Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt (Genesis 42:1). He saw it — but the midrash immediately pivots to a verse from Proverbs: "The ear that hears and the eye that sees — the Lord has made them both" (Proverbs 20:12). Why? Because the organs of perception are themselves the subject here, not just the grain.
The rabbis made a curious argument: the ear and the eye are the only organs that will not be judged at the final reckoning. Not because they are innocent — but because they cannot help what they perceive. The eye sees what is not good for a person; the ear hears slander against its owner's will. But the hands that steal, the feet that run to evil, the mouth that speaks falsehood — these are volitional. The person could have chosen otherwise. The eye and the ear are receptors. The rest of the body is agency.
This is the distinction Jacob embodies: he saw the grain in Egypt and acted on what he saw by sending his sons. He did not close his eyes to practical reality in favor of theological abstraction. God had made his eyes to see — and the grain was real, and the famine was real, and his grandchildren would die if he did not act. The divine management of the universe does not override human perception and response. It works through them. Jacob saw because God made eyes that see. And then he sent his sons, because God also made hands that act.
[1] A song of ascents. "Many [peoples] have afflicted me from my youth," (Psalms 129:1). And scriptures say: From [(the following)] six woes He shall save you [(by the afflictions which you have suffered)], and in the seventh, evil shall not reach you." (Job 5:19). Solomon explains that "six things the Lord hates..." (Proverbs 6:16). David says, "I have kept them," (Psalms 119:128) "My eyes are raised high" (ibid. 131), "My heart is not haughty, my eyes are not lofty" (Psalms 131:1), "A lying tongue" (Proverbs 6:17), "My soul is saved from deceitful lips and tongue" (Psalms 120:2). "Hands that shed innocent blood" (Proverbs 6:17), "I am clean and my kingdom is from the Lord" (2 Samuel 3:28). "A heart that devises wicked schemes" (Proverbs 6:18), "My heart is firm, O God; my heart is firm;" (Psalms 57:8) [edit. There is error in Hebrew reference says 57:5]. "Feet quick to run to evil," (Proverbs 6:18), "My feet stand on level ground" (Psalms 26:12). "A false witness who pours out lies" (Proverbs 6:19), "Do not hand me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me" (Psalms 27:12). "And one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:19), "But as for me, listen to my plea for mercy when I cry out to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy place" (Psalms 28:2). From [(the following)] six woes He shall save you [(by the afflictions which you have suffered)], and in the seventh, evil shall not reach you." (Job 5:19), as the Holy One, blessed be He, saved David from these things because he kept them. [2] Another explanation According to our father Jacob, he exclaimed and said, "Greatly have I been afflicted from my youth, let Israel now say" (Psalms 129:1). The Holy One, blessed be He, responded and said, "But in every trouble that entered upon you, was I not with you and saved you? I redeemed you from death in famine (Job 5:20), when Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt and said, 'Why do you just keep looking at each other?' (Genesis 42:1), and in war from the hand of the sword (Job 5:20), when Esau came with four hundred men, "You will hide from the sword of the tongue" (Job 5:21). When did Jacob hear the words of Laban's sons, etc.? (Genesis 31:1), and "Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes" (Proverbs 3:25). When did the people of Shechem come and depart and a terror from God fell upon them? (Genesis 35:5), "You shall laugh at destruction and famine" (Job 5:22). When did he leave his father's house and Esau took his blessings from him? (It seems to be different opinions regarding the interpretation of the beginning of Parshat Vayetze) Nevertheless, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not abandon him, as it is written, "With my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps" (Genesis 32:11), "Do not be afraid of the beasts of the earth" (Job 5:22), for as long as he was a shepherd, not one of the animals touched the flock, as it is written, "I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts" (Genesis 31:39). "For you have made a covenant with the stones of the field" (Job 5:23). When did he take stones from the place and set them up as a pillar? (Genesis 28:18). "And the wild beast of the field shall be at peace with thee" (Job 5:23), "And Esau ran to meet him" (Genesis 33:4), which is called a "Chayah" (wild animal), as it says, "Shout down the beast of the reeds" [(Yishmael, who is like a swine living among the reeds)] (Psalms 68:31). "And you will know that your tent is in peace" (Job 5:24), "When was it that Israel settled?" (Genesis 33:22), and what is written after that? "And the sons of Jacob were twelve" (Genesis 35:22). "And you will lie down, and none shall make you afraid" (Job 11:19), "And Israel shall dwell in safety, alone" (Deuteronomy 33:28), "Many faces have been humbled before you" (Job 40:14), "And many nations shall come" (Isaiah 2:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob: "After all these things that I have done for you, you will call me your adversary" (Hosea 12:14). Jacob also said, "Many have been my afflictions from my youth" (Psalms 129:1), and also said, "They have not prevailed against me" (Psalms 129:2). David said to him, "For all these things, I will give you praise," as it says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all" (Psalms 34:19).
