Joseph Questions Benjamin and the Goblet Found in His Sack

"And he asked: is your aged father well?" (Genesis 43:27-28). Rabbi Chiya the Great met a certain Babylonian and said to him: how is my father doing? He said to him: your mother asks about you. He said to him: I ask you one thing and you tell me another. He said to him: one asks about the living and does not ask about the dead [implying the father had died]. So too "is your father well?" refers to Jacob; "the aged one of whom you spoke" refers to Isaac. "And they said: your servant our father is well, he is still alive" (Genesis 43:28). "And he said: God be gracious to you, my son" (Genesis 43:29-30). Because we have heard of grace concerning the other tribes but concerning Benjamin we had not heard it, for he was not yet born; and where do we hear of grace concerning him? Here: "God be gracious to you, my son." Said Rav Shmuel bar Nachman: as soon as Joseph saw him, his mind was at once set at ease, and he blessed him at that hour. He said to them: bring him near to me, and he kept questioning him until he came to the matter of his brother. He said to him: my son, do you have a brother? He said: I had one, but I do not know where he is. Do you have a wife? He said to him: yes, I have a wife and ten sons. He said to him: and what are their names? He said to him: "Bela, Becher, and Ashbel" (Genesis 46:21). He said to him: why did you call them these names? He said to him: all on account of my brother's troubles. "Bela," because he was swallowed up (nivla) among the nations and I do not know where he is. "Becher," because he was firstborn (bechor) to me and to my mother. "Ashbel," because he was taken captive (nishba) from his father and went away. "Gera," because he became a sojourner (ger) in another land. "Naaman," because he was exceedingly pleasant (naim). "Mupim and Chupim," because his head was covered (chafui) among the worshippers of idols. "And Ard," because he went down (yarad) from province to province. Another interpretation: "Bela," because he was swallowed away from me; "my brother and chief," because he was my brother and chief; "Mupim," because he was exceedingly beautiful; "Chupim," because he did not see my wedding canopy and I did not see his; "and Ard," because he was like the rose (vered) of the lilies. Another interpretation: "Mupim and Chupim," from the day he was exiled from me I have not washed my head nor combed it, and I made myself like a mourner. At that hour Joseph's compassion was stirred, as it says, "and Joseph made haste, for his compassion grew warm toward his brother" (Genesis 43:30). "And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright" (Genesis 43:33). He took the goblet and made himself as if he were divining by it. He said: Judah, who is king, shall sit at the head; Reuben, who is firstborn, shall sit beside him. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, sons of one mother, where are they? He brought them and seated them next to one another. Gad and Asher, sons of one mother, where are they? He brought them and seated them next to one another. Dan and Naphtali, sons of one mother, where are they? He brought them and seated them next to one another. As for me, I have no mother, and this one has no mother, but his mother died at his birth; therefore let his head come next to my head. Therefore "the men marveled" (Genesis 43:33). "And he carried portions to them, five portions" (Genesis 43:34). Joseph gave him his own portion, the portion of Asenath, the portion of Manasseh, the portion of Ephraim, and a portion with his brothers; this is what is written, "and Benjamin's portion was greater." "And they drank and grew merry with him" (Genesis 43:34). With him they drank, but apart from him they did not drink; for from the time Joseph was parted from his brothers they did not drink wine, but all abstained from wine, and Joseph too did not drink wine until that day, as it says, "and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers" (Genesis 49:26). Rabbi Yose bar Chanina said: they too did not drink, as it says, "and they drank and grew merry with him," meaning with him they did not [become drunk], but drinking, at least, there was. "And the men were sent away" (Genesis 44:3). Said Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav: let a person always enter and depart while it is still light. There was an incident in the south where there was a certain innkeeper who would stand and dress in his garments by night and say to whoever was there: come out, I will escort you. And they would go out, and brigands would meet them and rob them, and he would divide the spoil with them. Once Rabbi Meir lodged there, and the man arose and put on his garments and said to him: arise, I will escort you. He said to him: I have a brother, and I am waiting for him. He said to him: where is he? He said: in