BS”D
SLANDER
SCRUTINIZED: PARSHAT VAYESHEV
Shira Smiles shiur – 2021/5782
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
In
Parshat Veyeshev we are first introduced to Yosef as a seventeen year old. We
find him shepherding the flocks with his brothers and spending his leisure time
with the sons of the former maidservants. During this time, he observed his
brothers and brought evil reports about them to their father. What were these
reports? Rashi notes three transgressions Yosef accused his brothers of: eating
meat from the body of an animal not yet slaughtered, belittling the sons of the
maidservants, and interacting suspiciously with women.
As
Rashi then points out, because Yosef Hatzadik sinned in these three area,
albeit he was trying to improve his brothers, he was punished by suffering in
each of these areas measure for measure. When the brothers schemed to rid
themselves of Yosef, they first slaughtered the goat before dipping Yosef’s
coat in it; he lost all personhood by being sold as a slave; finally, he was
under suspicion of committing adultery with the wife of Potifar. Just as Yosef
was innocent of charges, so too were the brothers innocent. What Yosef was
guilty of, however, was of speaking loshon horo.
Why
does Rashi focus particularly on these three sins? Rabbi Chasman extrapolates
these from the wording of the Torah. First, if Yosef was shepherding with his
brothers, certainly he was with the sheep. Why write, “He was shepherding… with
the sheep?” There must have been an issue about animals. Then, why name the
mothers Bilhah and Zilpah and then add that they were his father’s wives?
Within those two phrases we get both the distinction between these two wives
and Rachel and Leah, hinting at a lesser status of their children, and adding
that they were indeed Yaakov’s wives seems to allude to some unwholesome
relationship toward women.
While
we certainly cannot suspect such righteous men as these patriarchs of the
tribes were, how could Yosef even suspect his brothers of such behavior? What
is equally confusing is that immediately following these reports, the Torah
tells us that Yaakov loved Yosef more than all his brothers and even made him a
special garment indicative of this love and importance.
While
it would seem that either the brothers had sinned and Yosef was right, or that
the brothers had not sinned at all are the only two possibilities, Rabbi Uziel
Milevsky explains that both sides were motivated strictly for the sake of
Heaven. When Yaakov returned to Eretz Yisroel after his exile with Laban,
Yaakov and his ten sons reasoned that the prophecy of exile had been fulfilled,
and now they were truly living as Jews under Torah law. In contrast, Yosef
understood that returning to the land was only temporary, Torah law did not yet
apply, and the family was still bound by the seven Noachide laws that often
differed in interpretation from Torah law. These three “transgressions” fell
into that category, and each felt their interpretation was correct.
Nevertheless, as Rabbi Sternbach notes, these are not simple stories to be
accepted at face value, but are deep beyond our understanding.
Rabbi
Mordechai Ezrachi points our attention to the Torah’s emphasis on Yosef’s being
a na’ar/youth. In his righteousness and his zeal to present perfection
to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, Yosef presented youthful impetuosity, neither
investigating and questioning his suspicions nor foreseeing the consequences of
his actions. His actions were youthfully inappropriate, and incongruent with
his actual spiritual status.
However,
na’ar can also refer to Yosef’s perception of himself. Seeing what he
thought were his brothers transgressing, and knowing that one is supposed to
rebuke the transgressor, Yosef felt young and inadequate to approach his
brothers directly, opting to go directly to his father. This youthful error in
judgment had major repercussions throughout our history, writes Letitcha
Elyon, citing the Chofetz Chaim, and emphasizes how careful we must be in
our speech. As a result of this lashon horo, the brothers hated Yosef,
leading directly to our first exile in Egypt. And during the current Roman
exile, the sale of Yosef was the excuse for the execution of our great sages,
the Ten Martyrs whom we recall both on Yom Kippur and on Tisha B’Av.
Everything
included in the Torah is meant as a lesson for our lives, never to denigrate
our great tzadikim, reminds us Rabbi Kranz in Talmudo Beyado. Even though
Yosef was relaying this negative information for the sake of Heaven, it
nevertheless reverberated through the ages. How careful must we be with our own
speech, even when discussing someone for constructive purposes, to relay only
the information necessary without embellishment. Whether as teachers or as
parents, we must think twice before we speak once. Perhaps Yosef had added more
details than were necessary when he reported to his father.
Why
was Yosef so severely punished for this improper speech? Rabbi Heineman
suggests that Yaakov Avinu saw great leadership qualities in Yosef, making him
a special kutonet/tunic indicative of his leadership status. After all,
a kutonet is a special garment worn by the High Priest and by royalty.
