The correct interpretation appears to me to be that it was the custom of the elders to take one of their younger sons to be with them to attend them. He would constantly lean on his arm, never being separated from him, and he would be called ben z'kunav because he attended him in his old age. Now Jacob took Joseph for this purpose, and he was with him constantly. He therefore did not accompany the flock when they went to pasture in distant places. (Chavel, 1971, 451)

Now according to the opinion of Rashi it is possible for dibah to be a good report. Thus, when Scripture uses the expression, "he brings dibah", it means that he tells what he sees, but when it uses the term, he bringeth forth 'dibah ,' it refers to the fool who speaks falsehood. (Chavel, 1971, 449)

Joseph's actions may leave a bad taste in our mouths, but certainly should not have caused his brothers to hate him.

If so, what was the cause of their hatred!

Hatred stems from various sources. Jealousy is a form of hatred possessing no logical cause; it's hardly fair to blame someone else for achieving what I have failed to. Why should I hate him? What wrong has he done me? A more reasonable cause for hatred is injurious behavior, threatening or endangering oneself or one's loved ones; hatred of the enemy. The reports – dibah - Joseph brought concerning his brothers fall under this category. The "coat of many colors" caused jealousy, "And his brothers were jealous of him"(Gen 37:11); a feeling further enhanced by the dreams. Joseph cannot be blamed for his father's love or for his gift of the "coat of many colors"; however, no one disputes Joseph's responsibility for fanning the flames -- notwithstanding, the fact that "his father rebuked him"(Gen 37:10) and "his father kept the matter in his mind"(Gen 37:11).

Double Messages

On the one hand, Jacob empathized with the brothers' feelings. On the other hand, he "waited, looking forward to the time when this would take place"(Rashi on Gen 37:11). Joseph criticized Joseph's dreams but he also took them very seriously.

Joseph's actions also demand an explanation. Why did Joseph, by all accounts a very clever man, foolishly recount the sequence of infuriating dreams to his brothers? Why did he not stop himself from going into ever greater detail even though his brothers made no attempts to hide their fury? As the Torah relates "And they hated him even more"(Gen 37:5, 8), then "And he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers"(Gen 37:9). At this point jealousy unites with anger so that a combination of factors leads to the brothers' hatred and to their mockery of Joseph: "Behold, this dreamer comes"(Gen 37:19).

The Bible finds it necessary to describe the brothers' surfeit of emotions and their hatred. However, for some reason, the Bible chooses to omit Joseph's reaction, as if he was impervious to emotion. Joseph continues relating his infuriating dreams to his brothers. Joseph does not hesitate to perform his father's command to see how his brothers are doing. He makes no protest when his brothers attempt to kill him, cast him into a pit, and sell him to Ishmaelites. The reader must wait patiently until Parshat Mikketz (Gen 42:21) to hear Joseph's voice: "Truly, we are culpable for [what we did to] our brother, when we saw the anguish he was in as he pleaded with us …"

The Torah's omission of Joseph's reaction in our parsha, at the time the event actually occurred, was no accident, for as we know G-d wrote the Torah with great care, and "the conversations of the patriarchs' servants are yaffe – more meaningful – than their descendants' Torah novellae".

The Torah's description of the brothers' behavior also illustrates, on the one hand, the hesitation and fierce internal debated experienced by Reuben, culminating in the shocking discovery: "Behold, Joseph was not in the pit, so he tore his clothing"(Gen 37:29), and, on the other hand, the behavior of the other brothers, "and they sat down to a meal [lit. bread]"(Gen 37:25). The midrash interprets this verse to mean that the brothers convened a court of Torah law concerning Joseph's fate "for they excommunicated and cursed anyone who might reveal [what they had done to Joseph], and they made HaKadosh Baruch Hu their partner"(Rashi, Gen 37:33 based upon Midrash Tanhuma). Did HaKadosh Baruch Hu really agree with their apparently nefarious behavior?

"And at that time, Judah went down from his brothers"(Gen 38:1): "His brothers stripped him of his lofty rank … saying: 'You told us to sell him. Had you told us to send him back [to our father] we would have listened to you"(Rashi, ad locum ). Judah's relationship with Tamar did not add to his glory, for the whole sordid tale was rife with failure: the ignominious deaths of Judah's two sons, Tamar playing the harlot entrapping, as if it were possible, Judah the president of the religious court and the generation's ranking sage.

But it was out of this sordid affair that Israel's messiah was born. There are those who perceive the rare nobility of spirit exhibited by Judah and Tamar to be the seedbed for the grandeur of spirit that gave rise to King David. Judah was not ashamed to admit that his daughter-in-law was more righteous than he. Tamar was willing to suffer judicial burning rather than embarrass Judah publicly. So we have come full circle, and the essential question remains: How and why are the loftiest destinies marred by their contingence upon or entanglement with the small things comprised, in part, of hatred and ugliness? Would it not have been fitting to set precious stones in a rich frame?

Destiny and Existence

Two tracks, one above the other, stretch out before the man who walks in the ways of the Lord. The existential track entailing tangible reality, seemingly, controlled by man as he exercises his power of choice. The track of destiny comprised of its values, Heaven's decree, and divine long-range planning.

