Woe to Us from the Day of Rebuke and the Vision of Two Temples

Said Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: woe to us from the day of judgment, woe to us from the day of rebuke. Balaam, the wise man of the nations, could not stand before the rebuke of his she-donkey, as it says, "have I ever been accustomed to do so to you? And he said: no" (Numbers 22:30). Joseph was the youngest of the tribes, and his brothers could not answer him because they were terrified before him; when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes and rebukes each and every one according to his deeds, how much more so. "And Joseph said to his brothers: come near to me, please" (Genesis 45:4). He showed them the circumcision. "And now it was not you who sent me here" (Genesis 45:8), "and He made me a father to Pharaoh," a patron, "and a lord," a ruler. "Hurry and go up to my father" (Genesis 45:9), and let not the moment delay. "For it is my mouth that speaks to you" (Genesis 45:12), in the holy tongue. "And he fell upon the neck of Benjamin" (Genesis 45:14). And did Benjamin have two necks? Rather, he saw by the holy spirit that two Temples were destined to be built in the portion of Benjamin and were destined to be destroyed. And Benjamin wept upon his neck: he saw that the Tabernacle of Shiloh was destined to be built in the portion of Joseph and destined to be destroyed. "And he lifted up his voice in weeping." Just as Joseph appeased his brothers only through weeping, so the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems His children only through weeping, as it says, "with weeping they shall come, and with supplications I will lead them" (Jeremiah 31:9).