם אחד" ("For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the Name of G‑d, to serve Him with one accord").37
(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz, 5731)
Notes
1) Our parshah, 41:55.
2) 41:40. See also 41:44.
3) Bereishis 3:8. Similarly ibid. 3:24, and in many places.
4) Maskil LeDovid on the verse.
4*) 41:43.
5) And according to what is explained in Bereishis Rabbah 91:5 and Tanchuma, Mikeitz 7.
6) Accordingly, it is understood that one cannot explain that Rashi's proof that he told them to circumcise themselves is from the word "yomar" ("say"), since we find the term "saying" used regarding circumcision, as it is written (Tehillim 119:162), "I rejoice over Your word (imrasecha)…" (Sifsei Chachamim here; see Matnos Kehunah on Bereishis Rabbah, end of ch. 90; Moshav Zekeinim on the Torah). For [besides the fact that in the plain meaning of Scripture there is no hint at all that "saying" refers to circumcision; and if this were Rashi's intent, he should have explained that it is learned through a gezeirah shavah from there], from Rashi's wording, "because Yosef was telling them to circumcise themselves," it is evident that it is not learned from the words "whatever he will say (future) to you, you shall do," as in the main text. From this it is understood that one cannot explain that it is learned from the superfluous word "to you" (as in Matnos Kehunah on Bereishis Rabbah ch. 91, ibid.), or from the word "you shall do," which is similar to "and the souls that they had made" (Tzeidah LaDerech).
6*) For one cannot explain that the reason their grain rotted was because they did not put into it some of the soil of the place, etc. (cited in Maskil LeDovid here*), unlike Yosef. For since Yosef proclaimed that the years of famine were coming and that one must store up grain, he certainly also publicized the manner of storing. Furthermore, and chiefly: preserving grain from rot by means of the soil of the place is a natural matter (see Rashi 41:48), and so it was certainly known to the Egyptians.
*) In Maskil LeDovid: "It escaped him what is stated in the Midrash, that they were saying to Pharaoh… 'even the bread that we had in the basket rotted.'" But also in Rashi's commentary (which does not cite "even the bread that we had in the basket rotted"), it is understood that one cannot explain this way, as in the text of the note.
[Note; its number and marker are not legible in the OCR.] Nor can it be said that "all the land of Egypt was famished" because all the grain they had stored ran out — and especially since the famine grew severe in the land of Egypt (see Radak's commentary on the verse**) — for there is no room at all to say that the grain they stored for seven years ran out in the first year.
**) In Radak: because they had to give a fifth to Pharaoh. But in the plain meaning of Scripture, this was only at the end of the second year, after the money ran out, as it is stated (Vayigash 47:23–24): "Behold, I have bought you this day… and you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh…"
7) Furthermore: from Rashi's wording, "If so, whatever he says to you, you shall do; he decreed upon the grain and it rotted," it is evident that the reason for "whatever he says to you, you shall do" is because "he decreed upon the grain and it rotted." This is not understood, for the reason they are compelled to do what Yosef tells them is because they have nothing to eat — even if the grain had rotted for another reason (not because of Yosef's decree), or even if they had not stored up grain at all. So what is Rashi's intent in saying that the reason for "whatever he says to you, you shall do" is "he decreed upon the grain and it rotted"?
8) Bereishis Rabbah 91:5; Tanchuma, Mikeitz 6.
9) In Gur Aryeh here: "But one does not compel [anyone] to convert!" Now, it can be said that (according to the plain meaning of Scripture) the concept of conversion did not exist before the Giving of the Torah (see Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, p. 143 ff. (Section 3), and the notes there); and accordingly the question becomes even greater: why did he command them to circumcise themselves?
10) For reasons for this by way of remez and derush, see: Kli Yakar on the verse; Yefeh To'ar on Bereishis Rabbah, end of ch. 90; Etz Yosef on Tanchuma, ibid. (in the name of Yaaros Devash); Maskil LeDovid here. But none of them is by way of the plain meaning, and there is not even a hint in Rashi's commentary to the reasons cited in the above works.
11) Noach 9:5.
12) Ibid. 9:4.
13) Mishnah, end of Kiddushin. See also Rashi, Toldos 26:5.
