וישב

לז,לא וַיִּקְחוּ, אֶת-כְּתֹנֶת יוֹסֵף; וַיִּשְׁחֲטוּ שְׂעִיר 
עִזִּים, וַיִּטְבְּלוּ אֶת-הַכֻּתֹּנֶת בַּדָּם

לז,לב וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ אֶת-כְּתֹנֶת הַפַּסִּים, וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶל-אֲבִיהֶם, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, זֹאת מָצָאנוּ:  הַכֶּר-נָא, הַכְּתֹנֶת בִּנְךָ הִוא--אִם-לֹא.

לז,לג וַיַּכִּירָהּ וַיֹּאמֶר כְּתֹנֶת בְּנִי, חַיָּה רָעָה אֲכָלָתְהוּ; טָרֹף טֹרַף, יוֹסֵף.

Its interesting that the midrash says that this כתנת is actually the same garment that יעקב used to fool his father יצחק, in thinking that he was blessing his brother עשו. 

There are some interesting terms used in these pasukim that can possibly be reminding us of the conflict between יעקב and עשו and the deception of יצחק.
The terms שעיר and אדום) דם)  seems to allude to the other names of עשו.
The fooling by Joseph's brothers of יעקב, with the same garment to convince יעקב that his son is dead; when in fact he was really sold(as עשו sold the firstborn rights to יעקב). 
The other reminder is the fact that the garment was dipped in the blood of עיזים-the same animal that רבקה prepared the dish for יעקב to feed his father יצחק. Also notice the language of the pasuk when יצחק bless יעקב-
כז,כג וְלֹא הִכִּירוֹ--כִּי-הָיוּ יָדָיו כִּידֵי עֵשָׂו אָחִיו, שְׂעִרֹת; וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ
And now the language of הכר נא and ויכירה when the brothers are fooling יעקב

We also saw this play out when לבן told יעקב after switching לאה ( the oldest) for רחל in marriage. Hear the irony in the words of לבן when לבן says in פרשת ויצא

 כט,כו וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן, לֹא-יֵעָשֶׂה כֵן בִּמְקוֹמֵנוּ--לָתֵת הַצְּעִירָה, לִפְנֵי הַבְּכִירָה

when it was לבן's sister (רבקה) that devised the plan in the first place; in order that יעקב should steal the blessings from her oldest son. Where would רבקה learn the rules of deception, if not from the family of her childhood-לבן

As long as we are on this subject of לבן, this may  also explain where the midrash picked up the story that רחל gave the סימנים to her sister לאה in order that she not be humiliated; just like רבקה gave the סימנים to her son יעקב in order to fool his father. The only difference here is that the midrash is having the youngest daughter give the סימנים to the oldest daughter, in order to fool her future husband.  Now in this parsha, the children of the oldest are using סימנים to once again deceive the parent of the true whereabouts of the youngest.

Is the Torah being critical of the deception by Yaakov of his father יצחק, by showing us in these stories consequences of our actions/decisions  and how history repeats itself...?

                            פרשת וישב



לז,כו וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה, אֶל-אֶחָיו:  מַה-בֶּצַע, כִּי 
נַהֲרֹג אֶת-אָחִינוּ, וְכִסִּינוּ, אֶת-דָּמוֹ

לז,כז לְכוּ וְנִמְכְּרֶנּוּ לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים, וְיָדֵנוּ אַל-תְּהִי-בוֹ, כִּי-אָחִינוּ בְשָׂרֵנוּ, הוּא; וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ, אֶחָיו.

לז,כח וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִדְיָנִים סֹחֲרִים, וַיִּמְשְׁכוּ וַיַּעֲלוּ אֶת-יוֹסֵף מִן-הַבּוֹר, וַיִּמְכְּרוּ אֶת-יוֹסֵף לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִים, בְּעֶשְׂרִים כָּסֶף; וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶת-יוֹסֵף, מִצְרָיְמָה.

The question everyone discusses here is why the switch between ישמעאלים and  

 מדינים?                                                          

                                                     

 I don't believe that the question is so difficult. It is very common in the slave trade to have slave traders that arrange the sale for buyers. When יהודה decided to sell יוסף to the Egyptians, it was the midyanim that were the traders and     arranged and completed the sale to the Egyptians.                                                  
 What I find fascinating is the fact that the two people chosen in this story to arrange the sale of Joseph, were the very same children that were sent away by Joseph's great grandfather Abraham; and now the very descendants of those children are now involved in sending Joseph away from his father.                 

Its Jan 1st 2020 and it's been over ten years since I last wrote on my blog. Life has changed for the Guttman clan and so has my state of mind. Over the years I have been analyzing midrashim and the nuances in the Torah that may have triggered the author of the midrash to arrive at the understanding of the pasuk that he commented on. I also noticed some interesting similarities, repetition of words and ideas in many of the stories, events and mitzvot of the pasukim of the weekly parsha reading.
I hope to use this blog to document many of those chidushim and ideas for many years to come.
Note- I also completed the  גבעונים  and דינה comparison from 2011 by adding a thought that I mentioned by my son Daniel's sheva Berachot. Look back to see my chidush.