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Share(ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יוֹסֵ֤ף אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ אֲנִ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף הַע֥וֹד אָבִ֖י חָ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֤וּ אֶחָיו֙ לַעֲנ֣וֹת אֹת֔וֹ כִּ֥י נִבְהֲל֖וּ מִפָּנָֽיו׃
(3) Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dumfounded were they on account of him.
(1) נבהלו מפניו [FOR] THEY WERE AMAZED AT HIS PRESENCE — OUT OF SHAME
(י) וַיִּתֵּן אֶת קֹלוֹ בִּבְכִי, וְלֹא יָכְלוּ אֶחָיו לַעֲנוֹת אֹתוֹ (בראשית מה, ב ג), אַבָּא כֹּהֵן בַּרְדְּלָא אָמַר, אוֹי לָנוּ מִיּוֹם הַדִּין אוֹי לָנוּ מִיּוֹם הַתּוֹכֵחָה, בִּלְעָם חָכָם שֶׁל הָעוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים לֹא יָכוֹל לַעֲמֹד בְּתוֹכַחְתָּהּ שֶׁל אֲתוֹנוֹ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (במדבר כב, ל): הַהַסְכֵּן הִסְכַּנְתִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת לְךָ כֹּה וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא. יוֹסֵף קְטַנָּן שֶׁל שְׁבָטִים הָיָה וְלֹא הָיוּ יְכוֹלִים לַעֲמֹד בְּתוֹכַחְתּוֹ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וְלֹא יָכְלוּ אֶחָיו לַעֲנוֹת אֹתוֹ כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ מִפָּנָיו, לִכְשֶׁיָּבוֹא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְיוֹכִיחַ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד לְפִי מַה שֶּׁהוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים נ, כא): אוֹכִיחֲךָ וְאֶעֶרְכָה לְעֵינֶיךָ, עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. (בראשית מה, ד):
And he raised his voice and wept and his brothers were not able to answer him (bereishis 45:3) Abba Kohen Bardla said: Woe to us on the Day of Judgement! Woe to us on the Day of Rebuke. Bilam, the wisest man of the the gentile nations, was not able to stand before the rebuke of his donkey, as it is written, "Was I ever in the habit to do this to you?" and he replied "no"(Numbers 22:30).
Yosef was the youngest of the tribes, and thy were not able to stand before his rebuke as it is weritten, " And his brothers could not answer him for they were shocked at his presence."
When the Holy One blessed be He will come and rebuike each individual according to what he is, as it says, " I will rebuke you and display (your deeds) before your eyes" (Tehillim 50:21), how much more so (will we not be able to stand before His rebuke)!
(קז) אֱלֹהַי. עַד שֶׁלֹּא נוֹצַֽרְתִּי אֵינִי כְדַאי, וְעַכְשָׁו שֶׁנּוֹצַֽרְתִּי כְּאִלּוּ לֹא נוֹצַֽרְתִּי. עָפָר אֲנִי בְּחַיָּי. קַל וָחֹֽמֶר בְּמִיתָתִי. הֲרֵי אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ כִּכְלִי מָלֵא בוּשָׁה וּכְלִמָּה.
(107) God, before I was formed, I was unworthy [to be created]. And now that I have been formed, it is as if I had not been formed. I am like dust while I live, how much more so when I am dead. Here I am before You like a vessel filled with shame.
(25) The two of them were naked, the man and his wife, yet they felt no shame.
(7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths. (8) They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
What happened? Why did shame now enter their being? Why was eating from the forbidden fruit the catalyst for this particular spiritual shift? (Pavlov, P 56)
Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch (2:25)
The explanation of "BOSHESH"is as follows: to be "dissappointed in expectation of something" - is not able to achieve what is expected. BOSH (as opposed to BOSHESH) is to feel dissappointment.
This dissappointment is the source of all shame - someone who feels embarrassed from self dissappointment. He had great hopes in relation to himself, but his hopes have failed.
If a person feels that he has not achieved the status/stature that he could have achieved, and he hasn't arrived at the level that he could have had, he feels embarrassed.
This emotion in a person's heart is a present of kindness from Hashem. It is revealed to him that man doesn't always achieve the status which is fitting to him. The emotion of shame is therefore given to him which lets him know about his low level. In this way man can self regulate his growth.
BUSHA is close to the attribute of modesty and humility. The Talmud tells us (Nedarim 20A) that being a "bayshan" is a good sign. The humble person will recognise that he is not fitting for the high level in which he might have previously imagined himself to be.
G-d placed man in in his own hands. He planted within man the image of perfection according which a person should judge himself. Meeting it is expected, and failing to meet it is BUSHA.
The original status of the first couple in the world is as follows: "they were both naked, and they were not embaressed". The intention of this verse could mean that they had nothing to feel shame about. While man and woman were on the status of "man", while they were still fitting in their form and soul to the image of G-d. They were still pure; whether in body or in spirit.
Both these strengths were given to them by Hashem, so that through both they could fulfil their mission of "man".
It is permitted for man to fulfil all his desires as long as he doesn't overrun the boundary that was set out for him/her.
(5) what is man that You have been mindful of him, mortal man that You have taken note of him, (6) that You have made him little less than divine, and adorned him with glory and majesty;
Less than divine: I.E. than the angels. You gave the strength to Joshua to cause the sun to stay in the sky and to keep the Jordan dry, Moses to split the sea, and to go up to heaven like Elijah, and to ressussitate the dead.
Shame is the external revelation of an internal connection to G-d. (Pavlov, p.60)
רש"ר הירש בראשית ל"ז:י"ח
כשיוסף התקרב אל האחים, הם ראוהו בעיני רוחם כאדם שהוא סכנה לענייניהם החשובים ביותר – עד כדי כך שצריך "להמיתו". הם סברו שלהם הזכות להורגו כדי להגן על עצמם.
When Jacob came close to his brothers, they saw him from a spiritual perspective as a person who is a danger to their most personal and important issues - to the extent that they wanted to kill him. They thought it was their right to kill him in order to protect themselves.
