That’s kind of what happened to Jacob after Joseph disappeared, according to the ancient commentary, Bereshit Rabbah.
The Torah tells us, "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] in Egypt" (Genesis 42:1). But wait a minute… was Jacob in Egypt? The text also says he heard about the grain from his sons! So, what's going on? Bereshit Rabbah 91 dives into this seeming contradiction.
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) explains that from the moment Joseph was taken, the Ruach (spirit) Hakodesh – the Divine Spirit – departed from Jacob. He could see, but not really see. Hear, but not really hear. He had a vague awareness, a sense of things he wouldn't normally know, but lacked true clarity. It's like trying to tune into a radio station with a weak signal.
And why does the Torah use the word shever, grain, instead of simply saying "food"? The commentary cleverly suggests we reinterpret shever. Don’t read it as "grain," but as sever – "hope." Jacob, in his diminished state, sensed that his hope, his salvation, lay in Egypt. And who was that hope? Joseph.
The story continues with Jacob sending his sons to Egypt. "Why do you make yourselves conspicuous?" he warns them. According to Bereshit Rabbah, Jacob cautioned them, "You are mighty, you are handsome, do not enter through one gate and do not stand in one place, so that the evil eye will not have dominion over you." He knew the dangers of envy and attention.
But there's more to "go down there" than meets the eye. The Midrash offers another interpretation: "go down there" alludes to the future descent into Egyptian slavery. A foreshadowing of the difficult times to come.
Now, here's where the story gets even more intriguing. The brothers go to Egypt, but the Torah calls them "Joseph's brothers," not "the children of Israel." Why? Because, initially, they hadn't acted with brotherhood. They sold Joseph! But, the Midrash says, they regretted it. They longed to bring their brother back to their father. This time, they were united in their desire to right a wrong.
Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon adds a layer of detail: Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, knew his brothers would come seeking food. So, he stationed guards at every gate, recording the names of everyone who entered. Each brother, unknowingly, gave their names – Reuben son of Jacob, Simeon son of Jacob, and so on.
Can you imagine Joseph's reaction when he saw those names? He immediately sealed all but one storehouse and instructed the proprietor to apprehend these men. But they didn't come. Joseph then sent seventy mighty men to find them.
And where did they find them? In the marketplace of… harlots! The Midrash explains that the brothers, remembering Joseph's "fair form and fair appearance," feared he might be in such a place. A desperate, almost unbelievable, search for their lost brother.
The tension builds as Joseph confronts his brothers, accusing them of being spies. They protest, "We are all the sons of one man; we are sincere." Joseph, however, remains unconvinced, striking a goblet and claiming to see their deceit.
The brothers try to explain their presence in the marketplace, their father's warning about the evil eye. Joseph then reveals his "vision" – that two of them destroyed the city of Shekhem and that they sold their brother.
Shocked, the brothers confess, "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of… our father." But Joseph presses them: Where are the other two? One is "absent" (dead, they claim), and the youngest is with their father. He demands to see the youngest brother.
In a dramatic move, Joseph imprisons Simeon. The Midrash explains that Simeon was chosen because he was the one who pushed Joseph into the pit. Joseph separates Simeon from Levi to prevent them from plotting together.
Simeon cries out, "So you did to Joseph, and so you seek to do to me?" He begs his brothers not to abandon him. The scene is full of guilt, regret, and fear.
Joseph, through a messenger, requests seventy of Pharaoh's mighty men to help him shackle these "robbers." When the guards approach Simeon, he roars, and they fall to the ground, their teeth breaking! Manasseh, Joseph's son, is the one who ultimately subdues Simeon.
Joseph declares that Simeon will remain imprisoned until they bring their youngest brother. The brothers return to Jacob, recounting the harrowing events. Jacob is distraught. “You have bereaved me,” he laments.
Reuben offers his own sons as collateral, but Jacob refuses. Judah finally steps forward, offering himself as guarantor for Benjamin's safety. “I will guarantee him; from me you can demand him,” he pleads (Genesis 43:9).
And here we come full circle: "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] in Egypt." Some commentaries suggest that this final line is an error, but the Midrash connects it to Jacob’s fear for Benjamin's safety. The word shever now represents disaster, the potential harm that might befall his beloved son.
What does this all mean? It's a powerful reminder of the complexities of family, the consequences of our actions, and the enduring power of hope, even in the darkest of times. And perhaps, it's also a lesson about seeing beyond the surface, about recognizing the hidden meanings and the deeper truths that lie beneath the words. Are we truly seeing, or are we just catching glimpses, like Jacob after losing Joseph? It's a question worth pondering, isn't it?
