Likkutei Sichos Vol. 30 – Mikeitz 1
1. On the verse, "And Yaakov saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Yaakov said to his sons: Why do you show yourselves?" Rashi comments: "Why do you show yourselves before the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav as if you are satisfied? For at that time, they still had grain."
It is well known that there is a question here: Why does Rashi specify, "Why do you show yourselves before the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav," who did not live in the land of Canaan (as is explicit in the verse, that the sons of Yishmael dwelled 'from Chavilah to Shur which is before Egypt,' and Esav and his sons lived in the land of Seir)—and not say that they should not show themselves before their own neighbors in the land of Canaan itself?
Among the commentators, we find several answers to this—but they all seem forced. For example:
a) The Ramban, in his commentary, answers: "Perhaps the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav would come from their own lands to Yosef to buy grain, and they would pass through the land of Canaan, passing by him, and he told them not to show themselves as satisfied before them, lest they suspect that Yaakov has grain, and they would come to him to eat bread in his house."
But the Re'em already questions this: "The land of Edom and the land of Egypt are both to the south of the land of Canaan... and one coming from the land of Edom to the land of Egypt does not need to pass through the land of Canaan."
Moreover, and this is the main point: This explanation of the Ramban only resolves why there would be concern even from the distant sons of Yishmael and Esav—but the main question remains: Why does Rashi specify "before the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav" (thus excluding other nations), and not write in a general and inclusive language, "before the nations" (or as the Rashbam writes, "before the people")—and include everyone?
b) The Re'em answers that Rashi did not mention the people of the land of Canaan because "all the people of the land of Canaan had grain just as they did," whereas "the sons of Esav and Yishmael, who dwelled around the land of Canaan, did not have grain like the people of Canaan."
But this too is difficult (as other commentators have asked): From the plain meaning of the verse above, "And there was famine in all the lands," and also from what is written afterwards, at the time when the sons of Yaakov went to Egypt, "And they came... among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan," it is implied that at the time Yaakov said "Why do you show yourselves," there was famine in the land of Canaan, and the people of Canaan came to Egypt to buy grain.
Furthermore: This still does not answer (as the Maharsha asks)—why does Rashi mention only the sons of Yishmael and Esav, and not "Amon and Moav, who were also neighbors of the land of Canaan"? And most importantly (as above): Why did Rashi need to specify the names of nations at all, and not simply write "before the nations," or something similar?
c) The Gur Aryeh writes that "since Esav and Yishmael are your brothers, they will say to you, 'And your brother shall live with you,' and therefore they were more afraid of Esav and Yishmael than of the people of Canaan."
But even this reasoning is questionable according to the plain meaning of the verse (in addition to the difficulty in saying that the sons of Yishmael and Esav would come to demand food from Yaakov and his sons)—for we see in practice that a person is more concerned about his neighbors who are not his relatives than about his relatives who live in another country.
d) The Kli Yakar explains that Rashi mentions the sons of Yishmael and Esav "because both believe that Yitzchak stole the success of Yishmael, and Yaakov stole the success of Esav through manipulation" (since Yaakov took Esav's blessings through trickery), and therefore they are more jealous of Israel than all the other nations, and for this reason Yaakov was concerned specifically about the jealousy of the sons of Yishmael and Esav.
But this too is not understood: Even if we say that the sons of Yishmael and Esav had a greater measure of jealousy than the other nations, it is still obvious that the people of Canaan would also be jealous of Yaakov and his sons when they saw that they were satisfied while they themselves were hungry [just as we find earlier with Yitzchak, that when G‑d blessed and prospered him in the land of the Philistines during a year of famine, so that he had "flocks of sheep... and much work," as a result—"And the Philistines envied him"].
Since this is so, the main question remains: Why does Rashi specify "before the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav," meaning that the concern is only from these nations, and not from his neighbors in the land of Canaan?
2. This will be understood by first prefacing several points in Rashi's wording:
a) At first glance, Rashi seems to contradict himself. At the beginning, he writes, "Why do you show yourselves... as if you are satisfied," which implies that in reality they were not satisfied and only appeared as if they were satisfied. Yet he continues, "for at that time they still had grain"—which implies that they did, in fact, have grain?
Therefore, it must be said that Rashi's intent in saying "as if you are satisfied" is that the sons of Yaakov made it appear as though they had a great deal of grain, enough to sustain themselves for a long time. In truth, however, they only had grain "at that time" [meaning, only for that moment, as is evident from the continuation of the parsha, that "they finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt," and they had to go down to Egypt again to buy food]—and it was regarding this that Yaakov warned them, "Why do you show yourselves?"
But the question remains: Why would the sons of Yaakov behave in such a way, making themselves appear more satisfied than the actual amount of grain they possessed would warrant? And even if there is some reason for such conduct—how does Rashi know this is the case? After all, it could simply be understood that Yaakov warned them, "Why do you show yourselves," about the satisfaction they had at that moment.
b) The source for Rashi's comment is in the Gemara Ta'anis, where the language is: "Yaakov said to his sons, 'Do not show yourselves when you are satisfied—not before Esav and not before Yishmael—so that they should not become jealous of you.'"
