Eyes Opened to See the Redemption

1“For your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Binyamin” [Bereishis 45:12]. Rashi explains that Yosef showed them he was circumcised. The Mizrachi and other commentators ask: what kind of proof is that? Perhaps he was a circumcised Arab, or a Givoni, or one of the descendants of Keturah!

2On the simple level we can answer from the holy Zohar (I:95a). Through milah, circumcision, the form of the Name Shad-dai is completed in the shape of the human body. This is all the more true of the tzaddik, the foundation of the world, and Yosef was circumcised by Yaakov Avinu himself. Even according to the Midrash that Yosef was born circumcised, drawing a drop of covenant blood takes the place of the cutting and uncovering, so that Hashem's Name rests upon him, as we said. That is what Yosef showed the tribes: that he was circumcised and that “the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He, rests upon it.” This cannot be true of a circumcised idolater. Think it through. And from this it followed that his speech was holy and pure, for the covenant of the tongue corresponds to the covenant of the flesh, as Sefer Yetzirah (1:3) and the holy writings explain. That is the meaning of “that it is my mouth that speaks to you”: in the holy tongue.

3aOr perhaps we can say this. On the verse “God opened her eyes” [Bereishis 21:19], the Midrash says (Bereishis Rabbah 53:14): “R' Binyamin said: Everyone is presumed blind until the Holy One, blessed be He, opens their eyes.” The idea is that everything comes from Hashem and His providence from on high, and He counts every step a person takes [cf. Iyov 31:4]. When some suffering is decreed on a Jew, Heaven forbid, then even if the way out is standing right before his eyes, he does not see it. He does not see “the way to where light dwells” [Iyov 38:19], because Heaven has hidden it from him. Then the time of rescue comes, and he sees that the way out was open before him, right in front of his eyes, all along. The Midrash describes how great the tribes' anguish was over the sale of Yosef. After they sold him, they would have given all the money in the world¹ to redeem him, and their very lives to save him.

3bBut it was “brought about by Hashem” [Melachim I 12:15]. Up to the moment when their decreed suffering was to end, Yosef was able to restrain himself and stay hidden from them. When the moment of salvation came, and Hashem “set an end to darkness” [Iyov 28:3], Yosef could not restrain himself for even one more moment, and he revealed to them that he was Yosef. Seeing that he was compelled to reveal himself just then, he understood that the time had come for their troubles to end, and they would not need to suffer any more. So he told them: Now that salvation has come, you see with your own eyes, not as until now, when you did not see. Now Hashem has opened your eyes, as in the Midrash above. That is “for your eyes see.” Now he could show them that he was circumcised. He knew they would no longer be mistaken and wonder whether he might be a circumcised Arab or Givoni. They would see conclusive proof that he was Yosef, because their eyes had been opened by a great light from Hashem. They would recognize that his speech was truly the holy tongue and would not mistake him for someone else, Heaven forbid. For Hashem wanted their good, that their souls should “languish no more” [cf. Yirmiyahu 31:11]. (From the author's handwritten manuscript.)