the synagogue. He said to him: what is his name, and I will go and call him. He said to him: Ki Tov ["It is good"]. All that night the innkeeper went and called out at the gate of the synagogue, "Ki Tov! Ki Tov!" and no one answered him. In the morning Rabbi Meir arose and saddled his donkey to go. The innkeeper said to him: where is your brother of whom you told me? He said to him: behold, here he comes, as it is written, "and God saw the light, that it was good (ki tov)" (Genesis 1:4). "They had gone out of the city, they had not gone far" (Genesis 44:4-6). Like that which you read, "there shall be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits" (Joshua 3:4). He said: if they get even a single mile away from the city, no creature can bring them back. "Arise, pursue after the men." While the awe of the great city is still upon them. "And you shall overtake them (vehisagtam)," it is written with a shin [as if "unsettle them"]: disturb them with words, one soft and one harsh. "Why have you repaid evil for good?" this is harsh; "is this not the one from which my lord drinks?" this is soft. And so he did: "and he overtook them and spoke to them," he unsettled them with words. "Behold, the silver" (Genesis 44:8). Said Rabbi Shimon: this is one of ten arguments from minor to major in the Torah. "Behold the silver we found" is the minor case, [and the major:] "how then should we steal?" "Behold, the children of Israel have not listened to me" (Exodus 6:12) is minor, "how then will Pharaoh listen to me?" is major. [So too:] "behold, while I am yet alive with you this day you have been rebellious against the LORD" (Deuteronomy 31:27), "and how much more after my death." "And the LORD said to Moses: if her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days?" (Numbers 12:14), minor; how much more before the Divine Presence. "If you have run with footmen and they have wearied you," minor; "how then can you contend with horses?" (Jeremiah 12:5). "And in a land of peace you are secure," "how then will you do in the swelling of the Jordan?" "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah" (1 Samuel 23:3), minor; "how much more then if we go to Keilah." "Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth" (Proverbs 11:31), minor; "how much more the wicked and the sinner." "In Shushan the capital the Jews killed and destroyed" (Esther 9:12), minor; how much more in the rest of the king's provinces. "And he said: now also let it be according to your words" (Genesis 44:10). Where ten men are found in a theft, are they all bound? I will not do so; rather, "he with whom it is found shall be my slave." "And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest" (Genesis 44:12), so they would not say he knew where it was placed. "And the goblet was found in Benjamin's sack." When it was found they said to him: O thief, son of a thief [recalling Rachel and the idols]. He said to them: is there a goat here? Are there brothers here who sell their brother? "And they tore their garments" (Genesis 44:13). Manasseh caused the tribes to tear, and so forth. "And each man loaded his donkey": each one took his load in one hand and loaded it on his donkey. "And they returned to the city." It was a metropolis, yet it says "the city," teaching that it was no more esteemed in their eyes than a town of ten men. "And Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there" (Genesis 44:14). He was accustomed to go out every day to the tribunal to judge, but that day he did not go, so as not to shame his brothers before the Egyptians. "And they fell before him to the ground," fulfilling the dream, "and behold, eleven stars bowing down to me" (Genesis 37:9). "And Judah said: what shall we say to my lord?" (Genesis 44:16), concerning the first silver; "what shall we speak?" concerning the second silver; "and how shall we clear ourselves?" concerning the goblet. Another interpretation: "what shall we say?" concerning the deed of Tamar; "what shall we speak?" concerning Bilhah; "and how shall we clear ourselves?" concerning Benjamin. "What shall we say," that we have sinned? It is revealed and known that we have not sinned. "God has found out the iniquity of your servants," the creditor has found means to collect his debt. Said Rabbi Levi: like one who drains the cask and stands it on its dregs. "How shall we clear ourselves? Behold, we are slaves to my lord." "And he said: far be it from me" (Genesis 44:17-18). He shook out his royal purple robe and said: far be it from me to do this. Joseph said to them: Heaven forbid that I suspect you; but this lad is suspected of stealing it to divine by it where his brother went. "The man in whose hand the goblet was found, he shall be my slave." At that hour all the tribes turned their faces from him, and who stood up against him? The guarantor, as it says, "and Judah drew near to him."