The latter path is in principle hidden from mortal eyes and not just because of hester panim (G-d's decision to conceal his role in Creation); however, there are points where these two tracks meet in order to allow man to recognize the absolute accord between them. The divine worshipper, found in the supernal dimension and marked by a strong attachment and selfless devotion to Hashem, possesses awareness of the tracks' integration as it relates to divinity and its destiny as the divine presence in the world; for here existence and destiny meet and join hands to propel the divine worshipper upon his journey toward the object of his longings.

The biblical stories serve to concretize the integration of man and G-d over the course of the dual track. For this reason, the Sages determined that "the Torah was written in the language of men," and, there is a marked tendency in the Bible to attribute emotions to the Creator of the World, a problem central to Maimonides' in-depth discussion in The Guide for the Perplexed . Maimonides addresses the philosophical aspects of the matter. We will be content with analyzing the human aspect of the matter by focusing upon the sensual-emotional aspect. This, in my humble opinion, should suffice to enable the reader to follow the argument and provide a concrete case illustrating the importance of the encounter between the two tracks.

Analyzing and attempting to define the differences between hatred, love and mercy may shed light upon the matter. In the first stage, where man focuses upon the problem of survival, he sharpens his senses and the sum total of all his abilities to become aware of and rule over reality. During this stage selfishness governs and prevents man from attaining an all-encompassing vision. As the saying goes: "Because of the trees, he fails to see the forest." The desire to observe the commandments, work upon one's character traits and fight the evil inclination are limited to fleeing evil and fighting evil under the aegis of the credo "turn away from evil, and then do good." The other is treated like an object, a means through which the Creator can be worshipped. The individual is like a mitzvah collector, who collects not for the sake of Heaven, but for himself. Care must be taken to avoid being ensnared by sin. Fear of sin. Feelings of love have no role during this stage.

Kindness, as a mode for relating to the other, arrives with the entrance of mercy. The sense of mercy derives from the discomfort felt by the merciful one in the sufferer's presence. The phenomenon of witnessing suffering accompanied by the fear this engenders causes the "merciful one" to recoil, awakens disgust in him and a desire that the suffering object be placed out of his sight. The attempt to assuage the other's suffering is not an expression of identification with the other or with suffering; at best it is an expression of generosity proffered by the strong toward the weak.

During the second stage, denoted by the verse "For Your salvation, I have hoped, Hashem", the fundamental principle of mutual reciprocity makes its grand entrance. During the initial application of this principle, empathy for the other, the sufferer -- in keeping with the credo "love your fellowman as [you love] yourself" -- is engendered. Empathy allows the empathizer to at first understand the other from an independent perspective and then finally enables him to understand the other from the other's perspective, to the point where he is, as it were, standing in the other's shoes. He no longer has to wait until the other reaches him to understand him.

This superior level of human kindness in all its glory does not require self-nullification. All it demands is absolute concentration upon identifying with the other. A quality level that is not bound by selfishness. A level where an unbounded, an infinite ability erupts forth. An intuition outside the normal bounds of reality carrying with it the scent of the Garden of Eden. The supernal light from the supernal dimension. This ability is reserved for those who reach the elevated level of "For Your salvation, I have hoped, Hashem" where divine kindness rests upon man. Light encompasses man, the world and G-d. Stemming from the credo of love and not fear alone; fear or awe of G-d's exaltedness is characteristic of the second level, the mutual reciprocity level. The treasure of love is reserved solely for G-d's friends. For Abraham, my beloved.

There are also different levels of hatred . On the level of wickedness, hatred gives precise expression to wickedness, the negative attitude of the selfish egotist toward the other. For the wicked individual sees the other as a threat to his very existence, to the survival system he is completely subservient to. Evil requires no reason to hate. The very presence of the other stirs up feelings of hatred. The presence of good awakens a burning hatred which turns homicidal, desperate to rid the world of good's presence. For good reminds bad of its transgressions; since it is good's presence that casts out evil and exposes its disgrace to the world.

A certain form of hatred stems from jealousy. Joseph's brothers' hatred belonged to this type, as jealousy among the scribes (Torah sages) is one of its positive off shoots. Jacob transmitted the majority of his Torah knowledge to Joseph who was closer to him than his other sons were. The verse "And his brothers were jealous of him"(Gen 37:11) may be seen to illustrate this revelation of the Torah and the subsequent "jealousy among the scribes" it engendered. Had this jealousy not been accompanied by hatred, as the verse reports "And they hated him, and could not speak peaceably with him"(Gen 37:4), presumably the brothers would not have committed the heinous act of selling Joseph. Perhaps they would even have been able to realize and admit that Joseph's ability to interpret their father's traditions was superior to their own. However, hatred degrades the norm; hatred in the first stage circumscribes the field of vision, focusing the individual's vision only upon the hated object and robs him of his ability to view the object from the perspective of mutual reciprocity or from above.