Another matter, “Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] in Egypt” – was Jacob in Egypt that he saw grain in Egypt, such that the verse states: “Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt”? But did he not say [differently] to his sons, [as it is stated]: “He saidBehold, I have heard [that there is grain in Egypt]”? It is, rather, that from the day that Joseph was abducted, the Divine Spirit left him, and he would see but not see, hear but not hear.41He had from the Divine Spirit a vague idea of things that he would not otherwise know, but he did not have a clear understanding of them. Why does it not say “there was food in Egypt,” but instead it is written: “That there was grain [shever] in Egypt”? Is it not already stated: “The entire land of Egypt was hungry”? Why does the verse state: “There was grain [shever]”? Rather, do not read it as “there was grain [shever],” but rather, “there was hope [sever],” as he foresaw that his hope was in Egypt. What was that? That was Joseph. “Jacob said to his sons: Why do you make yourselves conspicuous?” Jacob said to his sons: ‘You are mighty, you are handsome, do not enter through one gate and do not stand in one place, so that the evil eye will not have dominion over you.’ “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there.” What is “go down”? He foresaw that they would descend and be enslaved in Egypt. Another matter, “go down there” – as anyone who purchases grain from the marketplace, descent is written in his regard.42This is because he is dependent upon market conditions for his basic sustenance (Etz Yosef). “Joseph’s brothers descended” (Genesis 42:3). The verse should have said: “The children of Israel.” It is that initially, they did not treat him with brotherhood and sold him, but ultimately they had regrets and were saying: ‘When will we descend to Egypt and return our brother to his father?’ When their father told them to descend to Egypt, they all came to a consensus to return him. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: Joseph, too, knew that his brothers were descending to Egypt to acquire food. What did he do? He positioned guards at all the entrances and said to them: ‘See each one who enters to acquire food, and write his name and his father’s name.’ In the evening, they would bring the notes to him. This is what they did. When Jacob’s sons came, each and every one entered through his own gate, and they wrote their names. In the evening, they brought [Joseph] the notes. This one read: ‘Reuben son of Jacob,’ another read: ‘Simeon son of Jacob,’ and another ‘Levi,’ and likewise, all the gatekeepers, each one brought his own. Immediately, Joseph said: ‘Seal all the storehouses and keep open one storehouse.’ He gave their names to the proprietor of the storehouse. He said to him: ‘See, when these people come to you, apprehend them, and send them before me.’ Three days passed and they did not come. Immediately, Joseph took seventy mighty men from the king’s palace and dispatched them to the marketplace. They went and found them in the marketplace of harlots. What was the nature of their presence in the marketplace of harlots? It is that they said: ‘Our brother Joseph is fair of form and fair of appearance; perhaps he is in a tent.’43Perhaps he was forced to work as a male prostitute (Matnot Kehuna). They apprehended them and brought them before Joseph. “Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them, and spoke harshly to them; he said to them: From where did you come? They said: From the land of Canaan, to acquire food” (Genesis 42:7). “Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him” (Genesis 42:8). “Joseph remembered the dreams that he dreamed about them, and said to them: You are spies; to see the nakedness of the land you have come” (Genesis 42:9). “They said to him: No, my lord, but your servants have come to acquire food” (Genesis 42:10). “We are all the sons of one man; we are sincere, your servants have not been spies” (Genesis 42:11). “And he said to them: No, to see the nakedness of the land you have come” (Genesis 42:12). “They said: We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan and, behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is absent” (Genesis 42:13). Immediately, “he acted as a stranger [vayitnaker] to them, and spoke harshly to them” – it teaches that he became like a stranger [nokhri] to them. He took the goblet and struck it. He said to them: ‘I see in my goblet that “you are spies.”’ They said to him: ‘“We are sincere”; however, this is what our father commanded us: Do not enter through one gate…’ He said to them: ‘What is the nature of your presence in the marketplace of harlots? Were you not afraid of the evil eye? Was that not your father’s command?’ They said to him: ‘We lost something and we were seeking it there.’ He said to them: ‘What was the lost item? I see in my goblet that two of you destroyed the big city of Shekhem, and then you sold your brother to Arabs.’ Immediately, they were shocked and said to him: “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of…our father.” He said to them: ‘And where are the other two?’ They said to him: “One is absent” – dead; and “the youngest is with our father today.” He said to them: “Bring your youngest brother to me…” (Genesis 42:34). He took Simeon and incarcerated him before their eyes, because it was he who had pushed him into the pit. He separated him from Levi, so they would not conspire against him. Simeon said to his brothers: ‘So you did to Joseph, and so you seek to do to me?’44You also sinned in the sale of Joseph. Do not leave me here; stay and bear the burden of punishment together with me (Maharzu). They said to him: ‘What shall we do? The people of our household will die of starvation.’ He said to them: ‘Do what you want. Now, I will see who will take me into prison.’45Shimon planned to resist being taken to prison. At that moment, Joseph sent to Pharaoh and said to him: ‘Send me seventy of your mighty men, as I have found robbers and I seek to shackle them.’ At that time he sent them to him, and Joseph’s brothers were looking to see what he sought to do. Joseph said to those mighty men: ‘Take him into prison.’ When they drew near to him, he screamed at them. When they heard his voice, they fell on their faces and their teeth broke, as it is stated: “The roar of the lion and the voice of the great cat, and the teeth of the lion cubs are broken” (Job 4:10). Manasseh was sitting before his father. His father said: ‘You get up.’ Immediately, Manasseh stood and struck him with one blow, took him into prison, and shackled him. [Joseph] said to [his brothers]: ‘This one will be incarcerated until you bring your brother “and your statements will be verified”’ (Genesis 42:20). Immediately, “Joseph commanded and they filled their vessels” (Genesis 42:25). They went to their father and related to him the entire incident. Their father responded and said to them: ‘Where is Simeon?’ They said: ‘He seized him for our youngest brother.’ He said to them: “You have bereaved me.” “Reuben spoke to his father, saying: Kill my two sons.” [Jacob] said to him: ‘Are your sons not my sons?’ Judah said to them: ‘Leave the elder until the bread is finished.’46Jacob was refusing to send Benjamin. Judah advised his brothers not to continue pleading but to wait until the bread was finished, when Jacob would have to agree. Judah said to him: ‘Father, if Benjamin goes with us, perhaps he will be apprehended and perhaps he will not be apprehended. But if he does not go with us, we will all die of starvation. It is preferable that you forsake the uncertain and seize the certain.’ He said: ‘Who will guarantee him?’ He said to him: ‘I will,’ as it is stated: “I will guarantee him; from me you can demand him” (Genesis 43:9). That is why it is stated: “Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] in Egypt.”47The midrash interprets the word shever to mean disaster, as Jacob was afraid of the possibility that Benjamin would be harmed (Matnot Kehuna). Some commentaries suggest that this last line is an error and should not appear in the text (Nezer HaKodesh; Etz Yosef).
