Guarded Eyes, Holy Speech: Yosef's Proof through Torah

1“And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.”¹ Two things in this verse need a closer look. First, the words “your eyes” seem unnecessary. The verse could have said, “And behold, you see,” since they certainly see with their eyes. Second, why does it mention Binyamin's eyes separately, when Binyamin is already included in “your eyes see”? Rashi already noticed this difficulty.

2We must also explain Rashi's comment that “And behold, your eyes see” means Yosef showed them he was circumcised. It is very puzzling to say this of Yosef HaTzaddik, that he would uncover himself before them, when he was perfect in the trait of Yesod, the holiness of the covenant. It is also hard to see how being circumcised proves that he is their brother, since the descendants of Yishmael also practice circumcision. And Rashi says there that “my mouth that speaks to you” means in the Holy Tongue. This too is no proof, since it was the way of the kings of Egypt to know the language of every land.

3aLet us first cite the precious and delightful words of my holy ancestor, zt"l, in the holy sefer Toldos Adam, on the verse “And Yaakov their father said to them, ‘Me you have bereaved: Yosef is gone, and Shimon is gone, and Binyamin you would take; upon me have all these come.’”² He explained that “me” refers to Yaakov Avinu's trait, which is truth, as the verse says, “You will grant truth to Yaakov.”³ So Yaakov was telling his sons, “Me you have bereaved”: you lack my trait of truth, because you strayed from the truth when you said, “Please recognize: is it your son's tunic? …”⁴ Through this lie, “Yosef is gone”: they blemished Yesod, which is Yosef's trait. For the covenant of the tongue, that is, of speech, corresponds to the covenant of the flesh, the covenant of circumcision,⁵ and when they blemished the covenant of the tongue by speaking falsehood, Yesod was blemished as well. And through this, “Shimon is gone” as well. Shimon alludes to prayer, because he was named for the words “for Hashem has heard.”⁶ And if, Heaven forbid, Yesod is blemished, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not hear prayer.

3bThe way to repair all this is through Torah study, as Chazal said: “I created the yetzer hara, and I created the Torah as its antidote.”⁷ This is the meaning of “and Binyamin you would take.” Binyamin, “son of the right hand,” alludes to the Torah, in the spirit of the verse “from His right hand, a fiery law.”⁸ Through Torah study you can repair everything. That is what Yaakov meant by “and Binyamin you would take; upon me have all these come.” That is the gist of his holy words.

4As is well known, the dispute between Yosef and his brothers turned on Torah law. The brothers suspected him of speaking lashon hara, evil talk about others, as the verse says, “And Yosef brought evil report of them to their father.”⁹ And Chazal said, “Whoever speaks lashon hara deserves to be thrown to the dogs.”¹⁰ They also suspected him of blemishing Yesod, as the verse says, “and he was a youth,” on which Rashi comments that he behaved in a youthful way, dressing his hair, touching up his eyes and so on.¹¹ For this too the penalty is death. So they judged him liable to death.

5So when Yosef made himself known to his brothers, he wanted to show them that none of their suspicions against him were true. This is the meaning of Rashi's words that he showed them he was circumcised. They are not meant literally. Rather, Yosef showed them, and proved to them, how great his holiness in Yesod was, and that he had not blemished it as they suspected. He told them, “And behold, your eyes see”: even though I am in the land of Egypt, “the nakedness of the land,”¹² I still stand firm in my righteousness. Then he explained where he truly found the strength to stand firm, and about this he said, “and the eyes of my brother Binyamin.” Binyamin alludes to the Torah, as we saw in the Toldos Adam. Yosef studied Torah even in Egypt, as the Midrash says that he learned with his sons, and this stood him in good stead, so that he remained firm in his righteousness. The words “your eyes” are explained as well, for the eyes allude to matters of holiness. On the verse “Where is the kedeshah, the one at Einayim?” the holy sefer Tiferes Shlomo writes that the essence of holiness depends on guarding the eyes.¹³

6When Yosef said, “that it is my mouth that speaks,” in the Holy Tongue, he meant to tell them: “Now that you see that I stand firm in my holiness, your complaint that I spoke lashon hara falls away too.” For the covenant of the tongue corresponds to the covenant of the flesh, as the Toldos Adam taught. “So since I am guarded in Yesod,” Yosef was saying, “it is proven that I am guarded in the covenant of the tongue as well, and all my words are words of holiness, in the spirit of the Holy Tongue.” As for the Torah's words “And Yosef brought evil report of them to their father,” they mean that if he found a trace of fault in the service of the holy tribes, he would repair it and raise it up before our Father in Heaven. And as for the words “and he was a youth,” meaning that he behaved in a youthful way, Yosef HaTzaddik had a lofty, holy intention in this. Through it he served Hashem with the trait of Tiferes, the sefirah of beauty, whose essence is adornment.

7May Hashem grant that we be privileged to cleave to the Torah, through it to be sanctified in Yesod, and so to bring the redemption near. Amen, may it be His will.