Vayigash

Yosef reveals himself to his brothers and says, “I am Yosef; is my father still alive?”  The passuk continues, “and the brothers couldn’t answer…” The Gemara says: Woe to us on the day of judgment, woe to us on the day of rebuke.  The brothers couldn’t answer Yosef who was from the smallest of the shevatim; when Hashem will come and be mochiach each of us, we certainly won’t have what to answer!

The Maharsha asks on this Gemara: What tochacha did Yosef give them; all he said was that he is Yosef and is his father still alive?  The Maharsha answers that the brothers were afraid that Yosef would come afterwards and give them tochacha for what they did, and they would not be able to answer that tochacha!

The Beis HaLevi, however, says there really was tochacha being given here, and he explains with a mashal.  Concerning the mitzvah of tzedakah, if a person says he can’t give because he doesn’t have enough money, what is the test to see if that person really cannot fulfill the mitzvah or if he’s just giving excuses?  The test is if he spends his money on things which aren’t necessary for him.  This shows that his not giving tzedakah, wasn’t because he couldn’t, but only because he didn’t want to.  He would rather spend his money on his personal desires than to fulfill the will of Hashem.

The brothers claimed they were worried that if they didn’t bring back Binyomin their father would not be able to handle it.  Yosef said: if you are truly worried about our father, what happened to your father’s pain when you sold me?  If he’s still alive after I was sold then he’ll also manage with Binyomin being sold.

There is a story told about a student who always came late to learn and daven. Before leaving Eretz Yisroel he went to his Rosh Yeshiva Rav Pertzovitz to say good bye. The next day the Rosh Yeshiva saw the student and asked, “I thought you left.” He responded, “Unfortunately I missed my flight.” The Rosh Yeshiva said, “Baruch Hashem! Now there won’t be a claim against you, that to leave Yeshiva you are able to be on time, but to learn and daven you’re not on time.

The Beis HaLevi explains the Gemara to mean: “Woe to us on the day of judgment,” for the things which we were supposed to do and didn’t.  “Woe to us on the day of rebuke,” Hashem will show us that our excuses weren’t real and we really were able to do the things which we claimed we couldn’t! This is the tochacha that Yosef gave his brothers!

May Hashem help us be honest with ourselves and fulfill the ratzon Hashem!