Hatred from above also flourished among the brothers. It eventually overcame its counterpart from the lower realm. Presumably, even at first during the initial stages of the brothers' relationship with Joseph their hatred and jealousy derived from the higher realm for all parties to the dispute were righteous, the tribes of the Lord. However, hatred in its supernal form cannot remain in existence for it lacks substance that can be grasped by the senses . Stemming from the supernal track it can only oversee its sensual counterpart from below providing it with reasons and justifications for its existence. What grief this inferior, repulsive form of hatred causes the righteous. For a righteous individual who travels upon the supernal track apparently does not perceive the disgrace in the lower track's adjacent version, for the lower version seems to merely express in a concrete fashion the traits of the supernal track.

Let's investigate how hatred functions from the supernal perspective. Angry feelings seem to be charged with a far greater force than loving ones. For the obvious reason that evil possesses vast storehouses of power which love lacks. While the wisest of all men has already defined love as a force which "vast torrents of water" cannot extinguish, in this he meant to say that love from the supernal realm's perspective has the ability to be borne aloft so that it ignores reality in keeping with the verse "love covers up all sins" (Proverbs 10:12). Apparently love has the ability to ignore evil by bypassing it in keeping with the credo "a little bit of light banishes much darkness"; however, love lacks the power to contend with evil for its pure quality prevents it from truly understanding evil's internal workings. In contrast, hatred which is essentially the progeny of evil knows her birth father and, therefore, grasps where its power stems from and how it can be fought.

The source from which evil draws its power is quantity disconnected from quality. For this reason, hatred possesses the power of numbers (of quantity). Copious amounts of energy, of stamina flow from the source; from the overflowing spring of evil that is fed by the war for physical-concrete survival which awakens the senses and arms them with energy bursts of stamina.

Hatred's flaw, however, also stems from its source in numbers. It is limited, for quantity by its very definition is finite. Hatred lacks infinite amounts of energy. Notwithstanding, as mentioned above, hatred was blessed with physicality and in this it is similar to existential reality regarding the issue of essential vitality. Hatred, unlike love, is not blind so it is not forced to skip over the pitfalls. Not only does hatred conduct a dialogue with actual quantity, it also attempts to forge a connection of mutual reciprocity with the rational logic inherent in reality; logic that is also bounded by tangible reality and possesses nothing of its own. Hatred futilely searching reality, looking for reasons which are not reasons will eventually wind up finding nothing, and will attempt to live off its own resources, which, as has been mentioned, are delimited by the very nature of quantity emptied of quality contents.

The only justification for hatred's existence is its subservient role as a servant of the track belonging to the supernal perspective. Hatred provides the gift of tangibility that allows the supernal track to purchase a hold on and relate to physical reality. This is the true path of the evil inclination which was originally tasked with serving the good inclination by endowing it with physicality. So indeed is the way of truth which is the supernal perspective's seal. For truth is HaKadosh Baruch Hu's seal, a seal which had no contact whatsoever with the base realm, and even opposed mankinds' creation, as man would be full of falsehood. HaKadosh Baruch cast truth down to earth so that it would wend its way into mans' garden and find a place in his heart. Thus, truth made its way into the world of human senses and gained tangible physicality. Out of this principled decision arose both the evil inclination and hatred, intended from the very beginning to serve the truth, the good and spiritual quality.

This involvement of the truth group with the base world is stalked by the danger of falling, as the angels fell. For instance, Esau's angel was forced to engage Jacob – the representative of the good and true group – in a battle which raged from the heavens to the earth. As our Sages, of blessed memory and the commentators explain, the term va- ye'avek stems from the word avak (dust) which rose and covered the entire sky. An unsuccessful attempt was made to block the supernal perspective. Since this vision is formed from infinite supernal qualities, unlike the material from which evil, falsehood and hatred are hewn this could not be accomplished. For this reason, the righteous individual is charged both with nurturing the link joining heaven and earth and with fending off any danger that might cause the two tracks to become disconnected.

"Behold, that dreamer is coming" (Gen 37:19).

Rabbi Isaac said: 'This verse call for a midrashic explanation: The Holy Spirit said: 'Yes. They say: 'Let us kill him,' and the verse concludes with and we will see what becomes of his dreams. Let us see whose words will come to pass – yours or mine.'"(Rashi, ad locum )

Rashi's commentary upon this verse provides an explicit demonstration of the two parallel tracks: the supernal track, here played out by the Holy Spirit, and the existential (earthly) track, here played out by the brothers.

Joseph joins the two tracks. He is a righteous man for without his selfless devotion to obeying his father's command to check up on his brothers' welfare, even though he knew they hated him, the two tracks would have remained separate. Joseph, the righteous man, for in his dreams he brought heaven to earth joining the supernal track with specific events occurring on earth and endowing them with meaning testifying to the carefully plotted out designs of divine providence.

Joseph, the dream interpreter, differed from professional dream interpreters for he did not know how to solve a dream by applying specific knowledge; rather, he perceived the dream to be a message from the supernal track intended to endow the existential track with meaning and to join the two tracks together ... Rather than classifying Joseph as an expert on dreams, classify him as one who due to his righteous ways was voiced and skilled in the supernal track.

Translated by Rabbi Meshulam Gotlieb
www.MGtransEd.com