14) See all of this at length in Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, ibid.
15) One cannot raise a difficulty from the circumcision of the people of Shechem — how were the sons of Yaakov permitted* to tell them, "המול לכם כל זכר" ("every male among you shall be circumcised") (Vayishlach 34:15)? For all of this was in preparation for "and they killed every male," that is, in the view of the sons of Yaakov they were obligated to kill them (see Rambam, Laws of Kings, end of ch. 9; Ramban in his commentary on the Torah, Vayishlach 34:13; and see Likkutei Sichos vol. 5, p. 190, and note 41 there). But it is not understood: the people of Shechem should have understood that there was something behind it, when the sons of Yaakov proposed that they do something which the descendants of Noach are warned against.
*) Regarding the people of Shechem themselves, there is no difficulty as to how they circumcised themselves nevertheless, for they transgressed many sins regarding which they had been commanded (see the Ramban cited in the text of the note).
16) Our parshah, 41:40.
17) Verses 46, 49.
18) Similar to what we find in the previous parshah (according to Rashi 38:7), that the verse was brief regarding the death of Er. And in Rashi (Bereishis 3:1): "he spoke to her at length." And in many places.
19) 17:13. And the command was not only to Avraham, as is explicit in the preceding verses there: "and your seed after you…"
20) Our parshah, 42:6.
21) Ibid. 41:43.
22) Ibid., 44.
23) Also according to halachah, the people of the country are themselves owned by the king, according to several Rishonim cited in the Encyclopedia Talmudis, s.v. Dina DeMalchusa Dina. See also Responsa Tzemach Tzedek, Choshen Mishpat, sec. 2.
24) The reason the people of Shechem did not become suspicious when they heard that the sons of Yaakov told them to circumcise themselves (see above, note 15) is stated explicitly there (34:16): "and we will become one people"; and the people of Shechem also emphasized this (ibid. 21): "to be one people." That is, it was then well known that whoever wished to enter the family and household of Avraham (Yitzchak and Yaakov) needed to circumcise himself.
25) In the Midrash (cited above, note 5): "Go and circumcise yourselves."
26) For then, "all that a man has he will give for his life" (Iyov 2:4).
27) Accordingly, the question is resolved: from where does Rashi know that Pharaoh told them, "Why did you not store up grain…"? For it is reasonable that when Pharaoh told them that he was unable to command Yosef (even though "the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread"), he did so in a way that his answer would be accepted by them. Therefore it is reasonable that at the beginning of his words he told them, "Why did you not store up grain…," knowing that they would answer him (truthfully), "We gathered much, and it rotted." Thereby he would prove to them from their own words that they are compelled to do whatever Yosef tells them, since "he decreed upon the grain and it rotted…"
28) For since Yosef wanted to compel them to circumcise themselves, which is why he decreed upon the grain and it rotted, it is understood that this decree of his would apply not only to the grain they had gathered earlier, but to all the food they would have.
29) Therefore Rashi adds and explains: "all that he says" — both what he has already said and something new.
30) Hayom Yom, p. 24.
31) Derech Mitzvosecha 81a; the maamarim beginning "Umikneh Rav," 5629 and 5666; and "Velo Zachar Sar HaMashkim," 5688.
32) See Moreh Nevuchim, Part III, ch. 35 and ch. 49.
33) Rashi, Lech Lecha 12:19.
34) Tehillim 80:2; Rashi and Metzudas Dovid there.
35) See Rambam, Laws of Kings, end of ch. 8, halachah 11. And see the general letter of Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5732 (printed in the Haggadah with Likkutei Taamim, Minhagim U'Biurim).
36) For he "will rectify the entire world to serve G‑d together" — Rambam, ibid., end of ch. 11.
37) Tzefaniah 3:9.
Key Lesson
Yosef not only remained bound to G‑dliness while ruling Egypt; he influenced even the lowest of places, compelling the Egyptians to circumcise themselves, and even Pharaoh told them to obey him. Every Jew, called "Yosef," has the same power: to stay whole in Torah and mitzvos wherever he is, and to influence his surroundings, including other Jews and even the nations, bringing the world to its rectification with Moshiach.