We need to understand the reason for the differences in Rashi's wording:
(a) In the Gemara, Esav is mentioned before Yishmael, but Rashi reverses the order—"the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav."
(b) Rashi omits the conclusion of the Sages' language, "so that they should not become jealous of you."
3. It can be said that these questions are answered by each other:
According to the simple meaning, the concern of "Why do you show yourselves" is not due to jealousy, because since Yaakov and his sons did not have a large quantity of grain—only "at that time" (as explained above)—there was never any real reason for the nations to be jealous of them (and this is not comparable to the great success of Yitzchak, who prospered in such a way that "he became great, and kept becoming greater, until he was very great; and he had... and much work").
Rather, the concern of "Why do you show yourselves" is not about the actual success of the sons of Yaakov, that they had grain during the famine, but only about the fact that they made themselves appear as if they were satisfied. And this concern of "Why do you show yourselves" is a unique matter that applies only to the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav (as will be explained).
This is also the reason for the change: In the Gemara, Esav is mentioned before Yishmael, but Rashi reverses the order. According to the Gemara, where the concern is "so that they should not become jealous of you," it is understood that Yaakov's main concern was the jealousy of Esav, his brother, from whom he took the blessings "through trickery"—as is explicit in the verse, "And Esav hated Yaakov because of the blessing..."—and it is obvious that the jealousy of the sons of Esav was much greater than the jealousy of the sons of Yishmael over the fact that "Yitzchak stole the success of Yishmael." However, according to Rashi, the concern of "Why do you show yourselves" is not related to jealousy (or revenge), and therefore he lists them according to the order of generations—first the sons of Yishmael, then the sons of Esav.
4. The explanation of the matter:
We already find in the earlier verses that there was a situation of famine in the land of Canaan both in the days of Avraham and in the days of Yitzchak, and both of them left their place because of this—Avraham went down to Egypt to live there, and Yitzchak went to Avimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar (and "he intended to go down to Egypt as his father had done in the days of the famine," except that G‑d commanded him, "Do not go down to Egypt").
The reason that G‑d arranged things so that they were forced to leave their place was not because they were unworthy, G‑d forbid, for G‑d to sustain them even during the years of famine. The proof is that when Yitzchak was in Gerar, even though "it was a year of famine... the land was difficult and the year was difficult," nevertheless, G‑d blessed him with miraculous success, "and he found... a hundredfold... and the man became great... until he was very great." Therefore, it must be that their departure from their place was due to other, secondary reasons.
As is explicitly stated regarding Avraham, that this was "to test him, whether he would have second thoughts about the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, who told him to go to the land of Canaan, and now He was causing him to leave it." Similarly with Yitzchak, the fact that G‑d did not sustain him in his place (but rather he was forced to go to Gerar) was due to a secondary matter. And perhaps it was similar to the case with Avraham. There is no need to elaborate—this is self-evident.
Now we can understand the conduct of the sons of Yaakov, who presented themselves as if they were satisfied:
The sons of Yaakov were strong in their trust that G‑d would not abandon Yaakov and his family during the years of famine. When they saw that they had grain at a time when all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were hungry due to the lack of grain, it was clear to them that they had merited a Divine blessing (and success) that was above nature (and in such a way that G‑d would sustain them in their own place);
Therefore, even though in actuality they had grain only "at that time" (and not an abundance of grain, as mentioned above), nevertheless, there was no doubt in their hearts that G‑d would continue to provide for them miraculously in the future as well (in the manner of G‑d's conduct with the Patriarchs in general). Therefore, they presented themselves as if they were satisfied (with an abundance of grain), for this is how they felt in their strong trust in G‑d, to the point that the great quantity of grain that they did not yet possess was considered by them as if it was already in their hands.
And it was regarding this conduct that Yaakov objected, saying, "Why do you show yourselves"—"Why do you present yourselves before the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav as if you are satisfied":
Such conduct, to present "yourselves... as if you are satisfied" (and that there is no need to go down to the land of Egypt to buy grain), could arouse the accusation of the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav—the descendants of Avraham and Yitzchak: How is it possible that Yaakov and his sons are sitting securely in the land of Canaan during these years of famine?—Are they better than their grandfathers Avraham and Yitzchak, who were compelled to leave the land of Canaan during the years of famine? For the sons of Yishmael and the sons of Esav did not know the true reason why Avraham and Yitzchak left their place.
And such a claim has the power to arouse an accusation, etc., to the point that they would be forced to leave their place.
5. The explanation of the matter according to the level of allusion (remez):
This idea—that in essence the Jewish people do not need to receive their grain from Egypt (and therefore the sons of Yaakov were confident that there was no need to buy grain from Egypt)—is a reflection (as with all things) of the matter as it exists in its spiritual root.
And the explanation is as follows:
The reason that the land of Egypt was the source of abundant grain and bread for all the lands is because this is how it is in the spiritual realms: Egypt was the source of "grain" in a spiritual sense.
