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It seems to me that the plain meaning of the text is that Jacob was never told of the sale of Joseph by his brothers, but imagined that he got lost in the fields and was sold by his finders to Egypt. His brothers did not wish to divulge their misconduct, especially for fear of his curse and anger. Joseph, out of his good nature also did not wish to tell his father. That is why the text states that They sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father commanded before his death saying, 'Forgive now I pray, the transgressions of your brothers.' " Had Jacob known all the time, they should have begged their father on this deathbed to command Joseph to forgive them and not violate his word.
Ramban (on 45:27)
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The book of Genesis comes to a close this week with the final parasha of VaYechi describing the death of Jacob. Notwithstanding the parasha's name "And Jacob lived" the parasha really brings closure to this book of beginnings with the death of Jacob, and then the death of Joseph, who is buried in a coffin in Egypt. The use of a coffin is an Egyptian custom and is never mentioned again in the Bible. The word aron, used uniquely here for coffin, is also used for the portable Ark of the Covenant, and today for the synagogue Ark where the Torah is kept (Aron Kodesh). In modern Hebrew aron means any kind of closet or chest. (However, Noah's 'ark' is a different, unrelated Hebrew word: teivah.) Genesis' final words end with 'in a coffin in Egypt.' How apt. Ancient Egypt was the Land of the Dead, a culture obsessed with death. Genesis foreshadows the killing of the Hebrews in Egypt, and provides the perfect segue to our next book: in Hebrew Shmot, which of course, begins in Egypt with the Israelite's slavery and will tell of our exodus from there.
In this week's parasha, Jacob calls his sons to his bed to pronounce his "last will and testament" a poem describing their future; modern scholars see this poem not as prophecy, but as a [later] reflection of the tribes' historical reality. Jacob's death and subsequent burial are described and Joseph mourns seven days, the first recorded example of the Jewish custom of sitting 'shiva' (which literally means seven). Then the chapter closes with a brief note of Joseph's death. But in between these two death notices, a brief exchange is described between Joseph and his brothers. Once their father Jacob dies, the brothers are still nervous that Joseph will try to exact revenge for their mistreatment of him from years before. I thought we were finished with that story, and even though we've already read last week of the tearful reconciliation and reunion, there is obviously still some unfinished business. They send Joseph a message that before Jacob died, he wanted Joseph to forgive his brothers for any misdeed. Note how they stress the words 'your father' playing on Joseph's close relationship with his father. But is it true? Did Jacob really express such a sentiment? And what prompted this anxiety?
As long as Jacob was alive, the brothers felt safe that Joseph would not attempt to punish them. The brothers now worry that upon Jacob's death any feelings of family unity will disintegrate. The text says, "When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead," but what would that mean? Jacob had already been buried, so there had to be something else that they saw. Rashi suggests that what they 'saw' was a change in Joseph's behaviour- reflecting a different attitude. Before, they felt welcomed, and now, suddenly, he was very cold to them. In another midrash, Genesis Rabbah, Rabbi Isaac imagines that they saw Joseph visit the pit that he was thrown into (on the way back to Canaan to bury Jacob) and they worried that the old wound would be re-opened.
The brothers claim that Jacob sent the message to not hold a grudge. Rashi agrees with the Midrash that this claim is a 'white lie for the sake of peace' since, in the rabbi's view, Jacob would never suspect Joseph of acting in such a base manner. But there is another reason: in order for Jacob to send such a message, he would have to know the truth. After all the excitement of the reunion, we never notice that the brothers never disclose to Jacob that they had been responsible for Joseph's disappearance, and that they had engineered the whole bloody-coat-sale-into-Egypt episode. In fact, the text glosses over what they did and did not relate (45:26,27), making it possible for them to make a clean break from their past. While it is always hard to argue from a lack of evidence, there are three separate missing facts: Upon their return, the Torah simply relates that they told Jacob that Joseph is alive and the ruler over all of Egypt, but they don't ever describe to Jacob how Joseph in fact ended up in Egypt in the first place. Didn't Jacob wonder how Joseph in fact was alive, or how he got to be promoted to viceroy of Egypt?
Secondly, wouldn't Joseph want to share the story of the dungeon, and dreams and his appointment as viceroy? Did Joseph never tell this story to his father? Joseph may have worried that his father might never forgive his brothers if he learned the truth. Commentators struggle with the fact that when Joseph was appointed viceroy of Egypt, he did not contact his father, yet surely had the means and plenty of time to do so. Similarly, why is Joseph told that his father is ill (with the implication: dying) (Gen. 48:1)? Did Joseph not visit him frequently and know of his health?
Behold all Joseph's praiseworthiness consisted of the great respect he paid his father, yet he did not visit him frequently. For were it not for the fact that others came to tell him, 'Father is sick,' wouldn't he have known? The purpose of this is however to make known to you his righteousness, that he did not want to be alone with his father that he should not say to him, 'What did your brothers do to you' and Jacob would be prompted to curse them. For this reason, he refrained from paying frequent visits to his father. Pesikta Rabati
The midrash imagines that Joseph saw his father seldomly and avoided ever being alone with his father in order to not be asked embarrassing questions or share the story that would have, by necessity, implicated his brothers' past misdeeds.
Thirdly, we never hear of Jacob chastising or reprimanding his sons. Our parasha begins with Jacob addressing all his sons. If the brothers had indeed been concerned, wouldn't they have asked their father then to address Joseph. Or if Jacob had worried about Joseph's behaviour after his death, wouldn't he have included this message that the brothers attribute to their father? If Jacob had learned the facts (from either Joseph or the brothers) in his last testament, surely we would have heard of his disapproval. It seems clear, that Jacob died without knowing the truth.
The brothers therefore worried that Joseph was going to exact revenge after Jacob's death. And that would be a reasonable fear. But one midrash suggests that Joseph made the detour to the pit, not to wallow in self-misery, or to work up his anger, but to recite a blessing! You probably know that Judaism has a blessing for almost everything! And there is a (little-known) blessing for someone who returns to a place where they escaped danger (similar to the second blessing of Chanukah that we recited last week): she'asah li nes bamakom hazeh, who has performed a miracle for me at this place. So, for example, if you were in a car accident, and later returned to the scene, you would recite this blessing there. This midrash contrasts Joseph's character with his brothers; while they are still apprehensive about their misdeeds years before, Joseph is not only able to go beyond their petty concerns, but is even able to see something positive, and recite a blessing for something that caused him incredible pain and misfortune.
Lessons for Today
Everyone is 'dealt' a different set of cards in life. It's easy to thank God for all our blessings (whether we deserve them or not). But what is our reaction to when life is 'unfair?' The rabbis teach that we are to recite blessings for good things as well as bad. We can become depressed when bad things happen, or we can become angry at the people around us. It takes an incredible amount of emotional strength and inner character to be able to go back to the place of misfortune and say a blessing. This is the lesson of this week's parasha. Even though Genesis ends with the deaths of Jacob and Joseph, and the Israelite's descent into Egypt and slavery, the story is not yet over.
And so the first book of Torah concludes. Genesis (Breishit) is truly a book of origins: the origin of the cosmos, of humanity, of language, of cities, and of course of the Jewish family. And what are its lessons: that the world is good, people need to take care of it, and that people are created in the divine image. The lessons are simple, yet, as we've seen, week in and week out, it's not so easy.
Hazak, Hazak, veNit'hazek!
Shabbat Shalom.
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