But a leader has the responsibility of focusing on the positive within others
rather than on the negative. Certainly there must have been good that Yosef
could have reported to his father, at least to begin, and only then perhaps
mentioning the negative as a footnote. The goal of a leader should be to build
up others, not to destroy them.
Further,
continues Rabbi Heineman in Chayei Leivov, Yosef should have been
genetically predisposed to silence, as his mother Rachel knew how to keep
silent [as Queen Esther, descended from Rachel Imeinu through Binyamin kept
secret her nationality in the palace of Ahashuerosh. CKS]. Because he couldn’t
control his speech, Yosef became a slave who was not able to speak freely.
Yosef Hatzadik should have been the forefather of our kings and priests, as
indicated by his special garment, but he lost both as a consequence of this
sin.
Later,
when Yosef goes to look for his brothers, he meets an “Ish/man.” Our
commentators generally identify this mysterious man as the Angel Gavriel,
giving Yosef a cryptic message. When Yosef tells the Angel/Man that he is
looking for the brothers, the angel answers in code, “They have gone mizeh/from
here.” Yosef, you may be searching for your brothers, but be aware that the no
longer consider you one of the zeh/twelve
[brothers]. “They have gone to Dotan, to find means to plot against you”
Now
Yosef, in spite of his youth, was generally very wise and understood the
nuances of speech, and even had Divine inspiration, but because he had sinned
with speech, and had not repented of that speech, he was unable to discern the
hidden warning in Gavriel’s speech. As Rabbi Gifter notes, Hashem presents us
with challenges to guide us to the areas in which we need improvement. Yosef’s
challenges eventually helped him grow until he would be called Yosef Hatzadik.
When one speaks negatively about another, it is rooted in one’s inability to
fully recognize God’s image in the other person. To rectify this problem, Yosef
was sold into slavery, dealt with as an animal rather than as a human being. In
this situation, Yosef would recognize not only his uniqueness, but also the
unique image of God imprinted on every human being.
Hashem
sends each of us messages for our improvement on a daily basis. Even the
incident with the wife of Potifar was a wake up call for Yosef. Just as he had
suspected his brothers of improper sexual behavior without proper investigation
or evidence, so was he now being accused of similar behavior. But the term for
each consequence and rectification is strictly calculated, writes Rav Moshe
Salant. When Hashem’s calculations for Yosef were complete, Hashem introduced
some new scandals, those of the butler and the baker, to dominate the news
cycle. When you sin, whether to man or to God, you have laid the groundwork for
your own corrective measure, adds Rabbi Grosbard.
The
question remains, how could Yosef suspect his brothers of this behavior? Rabbi
Michel Twerski explains that most often when we recognize a character flaw in
another it is because we have a similar flaw. We are projecting our own
weakness onto another without investigating or seeking alternate
interpretations of the words or actions we have witnessed. Yosef was
interpreting the brothers’ speech and discussions on a surface level. For
example, perhaps when the Leah’s sons were referring to the sons of Bilha
and Zilpa as avodim/servants, they meant the boys were servants of
Hashem, much as they viewed themselves, and as Yosef viewed himself. We must be
extremely careful not to assume the worst when we hear something negative. [As
Shira Smiles related in an old shiur: Little Yussie comes home from
kindergarten and tells his mother how Reuven kept pushing him for a very long
time… in a little wagon all around the room. CKS]
Rabbi
Pliskin teaches us how to avoid the pitfall of judging others unfavorably.
First, check your personal biases that may be coloring the words or the
actions. Then, which is undoubtedly harder, try to see the situation from the
other person’s point of view.
In
spite of these reports, Yaakov saw the goodness in all his sons, and recognized
the potential goodness and greatness of Yosef in spite of his youthful
behavior. He therefore gave him that special coat, writes Rav Yosef Baldi, the
teacher of the Ramchal. Or perhaps we are interpreting Yosef’s words in a
completely negative way when what he was saying was that his brothers were so
great, he would have expected better from them, writes Rabbi Epstein.
Rabbi
Mattisyahu Solomon here makes a profound observation. Each character in this saga
is acting and reacting according to his own unique character and position. Now
Hashem, the Master Weaver, takes the individual threads and weaves them into
complementary tapestries, personal tapestries and a giant, historical tapestry
according to the Design He has created. How we speak figures prominently in the
final texture of the tapestries.