That is: Spiritual "grain" refers to wisdom. As we find that the Torah is called "bread," "for just as physical bread sustains the body when one brings it inside oneself and digests it, and it becomes blood and flesh of his flesh, and then he lives and is sustained—so too, the knowledge and comprehension of Torah in a person's soul, when he studies it thoroughly with the depth of his intellect until it is grasped by his mind and united with him and they become one, becomes nourishment for the soul and life within it, etc." In other words, the intellect of Torah is called bread, for the nature of intellect is that the concept becomes united with the faculty of intellect and they become one, just as physical bread enters the body and becomes blood and flesh of his flesh. From this it is understood that something similar applies, l’havdil, to every wisdom and intellect.
And this is the (inner) reason why people from all lands came to buy grain ("wisdom") specifically from the land of Egypt—because Egypt was the source of "wisdom," as it is stated in the Zohar that "the wisdom of Egypt was greater than that of all the world."
However, this entire matter applies only to the nations of the world. The Jewish people, by contrast, have no need whatsoever for the wisdom of Egypt in order to study wisdom. For although there are several aspects of Torah that are connected to knowledge of the sciences of the world—for example, the mitzvah to calculate the cycles of the seasons and the constellations for the sanctification of the new month and the intercalation of the year, and other such cases—nevertheless, in proper times, the knowledge of these sciences comes from the Torah itself. (As is told in the words of our Sages, that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya learned the gestation period of a snake from a verse in the Torah.) And in times when there is a need for knowledge of these sciences, they are found in their complete form among the sages of Israel and in their books, and there is no need to learn them from the sages of the nations. As the Rambam writes regarding the calculations of the seasons and constellations, that in the days of the prophets, the sages of Israel from the tribe of Yissachar composed books on these matters, but they have not reached us.
This is the inner reason why, in essence, the children of Yaakov did not need to buy grain in Egypt.
6. According to this, we can also understand the inner content of Yaakov's argument, "Why do you show yourselves?"—for this matter, that the Jewish people have no need at all for the "wisdom of Egypt," could provoke a claim from the nations. For even though the nations also know that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose us from among all the nations and gave us His Torah, and there is a difference between Israel and the nations, nevertheless, when it comes to knowledge of worldly matters, they appear to be similar to the Jewish people, and they too possess these sciences.
Moreover: it is possible that, in truth, this "wisdom" that the nations possess is the very same wisdom that exists among the Jewish people, to the extent that one can rely on the conclusions of the sages of the nations for practical halachic rulings. As the Rambam writes regarding the science of astronomy and the like, that for matters which have "clear proofs… that are flawless and cannot be questioned, we do not concern ourselves with the author, whether prophets composed them or whether the nations composed them." Similarly, the Torah commands "and he shall surely heal," and we rely on an expert physician for the public, even if he is not Jewish, in matters of life-threatening danger, to override the entire Torah, and so on—
Nevertheless, the Jewish people are not at all dependent (in proper times) on the sages of the nations; rather, everything comes from the Torah itself (or at least from the sages of Israel). For even in these areas of knowledge, there is a "distinction" between Israel and the nations. That is: the difference between these sciences as they are in Torah and as they are among the nations is not only in their source (whether their source is the Torah, or human intellect), but also in the very approach to the matter of wisdom and knowledge and their purpose. In the words of our Sages: "There is wisdom among the nations—believe it; there is Torah among the nations—do not believe it."
And the explanation is as follows:
"Torah" means instruction; that is, the function of Torah is not only to explain the truth of every matter (Torah of truth), but to derive the conclusion and the practical instruction—to teach a person the action that should be done, as our Sages say, "Great is study, for it leads to action." The "greatness" of Torah study is that it brings to action.
Whereas "wisdom" (in the general sense)—which is also found among the nations—its function is not to instruct a person in the action that should be done, but only to explain and clarify the matter in and of itself, and it is not concerned with clarifying the categories of good or evil.
For this reason, the title of "bread" and nourishment can only be applied to the wisdom of Torah. For just as physical bread that enters a person's innards, by becoming blood and flesh of his flesh, sustains the body—so too, in the matter of wisdom, the title "bread" applies only to that wisdom which is not limited to a person's intellect alone, but whose function is to "nourish" the person. And this is the concept of Torah, which is not merely wisdom in isolation, but is instruction that influences and affects all parts of the soul, so that their conduct is in accordance with the instruction of Torah.
And so it is regarding the various sciences needed for understanding (certain parts of) the Torah—that for a Jew, the function of these sciences is in order to bring about practical instruction—to know how to sanctify the new month, to intercalate the year, and the like.
Therefore, in years that are as they should be, there is no place to receive these sciences from the sages of the nations—since, in the very nature of the approach to these sciences, there is a distinction between Israel and the nations.
It is only because of the darkness of exile that the situation has arisen in which there is a need to "buy grain" from the sages of the nations.
But "at that time," with the coming of our righteous Moshiach, all these sciences will once again return to the sages of Israel (and there will be no need for the sages of the nations), and knowledge of them will come from the Torah itself—for "knowledge and wisdom will increase," and "the Jewish people will be exceedingly wise... for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G‑d as the waters cover the sea," speedily in our days, truly.
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz and Motzaei Zos Chanukah, 5741)